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# **THE DEATH OF PERGOLESI — A COMPLETE ANALYSIS** *Illness, final works, biography, mythmaking, and historical context* Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (1710–1736) died at the age of **26**, leaving behind an astonishingly small but immortal…

# **THE DEATH OF HENRY PURCELL — A COMPLETE ANALYSIS** *Illness, mystery, historical context, and the legacy left behind* Henry Purcell (1659–1695), often called *the Orpheus Britannicus*, died with tragic suddenness at the age…

# **Schumann and Chopin — Encounters, Influences, and Mutual Admiration** Although Robert Schumann and Frédéric Chopin were never intimate friends nor maintained a close day-to-day relationship, they shared one of the most meaningful artistic…

# **HANDEL’S FUNERAL AT WESTMINSTER ABBEY — A FULL NARRATIVE**A ## **I. London in Mourning — April 1759** In the days following George Frideric Handel’s death on the morning of **April 14, 1759**, London…

# **THE LAST 48 HOURS OF JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH** ## **I. July 26, 1750 — Morning Faintness, The Slow Dimming** The morning of July 26 arrived like many others in that stifling Leipzig summer:…

# **THE DEATH OF MOZART — A COMPLETE ANALYSIS** **Vienna, 1791** **Age at death: 35** # **I. The Final Year: Genius at Full Force (1791)** Mozart’s last year was one of *astonishing productivity*. He…

# **THE DEATH OF JOHANNES BRAHMS — A COMPLETE ANALYSIS** **Vienna, 1896–1897** **Age at death: 63 years** # **I. The Final Chapter Begins: The Collapse of 1896** The death of Clara Schumann on **20…

# **THE DEATH OF FRANZ SCHUBERT — A COMPLETE ANALYSIS** # **Vienna, 19 November 1828 – 3:00 p.m. approx.** **Age: 31 years, 9 months** # **1. Context: The Last Weeks (October–November 1828)** The last…

𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐋𝐎 𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐈 𝐀𝐒 𝐀 𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐀𝐍 𝐖𝐇𝐎 𝐓𝐀𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐄𝐔𝐑𝐎𝐏𝐄 𝐇𝐎𝐖 𝐓𝐎 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐈𝐍 Arcangelo Corelli occupies an unusual position in the history of musical pedagogy. He left no violin method, no systematic…

𝐀𝐀𝐑𝐎𝐍 𝐂𝐎𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐃 — 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐅 𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐍 𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐂 𝐀𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 (𝟏𝟗𝟎𝟎–𝟏𝟗𝟗𝟎) is widely regarded as 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐠𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞. More than any other twentieth-century composer, he…

𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐌 𝐖𝐀𝐋𝐓𝐎𝐍 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐉𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝟏𝟕... 𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍 𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐄𝐅𝐓 𝐒𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐎𝐋 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐋𝐃 𝐎𝐅 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐂 One of Britain's greatest twentieth-century composers never received a formal conservatory education. When 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐦 𝐖𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐨𝐧 (𝟏𝟗𝟎𝟐–𝟏𝟗𝟖𝟑) was only 𝟏𝟕 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗛𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥 𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗢𝗭 𝗔𝗦 𝗪𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗕𝗬 𝗛𝗜𝗠𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗙 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝟭𝟮 𝗥𝗼𝗺𝗲, 𝗕𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘆𝗮𝗹, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗱 𝗝𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗛𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗧𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗛𝗶𝗺 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗛𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 — 𝗟𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝟭𝟴𝟯𝟬–𝗘𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝟭𝟴𝟯𝟭 After five years of…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗛𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥 𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗢𝗭 𝗔𝗦 𝗪𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗕𝗬 𝗛𝗜𝗠𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗙 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝟲 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘂𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗶, 𝗟𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗲𝘂𝗿, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗯𝗲𝗹 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗟𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗲𝘂𝗿: 𝗜𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗲 — 𝟭𝟴𝟮𝟯 Once 𝗛𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗕𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗼𝘇 had decided that he would…

𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 𝗕𝘆 𝗝𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗛𝘂𝗻𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗜𝗩 — 𝗔𝘁 𝗥𝗼𝗺𝗲, 𝗪𝗲𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗿, 𝗕𝘂𝗱𝗮𝗽𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝟭𝟵 — 𝗕𝘂𝗱𝗮𝗽𝗲𝘀𝘁: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝘆𝗺𝗯𝗼𝗹 For 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁, 𝗕𝘂𝗱𝗮𝗽𝗲𝘀𝘁 was not merely one of the three cities of his late…

𝗠𝗔𝗛𝗟𝗘𝗥 𝗝𝗢𝗦𝗘 𝗟𝗨𝗜𝗦 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗭 𝗗𝗘 𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗚𝗔 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝟴 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀, 𝗗𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗟𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗶𝘂𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗴 𝗠𝗮𝗵𝗹𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗩𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗖𝗶𝗿𝗰𝗹𝗲 The young 𝗚𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘃 𝗠𝗮𝗵𝗹𝗲𝗿 did not form his artistic identity in solitude. Vienna gave…

𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 𝗕𝘆 𝗝𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗛𝘂𝗻𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗜 — 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗟𝗲𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝟬𝟵 — 𝗣𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗶, 𝗖𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗻, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗕𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗼𝘇 In the making of 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁, three encounters were decisive. They did not merely…

𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗺 𝗙𝘂𝗿𝘁𝘄𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲𝗿, 𝗚𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿, 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗭𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗮, 𝟭𝟵𝟯𝟰. 𝗭𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗮 𝗟𝘂𝗻𝗱 was the first Danish wife of 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗺 𝗙𝘂𝗿𝘁𝘄𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲𝗿. They married in 1923, and the marriage produced no children. The relationship deteriorated relatively…

𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 𝗕𝘆 𝗝𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗛𝘂𝗻𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗜 — 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗟𝗲𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝟬𝟲 — 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗟𝗲 𝗣𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁 𝗟𝗶𝘁𝘇 After 𝗩𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗮, the young Franz Liszt entered the city that would give his…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗘 𝗠𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗧 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗣𝗜𝗘𝗖𝗘𝗦: 𝗪𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗘 𝗕𝗘𝗔𝗨𝗧𝗬 𝗕𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗘𝗦 𝗔𝗕𝗦𝗢𝗟𝗨𝗧𝗘 To choose Mozart’s ten “true” masterpieces is not to choose merely the most famous works, nor even the most immediately seductive. Mozart wrote too much…

𝗠𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗧: 𝗔 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗬𝗡𝗔𝗥𝗗 𝗦𝗢𝗟𝗢𝗠𝗢𝗡 𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗡𝗡𝗔 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟮𝟰 𝗙𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗙𝗨𝗟 𝗦𝗬𝗠𝗠𝗘𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗦 ════════════════════════════ 𝗜. 𝗕𝗘𝗔𝗨𝗧𝗬 𝗔𝗦 𝗗𝗔𝗡𝗚𝗘𝗥 After the worlds of 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗘𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗢𝗡𝗥𝗬, 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗭𝗢𝗥𝗢𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗡 𝗥𝗜𝗗𝗗𝗟𝗘𝗦, and 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗡𝗜𝗩𝗔𝗟𝗘𝗦𝗤𝗨𝗘 𝗗𝗜𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗜𝗢𝗡, Solomon turns to Mozart’s music itself, especially…

𝗥𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘂𝘀𝘀 — 𝗗𝗶𝗲 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝘂 𝗼𝗵𝗻𝗲 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻 — 𝗞𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗷𝗮𝗻 — 𝟭𝟵𝟲𝟰 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGm3FsBnPEM 𝗟𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗲 𝗥𝘆𝘀𝗮𝗻𝗲𝗸 — The Empress 𝗝𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘀 — The Emperor 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗛𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗻 — The Nurse 𝗪𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗕𝗲𝗿𝗿𝘆 — Barak 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮 𝗟𝘂𝗱𝘄𝗶𝗴 —…

𝗖𝗢𝗣𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗗, 𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗡𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗜𝗡 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗞𝗢𝗨𝗦𝗦𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗧𝗭𝗞𝗬 — 𝗧𝗔𝗡𝗚𝗟𝗘𝗪𝗢𝗢𝗗, 𝟭𝟵𝟰𝟳: 𝗔 𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗚𝗟𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗔𝗠𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗡 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖 The photograph of 𝗔𝗮𝗿𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱, 𝗟𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗕𝗲𝗿𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗶𝗻 and 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗲 𝗞𝗼𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘇𝗸𝘆 at 𝗧𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗼𝗱, 𝗟𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘅, 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗰𝗵𝘂𝘀𝗲𝘁𝘁𝘀, in 𝟭𝟵𝟰𝟳 captures much more than three famous…