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𝐌𝐎𝐙𝐀𝐑𝐓 — 𝟐𝟎 𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐓 𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐘𝐌𝐏𝐇𝐎𝐍𝐈𝐄𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐒. 𝟒𝟎 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝟒𝟏 Mozart’s final two symphonies invite radically different approaches. Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K. 550, thrives on tension, nervous energy and emotional…

𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 𝗕𝘆 𝗝𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗛𝘂𝗻𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗩𝗜 — 𝗠𝗶𝗿𝗿𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝟮𝟮 — 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 Among the witnesses who tried to understand 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁, 𝗥𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘁 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗻 occupies a privileged place. He…

𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 𝗕𝘆 𝗝𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗛𝘂𝗻𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗩𝗜 — 𝗠𝗶𝗿𝗿𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝟮𝟭 — 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗢𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗘𝘆𝗲𝘀 To understand 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁, it is not enough to study dates, compositions, concerts, pupils, cities,…

𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗢𝗭 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟮𝟬 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗥𝗘𝗤𝗨𝗜𝗘𝗠 Any ranking of the Grande Messe des morts, Op. 5 is inevitably open to debate. Some recordings stand out for their ceremonial grandeur, others for…

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…

𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗨𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗡 — 𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗞 𝗝𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 — 𝗢𝗫𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗗 𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗦 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟭𝟱 — 𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗡𝗜𝗖𝗛 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗙𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗥𝗢𝗢𝗠 The word 𝗘𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗵 has become almost inseparable from Robert Schumann’s name. It is more than…

𝗙𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗖 𝗙𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗦𝗔𝗬 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Ferenc Fricsay’s international career lasted scarcely fifteen years, yet he left one of the most concentrated and consistently distinguished discographies of the twentieth century. He died in…

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…

𝗠𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗧: 𝗔 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗬𝗡𝗔𝗥𝗗 𝗦𝗢𝗟𝗢𝗠𝗢𝗡 𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟯𝟭 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗙𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗝𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗡𝗘𝗬 ════════════════════════════ 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗥𝗘𝗤𝗨𝗜𝗘𝗠 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗟𝗘𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗗 After the extraordinary resurgence of 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿, Solomon turns to the chapter that every…

𝗪𝗜𝗟𝗛𝗘𝗟𝗠 𝗙𝗨𝗥𝗧𝗪𝗔̈𝗡𝗚𝗟𝗘𝗥 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Wilhelm Furtwängler remains one of the most powerful, individual and controversial conductors preserved on record. His interpretations were founded not upon literal regularity but upon organic growth,…

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,…

𝗙𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗭 𝗫𝗔𝗩𝗘𝗥 𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗛𝗧𝗘𝗥: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗡𝗛𝗘𝗜𝗠 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗕𝗥𝗜𝗗𝗚𝗘𝗗 𝗕𝗔𝗥𝗢𝗤𝗨𝗘 𝗦𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗟 𝗕𝗥𝗜𝗟𝗟𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗫𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗥𝗶𝗰𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗕𝗼𝗿𝗻: 𝟭 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟳𝟬𝟵, 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝗲𝘀̌𝗼𝘃, 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗮 𝗗𝗶𝗲𝗱: 𝟭𝟮 𝗦𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟳𝟴𝟵, 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘀𝗯𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗴, 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗫𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗥𝗶𝗰𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗿 was one of…

𝗝𝗢𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗡 𝗖𝗛𝗥𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗔𝗡 𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗛: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗢𝗡𝗗𝗢𝗡 𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗛 𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗗𝗢𝗢𝗥 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗠𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗧 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗕𝗼𝗿𝗻: 𝟱 𝗦𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟳𝟯𝟱, 𝗟𝗲𝗶𝗽𝘇𝗶𝗴, 𝗚𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗗𝗶𝗲𝗱: 𝟭 𝗝𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝟭𝟳𝟴𝟮, 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗻, 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 Among the sons of 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻 𝗦𝗲𝗯𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗵,…

𝗠𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗧: 𝗔 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗬𝗡𝗔𝗥𝗗 𝗦𝗢𝗟𝗢𝗠𝗢𝗡 𝗦𝗔𝗟𝗭𝗕𝗨𝗥𝗚 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟳 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗙𝗔𝗩𝗢𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗘 𝗦𝗢𝗡 ════════════════════════════ 𝗜. 𝗦𝗔𝗟𝗭𝗕𝗨𝗥𝗚 𝗔𝗙𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗜𝗧𝗔𝗟𝗬 After the dazzling Italian journeys, Mozart returned to Salzburg on 13 March 1773. He was no longer merely…

𝗞𝗟𝗔𝗨𝗦 𝗧𝗘𝗡𝗡𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗗𝗧 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗗𝗨𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥 𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗦𝗘𝗘𝗠𝗘𝗗 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗦𝗘𝗦𝗦𝗘𝗗 𝗕𝗬 𝗠𝗔𝗛𝗟𝗘𝗥 Klaus Tennstedt belongs to that rare category of conductors whose art cannot be explained only by technique, career posts, discography, or repertoire. He was…

𝗙𝗟𝗢𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗬 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗝𝗢𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗦 𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗛𝗠𝗦 𝗩𝗢𝗟𝗨𝗠𝗘 𝗜𝗜 — 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟭𝟬 𝗛𝗮𝗺𝗯𝘂𝗿𝗴 𝗛𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽, 𝗜𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗹, 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗤𝘂𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘁, 𝗠ü𝗵𝗹𝗳𝗲𝗹𝗱, 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘁 𝗤𝘂𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘁 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗼, 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗣𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗼 𝗣𝗶𝗲𝗰𝗲𝘀, 𝗕𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗵’𝘀 𝗗𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵, 𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗸-𝗦𝗼𝗻𝗴𝘀,…

𝗚𝗨̈𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗪𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗢𝗡 𝗕𝗥𝗨𝗖𝗞𝗡𝗘𝗥: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗧𝗘 𝗔𝗥𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗧𝗘𝗖𝗧 𝗢𝗙 𝗕𝗥𝗨𝗖𝗞𝗡𝗘𝗥’𝗦 𝗦𝗬𝗠𝗣𝗛𝗢𝗡𝗜𝗖 𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗗𝗥𝗔𝗟𝗦 Among the great Bruckner conductors of the twentieth century, 𝗚𝘂̈𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗪𝗮𝗻𝗱 occupies a place of exceptional authority. His Bruckner is not theatrical,…

𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗧 𝗩𝗢𝗡 𝗞𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗝𝗔𝗡 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗢𝗡 𝗕𝗥𝗨𝗖𝗞𝗡𝗘𝗥: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗗 𝗢𝗙 𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗧𝗘, 𝗟𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧, 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗦𝗣𝗜𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗨𝗔𝗟 𝗠𝗢𝗡𝗨𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗬 Among the great conductors of 𝗔𝗻𝘁𝗼𝗻 𝗕𝗿𝘂𝗰𝗸𝗻𝗲𝗿, 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘁 𝘃𝗼𝗻 𝗞𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗷𝗮𝗻 occupies a very special place. He was not the most…

𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗛 𝗞𝗟𝗘𝗜𝗕𝗘𝗥’𝗦 𝗕𝗘𝗘𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗡: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 “𝗘𝗥𝗢𝗜𝗖𝗔” 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗛 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗦𝗢𝗡 𝗡𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗗𝗨𝗖𝗧𝗘𝗗 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗼𝘅 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗞𝗹𝗲𝗶𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗟𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗰𝘆 One of the most fascinating paradoxes in the history of conducting is that 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗹𝗼𝘀 𝗞𝗹𝗲𝗶𝗯𝗲𝗿,…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 “𝗥𝗘𝗜𝗖𝗛 𝗢𝗥𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗔” 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝗣𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗘𝗿𝗮 𝗦𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹, 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗲, 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗿𝘆, 𝟭𝟵𝟯𝟯–𝟭𝟵𝟰𝟱 𝗔 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮 The years between 𝟭𝟵𝟯𝟯 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝟭𝟵𝟰𝟱 constitute the most…

𝗙𝗟𝗢𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗬 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗝𝗢𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗦 𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗛𝗠𝗦 𝗩𝗢𝗟𝗨𝗠𝗘 𝗜𝗜 — 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟰 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮, 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗲𝗯𝗲𝘀𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗿, 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗹𝘁𝗼 𝗥𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘀𝗼𝗱𝘆, 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝘂𝗺𝗽𝗵𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗱, 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘆, 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝗢𝗳 𝗝𝗮𝗸𝗼𝗯 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗵𝗺𝘀 𝟭𝟴𝟲𝟵–𝟭𝟴𝟳𝟮 Chapter 4…

# 𝗠𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗧 𝗜𝗡 𝗦𝗪𝗔𝗙𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗗’𝗦 𝗕𝗜𝗢𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗣𝗛𝗬 - 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟲 — 𝗔𝗻 𝗘𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗻 ## 𝗠𝗼𝘇𝗮𝗿𝘁, 𝗗𝗶𝗲 𝗭𝗮𝘂𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗹ö𝘁𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝘂𝗺𝗽𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 ## 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗠𝗼𝘇𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 By the spring of…