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# **Pauline Viardot — A Life in 20 Chapters** **The Voice of Europe, The Muse of Composers, and One of the Most Influential Artists of the 19th Century** ## **Chapter 1 — A Childhood…

# **EUGEN D’ALBERT — A LIFE** ## **I. Origins, Childhood, and the Making of a Prodigy** Eugen Francis Charles d’Albert was born on **April 10, 1864**, in Glasgow, Scotland, into a family whose musical…

**Henry Purcell (1659–1695)** was England’s greatest Baroque composer and one of the most original musical voices of the Restoration period. Born in London and trained as a chorister of the Chapel Royal, he became…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗛𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥 𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗢𝗭 𝗔𝗦 𝗪𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗕𝗬 𝗛𝗜𝗠𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗛𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥 𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗢𝗭 𝗔𝗦 𝗪𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗕𝗬 𝗛𝗜𝗠𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗙 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝟭𝟴 𝗔 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗵𝗲𝘁 𝗔𝗯𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗱: 𝗚𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆, 𝗛𝘂𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗿𝘆, 𝗥𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗮, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗻 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗡𝗼 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗕𝗲…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗛𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥 𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗢𝗭 𝗔𝗦 𝗪𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗕𝗬 𝗛𝗜𝗠𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗙 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝟮𝟬 𝗘𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲 𝗢𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗿 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗪𝗮𝘀 𝗘𝗺𝗽𝘁𝘆 — 𝟭𝟴𝟰𝟴 When 𝗛𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗕𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗼𝘇 returned to France from…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗛𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥 𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗢𝗭 𝗔𝗦 𝗪𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗕𝗬 𝗛𝗜𝗠𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗙 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝟭𝟴 𝗔 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗵𝗲𝘁 𝗔𝗯𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗱: 𝗚𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆, 𝗛𝘂𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗿𝘆, 𝗥𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗮, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗻 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗡𝗼 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗕𝗲 𝗘𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 — 𝟭𝟴𝟰𝟮 For years, 𝗛𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗕𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗼𝘇 had struggled…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗛𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥 𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗢𝗭 𝗔𝗦 𝗪𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗕𝗬 𝗛𝗜𝗠𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗙 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝟭𝟯 𝗠𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀, 𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗜𝘁𝗮𝗹𝘆 𝗥𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰 — 𝟭𝟴𝟯𝟭–𝟭𝟴𝟯𝟮 After the frenzy of his flight toward Paris, the abandoned plan of…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗛𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥 𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗢𝗭 𝗔𝗦 𝗪𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗕𝗬 𝗛𝗜𝗠𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗙 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝟭𝟮 𝗥𝗼𝗺𝗲, 𝗕𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘆𝗮𝗹, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗱 𝗝𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗛𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗧𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗛𝗶𝗺 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗛𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 — 𝗟𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝟭𝟴𝟯𝟬–𝗘𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝟭𝟴𝟯𝟭 After five years of…

𝗪𝗔𝗚𝗡𝗘𝗥 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗢𝗭: 𝗔𝗗𝗠𝗜𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡, 𝗥𝗜𝗩𝗔𝗟𝗥𝗬 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗔𝗧𝗧𝗟𝗘 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗙𝗨𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖 The relationship between 𝗛𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗕𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗼𝘇 and 𝗥𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗪𝗮𝗴𝗻𝗲𝗿 was one of the most fascinating—and most frequently misunderstood—encounters in nineteenth-century music. They…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗬𝗠𝗣𝗛𝗢𝗡𝗬 𝗪𝗔𝗚𝗡𝗘𝗥 𝗖𝗛𝗢𝗦𝗘: 𝗕𝗥𝗨𝗖𝗞𝗡𝗘𝗥’𝗦 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗥𝗗, 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗔𝗬𝗥𝗘𝗨𝗧𝗛 𝗩𝗜𝗦𝗜𝗧, 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗧𝗛 𝗕𝗘𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 “𝗪𝗔𝗚𝗡𝗘𝗥 𝗦𝗬𝗠𝗣𝗛𝗢𝗡𝗬” 𝗕𝗿𝘂𝗰𝗸𝗻𝗲𝗿: 𝗦𝘆𝗺𝗽𝗵𝗼𝗻𝘆 𝗡𝗼. 𝟯 𝗶𝗻 𝗗 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗼𝗿, 𝗪𝗔𝗕 𝟭𝟬𝟯 — 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗩𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 (𝟭𝟴𝟳𝟯) — 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗥𝗼𝘇𝗵𝗱𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗸𝘆 — 𝗥𝗲𝗰.…

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,…

𝗦𝗜𝗥 𝗝𝗢𝗛𝗡 𝗕𝗔𝗥𝗕𝗜𝗥𝗢𝗟𝗟𝗜 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Sir John Barbirolli was one of the most affectionate, instinctive and profoundly humane conductors of the twentieth century. He did not seek orchestral perfection as an…

𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗢 𝗧𝗢𝗦𝗖𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗜 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Arturo Toscanini was one of the decisive figures in the creation of modern orchestral performance. His reputation was built upon fidelity to the written score, rhythmic discipline,…

𝗟𝗘𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗥𝗗 𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗡𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗜𝗡 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Leonard Bernstein left one of the most extensive, varied and immediately recognisable recorded legacies of the twentieth century. He was not only a conductor but also a…

𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗨𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗡 — 𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗞 𝗝𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 — 𝗢𝗫𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗗 𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗦 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟯 — 𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗨𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗡 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗘 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗢𝗢𝗞 𝗔𝗦 𝗔 𝗦𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗗 𝗜𝗡𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧 To understand Robert Schumann, one must begin with a simple…

𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗨𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗡 — 𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗞 𝗝𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 — 𝗢𝗫𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗗 𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗦 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟭 — 𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗟𝗗𝗛𝗢𝗢𝗗 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗧𝗛 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗚𝗘 𝗕𝗢𝗬 𝗢𝗙 𝗭𝗪𝗜𝗖𝗞𝗔𝗨 Robert Schumann’s childhood begins not with the image of a passive…

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,…

𝗛𝗔𝗬𝗗𝗡, 𝗕𝗬 𝗝. 𝗖𝗨𝗧𝗛𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗧 𝗛𝗔𝗗𝗗𝗘𝗡 - 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟭𝟰 𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗨𝗠𝗣𝗛 𝗜𝗡 𝗘𝗡𝗚𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗙𝗜𝗥𝗦𝗧 𝗟𝗢𝗡𝗗𝗢𝗡 𝗝𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗡𝗘𝗬 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗘𝗥 𝗔𝗥𝗥𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗦 𝗜𝗡 𝗔 𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗟𝗗 When 𝗝𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗽𝗵 𝗛𝗮𝘆𝗱𝗻 reached England at the beginning of 𝟭𝟳𝟵𝟭, he entered…

𝗛𝗔𝗬𝗗𝗡, 𝗕𝗬 𝗝. 𝗖𝗨𝗧𝗛𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗧 𝗛𝗔𝗗𝗗𝗘𝗡 - 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟭𝟮 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗚𝗥𝗢𝗪𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗙𝗔𝗠𝗘 𝗙𝗥𝗢𝗠 𝗣𝗥𝗜𝗩𝗔𝗧𝗘 𝗦𝗘𝗥𝗩𝗜𝗖𝗘 𝗧𝗢 𝗘𝗨𝗥𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗔𝗡 𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗢𝗪𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗗𝗢𝗫 𝗢𝗙 𝗔 𝗙𝗔𝗠𝗢𝗨𝗦 𝗠𝗔𝗡 𝗜𝗡 𝗔 𝗥𝗘𝗠𝗢𝗧𝗘 𝗣𝗔𝗟𝗔𝗖𝗘 One of the most remarkable paradoxes of…

𝗔𝗟𝗧𝗢 𝗗𝗜𝗚𝗜𝗧𝗔𝗟 𝗥𝗘𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗗 𝟯 𝗔𝗟𝗖𝟭𝟯𝟬𝟲 — Nielsen - Overtures & Suites - Tamás Vetö 𝗔𝗟𝗖𝟭𝟯𝟬𝟳 — Schumann - Piano Quintet Op. 44, Quartet Op. 47 - Schubert Ensemble 𝗔𝗟𝗖𝟭𝟯𝟬𝟴 — Obrecht - Missa Sub…

𝗔𝗟𝗧𝗢 𝗗𝗜𝗚𝗜𝗧𝗔𝗟 𝗥𝗘𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗗 𝟭 𝗔𝗟𝗖𝟭𝟬𝟬𝟭 — Czech Chamber Philharmonic, Vojtech Spurny - Baroque Bohemia & Beyond I 𝗔𝗟𝗖𝟭𝟬𝟬𝟮 — Czech Chamber Philharmonic, Vojtech Spurny - Baroque Bohemia & Beyond II 𝗔𝗟𝗖𝟭𝟬𝟬𝟯 — Czech Chamber…

𝗠𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗧: 𝗔 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗬𝗡𝗔𝗥𝗗 𝗦𝗢𝗟𝗢𝗠𝗢𝗡 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟯 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗝𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗡𝗘𝗬 ════════════════════════════ 𝗜. 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗗𝗘𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗘 𝗙𝗥𝗢𝗠 𝗦𝗔𝗟𝗭𝗕𝗨𝗥𝗚 On 9 June 1763, the Mozart family left Salzburg for what would become one of the most extraordinary…

𝗘𝗗𝗚𝗔𝗥 𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗔𝗡 𝗣𝗢𝗘 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛 𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗟 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖 𝗘𝗱𝗴𝗮𝗿 𝗔𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗻 𝗣𝗼𝗲, born in Boston on 19 January 1809 and dead in Baltimore on 7 October 1849, was not a musician in the professional…

𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗟𝗘𝗦 𝗗𝗜𝗖𝗞𝗘𝗡𝗦 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛 𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗟 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗗𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗻𝘀 was not a composer, nor was he primarily a musical thinker in the way that Goethe, Hoffmann, Tolstoy, or Thomas Mann could be said…