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𝐋𝐞́𝐨 𝐃𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐛𝐞𝐬: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐎𝐟 𝐁𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞, 𝐌𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐝𝐲, 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐫 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐄𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐌𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜 There are composers who change music through force, others through philosophy, and others through sheer theatrical instinct.…

𝗟𝗲́𝗼𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗦𝗶𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗮𝘂 — 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗩𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗠𝗼𝘇𝗮𝗿𝘁 Among the great lyric tenors of the twentieth century, few embodied elegance, musical intelligence and vocal purity as completely as Léopold Simoneau. His was not a…

𝗙𝗟𝗢𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗬 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗝𝗢𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗦 𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗛𝗠𝗦 𝗩𝗢𝗟𝗨𝗠𝗘 𝗜𝗜 — 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟰 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮, 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗲𝗯𝗲𝘀𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗿, 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗹𝘁𝗼 𝗥𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘀𝗼𝗱𝘆, 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝘂𝗺𝗽𝗵𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗱, 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘆, 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝗢𝗳 𝗝𝗮𝗸𝗼𝗯 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗵𝗺𝘀 𝟭𝟴𝟲𝟵–𝟭𝟴𝟳𝟮 Chapter 4…

𝗝𝗘𝗔𝗡-𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗜𝗘 𝗟𝗘𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗜𝗥 𝗟’𝗔Î𝗡É — 𝗔 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗵 𝘃𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗻 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹, 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲, 𝘃𝗶𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗜. 𝗔 𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗵 𝗩𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗕𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗧𝘄𝗼 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝘀 𝗝𝗲𝗮𝗻-𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗲 𝗟𝗲𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗿, usually known as 𝗝𝗲𝗮𝗻-𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗲 𝗟𝗲𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗿 𝗹’𝗮î𝗻é…

𝗙𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘇 𝗞𝗿𝗲𝗶𝘀𝗹𝗲𝗿: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗩𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗺, 𝗡𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗴𝗶𝗮, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗰𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗼𝗺 ⠀ 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗜 – 𝗩𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗮: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗶𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗩𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗱 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘇 𝗞𝗿𝗲𝗶𝘀𝗹𝗲𝗿 was born on 𝗙𝗲𝗯𝗿𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝟮, 𝟭𝟴𝟳𝟱, in 𝗩𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗮, one…

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…

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 𝗦𝗘𝗕𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗔𝗡 𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗛 — 𝗖𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗗 𝗤𝗨𝗢𝗧𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦 The most reliable ones are devotional inscriptions, annotations, or statements preserved through later documentary tradition; many of the best-known Bach aphorisms are modern circulation pieces and should be…

𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐲 𝐁𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐭, 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚 — 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 - Complete Audio in patreon: https://www.patreon.com/collection/2074467 𝐁𝐈𝐙𝐄𝐓’𝐒 𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐌𝐄𝐍 — 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐎𝐅 𝐈𝐓𝐒 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍, 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐄𝐑𝐄, 𝐈𝐌𝐏𝐀𝐂𝐓 𝐈𝐍 𝐈𝐓𝐒 𝐎𝐖𝐍 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄, 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐅𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 𝐈. 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐇…

𝐍𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐫: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐉𝐨𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐚 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐎𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 There are conductors who build their fame through grandeur, severity, and historical weight, and there are others…

𝐅𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐂̧𝐎𝐈𝐒 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐍 (𝟏𝟔𝟔𝟖–𝟏𝟕𝟑𝟑): 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐔𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 François Couperin (1668–1733), later called “le Grand,” was born in Paris on 10 November 1668 and died there on 11 September 1733.…

𝐌𝐎𝐙𝐀𝐑𝐓’𝐒 𝐒𝐘𝐌𝐏𝐇𝐎𝐍𝐘 𝐍𝐎. 𝟒𝟏 — 𝐓𝐇𝐄 “𝐉𝐔𝐏𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐑” 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐔𝐋𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐎𝐅 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐒𝐘𝐌𝐏𝐇𝐎𝐍𝐈𝐂 𝐀𝐑𝐓 Mozart completed his 𝐒𝐲𝐦𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐲 𝐍𝐨. 𝟒𝟏 𝐢𝐧 𝐂 𝐦𝐚𝐣𝐨𝐫, 𝐊. 𝟓𝟓𝟏, on 10 August 1788. It was the last of…

𝗝𝗢𝗦𝗘𝗙 𝗞𝗥𝗜𝗣𝗦 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Josef Krips represented a conducting tradition founded not upon personal display, exaggerated rhetoric or orchestral weight, but upon balance, clarity, natural phrasing and absolute fidelity to musical…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗕𝗔𝗥𝗢𝗤𝗨𝗘 𝗞𝗘𝗬𝗕𝗢𝗔𝗥𝗗 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗣𝗜𝗘𝗖𝗘𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘 Selecting the greatest Baroque keyboard masterpieces requires a broader definition of “keyboard” than the modern piano repertoire usually implies. These works were written for harpsichord,…

𝗦𝗜𝗥 𝗖𝗢𝗟𝗜𝗡 𝗗𝗔𝗩𝗜𝗦 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Sir Colin Davis was one of the most cultivated, humane and intellectually independent conductors of the second half of the twentieth century. He never cultivated the…

𝗙𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗭 𝗥𝗘𝗜𝗡𝗘𝗥 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Fritz Reiner was one of the supreme orchestral disciplinarians of the twentieth century. His conducting combined extraordinary precision, rhythmic tension, transparent textures and an almost unequalled ability…

𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗗𝗢 𝗠𝗨𝗧𝗜 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Riccardo Muti is one of the defining conductors of the modern Italian tradition: a musician of rhythmic authority, textual discipline, theatrical instinct and uncompromising respect for the…

𝗠𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗧: 𝗔 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗬𝗡𝗔𝗥𝗗 𝗦𝗢𝗟𝗢𝗠𝗢𝗡 𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟯𝟬 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗧 𝗬𝗘𝗔𝗥 ════════════════════════════ 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗬𝗘𝗔𝗥 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗙𝗨𝗦𝗘𝗦 𝗧𝗢 𝗕𝗘 𝗢𝗡𝗟𝗬 𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗚𝗜𝗖 After the darkness of 𝗔 “𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗦𝗮𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀”, one might expect Mozart’s final year to…

𝗠𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗧: 𝗔 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗬𝗡𝗔𝗥𝗗 𝗦𝗢𝗟𝗢𝗠𝗢𝗡 𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟮𝟵 𝗔 “𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗡𝗧 𝗦𝗔𝗗𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗦” ════════════════════════════ 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗗𝗢𝗪𝗡𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗗 𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗡 After 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗝𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗕𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗻, Solomon brings the narrative into one of the most painful zones of Mozart’s adult…

𝗠𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗧: 𝗔 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗬𝗡𝗔𝗥𝗗 𝗦𝗢𝗟𝗢𝗠𝗢𝗡 𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟮𝟴 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗝𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗡𝗘𝗬 𝗧𝗢 𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗡 ════════════════════════════ 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗢𝗟𝗗 𝗜𝗡𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗖𝗧 𝗧𝗢 𝗧𝗔𝗞𝗘 𝗧𝗢 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗥𝗢𝗔𝗗 After 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗴𝘂𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗕𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱, Solomon turns to one of the strangest and most…

𝗦𝗔𝗜𝗡𝗧-𝗦𝗔𝗘𝗡𝗦’𝗦 𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗣𝗜𝗘𝗖𝗘𝗦 — 𝗙𝗔𝗥 𝗕𝗘𝗬𝗢𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗪𝗔𝗡 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 “𝗢𝗥𝗚𝗔𝗡” 𝗦𝗬𝗠𝗣𝗛𝗢𝗡𝗬 Camille Saint-Saëns has often suffered from the very qualities that made him extraordinary. His technique seemed effortless, his craftsmanship was impeccable,…

𝗠𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗧: 𝗔 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 — 𝗠𝗔𝗬𝗡𝗔𝗥𝗗 𝗦𝗢𝗟𝗢𝗠𝗢𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗜𝗢𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗣𝗛𝗬 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗗 𝗧𝗢 𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗖𝗨𝗘 𝗠𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗧 𝗙𝗥𝗢𝗠 𝗟𝗘𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗗 𝗠𝗮𝘆𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗦𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗺𝗼𝗻’𝘀 𝗠𝗼𝘇𝗮𝗿𝘁: 𝗔 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 is one of the most influential, ambitious, and debated Mozart biographies of the late…

𝗖𝗛𝗥𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗔𝗡 𝗖𝗔𝗡𝗡𝗔𝗕𝗜𝗖𝗛: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗡𝗛𝗘𝗜𝗠 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗧𝗔𝗨𝗚𝗛𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗢𝗥𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗔 𝗧𝗢 𝗕𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗕𝗼𝗿𝗻: 𝟮𝟴 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟳𝟯𝟭, 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗺, 𝗚𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗗𝗶𝗲𝗱: 𝟮𝟬 𝗝𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝟭𝟳𝟵𝟴, 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗸𝗳𝘂𝗿𝘁 𝗮𝗺 𝗠𝗮𝗶𝗻, 𝗚𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗰𝗵 was one of the central…

𝗠𝗨𝗭𝗜𝗢 𝗖𝗟𝗘𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗜: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗙𝗔𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗢𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗘 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗔𝗥𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗧𝗘𝗖𝗧 𝗢𝗙 𝗠𝗢𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗡 𝗣𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗢 𝗧𝗘𝗖𝗛𝗡𝗜𝗤𝗨𝗘 𝗠𝘂𝘇𝗶𝗼 𝗖𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶 𝗕𝗼𝗿𝗻: 𝟮𝟯 𝗝𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝟭𝟳𝟱𝟮, 𝗥𝗼𝗺𝗲, 𝗜𝘁𝗮𝗹𝘆 𝗗𝗶𝗲𝗱: 𝟭𝟬 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝟭𝟴𝟯𝟮, 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗺, 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 Among the great figures in the…