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𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗘𝗘𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗡𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥 𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗗: 𝗗𝗘𝗕𝗨𝗦𝗦𝗬, 𝗦𝗖𝗥𝗜𝗔𝗕𝗜𝗡, 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗜𝗥 𝗠𝗬𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗢𝗨𝗦 𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗘𝗟 𝗣𝗔𝗧𝗛𝗦 Few unrealised encounters in the history of modern music are as intriguing as the possible meeting between 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝗯𝘂𝘀𝘀𝘆 and 𝗔𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗻.…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘 𝗔𝗙𝗙𝗔𝗜𝗥𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 — 𝗩𝗢𝗟𝗨𝗠𝗘 𝗜𝗜 𝗥𝗨𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗧 𝗛𝗨𝗚𝗛𝗘𝗦 𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗥𝗔 𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗨𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗡 — 𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘, 𝗗𝗨𝗧𝗬, 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗨𝗥𝗗𝗘𝗡 𝗢𝗙 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗜𝗨𝗦 In Rupert Hughes’s chapter on 𝗥𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘁 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗻 and 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗮 𝗪𝗶𝗲𝗰𝗸, Clara may at…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘 𝗔𝗙𝗙𝗔𝗜𝗥𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦— 𝗔𝗣𝗢𝗟𝗟𝗢, 𝗢𝗥𝗣𝗛𝗘𝗨𝗦, 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗜𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗠𝗬𝗧𝗛 𝗢𝗙 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗗𝗜𝗩𝗜𝗡𝗘 𝗢𝗥𝗜𝗚𝗜𝗡 𝗢𝗙 𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘, 𝗦𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗗, 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗛𝗨𝗠𝗔𝗡 𝗣𝗔𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗢𝗡 Before the lives of historical composers begin, music already belongs to…

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗶𝘂𝘀 𝗠𝗲𝘁 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗶𝘂𝘀: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗘𝗻𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗼𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗗𝗮𝘆 The history of classical music does not advance only through works, styles, schools, or institutions. It…

𝗝𝗢𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗦 𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗛𝗠𝗦’𝗦 𝗦𝗬𝗠𝗣𝗛𝗢𝗡𝗬 𝗡𝗢. 𝟯 𝗜𝗡 𝗙 𝗠𝗔𝗝𝗢𝗥, 𝗢𝗣. 𝟵𝟬: 𝗔 𝗥𝗜𝗚𝗢𝗥𝗢𝗨𝗦 𝗦𝗧𝗨𝗗𝗬 𝗢𝗙 𝗖𝗬𝗖𝗟𝗜𝗖 𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗧𝗬, 𝗜𝗡𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗗 𝗗𝗥𝗔𝗠𝗔, 𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗢𝗜𝗖 𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗜𝗡𝗧, 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗖 𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗦𝗠 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗵𝗺𝘀: 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲 𝘀𝘆𝗺𝗽𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗰 𝗰𝘆𝗰𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 (Audio recordings…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗞 𝗢𝗙 𝗙𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗭 𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗨𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗧 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟲 — 𝗧𝗪𝗢 𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗘𝗦 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗹𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗰 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 (𝟭𝟴𝟮𝟯–𝟭𝟴𝟮𝟰) With Chapter 6, Schubert’s life enters one of its most revealing and painful…

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…

**𝗠𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗧 𝗜𝗡 𝗦𝗪𝗔𝗙𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗗’𝗦 𝗕𝗜𝗢𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗣𝗛𝗬 - **𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟭𝟵 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗘𝗥 𝗟𝗘𝗢𝗣𝗢𝗟𝗗 𝗜𝗡 𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗡𝗡𝗔: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗙𝗔𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥 𝗙𝗔𝗖𝗘𝗦 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗢𝗡’𝗦 𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗨𝗠𝗣𝗛 In February 1785, 𝗟𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗠𝗼𝘇𝗮𝗿𝘁 came to Vienna and found, not the impulsive rebel…

𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐭: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐲𝐞 𝐎𝐟 𝐋𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞, 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞, 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐫 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐀 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐖𝐚𝐲 𝐎𝐟 𝐒𝐞𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 - 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗘𝗻𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘀 There are painters who refine inherited forms, and there are…

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…

𝐎𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐌𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐚𝐞𝐧: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐎𝐟 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐡, 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐫, 𝐁𝐢𝐫𝐝𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐠, 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐄𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜 There are composers who expand musical language, and there are rarer figures who seem to create an entire spiritual…

𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐥-𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜̧𝐨𝐢𝐬-𝐄𝐬𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐭 𝐀𝐮𝐛𝐞𝐫: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐎𝐟 𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐡 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚-𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐄𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐖𝐢𝐭, 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐥𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐝 There are composers who overwhelm by metaphysical depth, others by orchestral enormity, and others by tragic force. Then…

𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗱𝗶: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗱𝗶 (1567–1643) was one of the most decisive figures in the history of Western music, standing at the threshold between the Renaissance and the Baroque.…

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…

𝗢𝘁𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗼 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗶: 𝗥𝗼𝗺𝗲’𝘀 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿 — 𝗕𝗶𝗿𝗱𝘀, 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝗹𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗘𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗔 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗕𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗮 𝗕𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀: 𝗔 𝗩𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗢𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗿 (1879–1900) Ottorino Respighi was born in Bologna (1879), a city…

𝗖𝗛𝗢𝗣𝗜𝗡: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗢 𝗔𝗦 𝗔 𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗘, 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗢𝗥𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗔 𝗔𝗦 𝗔 𝗙𝗥𝗔𝗠𝗘, 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗔 𝗔𝗦 𝗔 𝗠𝗢𝗗𝗘𝗟 To say that Frédéric Chopin composed only music for the piano is a useful simplification, but it is…

𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐏𝐈𝐍’𝐒 𝐁𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐇𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐄 𝐈𝐍 Ż𝐄𝐋𝐀𝐙𝐎𝐖𝐀 𝐖𝐎𝐋𝐀 The modest manor house in 𝐙̇𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐳𝐨𝐰𝐚 𝐖𝐨𝐥𝐚, near Warsaw, is traditionally recognised as the birthplace of 𝐅𝐫𝐲𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐤 𝐂𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐧, who was born there in 1810. Surrounded by peaceful gardens, the…

# **MENDELSSOHN’S MUSICAL INFLUENCE ON OTHER COMPOSERS** The influence of **Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847)** was far deeper than is sometimes acknowledged. He did not create a clearly defined “school” in the manner of Wagner or…

𝐓𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐈𝐊𝐎𝐕𝐒𝐊𝐘 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐕𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐃 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐖𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐃 𝐅𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐎𝐅𝐅 𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐋𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐃𝐔𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky suffered from 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐱𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲 and a vivid imagination that sometimes developed into irrational fears. Among the strangest was his conviction…

𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐋𝐎 𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐈 𝐖𝐑𝐎𝐓𝐄 𝐅𝐄𝐖 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐊𝐒... 𝐁𝐔𝐓 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐎𝐅 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐂 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑 One of the greatest violinists of all time proved that quality matters far more than quantity. When 𝐀𝐫𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐥𝐨 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢 (𝟏𝟔𝟓𝟑–𝟏𝟕𝟏𝟑) died, his…

𝐆𝐔𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐕 𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐒𝐓 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐄𝐃 𝐀 𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐏𝐈𝐄𝐂𝐄... 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐍 𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 𝐓𝐑𝐘𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐎 𝐄𝐒𝐂𝐀𝐏𝐄 𝐈𝐓 One of Britain's greatest composers became world-famous for a work he never wanted to define his career.…

When 𝐇𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐲 𝐏𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥 (𝟏𝟔𝟓𝟗–𝟏𝟔𝟗𝟓) died at the age of 𝟑𝟔, England lost 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐮𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞. Despite his short life, Purcell composed 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝟖𝟎𝟎 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬, including operas,…

𝟭𝟬 𝗙𝗮𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗟𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗿-𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗙𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘅 𝗠𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗹𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗵𝗻 𝟭. 𝗛𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗝. 𝗦. 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗵 At just 20 years old, Mendelssohn conducted the 1829 performance of Bach's St. Matthew Passion, the first major performance…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗧𝗢𝗠𝗕 𝗢𝗙 𝗛𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥 𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗢𝗭 𝗜𝗡 𝗠𝗢𝗡𝗧𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗥𝗘 𝗖𝗘𝗠𝗘𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗬 The grave of 𝗛𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗕𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗼𝘇 is not merely the resting place of one of the great musical revolutionaries of Romanticism. Its history forms, in itself, a…