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𝗠𝗔𝗛𝗟𝗘𝗥 𝗝𝗢𝗦𝗘 𝗟𝗨𝗜𝗦 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗭 𝗗𝗘 𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗚𝗔 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝟭𝟵 𝟭𝟵𝟬𝟳: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗽𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗮, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗗𝗶𝗮𝗴𝗻𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘀, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗩𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗮, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗘𝘅𝗶𝗹𝗲 At the beginning…

𝗠𝗔𝗛𝗟𝗘𝗥 𝗝𝗢𝗦𝗘 𝗟𝗨𝗜𝗦 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗭 𝗗𝗘 𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗚𝗔 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝟭𝟴 𝗧𝘄𝗼 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘀, 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗥𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝘁 𝗔𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗶𝘂𝘀 When 𝗚𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘃 𝗠𝗮𝗵𝗹𝗲𝗿 married 𝗔𝗹𝗺𝗮 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗹𝗲𝗿 in 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝟭𝟵𝟬𝟮,…

𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗩 — 𝗔𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝟮𝟱 — 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘆𝗺𝗽𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗰 𝗣𝗼𝗲𝗺, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗮𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗦𝘆𝗺𝗽𝗵𝗼𝗻𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲 𝗦𝘆𝗺𝗽𝗵𝗼𝗻𝘆 The question of 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 𝗮𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿 cannot be answered only from the piano. The piano…

𝗠𝗔𝗛𝗟𝗘𝗥 𝗝𝗢𝗦𝗘 𝗟𝗨𝗜𝗦 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗭 𝗗𝗘 𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗚𝗔 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝟭𝟯 𝗛𝗮𝗺𝗯𝘂𝗿𝗴: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗙𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗛𝗮𝗱 𝗟𝗲𝗳𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗕𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱 — 𝟭𝟴𝟵𝟭 When 𝗚𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘃 𝗠𝗮𝗵𝗹𝗲𝗿 left Budapest for Hamburg in 𝟭𝟴𝟵𝟭, he was…

𝗠𝗔𝗛𝗟𝗘𝗥 𝗝𝗢𝗦𝗘 𝗟𝗨𝗜𝗦 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗭 𝗗𝗘 𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗚𝗔 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝟭𝟮 𝗕𝘂𝗱𝗮𝗽𝗲𝘀𝘁: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗕𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗔 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗴 𝗢𝘂𝘁𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱 — 𝟭𝟴𝟴𝟴 When 𝗚𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘃 𝗠𝗮𝗵𝗹𝗲𝗿 accepted the direction of the 𝗛𝘂𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗥𝗼𝘆𝗮𝗹 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮 𝗶𝗻 𝗕𝘂𝗱𝗮𝗽𝗲𝘀𝘁 in…

𝗠𝗔𝗛𝗟𝗘𝗥 𝗝𝗢𝗦𝗘 𝗟𝗨𝗜𝗦 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗭 𝗗𝗘 𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗚𝗔 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝟭𝟬 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗪𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗿 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗨𝗻𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗦𝗼𝗻𝗴 For the young 𝗚𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘃 𝗠𝗮𝗵𝗹𝗲𝗿, love rarely arrived as tranquillity. It came instead as 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻,…

𝗠𝗔𝗛𝗟𝗘𝗥 𝗝𝗢𝗦𝗘 𝗟𝗨𝗜𝗦 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗭 𝗗𝗘 𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗚𝗔 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝟵 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗞𝗮𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗺𝗲𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗕𝗮𝗱 𝗛𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝗢𝗹𝗺𝘂𝘁𝘇: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝘀𝗵 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 When 𝗚𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘃 𝗠𝗮𝗵𝗹𝗲𝗿 completed his student years in Vienna, his future profession…

𝗝𝗢𝗦𝗘𝗣𝗛 𝗞𝗘𝗜𝗟𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗧𝗛 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗱, 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗩𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗘𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗝𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗽𝗵 𝗞𝗲𝗶𝗹𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗵 was one of the most accomplished representatives of the Central European Kapellmeister tradition. His conducting was generally direct, structurally…

𝗪𝗛𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗗𝗥𝗔𝗟 𝗠𝗘𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗥𝗘: 𝗕𝗥𝗨𝗖𝗞𝗡𝗘𝗥’𝗦 𝗙𝗜𝗥𝗦𝗧 𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛 𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗗 𝗪𝗔𝗚𝗡𝗘𝗥 The first personal encounter between Anton Bruckner and Richard Wagner has often been compressed into a picturesque but imprecise formula: Bruckner met…

𝗕𝗘𝗬𝗢𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧 𝗠𝗘𝗟𝗢𝗗𝗜𝗘𝗦: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗘𝗥𝗦 𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗦𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗘𝗗 𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗛𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗢𝗙𝗙’𝗦 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗟 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗟𝗗 The music of 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗶 𝗥𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗼𝗳𝗳 is instantly recognizable: long-breathed melodies, darkly glowing harmonies, immense climaxes, tolling bells, dense piano textures and an almost…

𝗠𝗔𝗛𝗟𝗘𝗥 𝗝𝗢𝗦𝗘 𝗟𝗨𝗜𝗦 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗭 𝗗𝗘 𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗚𝗔 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝟳 𝗪𝗮𝗴𝗻𝗲𝗿’𝘀 𝗖𝘆𝗺𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗿𝗮𝘀𝗵 𝗕𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 When 𝗚𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘃 𝗠𝗮𝗵𝗹𝗲𝗿 arrived in Vienna, he entered not only a great musical capital but also a city divided…

𝗝𝗔𝗠𝗘𝗦 𝗟𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗡𝗘 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 James Levine left one of the largest and most varied recorded legacies of any American conductor. His discography encompasses Mozart, Verdi, Wagner, Puccini, Berlioz, Mahler, Brahms, Schumann,…

𝗝𝗢𝗦𝗘𝗙 𝗞𝗥𝗜𝗣𝗦 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Josef Krips represented a conducting tradition founded not upon personal display, exaggerated rhetoric or orchestral weight, but upon balance, clarity, natural phrasing and absolute fidelity to musical…

𝗝𝗔𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗔 𝗛𝗢𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗜𝗡 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Jascha Horenstein belonged to a generation of conductors for whom interpretation was founded upon structural understanding, stylistic responsibility and absolute concentration rather than theatrical personality. His performances…

𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗡 𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗡 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Hermann Scherchen was one of the most radical, intellectually adventurous and unpredictable conductors of the twentieth century. He cannot be classified simply as a specialist in modern…

𝗡𝗜𝗞𝗢𝗟𝗔𝗜 𝗥𝗜𝗠𝗦𝗞𝗬-𝗞𝗢𝗥𝗦𝗔𝗞𝗢𝗩’𝗦 𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗣𝗜𝗘𝗖𝗘𝗦 Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov is frequently described as a supreme orchestrator, as though colour were the principal—or even the only—reason for his enduring importance. The description is accurate but incomplete. His…

𝗞𝗨𝗥𝗧 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗨𝗥 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Kurt Masur was sometimes characterised as a sober, traditional conductor: dependable, serious, architecturally disciplined and resistant to interpretative eccentricity. Such descriptions are not entirely wrong, but they…

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…

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 𝗕𝗔𝗥𝗢𝗤𝗨𝗘 𝗞𝗘𝗬𝗕𝗢𝗔𝗥𝗗 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗣𝗜𝗘𝗖𝗘𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘 Selecting the greatest Baroque keyboard masterpieces requires a broader definition of “keyboard” than the modern piano repertoire usually implies. These works were written for harpsichord,…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗩𝗜𝗢𝗟𝗜𝗡 𝗦𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗔𝗦 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗖𝗬𝗖𝗟𝗘𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘 Selecting the greatest violin sonatas requires more than identifying the most famous or technically demanding pieces. The essential criterion is the quality of the…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗞𝗦 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗖𝗬𝗖𝗟𝗘𝗦 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗦𝗢𝗟𝗢 𝗣𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗢 𝗢𝗙 𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘 𝗔 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗦𝗘𝗗 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗘𝗫𝗣𝗔𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗗 𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 Selecting the fifteen greatest achievements in solo piano literature cannot be reduced to choosing fifteen isolated compositions.…