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𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻 𝗦𝗲𝗯𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗵 — 𝗖. 𝗙. 𝗔𝗯𝗱𝘆 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗺𝘀 𝗖. 𝗙. 𝗔𝗯𝗱𝘆 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗺𝘀’𝘀 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻 𝗦𝗲𝗯𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗵 is one of those early English-language biographies that belongs to the period when Bach was being increasingly transformed from…

𝗙𝗟𝗢𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗬 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗝𝗢𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗦 𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗛𝗠𝗦 𝗩𝗢𝗟𝗨𝗠𝗘 𝗜𝗜 — 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟴 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗼 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗼, 𝗠𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗻, 𝗡ä𝗻𝗶𝗲, 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘀, 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖 𝗠𝗮𝗷𝗼𝗿 𝗣𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗼 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗼, 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙 𝗠𝗮𝗷𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗤𝘂𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘁, 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘇𝗲𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗱, 𝗔𝗻𝗱…

𝗞𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗷𝗮𝗻 – 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗗𝗚 & 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗰𝗮 – 𝗕𝗼𝘅 𝗦𝗲𝘁 𝟳𝟬 𝗖𝗗𝘀 𝗖𝗗 𝟭–𝟯: 𝗚𝗲𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗕𝗶𝘇𝗲𝘁 (𝟭𝟴𝟯𝟴–𝟭𝟴𝟳𝟱) 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗻 Agnes Baltsa (Carmen), José Carreras (Don José), José van Dam (Escamillo), Katia Ricciarelli…

𝗝𝗢𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗡 𝗦𝗘𝗕𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗔𝗡 𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗛 𝗖. 𝗙. 𝗔𝗯𝗱𝘆 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗺𝘀 — 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗜𝗩 𝗖𝗼̈𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻: 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰, 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗦𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘄, 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗧𝗼 𝗟𝗲𝗶𝗽𝘇𝗶𝗴 𝗜. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗢𝗳 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗜𝗩 Chapter IV of C. F. Abdy Williams’s 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗵…

𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗶𝘂 𝗖𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗱𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘁 𝘃𝗼𝗻 𝗞𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗷𝗮𝗻: 𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹𝗿𝘆, 𝗺𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗵𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱 The relationship between 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗶𝘂 𝗖𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗱𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲 and 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘁 𝘃𝗼𝗻 𝗞𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗷𝗮𝗻 was not a conventional artistic rivalry based on public…

𝗙𝗟𝗢𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗬 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗝𝗢𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗦 𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗛𝗠𝗦 𝗩𝗢𝗟𝗨𝗠𝗘 𝗜𝗜 — 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟮 𝗕𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗻-𝗕𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗻, 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝗢𝗳 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗠𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿, 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗼 𝗤𝘂𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘁, 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗼𝗿𝗻 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗼, 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗼 𝗦𝗼𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗮, 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗶𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗢𝗳 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗚𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗠𝗘𝗧 𝗢𝗙 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗜𝗨𝗦: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗘𝗫𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗩𝗔𝗚𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘𝗦, 𝗪𝗜𝗧, 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗗𝗘𝗟𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧𝗙𝗨𝗟 𝗘𝗖𝗖𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗘𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗚𝗜𝗢𝗔𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗢 𝗥𝗢𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗡𝗜 Few great composers have left behind an image as irresistible, theatrical, and paradoxical as 𝗚𝗶𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗼 𝗥𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗶. He was at once a…

𝗙𝗟𝗢𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗬 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗝𝗢𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗦 𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗛𝗠𝗦 𝗩𝗢𝗟𝗨𝗠𝗘 𝗜 — 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟱 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗻’𝘀 “𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝗵𝘀,” 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗶𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗵𝗺𝘀’𝘀 𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗡𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝟭𝟴𝟱𝟯 Chapter 5 is the chapter in which…

𝗕𝗘𝗘𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗡 𝗔𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗢 𝗢𝗻 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰 — 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗹 For 𝗟𝘂𝗱𝘄𝗶𝗴 𝘃𝗮𝗻 𝗕𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗻, performance was never a mere display of dexterity. To play music was not simply to move the fingers…

𝗠𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗧: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗥𝗘𝗜𝗚𝗡 𝗢𝗙 𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘 — 𝗝𝗔𝗡 𝗦𝗪𝗔𝗙𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗗’𝗦 𝗩𝗜𝗦𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗢𝗙 𝗠𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗧 Jan Swafford’s 𝗠𝗼𝘇𝗮𝗿𝘁: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲 is one of the most ambitious recent attempts to rescue Mozart from the heavy mythological machinery…

𝐋𝐢𝐥𝐢 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐍𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐁𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐰𝐨 𝐒𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐓𝐰𝐨 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 The history of 𝐋𝐢𝐥𝐢 𝐁𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 and 𝐍𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐁𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 is one of the most moving and paradoxical stories in modern music. They were sisters,…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗙𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗜𝗟𝗟𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗦𝗘𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗛 𝗩𝗦. 𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗟 — 𝗔 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗩𝗘 𝗡𝗔𝗥𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗩𝗘 𝗔𝗡𝗔𝗟𝗬𝗦𝗜𝗦 𝗧𝘄𝗼 𝗴𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝟭𝟳𝟴𝟱, 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗵𝗶𝗰 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀, 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗱𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗜. 𝗧𝘄𝗼 𝗠𝗲𝗻 𝗕𝗼𝗿𝗻 𝗶𝗻…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗗𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗛 𝗢𝗙 𝗝𝗘𝗔𝗡-𝗕𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗘 𝗟𝗨𝗟𝗟𝗬 — 𝗔 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗟𝗘𝗧𝗘 𝗡𝗔𝗥𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗩𝗘 𝗔𝗡𝗔𝗟𝗬𝗦𝗜𝗦 𝗜𝗹𝗹𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀, 𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲, 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗲, 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲, 𝗿𝗼𝘆𝗮𝗹 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮 𝗜. 𝗔 𝗡𝗲𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗗𝗶𝗱…

𝗟𝗨𝗟𝗟𝗬’𝗦 𝗥𝗘𝗟𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗣 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛 𝗟𝗢𝗨𝗜𝗦 𝗫𝗜𝗩 𝗜𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗙𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗬𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗦 𝗔 𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲, 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿, 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗹, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗜. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗢𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝘂𝗻 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗙𝗮𝘃𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 In the last decade of…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗧 𝟰𝟴 𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗝𝗢𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗡 𝗦𝗘𝗕𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗔𝗡 𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗛 𝗔 𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲, 𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀, 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗵, 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗽𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝗵𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗜. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗖𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗦𝗬𝗖𝗛𝗢𝗟𝗢𝗚𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗟 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗙𝗜𝗟𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗝𝗢𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗡 𝗦𝗘𝗕𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗔𝗡 𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗛 𝗗𝗨𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗙𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗬𝗘𝗔𝗥 𝟭𝟳𝟰𝟵–𝟭𝟳𝟱𝟬: 𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀, 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗵, 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁, 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗱𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗜. 𝗔 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗢𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗤𝘂𝗶𝗲𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗽𝘀𝗲…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗗𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗛 𝗢𝗙 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗚𝗢𝗟𝗘𝗦𝗜 — 𝗔 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗟𝗘𝗧𝗘 𝗡𝗔𝗥𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗩𝗘 𝗔𝗡𝗔𝗟𝗬𝗦𝗜𝗦 𝗜𝗹𝗹𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀, 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀, 𝗯𝗶𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝘆, 𝗺𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗶𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗜. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗗𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗕𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗙𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗻 𝗚𝗶𝗼𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶 𝗕𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗼𝗹𝗲𝘀𝗶…

𝗡𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗮𝘀 𝗠𝗰𝗚𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗻 (𝗯. 𝟭𝟵𝟱𝟬): 𝗔 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗽𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗱, 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗹, 𝗛𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗝𝗼𝘆𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗥𝗲𝗯𝗶𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗼𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝗢𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗜. 𝗔 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗝𝗼𝘆, 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗛𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗜𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗡𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗮𝘀 𝗠𝗰𝗚𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗻, often affectionately known as…

𝗝𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗦𝗶𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘂𝘀 — 𝗔𝗻𝗲𝗰𝗱𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀, 𝗖𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗘𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 Jean Sibelius was one of those composers whose life seems divided between two almost opposite worlds: on one side, the public figure, the…

𝗕𝗜𝗥𝗚𝗜𝗧 𝗡𝗜𝗟𝗦𝗦𝗢𝗡: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗩𝗢𝗜𝗖𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗘𝗟 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗦𝗨𝗡𝗟𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧 𝗔 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗶𝗻 20 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 1. 𝗕𝗼𝗿𝗻 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘄𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝘀𝗼𝗶𝗹 Birgit Nilsson was born Märta Birgit Svensson on 17 May 1918 in Västra Karup, Sweden,…

𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗹 - 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟵: 𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗘 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗧 𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗔, 𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗘 𝗙𝗨𝗟𝗟 𝗢𝗙 𝗚𝗟𝗢𝗥𝗬 (𝟭𝟳𝟬𝟳–𝟭𝟳𝟬𝟴) When Handel arrived in 𝗥𝗼𝗺𝗲 in 1707, he entered one of the great artistic capitals of Europe—but under conditions that…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗧 𝟰𝟴 𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗟𝗨𝗗𝗪𝗜𝗚 𝗩𝗔𝗡 𝗕𝗘𝗘𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗡 𝗜. 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗘𝗡𝗨𝗟𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗘 𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗚 — 𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗖𝗛 𝟮𝟰, 𝟭𝟴𝟮𝟳 The light that entered Beethoven’s room on the morning of 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝟮𝟰, 𝟭𝟴𝟮𝟳, was not the light of…

𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗢𝗡𝗜𝗡 𝗗𝗩𝗢𝗥𝗔𝗞 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗣𝗜𝗚𝗘𝗢𝗡𝗦: 𝗔 𝗠𝗢𝗡𝗢𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗣𝗛𝗜𝗖 𝗘𝗦𝗦𝗔𝗬 For many listeners, Antonin Dvorak remains above all the composer of the “New World” Symphony, the Cello Concerto, the Slavonic Dances, and Rusalka. Yet one of…

𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗢𝗡𝗜𝗡 𝗗𝗩𝗢𝗥𝗔𝗞: 𝟭𝟬 𝗘𝗦𝗦𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗔𝗟 𝗔𝗡𝗘𝗖𝗗𝗢𝗧𝗘𝗦 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗖𝗨𝗥𝗜𝗢𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗘𝗦 Antonin Dvorak is often presented as a genial national composer, a master of melody, and the author of some of the most beloved orchestral music ever written.…