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𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗕𝗔𝗥𝗢𝗤𝗨𝗘 𝗞𝗘𝗬𝗕𝗢𝗔𝗥𝗗 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗣𝗜𝗘𝗖𝗘𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘 Selecting the greatest Baroque keyboard masterpieces requires a broader definition of “keyboard” than the modern piano repertoire usually implies. These works were written for harpsichord,…

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.…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗠𝗕𝗘𝗥-𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘 Any attempt to identify the fifteen greatest chamber-music recordings must begin by acknowledging that “greatest” cannot mean merely the most technically perfect. A genuinely historic chamber…

𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 𝗕𝘆 𝗝𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗛𝘂𝗻𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗜 — 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗟𝗲𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝟭𝟮 — 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗗𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝘁 𝗕𝗮𝘆𝗿𝗲𝘂𝘁𝗵 The final years of 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 form one of the most moving…

𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 𝗕𝘆 𝗝𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗛𝘂𝗻𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗜 — 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗟𝗲𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝟭𝟭 — 𝗥𝗼𝗺𝗲, 𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗯𝗯é 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 After the brilliance of 𝗪𝗲𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗿 and the intellectual kingdom of the 𝗔𝗹𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗯𝘂𝗿𝗴, Franz…

𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 𝗕𝘆 𝗝𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗛𝘂𝗻𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗜 — 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗟𝗲𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝟭𝟬 — 𝗪𝗲𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗹𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗯𝘂𝗿𝗴 The Weimar years were the great turning point of 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁’𝘀 maturity. Until then,…

𝗥𝗨𝗗𝗢𝗟𝗙 𝗕𝗨𝗖𝗛𝗕𝗜𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗥 — 𝗔 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗔𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗢 𝗔𝗻𝗲𝗰𝗱𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀, 𝗖𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 — 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗔𝗿𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗱 The life of 𝗥𝘂𝗱𝗼𝗹𝗳 𝗕𝘂𝗰𝗵𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 has been shaped by an unusual combination of precocious talent, Viennese musical tradition,…

# 𝗥𝗨𝗗𝗢𝗟𝗙 𝗕𝗨𝗖𝗛𝗕𝗜𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗥 — 𝗠𝗬 𝗕𝗘𝗘𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗡 ## 𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 **𝗠𝘆 𝗕𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗻: 𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿** is neither a conventional biography of **𝗟𝘂𝗱𝘄𝗶𝗴 𝘃𝗮𝗻 𝗕𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗻** nor a technical handbook devoted exclusively to piano…

𝗡𝗜𝗞𝗢𝗟𝗔𝗨𝗦 𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗡𝗢𝗡𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗧 — 𝗡𝗢𝗧𝗘𝗦 𝗔𝗥𝗘 𝗦𝗨𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗢𝗥 𝗧𝗢 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗦 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗸𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗥𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰! 𝗡𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘀 is both a meditation on nineteenth-century music and a passionate defence of interpretation…

# 𝗡𝗜𝗞𝗢𝗟𝗔𝗨𝗦 𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗡𝗢𝗡𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗧 — 𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗔, 𝗦𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗨𝗔𝗟 ## 𝗔 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗲 𝗕𝘆 𝗔𝗻𝗻𝗮 𝗠𝗶𝗸𝗮, 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗮 𝗙ü𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘂𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗡𝗶𝗸𝗼𝗹𝗮𝘂𝘀 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁 **𝗡𝗶𝗸𝗼𝗹𝗮𝘂𝘀 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁: 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮, 𝗦𝗲𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗮𝗹** presents the world of opera as it…

# 𝗡𝗜𝗞𝗢𝗟𝗔𝗨𝗦 𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗡𝗢𝗡𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗧 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗧 𝗗𝗜𝗔𝗟𝗢𝗚𝗨𝗘𝗦 ## 𝗖𝗢𝗟𝗟𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗘𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗚𝗛𝗧𝗦 𝗢𝗡 𝗔 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗘𝗥 𝗘𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗮 𝗙ü𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘂𝗲𝗿 **𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝘇𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗗𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘂𝗲𝘀** is not a conventional biography of **𝗪𝗼𝗹𝗳𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲𝘂𝘀 𝗠𝗼𝘇𝗮𝗿𝘁**, nor is it a…

# 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,…

# 𝗥𝗢𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗧 𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗨𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗡 𝗜𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖 𝗢𝗙 𝗝𝗢𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗦 𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗛𝗠𝗦 — 𝗙𝗥𝗢𝗠 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗧𝗛𝗙𝗨𝗟 𝗗𝗜𝗦𝗖𝗜𝗣𝗟𝗘 𝗧𝗢 𝗖𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗩𝗘 𝗛𝗘𝗜𝗥 The influence of **𝗥𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘁 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗻** on **𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗵𝗺𝘀** was profound, but it cannot be reduced to direct imitation.…

𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗨𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗡 — 𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗞 𝗝𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 — 𝗢𝗫𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗗 𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗦 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟭𝟯 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗬𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗦 𝗜𝗡 𝗗Ü𝗦𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗗𝗢𝗥𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗛𝗘 𝗡𝗘𝗘𝗗𝗘𝗗 — 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗟𝗗 𝗡𝗢𝗧 𝗕𝗘𝗔𝗥 When Robert Schumann…

𝗝𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗽𝗵 𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲’𝘀 𝗙𝗮𝗺𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗨𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝗣𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗪𝗼𝗹𝗳𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲𝘂𝘀 𝗠𝗼𝘇𝗮𝗿𝘁 This celebrated portrait was painted in Vienna by 𝗝𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗽𝗵 𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲, an actor and amateur painter who was also Mozart’s brother-in-law through his marriage to 𝗔𝗹𝗼𝘆𝘀𝗶𝗮…

𝗠𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗧: 𝗔 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗬𝗡𝗔𝗥𝗗 𝗦𝗢𝗟𝗢𝗠𝗢𝗡 𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟯𝟮 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗢𝗪𝗘𝗥 𝗢𝗙 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖 ════════════════════════════ 𝗔𝗙𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗗𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗛: 𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗠𝗔𝗜𝗡𝗦 After 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗝𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆, Solomon does not end his biography with the corpse, the grave, the…

𝗠𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗧: 𝗔 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗬𝗡𝗔𝗥𝗗 𝗦𝗢𝗟𝗢𝗠𝗢𝗡 𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟯𝟭 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗙𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗝𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗡𝗘𝗬 ════════════════════════════ 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗥𝗘𝗤𝗨𝗜𝗘𝗠 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗟𝗘𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗗 After the extraordinary resurgence of 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿, Solomon turns to the chapter that every…

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…

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…

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…

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,…

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,…