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𝐌𝐎𝐙𝐀𝐑𝐓’𝐒 𝐒𝐘𝐌𝐏𝐇𝐎𝐍𝐘 𝐍𝐎. 𝟒𝟎 — 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐊 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝟏𝟕𝟖𝟖 Mozart’s 𝐒𝐲𝐦𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐲 𝐍𝐨. 𝟒𝟎 𝐢𝐧 𝐆 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐫, 𝐊. 𝟓𝟓𝟎, completed on 25 July 1788, stands at the centre of one of the most astonishing…

𝗖𝗛𝗢𝗣𝗜𝗡: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗢 𝗔𝗦 𝗔 𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗘, 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗢𝗥𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗔 𝗔𝗦 𝗔 𝗙𝗥𝗔𝗠𝗘, 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗔 𝗔𝗦 𝗔 𝗠𝗢𝗗𝗘𝗟 To say that Frédéric Chopin composed only music for the piano is a useful simplification, but it is…

𝐌𝐀𝐗𝐈𝐌 𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐋𝐘𝐀𝐍𝐘𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐕 — 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐃𝐔𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑 𝐖𝐇𝐎 𝐌𝐀𝐊𝐄𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐎𝐑𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀 𝐅𝐄𝐄𝐋 𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐕𝐄 Maxim Emelyanychev has become one of the most distinctive conductors of his generation: restless, spontaneous, theatrical and intensely communicative. Born in Russia in…

𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐏𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐄𝐘𝐄𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐌𝐏𝐎𝐑𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒 𝐁𝐈𝐁𝐋𝐈𝐎𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐏𝐇𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐈𝐍𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 Original title: 𝐂𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐧 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬: 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬, 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐑𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐬 Author: 𝐏𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐞 𝐇. 𝐀𝐳𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐲 First published: 𝐈𝐧 𝟏𝟗𝟗𝟗 Publisher: 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐰𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬, Westport, Connecticut, and London…

𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐆𝐈𝐔 𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐁𝐈𝐃𝐀𝐂𝐇𝐄 — 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐃𝐔𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑 𝐖𝐇𝐎 𝐑𝐄𝐅𝐔𝐒𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐍 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐂 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐎 𝐀 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐎𝐁𝐉𝐄𝐂𝐓 Sergiu Celibidache was one of the most original, demanding and controversial conductors of the twentieth century. Although he possessed the…

𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐁𝐄𝐑𝐓 𝐕𝐎𝐍 𝐊𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐉𝐀𝐍 — 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐏𝐔𝐑𝐒𝐔𝐈𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐅𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 Herbert von Karajan approached an orchestral rehearsal not as a routine preparation for a concert, but as the laboratory in which an interpretation had to…

𝗪𝗛𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗪𝗢 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗟 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗟𝗗𝗦 𝗔𝗟𝗠𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝗠𝗘𝗧: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗨𝗡𝗦𝗢𝗟𝗩𝗘𝗗 𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗗𝗘𝗕𝗨𝗦𝗦𝗬 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗛𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗢𝗙𝗙 The possibility that 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝗯𝘂𝘀𝘀𝘆 and 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗶 𝗥𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗼𝗳𝗳, two of the most powerful and apparently contrasting musical personalities of their age,…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗛𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥 𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗢𝗭 𝗔𝗦 𝗪𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗕𝗬 𝗛𝗜𝗠𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗙 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝟮𝟬 𝗘𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲 𝗢𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗿 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗪𝗮𝘀 𝗘𝗺𝗽𝘁𝘆 — 𝟭𝟴𝟰𝟴 When 𝗛𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗕𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗼𝘇 returned to France from…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗛𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥 𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗢𝗭 𝗔𝗦 𝗪𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗕𝗬 𝗛𝗜𝗠𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗙 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝟭𝟵 𝗙𝗮𝘂𝘀𝘁, 𝗙𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘂𝗿𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗛𝗮𝗱 𝗡𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗟𝗲𝗳𝘁 𝗛𝗶𝗺 Long before 𝗟𝗮 𝗗𝗮𝗺𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗱𝗲 𝗙𝗮𝘂𝘀𝘁 existed in its mature form,…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗛𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥 𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗢𝗭 𝗔𝗦 𝗪𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗕𝗬 𝗛𝗜𝗠𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗙 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝟭𝟯 𝗠𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀, 𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗜𝘁𝗮𝗹𝘆 𝗥𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰 — 𝟭𝟴𝟯𝟭–𝟭𝟴𝟯𝟮 After the frenzy of his flight toward Paris, the abandoned plan of…

𝗪𝗔𝗚𝗡𝗘𝗥 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗢𝗭: 𝗔𝗗𝗠𝗜𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡, 𝗥𝗜𝗩𝗔𝗟𝗥𝗬 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗔𝗧𝗧𝗟𝗘 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗙𝗨𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖 The relationship between 𝗛𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗕𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗼𝘇 and 𝗥𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗪𝗮𝗴𝗻𝗲𝗿 was one of the most fascinating—and most frequently misunderstood—encounters in nineteenth-century music. They…

𝗝𝗨𝗟𝗜𝗔 𝗙𝗜𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗥: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗩𝗜𝗢𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗜𝗦𝗧 𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗡𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥 𝗔𝗕𝗔𝗡𝗗𝗢𝗡𝗘𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗢 𝗝𝘂𝗹𝗶𝗮 𝗙𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿 is best known as one of the outstanding violinists of her generation, but her musical identity has never been limited to a single…

𝗪𝗛𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗗𝗥𝗔𝗟 𝗠𝗘𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗥𝗘: 𝗕𝗥𝗨𝗖𝗞𝗡𝗘𝗥’𝗦 𝗙𝗜𝗥𝗦𝗧 𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛 𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗗 𝗪𝗔𝗚𝗡𝗘𝗥 The first personal encounter between Anton Bruckner and Richard Wagner has often been compressed into a picturesque but imprecise formula: Bruckner met…

𝗕𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗛 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗗𝗢𝗠𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗦𝗘𝗖𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗬: 𝗚𝗨𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗩 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗔𝗟𝗠𝗔 𝗠𝗔𝗛𝗟𝗘𝗥’𝗦 𝗣𝗥𝗜𝗩𝗔𝗧𝗘 𝗪𝗘𝗗𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗜𝗡 𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗡𝗡𝗔 The marriage of 𝗚𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘃 𝗠𝗮𝗵𝗹𝗲𝗿 and 𝗔𝗹𝗺𝗮 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗹𝗲𝗿, celebrated in Vienna on 𝟵 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝟭𝟵𝟬𝟮, was not the magnificent public event…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗛𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥 𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗢𝗭 𝗔𝗦 𝗪𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗕𝗬 𝗛𝗜𝗠𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗙 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝟴 𝗛𝘂𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘀: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗗𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱, 𝗗𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗙𝗿𝘂𝗶𝘁, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘂𝗻𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗲 — 𝟭𝟴𝟮𝟱–𝟭𝟴𝟮𝟲 When 𝗛𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗕𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗼𝘇 returned…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗩𝗜𝗢𝗟𝗜𝗡 𝗦𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗔𝗦 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗖𝗬𝗖𝗟𝗘𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘 Selecting the greatest violin sonatas requires more than identifying the most famous or technically demanding pieces. The essential criterion is the quality of the…

𝗘𝗨𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗘 𝗢𝗥𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗗𝗬 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Eugene Ormandy remains inseparable from the Philadelphia Orchestra and the famously sumptuous sonority that became known throughout the world as the “Philadelphia Sound.” During his extraordinary tenure—first…

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…

𝗙𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗭 𝗩𝗢𝗡 𝗪𝗔𝗟𝗦𝗘𝗚𝗚 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗚𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗧, 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗘𝗖𝗥𝗘𝗧 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗠𝗜𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗢𝗡, 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗧𝗛 𝗕𝗘𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗗 𝗠𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗧’𝗦 𝗥𝗘𝗤𝗨𝗜𝗘𝗠 Few minor figures in musical history have exercised such a decisive influence over the fate of a masterpiece…

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,…

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,…

𝗧𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗜𝗞𝗢𝗩𝗦𝗞𝗬’𝗦 𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗣𝗜𝗘𝗖𝗘𝗦 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖 𝗢𝗙 𝗣𝗔𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗢𝗡, 𝗙𝗔𝗧𝗘 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗛𝗨𝗠𝗔𝗡 𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗧 Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky is often presented as the supreme composer of emotional immediacy: the creator of unforgettable melodies, tragic symphonies,…

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…