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𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐏𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐌𝐏𝐎𝐑𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒 𝐅𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐒, 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒, 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐀𝐋𝐒 𝐁𝐘 𝐏𝐈𝐄𝐑𝐑𝐄 𝐇. 𝐀𝐙𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐘 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐈 — 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐒𝐀𝐖 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐒, 𝟏𝟖𝟏𝟎–𝟏𝟖𝟑𝟎 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟑 — 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐂 𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐎𝐑 𝐉Ó𝐙𝐄𝐅 𝐄𝐋𝐒𝐍𝐄𝐑 When 𝐅𝐫𝐲𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐤 𝐂𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐧 completed his piano…

𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐌 𝐅𝐔𝐑𝐓𝐖Ä𝐍𝐆𝐋𝐄𝐑 — 𝐖𝐇𝐘 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐇𝐀𝐃 𝐓𝐎 𝐁𝐄 𝐔𝐍𝐈𝐐𝐔𝐄 Wilhelm Furtwängler did not believe that a musical masterpiece could be reproduced like a finished object. For him, a score was not a set…

𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 𝗕𝘆 𝗝𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗛𝘂𝗻𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗜 — 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗟𝗲𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝟭𝟬 — 𝗪𝗲𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗹𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗯𝘂𝗿𝗴 The Weimar years were the great turning point of 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁’𝘀 maturity. Until then,…

𝗦𝗜𝗥 𝗝𝗢𝗛𝗡 𝗕𝗔𝗥𝗕𝗜𝗥𝗢𝗟𝗟𝗜 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Sir John Barbirolli was one of the most affectionate, instinctive and profoundly humane conductors of the twentieth century. He did not seek orchestral perfection as an…

𝗟𝗘𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗥𝗗 𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗡𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗜𝗡 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Leonard Bernstein left one of the most extensive, varied and immediately recognisable recorded legacies of the twentieth century. He was not only a conductor but also a…

𝗠𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗧: 𝗔 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗬𝗡𝗔𝗥𝗗 𝗦𝗢𝗟𝗢𝗠𝗢𝗡 𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟮𝟱 𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗟𝗘 𝗟𝗘𝗢𝗣𝗢𝗟𝗗 ════════════════════════════ 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗢𝗟𝗗 𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗦𝗘 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗟𝗗 With 𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗟𝗘 𝗟𝗘𝗢𝗣𝗢𝗟𝗗, the biography enters its final large movement: 𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦. The title sounds almost tender,…

𝗗𝗢𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗘𝗩𝗦𝗞𝗬 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗮 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 Strictly speaking, 𝗙𝘆𝗼𝗱𝗼𝗿 𝗗𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗲𝘃𝘀𝗸𝘆 did not collaborate with musicians in the practical sense in which a librettist collaborates with…

𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗨𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗡 — 𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗞 𝗝𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 — 𝗢𝗫𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗗 𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗦 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟰 — 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗠𝗜𝗧𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗧𝗢 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗢𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗪𝗛𝗘𝗡 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖 𝗖𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗘𝗗 𝗧𝗢 𝗕𝗘 𝗔 𝗗𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗠 Robert Schumann’s commitment to music was not…

𝗠𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗧: 𝗔 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗬𝗡𝗔𝗥𝗗 𝗦𝗢𝗟𝗢𝗠𝗢𝗡 𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗡𝗡𝗔 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟮𝟬 𝗣𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗜𝗧 𝗢𝗙 𝗔 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗘𝗥 ════════════════════════════ 𝗜. 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗡 𝗕𝗘𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗬𝗧𝗛 After the dazzling public world of 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗜𝗠𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗔𝗥𝗜𝗢, Solomon pauses to ask a deceptively simple…

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…

𝗠𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗧: 𝗔 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗬𝗡𝗔𝗥𝗗 𝗦𝗢𝗟𝗢𝗠𝗢𝗡 𝗦𝗔𝗟𝗭𝗕𝗨𝗥𝗚 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟭𝟭 𝗔 𝗠𝗢𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥’𝗦 𝗗𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗛 ════════════════════════════ 𝗜. 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗗𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗠 𝗢𝗙 𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗩𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗛𝗢𝗠𝗘 Every child imagines, at some point, that beyond the familiar house there lies a freer kingdom:…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘 𝗔𝗙𝗙𝗔𝗜𝗥𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 — 𝗩𝗢𝗟𝗨𝗠𝗘 𝗜 𝗥𝗨𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗧 𝗛𝗨𝗚𝗛𝗘𝗦 𝗪𝗘𝗕𝗘𝗥 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗢𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗘 𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘 𝗔𝗦 𝗥𝗘𝗗𝗘𝗠𝗣𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 In Rupert Hughes’s account of 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗹 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗮 𝘃𝗼𝗻 𝗪𝗲𝗯𝗲𝗿, the arrival of 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘁 marks a decisive…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘 𝗔𝗙𝗙𝗔𝗜𝗥𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 — 𝗩𝗢𝗟𝗨𝗠𝗘 𝗜𝗜 𝗥𝗨𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗧 𝗛𝗨𝗚𝗛𝗘𝗦 𝗥𝗢𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗧 𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗨𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗡 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗥𝗔 𝗪𝗜𝗘𝗖𝗞 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗛𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗣𝗢𝗜𝗡𝗧 𝗢𝗙 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗟 𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘 After the crowded procession of troubadours, singers, violinists, composers, prima donnas,…

𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗗 𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗨𝗦𝗦, 𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗙𝗔𝗠𝗜𝗟𝗬, 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗙𝗔𝗧𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗝𝗘𝗪𝗜𝗦𝗛 𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗗𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗟𝗗𝗥𝗘𝗡 Strictly speaking, 𝗥𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘂𝘀𝘀 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗱𝗮𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗿. He had one son, 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗔𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘂𝘀𝘀, born in 1897, from his marriage to…

𝗔𝗥𝗡𝗢𝗟𝗗 𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗢𝗘𝗡𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗚: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗡 𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗚𝗘𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗚𝗨𝗔𝗚𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖 Few composers in the history of Western music provoked as much fascination, resistance, misunderstanding, and admiration as 𝗔𝗿𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗲𝗻𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗴. He was born in 𝗩𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗮…

𝗕𝗘𝗘𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗡 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗧 𝗔 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗞 𝗢𝗻 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗢𝘄𝗻 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿 — 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗲, 𝗪𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗨𝗻𝗯𝗿𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗻 𝗠𝗮𝗻 𝗕𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗶𝘂𝘀 The section 𝗢𝗡 𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗢𝗪𝗡 𝗗𝗜𝗦𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗘𝗥 from Beethoven, the Man and the…

𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗮 𝗪𝗶𝗲𝗰𝗸 (1819–1896) at the age of 18 Pencil drawing by 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻 𝗛𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗺, Prague, November 1837 𝗥𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘁-𝗦𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗻-𝗛𝗮𝘂𝘀 𝗭𝘄𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗮𝘂 This portrait of 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗮 𝗪𝗶𝗲𝗰𝗸 was drawn in 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗴𝘂𝗲 by the Viennese painter 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻 𝗛𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗵…

𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗕𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗻’𝘀 𝗣𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝗠𝗮𝗵𝗹𝗲𝗿, 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘂𝘀𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗶𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘂𝘀: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗩𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗟𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗰𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗕𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗻’𝘀 𝗦𝗶𝘅𝘁𝗵 𝗦𝘆𝗺𝗽𝗵𝗼𝗻𝘆 The influence of 𝗕𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗻’𝘀 𝗦𝗶𝘅𝘁𝗵 𝗦𝘆𝗺𝗽𝗵𝗼𝗻𝘆, the “𝗣𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗹”, Op. 68, can be clearly perceived in many later works in…

𝗟𝗘𝗢𝗡𝗧𝗬𝗡𝗘 𝗣𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗘 — 𝗔 𝗣𝘀𝘆𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝗲𝗿 𝗔𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗟𝗲𝗼𝗻𝘁𝘆𝗻𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗲 did not simply sing; she seemed to 𝗶𝗻𝗵𝗮𝗯𝗶𝘁 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 with a rare emotional coherence and an almost spiritual authority. Her artistry never felt…

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐥 - 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟭𝟭: 𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗥𝗢𝗔𝗗 𝗧𝗢 𝗘𝗡𝗚𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗗 (𝟭𝟳𝟭𝟬) The victory of 𝗔𝗴𝗿𝗶𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗮 in Venice did not simply crown Handel’s Italian years; it changed the direction of his entire…

𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 𝟭𝟴𝟭𝟭-𝟭𝟴𝟴𝟲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗚é𝘇𝗮 𝗭𝗶𝗰𝗵𝘆 𝘇𝘂 𝗩á𝘀𝗼𝗻𝘆𝗸𝗲ö 𝟭𝟴𝟰𝟵-𝟭𝟵𝟮𝟰. 𝗣𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵 𝗯𝘆 𝗘𝗱𝗲 𝗞𝗼𝘇𝗶𝗰𝘀, 𝟭𝟴𝟴𝟭. 𝗢𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗥𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗘𝗻𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿 The relationship between Franz Liszt (1811–1886) and Géza Zichy (1849–1924) stands as one of the…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗟𝗗𝗛𝗢𝗢𝗗 𝗢𝗙 𝗟𝗨𝗗𝗪𝗜𝗚 𝗩𝗔𝗡 𝗕𝗘𝗘𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗡 (𝗩) “𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗱” (𝟭𝟳𝟴𝟴–𝟭𝟳𝟵𝟮) 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟳: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗱𝗼𝘄 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 By 𝟭𝟳𝟴𝟴, Beethoven’s home life had reached its 𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁. His father 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻 had become…