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𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐮𝐬 𝐊𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐧: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝐎𝐟 𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐡𝐦𝐬 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐕𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 There are pianists whose greatness rests on elegance, others on poetry, others on sheer force, and a very rare few whose art…

𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐦 𝐊𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐟𝐟: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐞𝐭 𝐎𝐟 𝐁𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐮𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐭 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐋𝐲𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐦 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐝 There are pianists whose greatness is built on force, brilliance, or spectacle, and there are others whose authority comes from something…

𝗝ó𝘇𝗲𝗳 𝗘𝗹𝘀𝗻𝗲𝗿 — 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿, 𝗣𝗲𝗱𝗮𝗴𝗼𝗴𝘂𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 Józef Elsner (1769–1854) stands as one of the quiet architects of Polish musical life during the early nineteenth century—a figure whose influence…

𝐄𝐧𝐫𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐬: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐞𝐭 𝐎𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐨 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐄𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐈𝐧 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐝𝐲 There are composers whose music conquers by force, and others whose power lies in 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐦, 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐲,…

𝗙𝗜𝗥𝗘, 𝗙𝗔𝗜𝗧𝗛, 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗗𝗥𝗔𝗠𝗔: 𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗛’𝗦 𝗦𝗧. 𝗝𝗢𝗛𝗡 𝗣𝗔𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗥𝗜𝗦𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗦𝗔𝗖𝗥𝗘𝗗 𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗚𝗘𝗗𝗬 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗵 - 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗣𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 - 𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗼𝗻: https://www.patreon.com/collection/2089334 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻 𝗦𝗲𝗯𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗵’𝘀 𝗦𝘁. 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 — 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝘀-𝗣𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗕𝗪𝗩 𝟮𝟰𝟱…

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…

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 𝗥𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝘁𝗼 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗼𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘀 The transition from Renaissance music to Baroque music was not a simple replacement of one style by another. It was a deep…

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…

𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝗦𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗢𝗪𝗦𝗞𝗬 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛 𝗭𝗨𝗕𝗜𝗡 𝗠𝗘𝗛𝗧𝗔 — 𝟭𝟵𝟳𝟰, 𝗜𝗡 𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗭 The relationship between 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗦𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘀𝗸𝘆 and 𝗭𝘂𝗯𝗶𝗻 𝗠𝗲𝗵𝘁𝗮 belongs to 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿-𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁𝘄𝗮𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴. Swarowsky was 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲…

𝐄𝐝𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐯𝐚𝐧 𝐁𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐦: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐮𝐫 There are conductors whose authority is built on domination, theatrical command, and visible force. And then there are rarer figures whose greatness comes…

𝐉𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐢 𝐒𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐥: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐞𝐝 𝐋𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐂𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐀 𝐕𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐚 𝐃𝐚 𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐚 𝐈𝐧 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐇𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 There are musicians who perform great repertory, and there are others who seem to widen the very map…

𝐑𝐢𝐜𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐨 𝐌𝐮𝐭𝐢: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞 There are conductors whose careers are defined by prestige, and there are others whose greatness comes from a…

𝐒𝐢𝐫 𝐒𝐢𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐀𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐑𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐎𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧 There are conductors who inherit greatness, and there are others who seem to create a new climate wherever they…

𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐦 𝐊𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐟𝐟: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐞𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐨 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐮𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐭 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦 There are pianists who astonish by force, brilliance, and the sheer dazzle of their fingers, and there are others whose…

𝐃𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐫𝐢 𝐌𝐢𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐨𝐬: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐨𝐟 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐀𝐬 𝐈𝐟 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐖𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 There are conductors who dominate by sheer authority, and there are conductors whose greatness seems to come from something…

𝐕𝐚́𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐯 𝐍𝐞𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐧: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐆𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐂𝐳𝐞𝐜𝐡 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐀 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐒𝐲𝐦𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐜 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐞 There are conductors who become famous through power, glamour, or controversy, and there are others whose authority grows from something deeper: style,…

𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐧 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐧: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐛𝐞𝐥 𝐌𝐚𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 There are conductors who preserve tradition, and there are conductors who explode it from within so that music can live again. Hermann Scherchen…

𝐉𝐄𝐀𝐍-𝐁𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐄 𝐋𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐘 (𝟏𝟔𝟑𝟐–𝟏𝟔𝟖𝟕): 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐔𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632–1687) was one of the most powerful and contradictory figures in seventeenth-century music. He was born Giovanni Battista Lulli in…

𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐋 𝐍𝐈𝐄𝐋𝐒𝐄𝐍 (𝟏𝟖𝟔𝟓–𝟏𝟗𝟑𝟏): 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐔𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 Carl Nielsen (1865–1931) is often presented as one of the strongest and healthiest figures in Scandinavian music: the great Danish symphonist, a…

𝐏𝐘𝐎𝐓𝐑 𝐈𝐋𝐘𝐈𝐂𝐇 𝐓𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐈𝐊𝐎𝐕𝐒𝐊𝐘: 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐔𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky remains one of the most beloved and emotionally immediate composers in all music history. His works seem to speak…

𝐁𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐧 - 𝐒𝐲𝐦𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐲 𝐍𝐨.𝟑 - 𝐀𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐨 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 in Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/collection/2053627 𝐁𝐄𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐍’𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐃 𝐒𝐘𝐌𝐏𝐇𝐎𝐍𝐘, “𝐄𝐑𝐎𝐈𝐂𝐀”: 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐎𝐅 𝐈𝐓𝐒 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 Beethoven’s Third Symphony in E-flat major, Op. 55, universally known as the “Eroica”, stands at…

𝐖𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐖𝐚𝐠𝐧𝐞𝐫: 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫, 𝐒𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐑𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 Wagner’s female characters are among the most compelling in nineteenth-century opera. Isolde, Brünnhilde, Elisabeth, Senta, Kundry and others possess immense dramatic force, psychological intensity, and symbolic importance.…

𝐊𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐣𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐃𝐨𝐠 — 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐌𝐚𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨 The image of 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐭 𝐯𝐨𝐧 𝐊𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐣𝐚𝐧 seated quietly beside his dog is deeply revealing because it shows a side of him that…