Posts / Photos

𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐥-𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜̧𝐨𝐢𝐬-𝐄𝐬𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐭 𝐀𝐮𝐛𝐞𝐫: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐎𝐟 𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐡 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚-𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐄𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐖𝐢𝐭, 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐥𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐝 There are composers who overwhelm by metaphysical depth, others by orchestral enormity, and others by tragic force. Then…

𝐄𝐝𝐨𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐋𝐚𝐥𝐨: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐭𝐞-𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐡 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐝 There are composers who conquer early, and there are others whose true stature emerges only after years of obscurity,…

𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐭: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐞𝐭 𝐎𝐟 𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐡 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐄𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐒𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐲 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐌𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜 There are composers who dominate by monumentality, and others who conquer through something apparently lighter but no less…

𝐇𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐁𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐳: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐭 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐎𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞, 𝐎𝐛𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐀 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞 There are composers who refine an existing language, and there are others who seem to arrive almost…

𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 𝗪𝗮𝘀 𝗖𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗧𝗼 𝗗𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 Franz Liszt’s extraordinary life brought him into contact with nearly every major composer of the 19th century. From the final years of the Classical tradition…

𝐕𝐥𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐫 𝐀𝐬𝐡𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐳𝐲: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐏𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐨 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞, 𝐑𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐃𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐡, 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐇𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐭𝐡 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐀 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐎𝐟 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜 There are musicians whose careers divide neatly into one identity, and there are others whose greatness…

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…

𝗔𝗻𝗲𝗰𝗱𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗿𝘁𝗵𝘂𝗿 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗲𝗹 (𝗜𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘀) 𝟭. 𝗔 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 Even as a boy, Arthur Schnabel astonished his…

𝐇𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐲 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐋𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐟𝐟: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐕𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐨𝐬𝐨 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐨 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐨 𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐎𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 There are composers who survive in history through a vast catalogue, and there are others whose fame contracts over…

𝐄𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐖𝐨𝐥𝐟𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐊𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐠𝐨𝐥𝐝: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐲 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐕𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐲𝐰𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐋𝐲𝐫𝐢𝐜 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐝 There are composers whose lives unfold within a single world, and there are others whose destiny seems split…

𝐄𝐮𝐠𝐞𝐧 𝐝’𝐀𝐥𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐭: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐬𝐦𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐕𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚 There are pianist-composers whose lives seem divided between the keyboard and the score, and then there are rarer figures whose whole existence…

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,…

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…

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗵𝗺𝘀 (𝗔𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗹 𝟲, 𝟭𝟴𝟵𝟳) 𝗩𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗮, 𝗔𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗮 – 𝗞𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗭𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗱𝗵𝗼𝗳 Johannes Brahms, one of the towering figures of Romantic music, passed away on April 3, 1897, at the age of…

𝐁𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐨 𝐖𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐁𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐡𝐦𝐬: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐲𝐦𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐛𝐲 𝐎𝐧𝐞 Bruno Walter’s Beethoven and Brahms stand at the heart of the central Austro-German symphonic tradition on record, but his legacy in the two…

𝐄𝐮𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞 𝐎𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐲: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐀𝐧 𝐎𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐀 𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐝 There are conductors whose fame rests on a few electrifying seasons, and there are others whose greatness is built over decades, through patience,…

𝐅𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐙 𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐙𝐓 (𝟏𝟖𝟏𝟏–𝟏𝟖𝟖𝟔): 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐔𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 Franz Liszt (1811–1886) was one of the most contradictory figures in nineteenth-century music. He was the greatest virtuoso celebrity of his age…

𝐄𝐃𝐕𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐆𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐆 (𝟏𝟖𝟒𝟑–𝟏𝟗𝟎𝟕): 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐔𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 Edvard Grieg (1843–1907) is often remembered as one of the most lyrical, intimate, and beloved composers of the nineteenth century: the musical…

𝐉𝐎𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐒 𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐇𝐌𝐒: 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐔𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 Johannes Brahms is often remembered as the great embodiment of musical seriousness, structural mastery, emotional reserve, and artistic integrity: the bearded classicist of…

𝐋𝐄𝐒 𝐒𝐈𝐗 — 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐇 𝐑𝐄𝐁𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐓 𝐖𝐀𝐆𝐍𝐄𝐑 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐈𝐌𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐈𝐒𝐌: 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐇 𝐎𝐅 𝐀 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐅𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐎 (𝟏𝟗𝟏𝟔–𝟏𝟗𝟐𝟎) 𝐈. 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐒 𝐃𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐖𝐀𝐑 — 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐍𝐄𝐄𝐃 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐀 𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐇 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐂 The story of 𝐋𝐞𝐬 𝐒𝐢𝐱…

𝐄𝐗𝐏𝐋𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐎𝐈𝐆𝐍𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐘 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐇𝐔𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐓𝐘 𝐎𝐅 𝐉𝐀𝐍𝐀𝐂𝐄𝐊 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐌𝐀𝐇𝐋𝐄𝐑 — 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐔𝐁𝐓𝐋𝐄 𝐄𝐂𝐇𝐎 𝐎𝐅 𝐀 𝐒𝐘𝐌𝐏𝐇𝐎𝐍𝐈𝐂 𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐃 𝐈. 𝐀 𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐄𝐅𝐔𝐋 𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐄 Any discussion of the influence of 𝐆𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐯 𝐌𝐚𝐡𝐥𝐞𝐫 (1860–1911) on 𝐋𝐞𝐨𝐬 𝐉𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐤…

𝐄𝐃𝐎𝐔𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐋𝐀𝐋𝐎: 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐘 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐆𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐅 𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐇 𝐎𝐑𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐋 𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐖𝐀𝐋 — 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄, 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄, 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐀 𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐄 𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐔𝐌𝐏𝐇 (𝟏𝟖𝟐𝟑–𝟏𝟖𝟗𝟐) 𝐈. 𝐀 𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐋𝐃 𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐍 𝐂𝐔𝐋𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄𝐒: 𝐋𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐄 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐅𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐘 𝐑𝐎𝐎𝐓𝐒 (𝟏𝟖𝟐𝟑–𝟏𝟖𝟑𝟗) 𝐄𝐝𝐨𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐋𝐚𝐥𝐨 was born on 𝐁𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐨𝐝𝐞:…

𝗟𝗲𝗼𝘀 𝗝𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗸 (1854–1928) 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗢𝘁𝘁𝗼 𝗞𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗿 (1885–1973) were not intimate collaborators in the way of composer–conductor partnerships such as Strauss–Böhm, yet their paths intersected significantly in the 1920s, when Klemperer emerged as one of…

𝗦𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗘 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗗𝗘𝗕𝗨𝗦𝗦𝗬 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗚𝗘 𝗙𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗣 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗦𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗘𝗗 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗛 𝗠𝗢𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗡𝗜𝗦𝗠 The relationship between 𝗘𝗿𝗶𝗸 𝗦𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗲 (𝟭𝟴𝟲𝟲–𝟭𝟵𝟮𝟱) and 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝗯𝘂𝘀𝘀𝘆 (𝟭𝟴𝟲𝟮–𝟭𝟵𝟭𝟴) is one of the most fascinating artistic friendships in musical history. It began…