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𝗥𝗔𝗙𝗔𝗘𝗟 𝗞𝗨𝗕𝗘𝗟𝗜́𝗞 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Rafael Kubelík was one of the twentieth century’s most humane, spontaneous and musically generous conductors. His interpretations rarely sought the immaculate finish of Karajan, the iron discipline…

𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗛 𝗞𝗟𝗘𝗜𝗕𝗘𝗥 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Erich Kleiber was one of the great representatives of the Central European conducting tradition, yet he never belonged comfortably to any single school. His performances combined rhythmic…

𝗚𝗘𝗢𝗥𝗚𝗘 𝗦𝗭𝗘𝗟𝗟 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 George Szell is often remembered as the supreme orchestral disciplinarian: a conductor of relentless rehearsal, exact ensemble, perfectly balanced textures and uncompromising technical standards. Under his direction,…

𝗕𝗥𝗨𝗡𝗢 𝗪𝗔𝗟𝗧𝗘𝗥 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Bruno Walter occupies a unique position in the history of conducting. He belonged directly to the final world of late Romanticism, worked closely with Gustav Mahler and…

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…

𝗦𝗔𝗜𝗡𝗧-𝗦𝗔𝗘𝗡𝗦’𝗦 𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗣𝗜𝗘𝗖𝗘𝗦 — 𝗙𝗔𝗥 𝗕𝗘𝗬𝗢𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗪𝗔𝗡 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 “𝗢𝗥𝗚𝗔𝗡” 𝗦𝗬𝗠𝗣𝗛𝗢𝗡𝗬 Camille Saint-Saëns has often suffered from the very qualities that made him extraordinary. His technique seemed effortless, his craftsmanship was impeccable,…

𝗦𝗜𝗕𝗘𝗟𝗜𝗨𝗦’𝗦 𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗣𝗜𝗘𝗖𝗘𝗦 — 𝗙𝗥𝗢𝗠 𝗙𝗜𝗡𝗡𝗜𝗦𝗛 𝗠𝗬𝗧𝗛 𝗧𝗢 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗥𝗘𝗜𝗡𝗩𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗬𝗠𝗣𝗛𝗢𝗡𝗬 Jean Sibelius is often described as the musical voice of Finland: a composer of forests, lakes, swans, northern darkness and…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗦𝗧, 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗗𝗔𝗨𝗚𝗛𝗧𝗘𝗥, 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗧𝗬𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗧 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗢𝗥𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗔: 𝗩𝗟𝗔𝗗𝗜𝗠𝗜𝗥 𝗛𝗢𝗥𝗢𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗭, 𝗪𝗔𝗡𝗗𝗔 𝗧𝗢𝗦𝗖𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗜, 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗢 𝗧𝗢𝗦𝗖𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗜 The relationship between 𝗩𝗹𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗿 𝗛𝗼𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗶𝘁𝘇 and 𝗪𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮 𝗧𝗼𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗶 was one of the most fascinating, contradictory, and emotionally…

𝗠𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗧: 𝗔 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗬𝗡𝗔𝗥𝗗 𝗦𝗢𝗟𝗢𝗠𝗢𝗡 𝗦𝗔𝗟𝗭𝗕𝗨𝗥𝗚 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟭𝟮 𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗨𝗕𝗟𝗘 𝗜𝗡 𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗗𝗜𝗦𝗘 ════════════════════════════ 𝗜. 𝗪𝗛𝗘𝗡 𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗗𝗜𝗦𝗘 𝗜𝗦 𝗡𝗢 𝗟𝗢𝗡𝗚𝗘𝗥 𝗦𝗔𝗙𝗘 After the death of 𝗔𝗻𝗻𝗮 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗮 𝗠𝗼𝘇𝗮𝗿𝘁 in Paris, the biography enters a new region.…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗘𝗗 𝗪𝗔𝗚𝗡𝗘𝗥 𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗔𝗦 𝗔 𝗝𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗥𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘇𝗶 𝘁𝗼 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗳𝗮𝗹 To choose a recording of a Wagner opera is never a neutral decision. It is not only a question of sound quality, famous…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧 𝗪𝗔𝗚𝗡𝗘𝗥 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗗𝗨𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗦 𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗠𝘆𝘁𝗵, 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗢𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮 𝗣𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗔𝗯𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗲 To conduct the operas of 𝗥𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗪𝗮𝗴𝗻𝗲𝗿 is not simply to conduct opera. It is to enter one…

𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗖 𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗞𝗢𝗪𝗦𝗞𝗜 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗙𝗜𝗘𝗥𝗬 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗛 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗗𝗨𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥 𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗡𝗘𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗔𝗥𝗢𝗤𝗨𝗘 𝗢𝗥𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗔 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗢 𝗔 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗥𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗦𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗗 𝗙𝗥𝗢𝗠 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗔𝗦𝗦𝗢𝗢𝗡 𝗧𝗢 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗢𝗗𝗜𝗨𝗠: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘, 𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗘𝗘𝗥, 𝗖𝗨𝗥𝗜𝗢𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗘𝗦, 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗖 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗦𝗘𝗖𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗢𝗙 𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗖 𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗞𝗢𝗪𝗦𝗞𝗜 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗰…

𝗞𝗨𝗥𝗧 𝗦𝗔𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗚 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗗𝗨𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥 𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗦𝗨𝗥𝗩𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗥𝗘𝗘 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗟𝗗𝗦 Kurt Sanderling was not one of those conductors who built a career on glamour, theatrical poses, or the cult of personality. His greatness belonged to…

𝗛𝗔𝗬𝗗𝗡, 𝗕𝗬 𝗝. 𝗖𝗨𝗧𝗛𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗧 𝗛𝗔𝗗𝗗𝗘𝗡 - 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟴 𝗣𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗖𝗘 𝗡𝗜𝗖𝗢𝗟𝗔𝗨𝗦 “𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗚𝗡𝗜𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗘𝗡𝗧” 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖, 𝗣𝗢𝗪𝗘𝗥, 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗣𝗔𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗚𝗘 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗔𝗥𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗖𝗥𝗔𝗧 𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗚𝗘𝗗 𝗛𝗔𝗬𝗗𝗡’𝗦 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗟𝗗 When 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗣𝗮𝘂𝗹 𝗔𝗻𝘁𝗼𝗻 𝗘𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗵𝗮́𝘇𝘆 died in 𝟭𝟳𝟲𝟮, 𝗝𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗽𝗵 𝗛𝗮𝘆𝗱𝗻 had been…

𝗚𝗨𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗩𝗢 𝗗𝗨𝗗𝗔𝗠𝗘𝗟: 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗜𝗨𝗦, 𝗦𝗬𝗠𝗕𝗢𝗟, 𝗢𝗥 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗗𝗨𝗖𝗧 𝗢𝗙 𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗞𝗘𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚? Gustavo Dudamel is one of the few conductors of the 21st century whose name has crossed the narrow borders of the classical-music world. That fact alone…

𝗘𝗟𝗜𝗔𝗛𝗨 𝗜𝗡𝗕𝗔𝗟 — 𝗔 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗜𝗡 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗟𝗮𝘁𝗲-𝗥𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝗲 Eliahu Inbal belongs to that rare generation of conductors whose careers were shaped by the great European symphonic tradition,…

𝗠𝗢𝗟𝗜𝗘̀𝗥𝗘 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗥𝗘𝗟𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗣 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛 𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗟 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖 𝗠𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗲̀𝗿𝗲 — 𝟭𝟲𝟮𝟮–𝟭𝟲𝟳𝟯 𝗠𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗲̀𝗿𝗲 occupies a special place among French writers connected with classical music because his relationship with music was not only indirect or posthumous. Unlike…

𝗧𝗜𝗥𝗦𝗢 𝗗𝗘 𝗠𝗢𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗔 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗥𝗘𝗟𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗣 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛 𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗟 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖 𝗧𝗶𝗿𝘀𝗼 𝗱𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗮 — 𝗰. 𝟭𝟱𝟳𝟵–𝟭𝟲𝟰𝟴 After 𝗠𝗶𝗴𝘂𝗲𝗹 𝗱𝗲 𝗖𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘀, 𝗧𝗶𝗿𝘀𝗼 𝗱𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗮 is probably the Spanish writer whose indirect influence on classical music was…

𝗢𝗦𝗖𝗔𝗥 𝗪𝗜𝗟𝗗𝗘 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛 𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗟 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖 𝗢𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗿 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗲, born in Dublin on 16 October 1854 and dead in Paris on 30 November 1900, was not a composer, nor was music the central…

𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗟𝗘𝗦 𝗗𝗜𝗖𝗞𝗘𝗡𝗦 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛 𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗟 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗗𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗻𝘀 was not a composer, nor was he primarily a musical thinker in the way that Goethe, Hoffmann, Tolstoy, or Thomas Mann could be said…

𝗚𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗴 - 𝗣𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗚𝘆𝗻𝘁 - 𝗜𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘆 𝗯𝘆 𝗛𝗲𝗻𝗿𝗶𝗸 𝗜𝗯𝘀𝗲𝗻 Soprano: 𝗜𝗹𝘀𝗲 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘄𝗲𝗴 - 𝗕𝗲𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗺 𝗖𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘁𝘆 - 𝗥𝗼𝘆𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗰 𝗢𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮 - 𝗦𝗶𝗿 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘀 𝗕𝗲𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗺 - Recorded in 𝟭𝟵𝟱𝟴–𝟱𝟵 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OH7_rF7J-Hg 𝗘𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗿𝗱…

𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗸𝗼𝗳𝗶𝗲𝘃 - 𝗧𝗼𝗰𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗶𝗻 𝗗 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗼𝗿, 𝗢𝗽. 𝟭𝟭 - 1912 - 𝗬𝘂𝗷𝗮 𝗪𝗮𝗻𝗴 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9UcVZRTb64 Perhaps it is 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗸𝗼𝗳𝗶𝗲𝘃’𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗼𝗽𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝗼 𝗽𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗼. Absolutely 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗮𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿. 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗶 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗸𝗼𝗳𝗶𝗲𝘃 composed the 𝗧𝗼𝗰𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗶𝗻 𝗗 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗼𝗿,…