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𝐉𝐎𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐍 𝐒𝐄𝐁𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐀𝐍 𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐇: 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐔𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 Johann Sebastian Bach is often imagined as the supreme embodiment of order, discipline, faith, and musical perfection: a devout Lutheran master whose…

# **Wagner - The Great Operas - Box Set 36CDs ** CD 1-3 **Wagner: Rienzi** Günther Leib, Janis Martin, Ingeborg Springer, Nikolaus Hillebrand, Peter Schreier, René Kollo, Siegfried Vogel, Siv Wennberg, Theo Adam Chor…

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐘 𝐎𝐅 𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐔𝐒𝐒: 𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐈𝐀𝐆𝐄, 𝐇𝐎𝐌𝐄, 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐎𝐍𝐋𝐘 𝐒𝐎𝐍 𝐑𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐬 is often remembered as the brilliant composer of Salome, Elektra, Der Rosenkavalier, and the great tone poems, but behind the public…

# **The Vivaldi Case. Federico María Sardelli. Turner Editions. Madrid, 2017** The specialist in the Venetian composer **Antonio Vivaldi**, **Federico María Sardelli**, has created in *The Vivaldi Case* a web of historical intrigue that…

## **𝗠𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗧 𝗜𝗡 𝗦𝗪𝗔𝗙𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗗’𝗦 𝗕𝗜𝗢𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗣𝗛𝗬 — Chapter 5 — Liars, Slanderers, and Envious Creatures** **1) Salzburg After the Grand Tour: Spoils, Secrecy, and Leopold’s Next Calculations** After returning to Salzburg in **November 1766**, Leopold…

𝗢𝘁𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗼 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗶: 𝗥𝗼𝗺𝗲’𝘀 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿 — 𝗕𝗶𝗿𝗱𝘀, 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝗹𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗘𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗔 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗕𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗮 𝗕𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀: 𝗔 𝗩𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗢𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗿 (1879–1900) Ottorino Respighi was born in Bologna (1879), a city…

𝐂𝐇𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐘 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐙𝐎𝐋𝐓𝐀𝐍 𝐊𝐎𝐃𝐀𝐋𝐘 𝐙𝐨𝐥𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝐊𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐥𝐲 (16 December 1882 Kecskemét – 6 March 1967 Budapest) was one of the most outstanding personalities of 20th century Hungarian culture: composer, ethnomusicologist, music pedagogue…

𝐌𝐨𝐳𝐚𝐫𝐭: 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐍𝐨. 𝟏𝟎 𝐢𝐧 𝐁-𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐣𝐨𝐫, 𝐊𝐕 𝟑𝟔𝟏 (“𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐧 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐚”) — 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐮𝐦 𝐀𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐮𝐦 (𝟏𝟗𝟕𝟑) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogEYg0hkEMI&t=240s 𝐌𝐨𝐳𝐚𝐫𝐭’𝐬 “𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐧 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐚”: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐄𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞: 𝐀 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐬 𝐁𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠…

𝐀𝐍𝐄𝐂𝐃𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐎𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐄𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐔𝐑 𝐍𝐈𝐊𝐈𝐒𝐂𝐇 (𝟏𝟖𝟓𝟓–𝟏𝟗𝟐𝟐) A Deep and Expansive Portrait of the Man Behind the Baton 𝐈. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐠𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐄𝐲𝐞𝐬 — “𝐇𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐔𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐆𝐚𝐳𝐞” One of the most persistent…

**𝗠𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗧 𝗜𝗡 𝗦𝗪𝗔𝗙𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗗’𝗦 𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪 — 𝗠𝗬𝗧𝗛, 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗧𝗛, 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗜𝗦𝗧 ** **𝗔𝗿𝘁, 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 “𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗟𝗶𝗮𝗿”** Picasso once observed that **“art is a lie that makes us realize truth,”** while Shakespeare claimed that…

𝗠𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗧: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗥𝗘𝗜𝗚𝗡 𝗢𝗙 𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘 — 𝗝𝗔𝗡 𝗦𝗪𝗔𝗙𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗗 Mozart: The Reign of Love (2014) by Jan Swafford is one of the most substantial modern biographies of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791). Written by the distinguished…

𝗙𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗭 𝗥𝗘𝗜𝗡𝗘𝗥 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗜𝗥𝗢𝗡 𝗕𝗔𝗧𝗢𝗡 𝗢𝗙 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗙𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 Fritz Reiner (1888–1963) was one of the most formidable conductors of the twentieth century — a musician whose icy precision, razor-sharp rehearsal discipline, and uncompromising standards…

𝗪𝗜𝗟𝗛𝗘𝗟𝗠 𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗞𝗛𝗔𝗨𝗦 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗜𝗥𝗢𝗡 𝗧𝗘𝗨𝗧𝗢𝗡 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗢 Wilhelm Backhaus (1884–1969) was one of the great pillars of twentieth-century pianism, a musician whose name became synonymous with Beethoven, Brahms, granite tone, and unshakable…

𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗛 𝗞𝗟𝗘𝗜𝗕𝗘𝗥 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗗𝗨𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥 𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗗𝗘𝗙𝗜𝗘𝗗 𝗧𝗬𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗡𝗬 Erich Kleiber (1890–1956) remains one of the most fascinating figures in twentieth-century conducting. Brilliant, uncompromising, witty, and fiercely independent, his life was filled with dramatic decisions,…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗥𝗜𝗩𝗔𝗧𝗘 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗟𝗗 𝗢𝗙 𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗗 𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗨𝗦𝗦 — 𝗛𝗢𝗕𝗕𝗜𝗘𝗦, 𝗗𝗔𝗜𝗟𝗬 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘, 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗡 𝗕𝗘𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗘𝗥 Richard Strauss (1864–1949) is often remembered as the composer of monumental tone poems and operas, yet his private…

𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗩𝗔́𝗡 𝗞𝗘𝗥𝗧𝗘́𝗦𝗭 — 𝗔𝗡𝗘𝗖𝗗𝗢𝗧𝗘𝗦 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗖𝗨𝗥𝗜𝗢𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗘𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗔 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗖𝗨𝗧 𝗦𝗛𝗢𝗥𝗧 István Kertész (1929–1973) was one of the most admired conductors of his generation. His career was marked by brilliance, warmth, and an extraordinary…

𝗦𝗜𝗥 𝗝𝗢𝗛𝗡 𝗕𝗔𝗥𝗕𝗜𝗥𝗢𝗟𝗟𝗜 — 𝗔𝗡𝗘𝗖𝗗𝗢𝗧𝗘𝗦 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗖𝗨𝗥𝗜𝗢𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗘𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗔 𝗕𝗘𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗗 𝗠𝗔𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗢 Sir John Barbirolli (1899–1970) remains one of the most deeply loved conductors of the twentieth century. Behind the recordings and concerts lies a…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗜𝗥𝗧𝗛 𝗢𝗙 𝗔 𝗠𝗔𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗢 — 𝗟𝗘𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗥𝗗 𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗡𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗜𝗡’𝗦 𝗥𝗜𝗦𝗘 𝗔𝗦 𝗔 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗗𝗨𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥 (𝟭𝟵𝟯𝟱–𝟭𝟵𝟰𝟱) 𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗟𝗬 𝗜𝗡𝗙𝗟𝗨𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘𝗦 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗗𝗜𝗦𝗖𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗬 𝗢𝗙 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗗𝗨𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚 Leonard Bernstein (1918–1990) did not begin as a conductor in the conventional European sense.…

# **Anecdotes and Curiosities from the Life of Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt** Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt (1900–1973) was one of the most respected German conductors of the post-war era, admired for integrity, clarity, and a deeply human approach…

𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗜𝗨𝗦, 𝗙𝗔𝗠𝗜𝗟𝗬 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗙𝗥𝗔𝗚𝗜𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗬 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗗𝗘𝗘𝗣𝗘𝗥 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗢𝗦𝗖𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗜 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗛𝗢𝗥𝗢𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗭 The story of Arturo Toscanini and Vladimir Horowitz is often told as a glamorous tale: the greatest conductor of his era becomes…

𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗹𝗼 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗮 𝗚𝗶𝘂𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗶 — 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗕𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗼𝗽𝗵𝘆 Carlo Maria Giulini (1914–2005) developed one of the most distinctive and spiritually intense conducting styles of the twentieth century. Unlike many conductors who…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗡 𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗧𝗔𝗨𝗚𝗛𝗧 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖 𝗧𝗢 𝗗𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗠 — 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝗯𝘂𝘀𝘀𝘆’𝘀 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗥𝗲𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗣𝗼𝗲𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 Claude Debussy (1862–1918) did not simply compose music — he quietly changed how music could exist. His life…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗚𝗘𝗗𝗬 𝗕𝗘𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗘𝗟𝗢𝗗𝗜𝗘𝗦 — 𝗚𝗮𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗼 𝗗𝗼𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶’𝘀 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗶𝘂𝘀, 𝗚𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 Gaetano Donizetti (1797–1848) lived a life that seems almost operatic in its emotional trajectory. The world remembers the endless flow…

## 𝗚𝗶𝗮𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗼 𝗠𝗲𝘆𝗲𝗿𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗿 — 𝗔𝗻𝗲𝗰𝗱𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗘𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 Giacomo Meyerbeer was not merely a successful composer; during the 1830s–1850s he was arguably **the most powerful operatic figure in Europe**. His premieres…