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𝐑𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐬 (1864–1949) was a German composer and conductor, and one of the most important musical figures of the late Romantic and early modern eras. Born in 𝐌𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐡, he was the son of the…

𝐅𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐱 𝐖𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫 (1863–1942) was an Austrian conductor, composer and pianist, and one of the most influential conductors of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born in 𝐙𝐚𝐫𝐚, Dalmatia, then part of the Austrian…

𝐁𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐨 𝐖𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫 (1876–1962) was a German-born conductor, pianist and composer, and one of the most distinguished conductors of the 20th century. Born in 𝐁𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐧, he began his career as a pianist before turning to…

𝐒𝐂𝐇𝐔𝐁𝐄𝐑𝐓 𝐍𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐃 𝐀 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐓 𝐎𝐑 𝐂𝐇𝐔𝐑𝐂𝐇 𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐓 Franz Schubert (1797–1828) lived a life unlike that of most great composers of his time. While Haydn served the Esterházy family, Mozart worked for the…

𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗨𝗥 𝗥𝗢𝗗𝗭𝗜𝗡́𝗦𝗞𝗜 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 𝟭. 𝗧𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗜𝗞𝗢𝗩𝗦𝗞𝗬 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗡𝗨𝗧𝗖𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗞𝗘𝗥, 𝗢𝗣. 𝟳𝟭 — 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗟𝗘𝗧𝗘 𝗕𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗘𝗧 𝗥𝗼𝘆𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗰 𝗢𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮 Recorded at Walthamstow Assembly Hall, London, September 1956 Westminster This should unquestionably occupy one…

𝗦𝗔𝗜𝗡𝗧 𝗖𝗘𝗖𝗜𝗟𝗜𝗔: 𝗣𝗔𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗡 𝗦𝗔𝗜𝗡𝗧 𝗢𝗙 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖 𝗛𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆, 𝘀𝘆𝗺𝗯𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗺, 𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗜. 𝗔 𝗦𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝗪𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗦𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝗦𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝗖𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗮 occupies one of the most poetic positions in Western…

**THE MAN WHO INHERITED SCHUBERT’S CHAIR — SIMON SECHTER AND FRANZ SCHUBERT** The connection between **Simon Sechter (1788–1867)** and **Franz Schubert (1797–1828)** is one of the most fascinating indirect relationships in Viennese musical history.…

# **Mozart - Mediocre Musicians and Court Intrigues: Envy Without Conspiracy** Vienna in the 1780s was one of the most competitive musical capitals in Europe. It teemed with **court composers, Kapellmeisters, singing teachers, copyists,…

# **Mozart and Salieri: The Real Relationship** Few myths in music history have proven as persistent—or as misleading—as the idea of a murderous rivalry between **Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart** and **Antonio Salieri**. Popular culture, from…

# **Mozart and the Problem of Patronage** Mozart’s relationship with patronage represents one of the most **radical ethical and professional positions taken by any major composer of the 18th century**. In an era when…

𝐖𝐎𝐉𝐂𝐈𝐄𝐂𝐇 𝐆𝐑𝐙𝐘𝐌𝐀Ł𝐀 — 𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐏𝐈𝐍’𝐒 𝐅𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐃, 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐅𝐈𝐃𝐀𝐍𝐓 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐀𝐃𝐕𝐈𝐒𝐄𝐑 𝐈𝐍 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐒 The figure of 𝐖𝐨𝐣𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐜𝐡 𝐆𝐫𝐳𝐲𝐦𝐚ł𝐚 occupies a far more important place in the life of Fryderyk Chopin than his relative absence from popular biographies…

𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐔𝐃𝐈𝐎 𝐀𝐁𝐁𝐀𝐃𝐎 — 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐃𝐔𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑 𝐖𝐇𝐎 𝐁𝐔𝐈𝐋𝐓 𝐎𝐑𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐒 𝐀𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐍𝐒, 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐄𝐆𝐎𝐒 Claudio Abbado belonged to a generation in which the great conductor was still frequently imagined as an absolute ruler: an imposing figure…

𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐎𝐒 𝐊𝐋𝐄𝐈𝐁𝐄𝐑 — 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐃𝐔𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑 𝐖𝐇𝐎 𝐌𝐀𝐃𝐄 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘 𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐀𝐍 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓 Carlos Kleiber occupies an almost unique position in the history of conducting. He never directed a major orchestra for decades in the manner…

𝗠𝗔𝗛𝗟𝗘𝗥 𝗝𝗢𝗦𝗘 𝗟𝗨𝗜𝗦 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗭 𝗗𝗘 𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗚𝗔 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝟭𝟳 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗠𝗲𝘁 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗻𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿, 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗚𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘃 𝗠𝗮𝗵𝗹𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗹𝗺𝗮 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗹𝗲𝗿 By the autumn of 𝟭𝟵𝟬𝟭, 𝗚𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘃 𝗠𝗮𝗵𝗹𝗲𝗿 stood at the summit…

𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 𝗕𝘆 𝗝𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗛𝘂𝗻𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝟭𝟲 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗜𝗜𝗜 — 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕-𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝗼𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗢𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗣𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗼 𝗣𝗶𝗲𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝟯.𝟭. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕-𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝗼𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 In this chapter, 𝗝𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗛𝘂𝗻𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗿 approaches 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁’𝘀 𝗕-𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝗼𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗮…

# 𝗡𝗜𝗞𝗢𝗟𝗔𝗨𝗦 𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗡𝗢𝗡𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗧 — “…𝗜𝗧 𝗪𝗔𝗦 𝗔𝗟𝗪𝗔𝗬𝗦 𝗔𝗕𝗢𝗨𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖” ## 𝗔 𝗥𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗘𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗮 𝗙ü𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘂𝗲𝗿 Few conductors of the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries transformed musical interpretation as radically as…

𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗛 𝗞𝗟𝗘𝗜𝗕𝗘𝗥 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Erich Kleiber was one of the great representatives of the Central European conducting tradition, yet he never belonged comfortably to any single school. His performances combined rhythmic…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗠𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝗨𝗡𝗝𝗨𝗦𝗧𝗟𝗬 𝗨𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗩𝗔𝗟𝗨𝗘𝗗 𝗦𝗬𝗠𝗣𝗛𝗢𝗡𝗜𝗖 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗞𝗦 𝗜𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗟 𝗥𝗘𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗧𝗢𝗜𝗥𝗘 The symphonic canon is far narrower than the actual history of orchestral music. Beethoven, Brahms, Bruckner, Mahler, Tchaikovsky, Sibelius and Shostakovich occupy their…

𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗨𝗡𝗝𝗨𝗦𝗧𝗟𝗬 𝗨𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗩𝗔𝗟𝗨𝗘𝗗 𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗔𝗦 𝗜𝗡 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖 𝗛𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗬 The operatic repertory is not a neutral museum of masterpieces. It is the result of institutional tradition, language, economics, star singers, political history, editorial availability and theatrical…

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗼-𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗱 ‘𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴’ 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗚𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗽𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗰 𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘀, 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗻, 𝟭𝟵𝟯𝟲 (𝗯/𝘄 𝗽𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗼) From left to right: 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗹 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗵𝘁 (1880–1967) was a German conductor; 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘀 𝗕𝗲𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗺 (1879–1961) was a British conductor; 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗺…

𝗪𝗜𝗟𝗛𝗘𝗟𝗠 𝗙𝗨𝗥𝗧𝗪𝗔𝗡𝗚𝗟𝗘𝗥 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗙𝗔𝗠𝗜𝗟𝗬 — 𝗕𝗘𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗢’𝗦 𝗣𝗥𝗜𝗩𝗔𝗧𝗘 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗟𝗗 Wilhelm Furtwangler’s public image was that of an austere, intensely concentrated conductor, almost entirely absorbed by music. Behind this formidable artistic personality, however,…

𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗨𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗡 — 𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗞 𝗝𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 — 𝗢𝗫𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗗 𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗦 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟲 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗚𝗨𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗗𝗔𝗩𝗜𝗗 𝗔𝗡 𝗜𝗠𝗔𝗚𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗥𝗬 𝗕𝗥𝗢𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗛𝗢𝗢𝗗 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗔 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗟 𝗕𝗔𝗧𝗧𝗟𝗘 In the early 1830s, Robert Schumann began to…

𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝗣𝗙𝗜𝗧𝗭𝗡𝗘𝗥 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗔𝗧𝗘 𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗖 𝗜𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗢𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗡 𝗔𝗚𝗘 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗣𝗳𝗶𝘁𝘇𝗻𝗲𝗿 was born in 𝗠𝗼𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘄 in 𝟭𝟴𝟲𝟵, the son of German parents, and received his musical training in 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗸𝗳𝘂𝗿𝘁. He was a composer,…