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𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗨𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗡 — 𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗞 𝗝𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 — 𝗢𝗫𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗗 𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗦 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟭𝟰 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦, 𝟭𝟴𝟰𝟱–𝟱𝟰 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗔𝗧𝗘 𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗨𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗡 — 𝗡𝗢𝗧 𝗔 𝗥𝗨𝗜𝗡, 𝗕𝗨𝗧 𝗔 𝗗𝗜𝗙𝗙𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗟𝗗 The music Robert Schumann composed…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗞𝗦 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗖𝗬𝗖𝗟𝗘𝗦 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗦𝗢𝗟𝗢 𝗣𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗢 𝗢𝗙 𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘 𝗔 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗦𝗘𝗗 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗘𝗫𝗣𝗔𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗗 𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 Selecting the fifteen greatest achievements in solo piano literature cannot be reduced to choosing fifteen isolated compositions.…

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…

𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗔𝗟 𝗗𝗢𝗥𝗔́𝗧𝗜 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Antal Doráti was one of the most versatile and industrious conductors of the twentieth century, but mere productivity does not explain his importance. His finest recordings reveal…

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…

𝗪𝗢𝗟𝗙𝗚𝗔𝗡𝗚 𝗦𝗔𝗪𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗖𝗛 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Wolfgang Sawallisch represented one of the last great manifestations of the traditional German Kapellmeister: a conductor whose authority was founded not upon personal exhibitionism, but upon complete…

𝗘𝗨𝗚𝗘𝗡 𝗝𝗢𝗖𝗛𝗨𝗠 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Eugen Jochum is remembered above all as one of the supreme Bruckner conductors of the twentieth century, but that description captures only part of his achievement. His…

# 𝗡𝗜𝗞𝗢𝗟𝗔𝗨𝗦 𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗡𝗢𝗡𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗧 — “…𝗜𝗧 𝗪𝗔𝗦 𝗔𝗟𝗪𝗔𝗬𝗦 𝗔𝗕𝗢𝗨𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖” ## 𝗔 𝗥𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗘𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗮 𝗙ü𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘂𝗲𝗿 Few conductors of the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries transformed musical interpretation as radically as…

𝗡𝗜𝗞𝗢𝗟𝗔𝗨𝗦 𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗡𝗢𝗡𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗧 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Nikolaus Harnoncourt did not merely change the way Baroque and Classical music was performed. He transformed the modern understanding of what interpretation itself could mean. For him,…

𝗡𝗜𝗞𝗢𝗟𝗔𝗨𝗦 𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗡𝗢𝗡𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗧 & 𝗥𝗢𝗬𝗔𝗟 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗖𝗘𝗥𝗧𝗚𝗘𝗕𝗢𝗨𝗪 𝗢𝗥𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗔 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗟𝗘𝗧𝗘 𝗧𝗘𝗟𝗗𝗘𝗖 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 — 𝟰𝟮-𝗖𝗗 𝗕𝗢𝗫 𝗦𝗘𝗧 𝗖𝗗 𝟭 — 𝗪𝗢𝗟𝗙𝗚𝗔𝗡𝗚 𝗔𝗠𝗔𝗗𝗘𝗨𝗦 𝗠𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗧 𝗠𝗼𝘇𝗮𝗿𝘁: Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K. 550 𝗠𝗼𝘇𝗮𝗿𝘁: Symphony No. 25…

# 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗶𝘂𝘀 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗼𝗼𝗿 — 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗵𝗺𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘁 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗻 Few encounters in the history of Western music produced consequences as immediate and far-reaching as the first…

𝗡𝗘𝗘𝗠𝗘 𝗝Ä𝗥𝗩𝗜 — 𝗔 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘 𝗢𝗡 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗗𝗢𝗦 — 𝟮𝟱-𝗖𝗗 𝗕𝗢𝗫 𝗦𝗘𝗧 𝗖𝗗 𝟭 — 𝗦𝗘𝗥𝗚𝗘𝗜 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗞𝗢𝗙𝗜𝗘𝗩 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗸𝗼𝗳𝗶𝗲𝘃: Symphony No. 6 in E-flat minor, Op. 111 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗸𝗼𝗳𝗶𝗲𝘃: Waltz Suite, Op. 110 Scottish National Orchestra, Neeme…

𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗨𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗡 — 𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗞 𝗝𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 — 𝗢𝗫𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗗 𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗦 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟭𝟮 — 𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗨𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗡’𝗦 𝗗𝗥𝗔𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗖 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗞𝗦 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗘𝗥 𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗪𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗚𝗘 — 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗗 𝗜𝗧 𝗜𝗡𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗗𝗟𝗬 There was always something dramatic…

𝗭𝗨𝗕𝗜𝗡 𝗠𝗘𝗛𝗧𝗔 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Zubin Mehta’s extraordinary career connects several apparently different musical worlds: the Central European tradition he absorbed in Vienna, the orchestral brilliance of Los Angeles, the distinctive identity…

𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗗𝗢 𝗠𝗨𝗧𝗜 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Riccardo Muti is one of the defining conductors of the modern Italian tradition: a musician of rhythmic authority, textual discipline, theatrical instinct and uncompromising respect for the…

𝗦𝗘𝗜𝗝𝗜 𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗪𝗔 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Seiji Ozawa was one of the most internationally influential conductors of the post-war era. His art united rhythmic precision, luminous orchestral colour, exceptional transparency and an instinctive…

𝗟𝗢𝗥𝗜𝗡 𝗠𝗔𝗔𝗭𝗘𝗟 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Lorin Maazel was one of the most technically formidable conductors of the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. He possessed an exceptional ear, an almost photographic memory, absolute…

𝗦𝗘𝗥𝗚𝗜𝗨 𝗖𝗘𝗟𝗜𝗕𝗜𝗗𝗔𝗖𝗛𝗘 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Sergiu Celibidache occupies a unique and paradoxical position in the history of recorded performance. Few major conductors distrusted recording technology more profoundly, yet few left behind such…

𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗟𝗘𝗦 𝗠𝗨𝗡𝗖𝗛 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Charles Munch was one of the most spontaneous, incandescent and unmistakably French conductors of the twentieth century. His finest performances combine rhythmic freedom, nervous energy, luminous orchestral…

𝗦𝗜𝗥 𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗦 𝗕𝗘𝗘𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗠 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Sir Thomas Beecham was one of the most charismatic, cultivated and immediately recognisable conductors of the twentieth century. His interpretations rarely depended upon severity, intellectual demonstration…

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…

𝗥𝗔𝗙𝗔𝗘𝗟 𝗞𝗨𝗕𝗘𝗟𝗜́𝗞 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Rafael Kubelík was one of the twentieth century’s most humane, spontaneous and musically generous conductors. His interpretations rarely sought the immaculate finish of Karajan, the iron discipline…

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,…

𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗛 𝗞𝗟𝗘𝗜𝗕𝗘𝗥 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Erich Kleiber was one of the great representatives of the Central European conducting tradition, yet he never belonged comfortably to any single school. His performances combined rhythmic…