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𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗱𝗶: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗱𝗶 (1567–1643) was one of the most decisive figures in the history of Western music, standing at the threshold between the Renaissance and the Baroque.…

𝗛𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗦𝗰𝗵ü𝘁𝘇: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗚𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗮𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗛𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗦𝗰𝗵ü𝘁𝘇 (1585–1672) stands as the most important German composer before Bach and 𝗮 𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗶𝗴𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗼𝗾𝘂𝗲. He was…

𝗛𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗜𝗴𝗻𝗮𝘇 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗕𝗶𝗯𝗲𝗿: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗩𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗻 𝗩𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝘇𝗯𝘂𝗿𝗴 𝗛𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗜𝗴𝗻𝗮𝘇 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗕𝗶𝗯𝗲𝗿 (1644–1704) was one of the most imaginative and influential composers of the Baroque era, and 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁…

𝐃𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐝 𝐎𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐤𝐡: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐥 𝐎𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐕𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐧 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐍𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐝 There are violinists whose fame rests on brilliance, others on beauty of tone, and a very rare few whose…

𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻 𝗝𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗽𝗵 𝗙𝘂𝘅: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗧𝗮𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻 𝗝𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗽𝗵 𝗙𝘂𝘅 (c.1660–1741) was an Austrian Baroque composer, theorist, and one of the most influential teachers in music history. Born in…

𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀𝗰𝗼 𝗚𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗶: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗩𝗶𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗼𝘀𝗼 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗧𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗜𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗩𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝗿𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀𝗰𝗼 𝗚𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗶 (1687–1762) was an Italian Baroque composer, violin virtuoso, and influential music theorist, and he stands among the most important…

𝗧𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘀𝗼 𝗔𝗹𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗼𝗻𝗶: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗩𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗩𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗼𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝗧𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘀𝗼 𝗔𝗹𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗼𝗻𝗶 (1671–1751) was an Italian Baroque composer known for his refined instrumental music and for his 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗼. Born in 𝗩𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗲…

𝗚𝗶𝗼𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶 𝗚𝗮𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗹𝗶: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗼𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗼𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝗚𝗶𝗼𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶 𝗚𝗮𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗹𝗶 (c.1554–1612) was one of the most influential composers of the late Renaissance and early Baroque, and 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀…

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗼𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗺 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝘆 The passage from the Baroque world to the Classical one was not a sudden revolution that happened in a single year, nor…

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…

𝐀𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐁𝐨𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐧: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐭-𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐫 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐖𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐀𝐬 𝐈𝐟 𝐑𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐚 𝐖𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 There are composers whose lives seem wholly given over to music, and there are others whose greatness becomes even more astonishing because…

𝗪𝗜𝗟𝗛𝗘𝗟𝗠 𝗙𝗨𝗥𝗧𝗪Ä𝗡𝗚𝗟𝗘𝗥 — 𝟮𝟬 𝗢𝗙 𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗠𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝗖𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗗 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗠𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗟𝗜𝗔𝗕𝗟𝗬 𝗗𝗢𝗖𝗨𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗗 𝗤𝗨𝗢𝗧𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦 The list below is built mainly from documented translations of his own essays, colloquia, and Beethoven writings, as cited in a…

𝐀𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐑𝐮𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐢𝐧: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝐎𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐨 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭 𝐑𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞, 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐞, 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐦 There are musicians whose fame rests on one supreme gift, and then there are those rarer figures whose…

𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗸𝗼𝗳𝗶𝗲𝘃 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝗳𝗲: 𝗠𝗶𝗿𝗮 𝗠𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗸𝗼𝗳𝗶𝗲𝘃’𝘀 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 By the late 1930s, 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗶 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗸𝗼𝗳𝗶𝗲𝘃 was no longer the brilliant émigré modernist moving restlessly between Russia, Europe, and America.…

**𝗠𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗧 𝗜𝗡 𝗦𝗪𝗔𝗙𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗗’𝗦 𝗕𝗜𝗢𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗣𝗛𝗬 - 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟱 — 𝗚𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗳𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗭𝗻𝗮𝘁𝘀𝗻𝗼𝗰** **Mozart in Vienna: opera, gossip, love, independence, and the making of a new life** Mozart’s arrival in Vienna in **1781** marked the true…

**𝗠𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗧 𝗜𝗡 𝗦𝗪𝗔𝗙𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗗’𝗦 𝗕𝗜𝗢𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗣𝗛𝗬 - 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟰 — 𝗥𝗲𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻: 𝗠𝗼𝘇𝗮𝗿𝘁, 𝗩𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗮, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲** **𝗜. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗼𝗺** When Mozart arrived in **Vienna in 1781**, he had at last…

𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝗞𝗡𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗧𝗦𝗕𝗨𝗦𝗖𝗛 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗗𝗨𝗖𝗧𝗦 𝗕𝗥𝗨𝗖𝗞𝗡𝗘𝗥 𝗔 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗧𝗼𝗻𝘆 𝗗𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗮𝗻’𝘀 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 https://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2001/oct01/knappertsbusch.htm Tony Duggan presents this 6-CD set as a highly valuable historical document rather than a first-choice modern recommendation. Its importance lies above all…

𝗥𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘂𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗦𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘀𝗸𝘆 𝗔 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝘆𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗶𝗻𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗦𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘀𝗸𝘆’s connection with Richard Strauss was not a casual or distant one. It began in Vienna in the formative years…

𝗚𝗶𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗽𝗽𝗲 𝗩𝗲𝗿𝗱𝗶 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝟭𝟵𝟬𝟭 𝗜. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘆𝗺𝗯𝗼𝗹 When Giuseppe Verdi died in Milan on 27 January 1901, at the Grand Hotel et de Milan, Italy did not feel…

𝐋𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐋𝐮𝐝𝐰𝐢𝐠: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐌𝐚𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐊𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐆𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚 𝐀𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐥, 𝐒𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐞, 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐇𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 There are conductors whose names survive because of scandal, glamour, or sheer tyranny, and there are others whose greatness…

𝐊𝐚𝐫𝐥 𝐑𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐎𝐟 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐁𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 There are conductors whose fame rests on vast symphonic monuments, and there are others whose greatness is forged in…

**𝗠𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗧 𝗜𝗡 𝗦𝗪𝗔𝗙𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗗’𝗦 𝗕𝗜𝗢𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗣𝗛𝗬 - Chapter 13 — A Scoundrel, a Lousy Rogue** ## **I. Return to Salzburg (1779): Comfort Without Freedom** When Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart returned to Salzburg in **January 1779**, the outward…

𝗛𝗮𝗿𝘃𝗲𝘆 𝗦𝗮𝗰𝗵𝘀'𝘀 𝗯𝗶𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝘆, 𝗧𝗼𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗶: 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 Critics have lauded the work for its meticulous research and engaging narrative. In summary, Toscanini: Musician of Conscience is widely recognized as a definitive biography that offers…

𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐳 𝐑𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐫: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐫𝐨𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 There are conductors whose greatness lies in warmth, others in charisma, and a very rare few whose authority seems almost terrifying because it is…