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# **Different Worlds, Equal Genius: *****Alcina***** and *****Figaro*****, *****Giulio Cesare***** and *****Don Giovanni***** as Twin Summits of Operatic Art** Despite belonging to different traditions, musical languages, and historical moments, **Handel’s *****Alcina***** and Mozart’s *****Le…

## Tchaikovsky on Mozart Opinions, Quotes, and Primary Sources 1. Mozart as the Supreme Musical Ideal For Tchaikovsky, Mozart was not merely a great composer of the past but **the supreme embodiment of musical…

# **Karl Böhm: Anecdotes and Curiosities from a Life of Musical Authority** Karl Böhm was never a conductor who relied on charm, theatrical gestures, or emotional display. His authority was quiet, intellectual, and often…

# **Handel - Arminio - Laurence Cummings ** [https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-arminio-145843802?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link](https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-arminio-145843802?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link) *Arminio* was composed in **1736–1737**, during one of the most difficult and unstable phases of **Handel’s London career**. Italian opera was rapidly losing its dominant…

# **Handel - Joshua - Oratorio - 1747 - Laurence Cummings ** [[https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-joshua-145842781?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link](https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-joshua-145842781?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link)](https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-joshua-145842781?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link) *Joshua* was composed by **George Frideric Handel** in **July 1747**, immediately after the triumph of *Judas Maccabaeus*. The two oratorios are…

# **Handel - Judas Maccabaeus - Oratorio - 1747 - Laurence Cummings ** [[[https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-judas-145842455?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link](https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-judas-145842455?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link)](https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-judas-145842455?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link)](https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-judas-145842455?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link) *Judas Maccabaeus* was composed in **1746–1747** and occupies a central place among Handel’s great English oratorios. Unlike his biblical works…

# **Where Haydn Was More Genius Than Mozart — A Clear, Honest Comparison** The question is delicate, but entirely legitimate. Mozart is often — and rightly — regarded as the absolute musical genius. Yet…

## **Objective Statistical Data Ranking the Most Popular Composers in History** There is no single, absolute ranking of “the most popular composers in history,” but there **are reliable, measurable indicators** that allow us to…

# **Bach, Mozart, and the Idea of Musical Genius: A Comparative Study** The word *genius* in music often conjures two names before all others: **Johann Sebastian Bach** and **Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart**. They represent two…

# **Bach and Mozart** Placing Bach and Mozart side by side is like placing two continents next to each other: they touch at the edges, share a landscape of harmony and counterpoint, yet each…

# **Why Bach Is Considered One of the Most Important Composers in the History of Music ** Speaking about Bach often means speaking about a point of origin. Not because he was the first,…

# **Mozart vs. Gluck — Work-by-Work Comparison** What follows is not a “who is better” exercise, but a close look at how two radically different operatic minds approach **myth, morality, character, time, and musical…

# **WHY MOZART WAS THE ABSOLUTE GENIUS IN THE HISTORY OF MUSIC** ## **1. An unrepeatable combination of natural gifts: intuition, ear, and total memory** Many composers were prodigies, but **none combined such a…

# **The Relationship Between Handel and Göttingen: ** **How a German University Town Became the Heart of the Modern Handel Revival** ## **1. A Paradox at the Beginning: Handel Never Set Foot in Göttingen**…

# **Laurence Cummings: A Narrative Portrait of a Modern Handelian Maestro** ## **I. A Conductor Formed by the Keyboard: Roots of a Baroque Interpreter** Laurence Cummings belongs to that rare category of early-music conductors…

# **Handel - Coronation Anthems - Laurence Cummings ** [https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-anthems-145466434?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link](https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-anthems-145466434?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link) ## **I. London, 1727: A New King and a New Musical Era** When **George I** died on **June 11, 1727**, the Hanoverian dynasty faced…

# **Handel - The Choice of Hercules - Dettingen Te Deum - Festpiel Orchester Göttingen - Laurence Cummings ** [[https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-choice-of-145464825?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link](https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-choice-of-145464825?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link)](https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-choice-of-145464825?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link) # ***The Choice of Hercules*****: A Complete Narrative Portrait** ## **I. Handel in 1750:…

# **Brahms - Violin Sonatas - George Kulenkapff, violin - Georg Solti, piano - Studio Recording in 1948** [[[https://www.patreon.com/posts/brahms-violin-145333666?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link](https://www.patreon.com/posts/brahms-violin-145333666?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link)](https://www.patreon.com/posts/brahms-violin-145333666?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link)](https://www.patreon.com/posts/brahms-violin-145333666?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link)** ** ***Three masterpieces of lyricism, intimacy, and mature emotional depth*** Brahms wrote only **three** violin…

# **Most Important Articles Published in Opera Magazine (1950–1981) - PDF MAGAZINES FROM 1970 TO 1981 ** **In this link you have access to all the issues published between 1970 and 1981 (pdf. format)…

# **Opera Magazine (1950–1981): A Historical Overview of One of the World’s Most Influential Opera Publications ** **In this link you have access to all the issues published between 1950 and 1969 (pdf. format)…

# **The Psychological Profile of Schubert Lovers — And a Narrative Guide to His Music for Every Emotional State** People who feel a deep connection to Schubert often possess one of the most distinctive…

# **Handel - Tamerlano - Opera - 1724 - George Petrou ** [https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-tamerlano-145226778?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link](https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-tamerlano-145226778?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link) *A psychological opera seria of cruelty, love, and imperial fragility* When **Handel** composed ***Tamerlano*** in **1724**, he was at the height…

# **Francesco Feo - San Francesco di Sales - Oratorio - Bologna 1734 - Fabio Biondi ** [https://www.patreon.com/posts/francesco-feo-di-145171436?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link](https://www.patreon.com/posts/francesco-feo-di-145171436?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link) *A luminous masterpiece of Neapolitan sacred drama* Francesco Feo (1691–1761), one of the central composers of…

# **DEMYSTIFYING SERGIU CELIBIDACHE** # **A great conductor… profoundly overrated** Sergiu Celibidache has become, over the decades, a near-mythical figure: the mystical maestro, the Zen philosopher of the orchestra, the sworn enemy of recordings,…