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**𝗠𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗧 𝗜𝗡 𝗦𝗪𝗔𝗙𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗗’𝗦 𝗕𝗜𝗢𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗣𝗛𝗬 - 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟱 — 𝗚𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗳𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗭𝗻𝗮𝘁𝘀𝗻𝗼𝗰** **Mozart in Vienna: opera, gossip, love, independence, and the making of a new life** Mozart’s arrival in Vienna in **1781** marked the true…

𝗚𝗶𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗽𝗽𝗲 𝗩𝗲𝗿𝗱𝗶 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝟭𝟵𝟬𝟭 𝗜. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘆𝗺𝗯𝗼𝗹 When Giuseppe Verdi died in Milan on 27 January 1901, at the Grand Hotel et de Milan, Italy did not feel…

𝐄𝐝𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐯𝐚𝐧 𝐁𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐦: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐮𝐫 There are conductors whose authority is built on domination, theatrical command, and visible force. And then there are rarer figures whose greatness comes…

𝐒𝐯𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐯 𝐑𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐮𝐬 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐑𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐎𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚’𝐬 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚 𝐏𝐢𝐭 𝐓𝐨 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐨 There are pianists whose greatness can be explained through conservatory discipline, competitions, and a steady climb through the usual…

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…

𝐈𝐯𝐚́𝐧 𝐅𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐌𝐚𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐎𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐬 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐈𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 There are conductors who impose order, and there are others who seem to reinvent what an orchestra can be. 𝐈𝐯𝐚́𝐧 𝐅𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫 belongs…

𝐋𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐤𝐨𝐰𝐬𝐤𝐢: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐎𝐟 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐎𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐬 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐋𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 There are conductors who preserve tradition, and there are others who seem to reinvent the very act of orchestral music-making. 𝐋𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐤𝐨𝐰𝐬𝐤𝐢…

𝐒𝐞𝐦𝐲𝐨𝐧 𝐁𝐲𝐜𝐡𝐤𝐨𝐯: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨 𝐎𝐟 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐄𝐱𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐝𝐲 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐠 There are conductors whose greatness lies in polish, and there are others whose art seems born from fracture, displacement, and the hard-won…

𝐀𝐋𝐂𝐎𝐇𝐎𝐋 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐂: 𝐀 𝐑𝐈𝐆𝐎𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐒 𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐀𝐘 𝐎𝐍 𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄, 𝐃𝐄𝐂𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐄, 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐇 Alcohol has occupied a far more ambiguous place in the history of classical music than tobacco. Wine, beer, champagne, absinthe,…

𝐁𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐨 𝐖𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐁𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐡𝐦𝐬: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐲𝐦𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐛𝐲 𝐎𝐧𝐞 Bruno Walter’s Beethoven and Brahms stand at the heart of the central Austro-German symphonic tradition on record, but his legacy in the two…

𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐧: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 There are conductors who dazzle through versatility, others through charisma, and a few whose authority seems to come from a much older source:…

𝐆𝐢𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐩𝐩𝐞 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐀𝐬 𝐈𝐟 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐒𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐖𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐀 𝐏𝐬𝐲𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐃𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐚 There are conductors who win admiration through beauty of sound, others through sheer discipline, and a few who seem…

𝐒𝐢𝐫 𝐒𝐢𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐀𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐑𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐎𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧 There are conductors who inherit greatness, and there are others who seem to create a new climate wherever they…

𝐒𝐢𝐫 𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐦 𝐒𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐭: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐠 There are conductors whose greatness lies in severity, austerity, and intellectual weight, and there are others whose power comes from something more public, more…

𝐄𝐮𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞 𝐎𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐲: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐀𝐧 𝐎𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐀 𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐝 There are conductors whose fame rests on a few electrifying seasons, and there are others whose greatness is built over decades, through patience,…

𝐃𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐫𝐢 𝐌𝐢𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐨𝐬: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐨𝐟 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐀𝐬 𝐈𝐟 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐖𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 There are conductors who dominate by sheer authority, and there are conductors whose greatness seems to come from something…

𝐕𝐚́𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐯 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐡: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐆𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐀 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐈𝐭𝐬 𝐎𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐕𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞 There are conductors who inherit great orchestras, and there are conductors who create them in the deepest sense. 𝐕𝐚́𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐯 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐡 belonged to the…

𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐨𝐬 𝐊𝐥𝐞𝐢𝐛𝐞𝐫: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐮𝐬 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐀𝐬 𝐈𝐟 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐖𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 There are conductors who build careers, and there are conductors who become legends almost in spite of…

𝐄𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐊𝐥𝐞𝐢𝐛𝐞𝐫: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐀𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐓𝐲𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐲 There are conductors whose greatness lies in sheer musical command, and there are conductors whose greatness also acquires a moral dimension because of the…

𝐓𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐟𝐢𝐧: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚, 𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐁𝐞𝐥 𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐀𝐠𝐞 There are opera conductors who serve repertory, and there are opera conductors who seem almost to stand…

𝐉𝐚𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐚 𝐇𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐢𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐡𝐥𝐞𝐫: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐲𝐦𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐛𝐲 𝐎𝐧𝐞 Jascha Horenstein is one of the indispensable Mahler conductors, but his Mahler legacy is not a neat studio cycle. It is a constellation of major…

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…

𝐎𝐭𝐭𝐨 𝐊𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐁𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐧: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐒𝐲𝐦𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐛𝐲 𝐎𝐧𝐞 Otto Klemperer’s Beethoven belongs among the most imposing achievements in the discography of the twentieth century. His Philharmonia recordings, mainly made between 1955 and…

𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐒𝐳𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐁𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐧: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐒𝐲𝐦𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐛𝐲 𝐎𝐧𝐞 George Szell’s Beethoven cycle with The Cleveland Orchestra has long been regarded as one of the great Beethoven traversals on disc. Critics have repeatedly…