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𝗔𝗻𝘁𝗼𝗻 𝗕𝗿𝘂𝗰𝗸𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗚𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘃 𝗠𝗮𝗵𝗹𝗲𝗿 𝗧𝘄𝗼 𝗖𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗱𝗿𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱: 𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀, 𝗔𝗱𝗺𝗶𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗗𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗻𝗲𝗰𝗱𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀 The relationship between 𝗔𝗻𝘁𝗼𝗻 𝗕𝗿𝘂𝗰𝗸𝗻𝗲𝗿 and 𝗚𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘃 𝗠𝗮𝗵𝗹𝗲𝗿 belongs to one of the most fascinating lines of continuity in late…

𝗝𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗦𝗶𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘂𝘀 — 𝗔𝗻𝗲𝗰𝗱𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀, 𝗖𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗘𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 Jean Sibelius was one of those composers whose life seems divided between two almost opposite worlds: on one side, the public figure, the…

𝗕𝗥𝗨𝗡𝗢 𝗪𝗔𝗟𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗔 𝗣𝘀𝘆𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘁, 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗢𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗕𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 Bruno Walter was one of the great moral figures of twentieth-century conducting. He was not merely a…

𝗚𝗨𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗩 𝗠𝗔𝗛𝗟𝗘𝗥 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗔𝗟𝗠𝗔 𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗗𝗟𝗘𝗥 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗪𝗘𝗗𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗔𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗞𝗔𝗥𝗟𝗦𝗞𝗜𝗥𝗖𝗛𝗘 — 𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗡𝗡𝗔, 𝟵 𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗖𝗛 𝟭𝟵𝟬𝟮 The marriage of 𝗚𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘃 𝗠𝗮𝗵𝗹𝗲𝗿 and 𝗔𝗹𝗺𝗮 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗹𝗲𝗿 took place in 𝗩𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗮, at the 𝗞𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲, on 𝗦𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝟵 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵…

𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗛𝗠𝗦 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗠𝗔𝗛𝗟𝗘𝗥 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗔𝗗 𝗜𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗟 𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗥 — 𝗔 𝗪𝗔𝗟𝗞 𝗕𝗘𝗧𝗪𝗘𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗪𝗢 𝗔𝗚𝗘𝗦 The later encounter, often placed in 𝗕𝗮𝗱 𝗜𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗹 during Brahms’s last summer, has an almost symbolic quality. Bad Ischl was not…

𝗔𝗠𝗕𝗥𝗢𝗜𝗦𝗘 𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗦 𝗔𝗻𝗲𝗰𝗱𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀, 𝗖𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗵 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗦𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗶𝘃𝗼𝗿 𝗔𝗺𝗯𝗿𝗼𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘀 was one of the central figures of nineteenth-century French opera, although his reputation today rests above all on two works:…

𝗘𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗔𝗕𝗘𝗧𝗛 𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗭𝗞𝗢𝗣𝗙 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗧 𝗩𝗢𝗡 𝗞𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗝𝗔𝗡 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁-𝗪𝗮𝗿 𝗚𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗔𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮 The artistic relationship between 𝗘𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗮𝗯𝗲𝘁𝗵 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝘄𝗮𝗿𝘇𝗸𝗼𝗽𝗳 and 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘁 𝘃𝗼𝗻 𝗞𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗷𝗮𝗻 belongs to one of the most refined chapters in…

𝗔𝗥𝗥𝗜𝗚𝗢 𝗕𝗢𝗜𝗧𝗢 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝗲𝘁 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗕𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗩𝗲𝗿𝗱𝗶 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗔𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗼 𝗕𝗼𝗶𝘁𝗼 was one of the most fascinating figures in nineteenth-century Italian music: poet, composer, critic, librettist, intellectual agitator, and finally the man who…

𝗗𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗱 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘀𝗰𝗼 (1853–1931), 𝗔𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗼 𝗧𝗼𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗶 (1867–1957) and 𝗚𝗶𝗮𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗼 𝗣𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗶 (1858–1924) - After the première of "La Fanciulla del West" in 1910 David Belasco (1853–1931) was a major American theatre producer, director, playwright, and stage…

𝗚𝗜𝗔𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗢 𝗠𝗘𝗬𝗘𝗥𝗕𝗘𝗘𝗥 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗻 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗧𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 The life of 𝗚𝗶𝗮𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗼 𝗠𝗲𝘆𝗲𝗿𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗿 is full of paradoxes. He was one of the most famous opera composers of the nineteenth century, perhaps the…

𝗪𝗔𝗚𝗡𝗘𝗥 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗠𝗘𝗬𝗘𝗥𝗕𝗘𝗘𝗥 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝗯𝘁, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘆𝗮𝗹 — 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗧𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗡𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗵-𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗿𝘆 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰 The relationship between 𝗥𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗪𝗮𝗴𝗻𝗲𝗿 and 𝗚𝗶𝗮𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗼 𝗠𝗲𝘆𝗲𝗿𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗿 is one of the most revealing,…

𝗧𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗸𝗼𝘃𝘀𝗸𝘆 — 𝗣𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘆 𝗟𝗲𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘀𝗸𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗦𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝗣𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗯𝘂𝗿𝗴, 𝟭𝟳/𝟮𝟵 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝟭𝟴𝟴𝟰 This remarkable photograph shows 𝗣𝘆𝗼𝘁𝗿 𝗜𝗹𝘆𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗧𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗸𝗼𝘃𝘀𝗸𝘆 in 𝟭𝟴𝟴𝟰, seated among three men connected with his personal and family circle. The photograph…

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗶𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗵𝗺𝘀 𝟭𝟴𝟯𝟯–𝟭𝟴𝟵𝟳, one of the most important figures of musical Romanticism. The sculpture was created by 𝗥𝘂𝗱𝗼𝗹𝗳 𝗪𝗲𝘆𝗿 in 𝟭𝟵𝟬𝟴. The original monument is…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗛𝗠𝗦 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘 𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗗𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 — 𝗙𝗨𝗥𝗧𝗪Ä𝗡𝗚𝗟𝗘𝗥, 𝗪𝗘𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗡𝗘𝗥, 𝗧𝗢𝗦𝗖𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗜, 𝗞𝗟𝗘𝗠𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗥, 𝗕𝗥𝗨𝗡𝗢 𝗪𝗔𝗟𝗧𝗘𝗥 The 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗵𝗺𝘀 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 in conducting is not a single straight line, but a constellation of moral, architectural, and sonic philosophies inherited from the…

Standing: 𝗜𝗴𝗻𝗮𝘇 𝗕𝗿𝘂𝗹𝗹, 𝗔𝗻𝘁𝗼𝗻 𝗗𝗼𝗼𝗿, 𝗝𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗳 𝗚𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿, 𝗝𝘂𝗹𝗶𝘂𝘀 𝗘𝗽𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗶𝗻 (𝗕𝗿𝘂𝗹𝗹'𝘀 𝗽𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗼 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿), 𝗥𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘁 𝗛𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗻. Sitting: 𝗚𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘃 𝗪𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗲𝗿, 𝗘𝗱𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗸, 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗵𝗺𝘀. 𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗛𝗠𝗦 𝗔𝗠𝗢𝗡𝗚 𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗘 𝗖𝗜𝗥𝗖𝗟𝗘 𝗔 𝗣𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗜𝗧 𝗢𝗙 𝗙𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗣, 𝗖𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗦𝗠, 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗟 𝗜𝗗𝗘𝗔𝗟𝗦…

𝗕𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗻, 𝟭𝟴𝟬𝟰 (𝗝𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗽𝗵 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗯𝗿𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗠𝗮𝗵𝗹𝗲𝗿'𝘀) The portrait known as 𝗕𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗻, 𝟭𝟴𝟬𝟰 was painted by 𝗝𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗽𝗵 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗯𝗿𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗠ä𝗵𝗹𝗲𝗿 around 𝟭𝟴𝟬𝟰–𝟭𝟴𝟬𝟱, when Beethoven was approximately 𝟯𝟰 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗹𝗱. It is one of the composer’s 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁…

𝐁𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐨 𝐆𝐢𝐠𝐥𝐢: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐧-𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐓𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐫 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐋𝐲𝐫𝐢𝐜 𝐁𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐲, 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬, 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐈𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐏𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐝 There are tenors whose fame rests on brilliance, others on heroic force, and a very few whose voices seem…

# **𝗠𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗧 𝗜𝗡 𝗦𝗪𝗔𝗙𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗗’𝗦 𝗕𝗜𝗢𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗣𝗛𝗬 - 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟮 — 𝗩𝗶𝘃𝗮 𝗹𝗮 𝗟𝗶𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘁à** **𝗗𝗮 𝗣𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲 𝗔𝘁 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗢𝗳 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗣𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿** By 1787, **Lorenzo Da Ponte** had risen from uncertain newcomer to one of the…

𝗔𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗼 𝗦𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗹𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗶 (1660–1725) was an 𝗜𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻 composer and one of the leading figures of the late 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗼𝗾𝘂𝗲 period. Born in 𝗣𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗼, he became especially important in the development of 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮 and the 𝗡𝗲𝗮𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗻 school…

𝗛𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝘂̈𝘁𝘇 (1585–1672) was a 𝗚𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻 composer and organist, widely regarded as the most important German composer before 𝗝.𝗦. 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗵. Born in 𝗞𝗼̈𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘇, he studied in 𝗩𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗲 with 𝗚𝗶𝗼𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶 𝗚𝗮𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗹𝗶, where he absorbed the…

𝐋𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐁𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐞𝐥 𝐓𝐢𝐥𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐬’s 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 Leonard Bernstein occupied a decisive place in the artistic formation of Michael Tilson Thomas. Although Tilson Thomas came from a deeply musical background and…

𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐧 𝐀𝐝𝐨𝐥𝐟 𝐇𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞 (1699–1783) was a 𝐆𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐫 of the 𝐁𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐪𝐮𝐞 era, especially famous for his 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐬 and 𝐬𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜. Born in 𝐁𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐝𝐨𝐫𝐟, near Hamburg, he first worked as a singer before studying composition…

𝐍𝐢𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐚 𝐏𝐨𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐚 (1686–1768) was an 𝐈𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐫, 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫, and one of the leading masters of 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚 in the 18th century. Born in 𝐍𝐚𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬, he became especially famous for his skill in training…

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐥 - 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟭𝟭: 𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗥𝗢𝗔𝗗 𝗧𝗢 𝗘𝗡𝗚𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗗 (𝟭𝟳𝟭𝟬) The victory of 𝗔𝗴𝗿𝗶𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗮 in Venice did not simply crown Handel’s Italian years; it changed the direction of his entire…