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𝗟𝗘𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗥𝗗 𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗡𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗜𝗡 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Leonard Bernstein left one of the most extensive, varied and immediately recognisable recorded legacies of the twentieth century. He was not only a conductor but also a…

𝗢𝗧𝗧𝗢 𝗞𝗟𝗘𝗠𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗥 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Otto Klemperer’s recorded legacy is frequently reduced to a convenient stereotype: monumental tempos, massive sonorities and granite-like severity. Those qualities certainly formed part of his mature style,…

𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗧 𝗩𝗢𝗡 𝗞𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗝𝗔𝗡 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Herbert von Karajan left one of the largest recorded legacies of any conductor. He repeatedly returned to the same compositions, sometimes recording them three or four…

𝗝𝗢𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗦 𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗛𝗠𝗦’𝗦 𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗣𝗜𝗘𝗖𝗘𝗦 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗜𝗨𝗦 𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗡𝗘𝗗 𝗠𝗘𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗬 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗢 𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗠 Johannes Brahms is often portrayed as the great conservative of nineteenth-century music: the guardian of Classical form, the heir of Bach,…

𝗗𝗩𝗢𝗥𝗔𝗞’𝗦 𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗣𝗜𝗘𝗖𝗘𝗦 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗞𝗦 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗔𝗟 𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗙𝗨𝗟𝗟 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗜𝗨𝗦 Antonin Dvorak is sometimes reduced to three familiar emblems: the New World Symphony, the Cello Concerto and the Slavonic Dances. Yet his…

𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗧 𝗕𝗟𝗢𝗠𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗗𝗧 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗢 𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗦𝗘𝗘𝗠𝗦 𝗧𝗢 𝗛𝗔𝗩𝗘 𝗢𝗨𝗧𝗟𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗗 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘 Few conductors have travelled through nearly an entire century of musical history while preserving such freshness, modesty and intellectual curiosity. 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘁 𝗕𝗹𝗼𝗺𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱𝘁, who…

𝗕𝗘𝗘𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗡’𝗦 𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗧 𝗜𝗡𝗦𝗣𝗜𝗥𝗘𝗗 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗞𝗦: 𝗪𝗛𝗘𝗡 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗜𝗨𝗦 𝗕𝗘𝗖𝗔𝗠𝗘 𝗥𝗢𝗨𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗘 To speak of “mediocre” works by 𝗕𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗻 requires caution. Even his lesser pieces often display craftsmanship, vitality, structural intelligence, or historical interest. Yet, when compared with…

𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗨𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗡 — 𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗞 𝗝𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 — 𝗢𝗫𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗗 𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗦 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟴 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗢 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦, 𝟭𝟴𝟯𝟰–𝟯𝟵 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗢 𝗔𝗦 𝗔 𝗦𝗘𝗖𝗥𝗘𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗥𝗘 Between 1834 and 1839, Robert Schumann created the piano…

𝗕𝗘𝗘𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗡’𝗦 𝗧𝗪𝗘𝗟𝗩𝗘 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗣𝗜𝗘𝗖𝗘𝗦: 𝗪𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗘 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖 𝗕𝗘𝗖𝗔𝗠𝗘𝗦 𝗗𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗬 To choose Beethoven’s twelve “true” masterpieces is not simply to choose his most famous works. Fame is not enough. Beethoven wrote works so central to Western…

𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗗𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴: 𝗕𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗣𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗵𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗺 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗝𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆 Listening to classical music while driving is not the same as listening to it at home, in a concert hall, or…

𝗗𝗩𝗢𝗥̌𝗔́𝗞 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗦𝗜𝗕𝗘𝗟𝗜𝗨𝗦: 𝗧𝗪𝗢 𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗩𝗢𝗜𝗖𝗘𝗦, 𝗧𝗪𝗢 𝗩𝗜𝗦𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗬𝗠𝗣𝗛𝗢𝗡𝗬 𝗔𝗻𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗶́𝗻 𝗗𝘃𝗼𝗿̌𝗮́𝗸 and 𝗝𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗦𝗶𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘂𝘀 belong to two different generations, but they share one essential historical idea: both transformed the musical identity of…

𝗞𝗟𝗔𝗨𝗦 𝗧𝗘𝗡𝗡𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗗𝗧 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗗𝗨𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥 𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗦𝗘𝗘𝗠𝗘𝗗 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗦𝗘𝗦𝗦𝗘𝗗 𝗕𝗬 𝗠𝗔𝗛𝗟𝗘𝗥 Klaus Tennstedt belongs to that rare category of conductors whose art cannot be explained only by technique, career posts, discography, or repertoire. He was…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘 𝗔𝗙𝗙𝗔𝗜𝗥𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 — 𝗩𝗢𝗟𝗨𝗠𝗘 𝗜 𝗥𝗨𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗧 𝗛𝗨𝗚𝗛𝗘𝗦 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗜𝗠𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗔𝗟 𝗕𝗘𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗗 𝗕𝗘𝗘𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗡’𝗦 𝗠𝗬𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗬 𝗢𝗙 𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘 Among all the love stories in the lives of great composers, few have acquired the haunting…

𝗛𝗔𝗬𝗗𝗡, 𝗕𝗬 𝗝. 𝗖𝗨𝗧𝗛𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗧 𝗛𝗔𝗗𝗗𝗘𝗡 - 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟵 - 𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗛𝗔́𝗭𝗔 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗥𝗘𝗠𝗢𝗧𝗘 𝗣𝗔𝗟𝗔𝗖𝗘 𝗪𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗘 𝗛𝗔𝗬𝗗𝗡 𝗕𝗨𝗜𝗟𝗧 𝗔 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗟 𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗘 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗔𝗟𝗔𝗖𝗘 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗪𝗔𝗦 𝗡𝗢𝗧 𝗠𝗘𝗔𝗡𝗧 𝗧𝗢 𝗕𝗘 𝗔 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗟 𝗖𝗔𝗣𝗜𝗧𝗔𝗟 When the musical establishment…

𝗚𝗨𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗩𝗢 𝗗𝗨𝗗𝗔𝗠𝗘𝗟 — 𝗔 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 Gustavo Dudamel is one of the most visible conductors of the twenty-first century: a Venezuelan musician formed by 𝗘𝗹 𝗦𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗮, projected internationally while still very young, and later placed…

𝗙𝗟𝗢𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗬 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗝𝗢𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗦 𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗛𝗠𝗦 𝗩𝗢𝗟𝗨𝗠𝗘 𝗜𝗜 — 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟵 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗩𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗮 𝗧𝗼𝗻𝗸ü𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗹𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗶𝗻, 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗦𝘆𝗺𝗽𝗵𝗼𝗻𝘆, 𝗛𝘂𝗴𝗼 𝗪𝗼𝗹𝗳, 𝗧𝗵𝘂𝗻, 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀, 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗼𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗼, 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝘅𝘀𝗲𝗻’𝘀 𝗗𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵, 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗶𝗽𝘀𝘆 𝗦𝗼𝗻𝗴𝘀,…

𝗗𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗘𝗟 𝗕𝗔𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗕𝗢𝗜𝗠 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗢𝗡 𝗕𝗥𝗨𝗖𝗞𝗡𝗘𝗥: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗗𝗨𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥 𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗥𝗘𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗡𝗘𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗥𝗘𝗘 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘𝗦 𝗧𝗢 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗬𝗠𝗣𝗛𝗢𝗡𝗜𝗖 𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗗𝗥𝗔𝗟 Among modern Bruckner conductors, 𝗗𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝗹 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗯𝗼𝗶𝗺 occupies a distinctive and rather unusual place. He is not normally placed in…

𝗦𝗘𝗥𝗚𝗜𝗨 𝗖𝗘𝗟𝗜𝗕𝗜𝗗𝗔𝗖𝗛𝗘 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗢𝗡 𝗕𝗥𝗨𝗖𝗞𝗡𝗘𝗥: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗘𝗧𝗔𝗣𝗛𝗬𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗦𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗗, 𝗦𝗜𝗟𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘, 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘 Among the great Bruckner conductors of the twentieth century, 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗶𝘂 𝗖𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗱𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲 occupies a position unlike anyone else. He was not a “Brucknerian”…

𝗚𝗨̈𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗪𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗢𝗡 𝗕𝗥𝗨𝗖𝗞𝗡𝗘𝗥: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗧𝗘 𝗔𝗥𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗧𝗘𝗖𝗧 𝗢𝗙 𝗕𝗥𝗨𝗖𝗞𝗡𝗘𝗥’𝗦 𝗦𝗬𝗠𝗣𝗛𝗢𝗡𝗜𝗖 𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗗𝗥𝗔𝗟𝗦 Among the great Bruckner conductors of the twentieth century, 𝗚𝘂̈𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗪𝗮𝗻𝗱 occupies a place of exceptional authority. His Bruckner is not theatrical,…

𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗧 𝗩𝗢𝗡 𝗞𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗝𝗔𝗡 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗢𝗡 𝗕𝗥𝗨𝗖𝗞𝗡𝗘𝗥: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗗 𝗢𝗙 𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗧𝗘, 𝗟𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧, 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗦𝗣𝗜𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗨𝗔𝗟 𝗠𝗢𝗡𝗨𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗬 Among the great conductors of 𝗔𝗻𝘁𝗼𝗻 𝗕𝗿𝘂𝗰𝗸𝗻𝗲𝗿, 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘁 𝘃𝗼𝗻 𝗞𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗷𝗮𝗻 occupies a very special place. He was not the most…

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗮̈𝗰𝗵𝘀𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗮𝘁𝘀𝗸𝗮𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲 𝗗𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗱𝗲𝗻 (Part 2) 𝗘𝗿𝗻𝘀𝘁 𝘃𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝗗𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿, 𝟭𝟴𝟴𝟰–𝟭𝟵𝟭𝟰 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘂𝘀𝘀 𝗔𝗴𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮 With 𝗘𝗿𝗻𝘀𝘁…

𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗥𝗲𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗢𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝗣𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗸𝗲𝗿 The history of the 𝗕𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝗣𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗸𝗲𝗿 begins not with a royal decree, a wealthy patron or the carefully planned creation of…

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗴𝗼: 𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗼𝗱𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗞𝗹𝗮𝘂𝘀 𝗠𝗮̈𝗸𝗲𝗹𝗮̈ 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝗗𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗴𝗼 𝗦𝘆𝗺𝗽𝗵𝗼𝗻𝘆 𝗢𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮 The history of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra is the history of an American institution founded…

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗛𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗩𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗮 𝗣𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗰 𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗢𝘁𝘁𝗼 𝗡𝗶𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗮𝗶 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝗚𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁-𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺: 𝗔 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝘆, 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀 The history of the 𝗩𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗮 𝗣𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗰 requires a fundamental clarification…