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𝐎𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐌𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐚𝐞𝐧: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐡, 𝐁𝐢𝐫𝐝𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐠, 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐫 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐀 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞 There are composers whose greatness lies in craft, and there are others whose greatness seems to come from a…

**𝗠𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗧 𝗜𝗡 𝗦𝗪𝗔𝗙𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗗’𝗦 𝗕𝗜𝗢𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗣𝗛𝗬 - 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟰 — 𝗥𝗲𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻: 𝗠𝗼𝘇𝗮𝗿𝘁, 𝗩𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗮, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲** **𝗜. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗼𝗺** When Mozart arrived in **Vienna in 1781**, he had at last…

**𝗠𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗧 𝗜𝗡 𝗦𝗪𝗔𝗙𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗗’𝗦 𝗕𝗜𝗢𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗣𝗛𝗬 - Chapter 13 — A Scoundrel, a Lousy Rogue** ## **I. Return to Salzburg (1779): Comfort Without Freedom** When Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart returned to Salzburg in **January 1779**, the outward…

𝗣𝗮𝘂 𝗖𝗮𝘀𝗮𝗹𝘀 – 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘆 (𝗔 𝗱𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗽𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗼𝗽𝗵𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗰𝘆 𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿) Pau (Pablo) Casals, although universally remembered as one of the greatest cellists…

𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐲 𝐁𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐭, 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚 — 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 - Complete Audio in patreon: https://www.patreon.com/collection/2074467 𝐁𝐈𝐙𝐄𝐓’𝐒 𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐌𝐄𝐍 — 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐎𝐅 𝐈𝐓𝐒 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍, 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐄𝐑𝐄, 𝐈𝐌𝐏𝐀𝐂𝐓 𝐈𝐍 𝐈𝐓𝐒 𝐎𝐖𝐍 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄, 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐅𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 𝐈. 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐇…

𝐊𝐚𝐫𝐥 𝐁𝐨𝐡𝐦 𝐢𝐧 𝐌𝐨𝐳𝐚𝐫𝐭’𝐬 𝐒𝐲𝐦𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐬: 𝐀 𝐑𝐢𝐠𝐨𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐀𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐬 Karl Bohm’s Mozart symphony legacy is often discussed as if it were one homogeneous “old-style” body of recordings. It is not. The important starting point is…

𝐍𝐢𝐤𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐬 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐌𝐨𝐳𝐚𝐫𝐭’𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞 𝐒𝐲𝐦𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐬: 𝐀 𝐑𝐢𝐠𝐨𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐀𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐬 Complete Audio in patreon: https://www.patreon.com/collection/2072275 Harnoncourt’s Mozart symphony legacy is not one uniform block. It is a composite project built from two main sound worlds:…

𝐊𝐀𝐑𝐋 𝐁𝐎̈𝐇𝐌 (𝟏𝟖𝟗𝟒–𝟏𝟗𝟖𝟏): 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐔𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 Karl Böhm (1894–1981) was born in Graz on 28 August 1894 and died in Salzburg on 14 August 1981. He studied law…

𝐉𝐎𝐒𝐄𝐅 𝐊𝐑𝐈𝐏𝐒 (𝟏𝟗𝟎𝟐–𝟏𝟗𝟕𝟒): 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐔𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 Josef Krips (1902–1974) was born in Vienna on 8 April 1902 and died in Geneva on 13 October 1974. He studied in…

𝐒𝐈𝐑 𝐉𝐎𝐇𝐍 𝐁𝐀𝐑𝐁𝐈𝐑𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐈 (𝟏𝟖𝟗𝟗–𝟏𝟗𝟕𝟎): 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐔𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 Sir John Barbirolli (1899–1970) was born Giovanni Battista Barbirolli in London on 2 December 1899 and died there on 29 July…

𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐆𝐈𝐔 𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐁𝐈𝐃𝐀𝐂𝐇𝐄 (𝟏𝟗𝟏𝟐–𝟏𝟗𝟗𝟔): 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐔𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 Sergiu Celibidache (1912–1996) was born on 28 June 1912 in Roman, Romania and died on 14 August 1996 near Paris. He remains…

𝐆𝐄𝐎𝐑𝐆 𝐏𝐇𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐏𝐏 𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐍 (𝟏𝟔𝟖𝟏–𝟏𝟕𝟔𝟕): 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐔𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 Georg Philipp Telemann (1681–1767) was born in Magdeburg on 14 March 1681 and died in Hamburg on 25 June 1767. He…

𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐋𝐎 𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐈 (𝟏𝟔𝟓𝟑–𝟏𝟕𝟏𝟑): 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐔𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 Arcangelo Corelli (1653–1713) was born on 17 February 1653 in Fusignano, in the Papal States, and died on 8 January 1713 in…

𝐉𝐄𝐀𝐍-𝐏𝐇𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐏𝐏𝐄 𝐑𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐀𝐔 (𝟏𝟔𝟖𝟑–𝟏𝟕𝟔𝟒): 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐔𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683–1764) was born on 25 September 1683 and died on 12 September 1764. He is often remembered as the supreme…

𝐅𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐂̧𝐎𝐈𝐒 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐍 (𝟏𝟔𝟔𝟖–𝟏𝟕𝟑𝟑): 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐔𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 François Couperin (1668–1733), later called “le Grand,” was born in Paris on 10 November 1668 and died there on 11 September 1733.…

𝐉𝐄𝐀𝐍-𝐁𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐄 𝐋𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐘 (𝟏𝟔𝟑𝟐–𝟏𝟔𝟖𝟕): 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐔𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632–1687) was one of the most powerful and contradictory figures in seventeenth-century music. He was born Giovanni Battista Lulli in…

𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐎 𝐓𝐎𝐒𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐈 (𝟏𝟖𝟔𝟕–𝟏𝟗𝟓𝟕): 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐔𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 Arturo Toscanini (1867–1957) was one of the most admired and feared conductors in modern history. He was born on 25 March 1867…

𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐌 𝐅𝐔𝐑𝐓𝐖𝐀̈𝐍𝐆𝐋𝐄𝐑 (𝟏𝟖𝟖𝟔–𝟏𝟗𝟓𝟒): 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐔𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 Wilhelm Furtwängler (1886–1954) remains one of the most morally and historically controversial figures in twentieth-century music. He was born on 25 January…

𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐗𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑 𝐆𝐋𝐀𝐙𝐔𝐍𝐎𝐕 (𝟏𝟖𝟔𝟓–𝟏𝟗𝟑𝟔): 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐔𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 Alexander Glazunov (1865–1936) is often remembered as the grand stabilizing figure of late Russian music: the prodigy who united nationalism with conservatory…

𝐂𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐄 𝐒𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐓-𝐒𝐀𝐄̈𝐍𝐒 (𝟏𝟖𝟑𝟓–𝟏𝟗𝟐𝟏): 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐔𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 Camille Saint-Saëns (1835–1921) is often remembered as the supreme French classicist of the later nineteenth century: elegant, lucid, disciplined, cultivated, brilliant, and…

𝐇𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑 𝐁𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐎𝐙 (𝟏𝟖𝟎𝟑–𝟏𝟖𝟔𝟗): 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐔𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 Hector Berlioz (1803–1869) was one of the most radical and controversial composers of the nineteenth century. His life combined artistic genius, emotional…

𝐅𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐙 𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐙𝐓 (𝟏𝟖𝟏𝟏–𝟏𝟖𝟖𝟔): 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐔𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 Franz Liszt (1811–1886) was one of the most contradictory figures in nineteenth-century music. He was the greatest virtuoso celebrity of his age…

𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐃𝐄́𝐑𝐈𝐂 𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐏𝐈𝐍 (𝟏𝟖𝟏𝟎–𝟏𝟖𝟒𝟗): 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐔𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 Frédéric Chopin (1810–1849) is often imagined as the supreme poet of the piano: aristocratic, fragile, refined, inward, and almost detached from the…

𝐉𝐄𝐀𝐍 𝐒𝐈𝐁𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐔𝐒 (𝟏𝟖𝟔𝟓–𝟏𝟗𝟓𝟕): 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐔𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 Jean Sibelius (1865–1957) is often remembered as the austere and noble musical voice of Finland: the composer of Finlandia, the seven symphonies,…