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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…

𝗛𝗢𝗟𝗦𝗧 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗘𝗧𝗦 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟮𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 No ranking of The Planets can be entirely objective. Some recordings stand out for their historical authority, others for the violence of Mars, the spirituality of…

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…

𝗟𝗲́𝗼𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗦𝗶𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗮𝘂 — 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗩𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗠𝗼𝘇𝗮𝗿𝘁 Among the great lyric tenors of the twentieth century, few embodied elegance, musical intelligence and vocal purity as completely as Léopold Simoneau. His was not a…

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…

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…

𝗟𝗘𝗢𝗣𝗢𝗟𝗗 𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗞𝗢𝗪𝗦𝗞𝗜 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Leopold Stokowski was one of the most imaginative, controversial and influential conductors in recording history. His art was founded not only upon interpretation, but upon the very…

𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗟𝗢 𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗜𝗔 𝗚𝗜𝗨𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗜 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Carlo Maria Giulini possessed one of the most unmistakable conducting personalities of the twentieth century. His authority did not depend upon theatrical aggression, autocratic display or…

𝗛𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥 𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗢𝗭’𝗦 𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗣𝗜𝗘𝗖𝗘𝗦 Hector Berlioz occupies a unique place in nineteenth-century music. He was neither a conventional symphonist in the Beethovenian tradition nor principally a composer of absolute music. His greatest creations…

𝗚𝗘𝗢𝗥𝗚𝗘 𝗦𝗭𝗘𝗟𝗟 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 George Szell is often remembered as the supreme orchestral disciplinarian: a conductor of relentless rehearsal, exact ensemble, perfectly balanced textures and uncompromising technical standards. Under his direction,…

𝗕𝗥𝗨𝗡𝗢 𝗪𝗔𝗟𝗧𝗘𝗥 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Bruno Walter occupies a unique position in the history of conducting. He belonged directly to the final world of late Romanticism, worked closely with Gustav Mahler and…

𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗢 𝗧𝗢𝗦𝗖𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗜 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Arturo Toscanini was one of the decisive figures in the creation of modern orchestral performance. His reputation was built upon fidelity to the written score, rhythmic discipline,…

𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗨𝗗𝗜𝗢 𝗔𝗕𝗕𝗔𝗗𝗢 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Claudio Abbado’s finest recordings reveal a conductor whose authority rarely depended upon weight, domination or theatrical self-display. His interpretations were founded upon listening, transparency, rhythmic flexibility, instrumental…

𝗢𝗧𝗧𝗢 𝗞𝗟𝗘𝗠𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗥 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Otto Klemperer’s recorded legacy is frequently reduced to a convenient stereotype: monumental tempos, massive sonorities and granite-like severity. Those qualities certainly formed part of his mature style,…

𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗧 𝗩𝗢𝗡 𝗞𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗝𝗔𝗡 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Herbert von Karajan left one of the largest recorded legacies of any conductor. He repeatedly returned to the same compositions, sometimes recording them three or four…

𝗝𝗢𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗦 𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗛𝗠𝗦’𝗦 𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗣𝗜𝗘𝗖𝗘𝗦 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗜𝗨𝗦 𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗡𝗘𝗗 𝗠𝗘𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗬 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗢 𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗠 Johannes Brahms is often portrayed as the great conservative of nineteenth-century music: the guardian of Classical form, the heir of Bach,…

𝗙𝗘𝗟𝗜𝗫 𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗟𝗦𝗦𝗢𝗛𝗡’𝗦 𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗣𝗜𝗘𝗖𝗘𝗦 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗜𝗨𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗟𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧, 𝗠𝗘𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗬 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗙𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 Felix Mendelssohn has often been admired for his elegance and simultaneously underestimated because of it. His music appears so lucid, balanced…

𝗥𝗢𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗧 𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗨𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗡’𝗦 𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗣𝗜𝗘𝗖𝗘𝗦 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗟 𝗗𝗜𝗔𝗥𝗬 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗖 𝗦𝗢𝗨𝗟 Robert Schumann was perhaps the composer who most completely transformed private thought, literary imagination, emotional contradiction and unstable memory into music.…

𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗨𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗡 — 𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗞 𝗝𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 — 𝗢𝗫𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗗 𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗦 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟭𝟬 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦, 𝟭𝟴𝟰𝟬–𝟰𝟰 𝗔𝗙𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗢, 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗟𝗗 The marriage to Clara did not merely change Robert Schumann’s private…

𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 𝗕𝘆 𝗝𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗛𝘂𝗻𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗜 — 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗟𝗲𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝟬𝟳 — 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗱𝗮𝗺 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 The death of 𝗔𝗱𝗮𝗺 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 in 𝟭𝟴𝟮𝟳 was one of the first great…

𝗖𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗮 – 𝗜𝗹 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗼 𝗦𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗼 – 𝗗𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝗹 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗯𝗼𝗶𝗺 https://www.patreon.com/ClassicMusicComposersGroup/posts/cimarosa-il-163511926?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link 𝗜𝗟 𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗠𝗢𝗡𝗜𝗢 𝗦𝗘𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗧𝗢 — 𝗖𝗜𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗢𝗦𝗔’𝗦 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗜𝗖 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗣𝗜𝗘𝗖𝗘 𝗜𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗛𝗔𝗗𝗢𝗪 𝗢𝗙 𝗠𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗧 Domenico Cimarosa’s Il matrimonio segreto is one of the finest surviving examples of…

𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗧 𝗕𝗟𝗢𝗠𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗗𝗧 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗢 𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗦𝗘𝗘𝗠𝗦 𝗧𝗢 𝗛𝗔𝗩𝗘 𝗢𝗨𝗧𝗟𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗗 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘 Few conductors have travelled through nearly an entire century of musical history while preserving such freshness, modesty and intellectual curiosity. 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘁 𝗕𝗹𝗼𝗺𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱𝘁, who…

𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗨𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗡 — 𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗞 𝗝𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 — 𝗢𝗫𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗗 𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗦 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟴 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗢 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦, 𝟭𝟴𝟯𝟰–𝟯𝟵 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗢 𝗔𝗦 𝗔 𝗦𝗘𝗖𝗥𝗘𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗥𝗘 Between 1834 and 1839, Robert Schumann created the piano…