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𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗮 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗻 — 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗢𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 The chronology below includes Clara Schumann’s published works, surviving unpublished compositions, cadenzas, unfinished works, and documented lost works. Dates sometimes differ among catalogues; uncertain dates…

𝗙𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗭 𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗭𝗧’𝗦 𝗙𝗜𝗙𝗧𝗘𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗣𝗜𝗘𝗖𝗘𝗦 Franz Liszt’s reputation has often been distorted by two opposing myths. To some listeners, he remains primarily the supreme nineteenth-century virtuoso: the dazzling showman who transformed the piano into…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗛𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥 𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗢𝗭 𝗔𝗦 𝗪𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗕𝗬 𝗛𝗜𝗠𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗙 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝟯 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗶𝘂𝘀 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗹𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗼𝗹𝗲𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗿𝗮𝘄𝗲𝗿 — 𝗖𝗶𝗿𝗰𝗮 𝟭𝟴𝟭𝟱–𝟭𝟴𝟭𝟲 In the memory of 𝗛𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗕𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗼𝘇, love and music seemed…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗛𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥 𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗢𝗭 𝗔𝗦 𝗪𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗕𝗬 𝗛𝗜𝗠𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗙 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝟮 𝗘𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗦𝗹𝗶𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗡𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗗𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 Long before music had entirely claimed him,…

𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗨𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗡 — 𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗞 𝗝𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 — 𝗢𝗫𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗗 𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗦 𝗘𝗣𝗜𝗟𝗢𝗚𝗨𝗘 — “𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗢𝗘𝗧 𝗦𝗣𝗘𝗔𝗞𝗦”: 𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗨𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗡 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗟𝗗𝗛𝗢𝗢𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗟𝗗 𝗔𝗦 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗧 𝗦𝗘𝗖𝗥𝗘𝗧 𝗢𝗙 𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗨𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗡 At the end of Robert Schumann’s…

𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗨𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗡 — 𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗞 𝗝𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 — 𝗢𝗫𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗗 𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗦 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟭𝟰 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦, 𝟭𝟴𝟰𝟱–𝟱𝟰 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗔𝗧𝗘 𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗨𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗡 — 𝗡𝗢𝗧 𝗔 𝗥𝗨𝗜𝗡, 𝗕𝗨𝗧 𝗔 𝗗𝗜𝗙𝗙𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗟𝗗 The music Robert Schumann composed…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗠𝗕𝗘𝗥-𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘 Any attempt to identify the fifteen greatest chamber-music recordings must begin by acknowledging that “greatest” cannot mean merely the most technically perfect. A genuinely historic chamber…

𝗘𝗨𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗘 𝗢𝗥𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗗𝗬 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Eugene Ormandy remains inseparable from the Philadelphia Orchestra and the famously sumptuous sonority that became known throughout the world as the “Philadelphia Sound.” During his extraordinary tenure—first…

𝗦𝗜𝗥 𝗖𝗢𝗟𝗜𝗡 𝗗𝗔𝗩𝗜𝗦 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Sir Colin Davis was one of the most cultivated, humane and intellectually independent conductors of the second half of the twentieth century. He never cultivated the…

𝗪𝗢𝗟𝗙𝗚𝗔𝗡𝗚 𝗦𝗔𝗪𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗖𝗛 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Wolfgang Sawallisch represented one of the last great manifestations of the traditional German Kapellmeister: a conductor whose authority was founded not upon personal exhibitionism, but upon complete…

𝗥𝗨𝗗𝗢𝗟𝗙 𝗕𝗨𝗖𝗛𝗕𝗜𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗥 — 𝗔 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗔𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗢 𝗔𝗻𝗲𝗰𝗱𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀, 𝗖𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 — 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗔𝗿𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗱 The life of 𝗥𝘂𝗱𝗼𝗹𝗳 𝗕𝘂𝗰𝗵𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 has been shaped by an unusual combination of precocious talent, Viennese musical tradition,…

𝗘𝗨𝗚𝗘𝗡 𝗝𝗢𝗖𝗛𝗨𝗠 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Eugen Jochum is remembered above all as one of the supreme Bruckner conductors of the twentieth century, but that description captures only part of his achievement. His…

𝗙𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗭 𝗥𝗘𝗜𝗡𝗘𝗥 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Fritz Reiner was one of the supreme orchestral disciplinarians of the twentieth century. His conducting combined extraordinary precision, rhythmic tension, transparent textures and an almost unequalled ability…

# 𝗡𝗜𝗞𝗢𝗟𝗔𝗨𝗦 𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗡𝗢𝗡𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗧 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗧 𝗗𝗜𝗔𝗟𝗢𝗚𝗨𝗘𝗦 ## 𝗖𝗢𝗟𝗟𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗘𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗚𝗛𝗧𝗦 𝗢𝗡 𝗔 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗘𝗥 𝗘𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗮 𝗙ü𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘂𝗲𝗿 **𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝘇𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗗𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘂𝗲𝘀** is not a conventional biography of **𝗪𝗼𝗹𝗳𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲𝘂𝘀 𝗠𝗼𝘇𝗮𝗿𝘁**, nor is it a…

# 𝗥𝗢𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗧 𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗨𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗡 𝗜𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖 𝗢𝗙 𝗝𝗢𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗦 𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗛𝗠𝗦 — 𝗙𝗥𝗢𝗠 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗧𝗛𝗙𝗨𝗟 𝗗𝗜𝗦𝗖𝗜𝗣𝗟𝗘 𝗧𝗢 𝗖𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗩𝗘 𝗛𝗘𝗜𝗥 The influence of **𝗥𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘁 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗻** on **𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗵𝗺𝘀** was profound, but it cannot be reduced to direct imitation.…

𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗡𝗔𝗥𝗗 𝗛𝗔𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗞 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Bernard Haitink’s greatness was rarely proclaimed through theatrical gestures, violent tempo manipulation or the deliberate imposition of a conductor’s personality upon the score. His authority emerged gradually,…

𝗭𝗨𝗕𝗜𝗡 𝗠𝗘𝗛𝗧𝗔 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Zubin Mehta’s extraordinary career connects several apparently different musical worlds: the Central European tradition he absorbed in Vienna, the orchestral brilliance of Los Angeles, the distinctive identity…

𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗗𝗢 𝗠𝗨𝗧𝗜 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Riccardo Muti is one of the defining conductors of the modern Italian tradition: a musician of rhythmic authority, textual discipline, theatrical instinct and uncompromising respect for the…

𝗦𝗘𝗜𝗝𝗜 𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗪𝗔 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Seiji Ozawa was one of the most internationally influential conductors of the post-war era. His art united rhythmic precision, luminous orchestral colour, exceptional transparency and an instinctive…

𝗟𝗢𝗥𝗜𝗡 𝗠𝗔𝗔𝗭𝗘𝗟 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Lorin Maazel was one of the most technically formidable conductors of the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. He possessed an exceptional ear, an almost photographic memory, absolute…

𝗙𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗭 𝗩𝗢𝗡 𝗪𝗔𝗟𝗦𝗘𝗚𝗚 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗚𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗧, 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗘𝗖𝗥𝗘𝗧 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗠𝗜𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗢𝗡, 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗧𝗛 𝗕𝗘𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗗 𝗠𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗧’𝗦 𝗥𝗘𝗤𝗨𝗜𝗘𝗠 Few minor figures in musical history have exercised such a decisive influence over the fate of a masterpiece…

𝗠𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗧: 𝗔 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗬𝗡𝗔𝗥𝗗 𝗦𝗢𝗟𝗢𝗠𝗢𝗡 𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟯𝟬 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗧 𝗬𝗘𝗔𝗥 ════════════════════════════ 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗬𝗘𝗔𝗥 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗙𝗨𝗦𝗘𝗦 𝗧𝗢 𝗕𝗘 𝗢𝗡𝗟𝗬 𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗚𝗜𝗖 After the darkness of 𝗔 “𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗦𝗮𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀”, one might expect Mozart’s final year to…

𝗦𝗘𝗥𝗚𝗜𝗨 𝗖𝗘𝗟𝗜𝗕𝗜𝗗𝗔𝗖𝗛𝗘 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Sergiu Celibidache occupies a unique and paradoxical position in the history of recorded performance. Few major conductors distrusted recording technology more profoundly, yet few left behind such…

𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗟𝗘𝗦 𝗠𝗨𝗡𝗖𝗛 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Charles Munch was one of the most spontaneous, incandescent and unmistakably French conductors of the twentieth century. His finest performances combine rhythmic freedom, nervous energy, luminous orchestral…