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𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 and 𝗔𝗿𝗺𝗮 𝗦𝗲𝗻𝗸𝗿𝗮𝗵 were connected through musical collaboration in Liszt’s late Weimar years. 𝗔𝗿𝗺𝗮 𝗦𝗲𝗻𝗸𝗿𝗮𝗵 was an American violinist, and the well-known 1885 photograph shows her with 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 in Weimar, where he…

𝗚𝗼𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲'𝘀 𝗙𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻 𝗪𝗼𝗹𝗳𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗴 𝘃𝗼𝗻 𝗚𝗼𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲 (𝟭𝟳𝟰𝟵–𝟭𝟴𝟯𝟮), one of the foundational figures of 𝗚𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻 literature and a central figure of the 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗺 𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗗𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗴 and 𝗪𝗲𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗿 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗺, was deeply influenced by music and…

𝗔𝗻𝗲𝗰𝗱𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗙𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘅 𝗠𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗹𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗵𝗻 1. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝗶𝗴𝘆 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗢𝘂𝘁𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 Felix Mendelssohn was not merely a talented child — he was 𝗮 𝗽𝗵𝗲𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗼𝗻. Born in Hamburg in 1809 into a…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗟𝗗𝗛𝗢𝗢𝗗 𝗢𝗙 𝗙𝗘𝗟𝗜𝗫 𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗟𝗦𝗦𝗢𝗛𝗡 (𝗜𝗜𝗜) “𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗮𝘄𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗶𝘂𝘀” (𝟭𝟴𝟮𝟮–𝟭𝟴𝟮𝟱) 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟱: 𝗔 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰 By 1822, Berlin had become one of the 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲, alive with the spirit…

𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗟𝗦𝗦𝗢𝗛𝗡 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗚𝗢𝗘𝗧𝗛𝗘: 𝗔 𝗥𝗔𝗥𝗘 𝗙𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗣 𝗕𝗘𝗧𝗪𝗘𝗘𝗡 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗧𝗛𝗙𝗨𝗟 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗜𝗨𝗦 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗔𝗚𝗘𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗧𝗜𝗧𝗔𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗙𝗜𝗥𝗦𝗧 𝗠𝗘𝗘𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: 𝗪𝗘𝗜𝗠𝗔𝗥, 𝟭𝟴𝟮𝟭 Felix Mendelssohn first met Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in 𝗡𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟴𝟮𝟭, when the boy was only 𝗧𝘄𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗲…

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗹 - 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟳: 𝗛𝗔𝗠𝗕𝗨𝗥𝗚 𝗜𝗡 𝗥𝗨𝗜𝗡𝗦, 𝗜𝗧𝗔𝗟𝗬 𝗜𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗗𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘 (𝟭𝟳𝟬𝟱–𝟭𝟳𝟬𝟲) The success of 𝗔𝗹𝗺𝗶𝗿𝗮 might seem, at first glance, like the beginning of a secure ascent. A young composer…

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗹 - 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟴: 𝗙𝗟𝗢𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘, 𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗘, 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗗𝗜𝗦𝗖𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗬 𝗢𝗙 𝗜𝗧𝗔𝗟𝗬 (𝟭𝟳𝟬𝟲–𝟭𝟳𝟬𝟳) When Handel left Hamburg in the autumn of 1706, he was not fleeing failure. He was leaving behind a…

𝗟𝗼𝘂𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗙𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰 (𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝟯𝟭, 𝟭𝟴𝟬𝟰 – 𝗦𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟱, 𝟭𝟴𝟳𝟱) Louise Farrenc (𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝟯𝟭, 𝟭𝟴𝟬𝟰 – 𝗦𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟱, 𝟭𝟴𝟳𝟱) was a remarkable 𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗵 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿, 𝗽𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿 whose career defied many of the limitations placed…

𝗗𝗘𝗕𝗨𝗦𝗦𝗬: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗞 𝗢𝗙 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗚𝗡𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 – 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗥𝗜𝗫 𝗗𝗘 𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗘 (𝟭𝟴𝟴𝟰) 𝗔 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗚 𝗠𝗔𝗡 𝗔𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗧𝗛𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗛𝗢𝗟𝗗 𝗢𝗙 𝗙𝗔𝗠𝗘 By 1884, Claude Debussy was no longer merely a gifted Conservatoire student showing flashes of…

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗹 - 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟲: 𝗔𝗟𝗠𝗜𝗥𝗔 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗙𝗜𝗥𝗦𝗧 𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗨𝗠𝗣𝗛 (𝟭𝟳𝟬𝟱) If the duel with Mattheson marked the violent end of one phase of Handel’s youth, 𝗔𝗹𝗺𝗶𝗿𝗮 marked the beginning of another:…

𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗛𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗢𝗩’𝗦 𝗙𝗜𝗥𝗦𝗧 𝗦𝗬𝗠𝗣𝗛𝗢𝗡𝗬: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗠𝗜𝗘𝗥𝗘, 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗙𝗔𝗜𝗟𝗨𝗥𝗘, 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗚𝗟𝗔𝗭𝗨𝗡𝗢𝗩 𝗤𝗨𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗶𝘁𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝟭𝟴𝟵𝟱, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗦𝘁. 𝗣𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗯𝘂𝗿𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝟮𝟴, 𝟭𝟴𝟵𝟳 (𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝟭𝟲 𝗢.𝗦.).…

𝗩𝗲𝗿𝗱𝗶: 𝗥𝗶𝗴𝗼𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗼, 𝗔𝗰𝘁 𝗜𝗜𝗜: 𝗟𝗮 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗮 𝗲̀ 𝗺𝗼𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗲 · 𝗟𝘂𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗼 𝗣𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗶 · 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝘆𝗺𝗽𝗵𝗼𝗻𝘆 𝗢𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮 · 𝗥𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗕𝗼𝗻𝘆𝗻𝗴𝗲 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohiPXBihlFg A young Luciano Pavarotti

𝗦𝗘𝗥𝗚𝗜𝗨 𝗖𝗘𝗟𝗜𝗕𝗜𝗗𝗔𝗖𝗛𝗘: 𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗙𝗔𝗠𝗜𝗟𝗬 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗜. 𝗢𝗥𝗜𝗚𝗜𝗡𝗦, 𝗙𝗔𝗠𝗜𝗟𝗬 𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗞𝗚𝗥𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗗, 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗟𝗬 𝗧𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗶𝘂 𝗖𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗱𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲 was born on 28 June 1912 in Roman, Romania. A foundation dedicated to his legacy states that he…

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗹 — 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟯 𝗟𝗔𝗪 𝗢𝗥 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖? 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗚 𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗟 𝗖𝗛𝗢𝗢𝗦𝗘𝗦 𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗣𝗔𝗧𝗛 (𝟭𝟳𝟬𝟮–𝟭𝟳𝟬𝟯) By the beginning of the eighteenth century, the essential question in Handel’s life was no longer whether…

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗹 — 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟮 𝗭𝗔𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗨 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗢𝗙 𝗔 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗡 (𝟭𝟲𝟵𝟳–𝟭𝟳𝟬𝟮) If the first stage of Handel’s life was the awakening of a vocation, this second one was the period…

𝗜𝗴𝗻𝗮𝘇 𝗠𝗼𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘀: 𝗚𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗕𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗻, 𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗠𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗹𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗵𝗻 𝗔 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗴𝘂𝗲 (𝟭𝟳𝟵𝟰–𝟭𝟴𝟬𝟴) Ignaz Moscheles was born on 𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝟯𝟬, 𝟭𝟳𝟵𝟰, in Prague, then part of the Habsburg Empire, into a well-educated German-speaking Jewish…

𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐭 𝐯𝐨𝐧 𝐊𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐣𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐨𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 Herbert von Karajan’s love of the motor world was not a superficial hobby, nor merely the predictable extravagance of a wealthy celebrity. It formed part of…

𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗛𝗨𝗥 𝗥𝗨𝗕𝗜𝗡𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗜𝗡: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗟𝗬 𝗬𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗦 (𝟭𝟴𝟴𝟳–𝟭𝟵𝟯𝟬) 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗜 – 𝗕𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗶𝗻 Łó𝗱ź (𝟭𝟴𝟴𝟳–𝟭𝟴𝟵𝟱) Arthur Rubinstein was born on January 28, 1887, in Łódź, then part of the Russian Empire (now Poland), into a cultured…

𝗝ó𝘇𝗲𝗳 𝗘𝗹𝘀𝗻𝗲𝗿 — 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿, 𝗣𝗲𝗱𝗮𝗴𝗼𝗴𝘂𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 Józef Elsner (1769–1854) stands as one of the quiet architects of Polish musical life during the early nineteenth century—a figure whose influence…

𝗔 𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗚𝗢𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗗𝗜𝗚𝗬 𝗜𝗡 𝗚𝗟𝗔𝗭𝗨𝗡𝗢𝗩’𝗦 𝗦𝗛𝗔𝗗𝗢𝗪 𝗔𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗞𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗚𝗹𝗮𝘇𝘂𝗻𝗼𝘃 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗜𝗿è𝗻𝗲 (𝗘𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗶) 𝗚𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗼𝗳𝗳 𝗜𝗿è𝗻𝗲 (𝗘𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗶) 𝗚𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗼𝗳𝗳 was a 𝗥𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗮𝗻-𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗻 𝗽𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿, a 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝗶𝗴𝘆 whose early brilliance placed her among 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁…

𝗚𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘃 𝗠𝗮𝗵𝗹𝗲𝗿 𝗤𝘂𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝟭. “Should a middle-aged man marry a young girl? Has he the right to do so? Can autumn chain spring to its side?” 𝟮. “You are lucky. You were born with…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗡𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗟𝗟𝗔𝗣𝗦𝗘𝗗: 𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗗𝗜 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗙𝗔𝗠𝗜𝗟𝗬 𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗚𝗘𝗗𝗬 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗔𝗟𝗠𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝗦𝗜𝗟𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘𝗗 𝗛𝗜𝗠 𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥 The great family tragedy of Giuseppe Verdi was not a single blow, but a devastating chain of losses concentrated within…

𝗥𝗢𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗡𝗜 𝗔𝗙𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗚𝗟𝗢𝗥𝗬: 𝗚𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗡𝗢𝗠𝗬, 𝗦𝗜𝗟𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘, 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗗 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗔 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧 𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗔 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥 After the premiere of 𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗮𝘂𝗺𝗲 𝗧𝗲𝗹𝗹 in Paris in 1829, Gioachino Rossini did something almost without precedent in the history…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗗𝗜𝗦𝗖𝗜𝗣𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗟𝗬 𝗙𝗜𝗥𝗘: 𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗗𝗢 𝗠𝗨𝗧𝗜’𝗦 𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗟𝗗𝗛𝗢𝗢𝗗 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗔𝗗𝗢𝗟𝗘𝗦𝗖𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘 𝗜. 𝗕𝗜𝗥𝗧𝗛 𝗕𝗘𝗧𝗪𝗘𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗪𝗢 𝗦𝗢𝗨𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗡 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗟𝗗𝗦 Riccardo Muti was born in Naples on 28 July 1941, in wartime Italy, but his early life was…