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𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗟 𝗥𝗘𝗟𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗣 𝗕𝗘𝗧𝗪𝗘𝗘𝗡 𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗨𝗗𝗘 𝗗𝗘𝗕𝗨𝗦𝗦𝗬 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗜𝗚𝗢𝗥 𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗩𝗜𝗡𝗦𝗞𝗬 𝗔 𝗗𝗜𝗔𝗟𝗢𝗚𝗨𝗘 𝗕𝗘𝗧𝗪𝗘𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗪𝗢 𝗚𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗠𝗢𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗡 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖 The relationship between 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝗯𝘂𝘀𝘀𝘆 and 𝗜𝗴𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗸𝘆 was one of the most fascinating artistic encounters of…

𝗝𝘂𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘁: 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲, 𝗣𝘀𝘆𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆, 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝘂𝗽𝗶𝗹𝘀 𝗜. 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿 Jules Massenet was born on 𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝟭𝟮, 𝟭𝟴𝟰𝟮, in Montaud, near Saint-Étienne, into a cultivated but not…

𝐊𝐚𝐫𝐥 𝐑𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐡, 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞, 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 There are musicians whose reputations rest on fashion, and others whose names remain inseparable from an entire repertory because they seemed…

𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗗𝗜 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗢𝗪𝗡 𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗔𝗦 — 𝗪𝗛𝗜𝗖𝗛 𝗢𝗡𝗘𝗦 𝗗𝗜𝗗 𝗛𝗘 𝗩𝗔𝗟𝗨𝗘 𝗠𝗢𝗦𝗧? The safest answer is that 𝗩𝗲𝗿𝗱𝗶 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲, 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲, 𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲-𝗮𝗻𝗱-𝗳𝗼𝗿-𝗮𝗹𝗹 “𝗳𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮.” His preferences changed across his career, and…

𝐄𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐊𝐥𝐞𝐢𝐛𝐞𝐫: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐀𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐓𝐲𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐲 There are conductors whose greatness lies in sheer musical command, and there are conductors whose greatness also acquires a moral dimension because of the…

𝐉𝐎𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐒 𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐇𝐌𝐒: 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐔𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 Johannes Brahms is often remembered as the great embodiment of musical seriousness, structural mastery, emotional reserve, and artistic integrity: the bearded classicist of…

𝐋𝐔𝐃𝐖𝐈𝐆 𝐕𝐀𝐍 𝐁𝐄𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐍: 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐔𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 Ludwig van Beethoven is often presented as the supreme heroic figure in music: defiant, original, morally elevated, and artistically invincible. Yet his…

𝐖𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐖𝐚𝐠𝐧𝐞𝐫: 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫, 𝐒𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐑𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 Wagner’s female characters are among the most compelling in nineteenth-century opera. Isolde, Brünnhilde, Elisabeth, Senta, Kundry and others possess immense dramatic force, psychological intensity, and symbolic importance.…

# **Catholicism and Freemasonry** **(Book: Mozart, His Character, His Work** by Alfred Einstein) The attitude of educated and high-ranking Catholics in the eighteenth century toward religion was aptly captured—long before Mozart—by “Madame,” **Élisabeth Charlotte**,…

# **Martha Argerich: Anecdotes, Curiosities, and the Myth of a Reluctant Genius** **I. Psychological World: Fear, Freedom, and Emotional Extremes** Martha Argerich’s inner life has always been inseparable from her music. Unlike many virtuosos…

# **Celibidache and His Orchestras: A Love Story of Genius, Conflict, and Absolute Sound ** Sergiu Celibidache’s relationships with his orchestras were among the **most intense, psychologically complex, and historically consequential** in the entire…

# **Handel - Alcina - Opera - 1735 - Les Musiciens du Louvre - Marc Minkowski ** [[https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-alcina-du-145741714?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link](https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-alcina-du-145741714?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link)](https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-alcina-du-145741714?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link) **Magdalena Kožená**, mezzo-soprano **Erin Morley**, soprano **Alois Mühlbacher**, countertenor **Anna Bonitatibus**, mezzo-soprano **Elizabeth DeShong**, mezzo-soprano **Valerio…

# **KATHLEEN BATTLE vs. JESSYE NORMAN** Two Voices, Two Worlds, One of the Greatest Rivalries in Modern Opera** In the history of opera, rivalries often emerge from vocal similarity, competition for the same roles,…

# **A PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE OF BRAHMS DURING HIS LAST YEAR** *(May 1896 – April 1897)* The final year of Johannes Brahms’s life is one of the most revealing psychological periods in the history of…