Posts / Photos

𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗹𝗼 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗼𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝘁𝘆𝗹𝗲 𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗹𝗼 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶 (1653–1713) was one of the most influential composers of the Baroque era and 𝗮 𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗶𝗴𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰. Born…

𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻 𝗝𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗽𝗵 𝗙𝘂𝘅: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗧𝗮𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻 𝗝𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗽𝗵 𝗙𝘂𝘅 (c.1660–1741) was an Austrian Baroque composer, theorist, and one of the most influential teachers in music history. Born in…

𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀𝗰𝗼 𝗚𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗶: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗩𝗶𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗼𝘀𝗼 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗧𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗜𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗩𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝗿𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀𝗰𝗼 𝗚𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗶 (1687–1762) was an Italian Baroque composer, violin virtuoso, and influential music theorist, and he stands among the most important…

𝗚𝗶𝗼𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶 𝗕𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗼𝗹𝗲𝘀𝗶: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁-𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗧𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲 𝗚𝗶𝗼𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶 𝗕𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗼𝗹𝗲𝘀𝗶 (1710–1736) was one of the most brilliant and influential Italian composers of the early eighteenth century, and 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲…

𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗺 𝗕𝗼𝘆𝗰𝗲: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗩𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗼𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗺 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗺 𝗕𝗼𝘆𝗰𝗲 (1711–1779) was one of the most important English composers of the eighteenth century and 𝗮 𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗶𝗴𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱’𝘀 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿…

𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀𝗰𝗼 𝗖𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗶: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗠𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮 𝗮 𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗔𝗿𝘁 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀𝗰𝗼 𝗖𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗶 (1602–1676) was one of the most important opera composers of the early Baroque and 𝗮 𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗶𝗴𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰…

𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗣𝗼𝗲𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗩𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗮 𝗱𝗮 𝗚𝗮𝗺𝗯𝗮 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀 (1656–1728) was a French Baroque composer and a supreme virtuoso of the viola da gamba, 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳…

𝗬𝘂𝗿𝗶 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻 (1887–1966) 𝗬𝘂𝗿𝗶 𝗔𝗹𝗲𝗸𝘀𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻 was a Soviet composer best known for his large-scale vocal-symphonic and operatic works. Born in Glukhov, in the former Russian Empire, he studied in St Petersburg and later…

𝐀𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐑𝐮𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐢𝐧: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝐎𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐨 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭 𝐑𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞, 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐞, 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐦 There are musicians whose fame rests on one supreme gift, and then there are those rarer figures whose…

𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝗞𝗡𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗧𝗦𝗕𝗨𝗦𝗖𝗛 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗗𝗨𝗖𝗧𝗦 𝗕𝗥𝗨𝗖𝗞𝗡𝗘𝗥 𝗔 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗧𝗼𝗻𝘆 𝗗𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗮𝗻’𝘀 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 https://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2001/oct01/knappertsbusch.htm Tony Duggan presents this 6-CD set as a highly valuable historical document rather than a first-choice modern recommendation. Its importance lies above all…

𝗥𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘂𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗦𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘀𝗸𝘆 𝗔 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝘆𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗶𝗻𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗦𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘀𝗸𝘆’s connection with Richard Strauss was not a casual or distant one. It began in Vienna in the formative years…

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…

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗵𝗺𝘀 (𝗔𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗹 𝟲, 𝟭𝟴𝟵𝟳) 𝗩𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗮, 𝗔𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗮 – 𝗞𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗭𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗱𝗵𝗼𝗳 Johannes Brahms, one of the towering figures of Romantic music, passed away on April 3, 1897, at the age of…

𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗡𝗶𝗸𝗼𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗥𝗼𝘇𝗵𝗱𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗸𝘆 (1931–2018) – 𝗣𝗮𝗮𝘃𝗼 𝗝𝗮̈𝗿𝘃𝗶 (1962– ) and 𝗡𝗲𝗲𝗺𝗲 𝗝𝗮̈𝗿𝘃𝗶 (1937– ) 𝟭. 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗡𝗶𝗸𝗼𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗥𝗼𝘇𝗵𝗱𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗸𝘆 (1931–2018) 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗡𝗲𝗲𝗺𝗲 𝗝𝗮̈𝗿𝘃𝗶 (1937– ) A collegial and respectful relationship between two influential conductors of…

𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐎 𝐓𝐎𝐒𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐈 — 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐇 𝐎𝐅 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐎𝐍 𝐆𝐈𝐎𝐑𝐆𝐈𝐎 𝐈𝐍 𝐁𝐔𝐄𝐍𝐎𝐒 𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐄𝐒 𝐎𝐍 𝟏𝟎 𝐉𝐔𝐍𝐄 𝟏𝟗𝟎𝟔 — 𝐂𝐇𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐘 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐈𝐑𝐂𝐔𝐌𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐒 𝐈. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐰 Arturo Toscanini married Carla De Martini on…

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…

𝗦𝘄𝗶𝘁𝘇𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 — 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗻 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗻 & 𝗙𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘅 𝗪𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿, 1940 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗻’𝘀 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗪𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿: Hermann Scherchen studied conducting and composition in Vienna, where he came into contact with Felix Weingartner. Scherchen was particularly drawn to 𝗪𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿’𝘀…

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…

𝐉𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐢 𝐒𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐥: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐞𝐝 𝐋𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐂𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐀 𝐕𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐚 𝐃𝐚 𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐚 𝐈𝐧 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐇𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 There are musicians who perform great repertory, and there are others who seem to widen the very map…

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…

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…

𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐧 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐧: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐛𝐞𝐥 𝐌𝐚𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 There are conductors who preserve tradition, and there are conductors who explode it from within so that music can live again. Hermann Scherchen…

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…