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𝐇𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐲 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐋𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐟𝐟: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐕𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐨𝐬𝐨 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐨 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐨 𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐎𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 There are composers who survive in history through a vast catalogue, and there are others whose fame contracts over…

𝗙𝗥𝗢𝗠 𝗣𝗥𝗔𝗚𝗨𝗘 𝗧𝗢 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗟𝗗 — 𝗛𝗢𝗪 𝗩𝗔́𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗩 𝗧𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗛 𝗦𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗘𝗗 𝗦𝗜𝗥 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗟𝗘𝗦 𝗠𝗔𝗖𝗞𝗘𝗥𝗥𝗔𝗦 The artistic relationship between Sir Charles Mackerras (1925–2010) and Václav Talich (1883–1961) is one of the most important mentor–disciple stories in…

𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗟𝗘𝗦 𝗠𝗨𝗡𝗖𝗛 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Charles Munch was one of the most spontaneous, incandescent and unmistakably French conductors of the twentieth century. His finest performances combine rhythmic freedom, nervous energy, luminous orchestral…

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐆𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐨𝐝: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐎𝐟 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐥, 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞, 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐡 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐆𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚 𝐈𝐭𝐬 𝐅𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐈𝐭𝐬 𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐭 There are composers who astonish by formal innovation, others by orchestral daring, and others by the…

𝐄𝐮𝐠𝐞𝐧 𝐝’𝐀𝐥𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐭: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐬𝐦𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐕𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚 There are pianist-composers whose lives seem divided between the keyboard and the score, and then there are rarer figures whose whole existence…

𝐉𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐧: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐡 𝐌𝐚𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 There are conductors who conquer through sheer power, and there are others whose greatness lies in 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐫, 𝐫𝐡𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, and the ability to…

𝐏𝐀𝐔𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐕𝐈𝐀𝐑𝐃𝐎𝐓 — 𝐀 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 𝐀𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐂 𝐄𝐔𝐑𝐎𝐏𝐄 Few personalities of the nineteenth century allow us to trace the cultural history of Romantic Europe as fully as 𝐏𝐚𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐕𝐢𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐨𝐭 (𝟏𝟖𝟐𝟏–𝟏𝟗𝟏𝟎). Her…

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐄𝐒 𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐒 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐀 𝐒𝐔𝐂𝐂𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐅𝐔𝐋 𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐔𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐄𝐗𝐄𝐂𝐔𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄... 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐁𝐄𝐂𝐀𝐌𝐄 𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐀'𝐒 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐈𝐔𝐒 Decades before the musical avant-garde became fashionable, one remarkable composer was already reinventing the future of music. When 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐈𝐯𝐞𝐬 (𝟏𝟖𝟕𝟒–𝟏𝟗𝟓𝟒)…

𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗟𝗘𝗦 𝗗𝗜𝗖𝗞𝗘𝗡𝗦 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛 𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗟 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗗𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗻𝘀 was not a composer, nor was he primarily a musical thinker in the way that Goethe, Hoffmann, Tolstoy, or Thomas Mann could be said…

𝗙𝗟𝗢𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗬 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗝𝗢𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗦 𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗛𝗠𝗦 𝗩𝗢𝗟𝗨𝗠𝗘 𝗜𝗜 — 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟲 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱, 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗱 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗤𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝘁, 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗦𝘆𝗺𝗽𝗵𝗼𝗻𝘆, 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹 𝗢𝗳 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗗𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺, 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝘆𝗺𝗽𝗵𝗼𝗻𝘆 𝟭𝟴𝟳𝟲–𝟭𝟴𝟳𝟴 Chapter 6…

𝗪𝗛𝗘𝗡 𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗘 𝗦𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧 𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘 𝗕𝗘𝗧𝗪𝗘𝗘𝗡 𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗔 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗟𝗗’𝗦 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗪𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗦 Opera has always lived at the crossroads of several arts. It is music, theatre, poetry, painting, gesture, architecture, and psychological drama…

𝐕𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐌𝐚𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐥: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐁𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐆𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐝𝐢 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐈𝐚𝐠𝐨 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐅𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐟𝐟 There are singers whose fame rests on sheer vocal splendor, and there are others whose greatness lies equally in the intelligence…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗙𝗔𝗠𝗢𝗨𝗦 𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗜𝗦 𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗔, 𝟭𝟴𝟳𝟱 𝗔 𝗠𝗢𝗡𝗨𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗕𝗢𝗥𝗡 𝗙𝗥𝗢𝗠 𝗜𝗠𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗔𝗟 𝗔𝗠𝗕𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗜𝗦𝗜𝗔𝗡 𝗦𝗣𝗟𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗢𝗨𝗥 In 1875, Paris received one of the most dazzling theatrical monuments ever built in Europe: the new opera house now…

𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐳𝐨𝐧: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐭 𝐎𝐟 𝐓𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐌𝐨𝐳𝐚𝐫𝐭, 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐮𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐭, 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐡𝐦𝐬 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐀𝐫𝐭 𝐎𝐟 𝐍𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞, 𝐍𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 There are pianists whose greatness lies in sheer command, and there are others whose…

𝐃𝐢𝐧𝐮 𝐋𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐢: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐅𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐎𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐨 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐈𝐦𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 There are pianists whose greatness is built on vast careers, huge repertories, and decades of public triumph, and there are others…

𝐄𝐧𝐫𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐬: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐞𝐭 𝐎𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐨 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐄𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐈𝐧 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐝𝐲 There are composers whose music conquers by force, and others whose power lies in 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐦, 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐲,…

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…

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…

# **HENRY CHARLES LITOLFF — A LIFE** ## **I. Origins, Childhood, and Early Musical Awakening** Henry Charles Litolff was born in London on **August 7, 1818**, the son of a Scottish mother, Sophie Hayes,…

THE LAST DAYS OF FRYDERYK CHOPIN THE SLOW END AT PLACE VENDOME, WHO ACCOMPANIED HIM, AND HOW HE DIED ON 17 OCTOBER 1849 The final months of 𝐅𝐫𝐲𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐤 𝐂𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐧 were not marked by a…

𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐋 𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐁𝐎𝐙 — 𝟐𝟎 𝐅𝐀𝐒𝐂𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒, 𝐅𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐎𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐄𝐒 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐔𝐌𝐀𝐍 𝐕𝐎𝐈𝐂𝐄 Michel Corboz was never one of those conductors who built a public image around theatrical gestures or celebrity.…

𝐁𝐑𝐔𝐍𝐎 𝐖𝐀𝐋𝐓𝐄𝐑 — 𝐌𝐀𝐇𝐋𝐄𝐑’𝐒 𝐂𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐂𝐈𝐏𝐋𝐄 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐃𝐔𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑 𝐖𝐇𝐎 𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐃 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐋𝐄𝐆𝐀𝐂𝐘 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐔𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄 Bruno Walter was much more than one of the leading conductors of the twentieth century. He was…

𝗝𝗔𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗔 𝗛𝗢𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗜𝗡 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Jascha Horenstein belonged to a generation of conductors for whom interpretation was founded upon structural understanding, stylistic responsibility and absolute concentration rather than theatrical personality. His performances…