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𝗡𝗶𝗸𝗼𝗹𝗮𝗶 𝗠𝗲𝗱𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿 (𝟭𝟴𝟴𝟬–𝟭𝟵𝟱𝟭) was 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘀 of the 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗥𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. A 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁 trained at the 𝗠𝗼𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘄 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆, he was closely associated with 𝗥𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗼𝗳𝗳, who 𝗮𝗱𝗺𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 and…

**Nikolai Medtner** (1880–1951) was one of the most profound and introspective composers of the late Romantic tradition. A brilliant pianist trained at the Moscow Conservatory, he was closely associated with Rachmaninoff, who admired and…

𝗥𝗢𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗧 𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗨𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗡’𝗦 𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗣𝗜𝗘𝗖𝗘𝗦 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗟 𝗗𝗜𝗔𝗥𝗬 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗖 𝗦𝗢𝗨𝗟 Robert Schumann was perhaps the composer who most completely transformed private thought, literary imagination, emotional contradiction and unstable memory into music.…

𝗝𝗔𝗡 𝗟𝗔𝗗𝗜𝗦𝗟𝗔𝗩 𝗗𝗨𝗦𝗦𝗘𝗞: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗢𝗛𝗘𝗠𝗜𝗔𝗡 𝗣𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗢 𝗣𝗢𝗘𝗧 𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗛𝗔𝗗𝗢𝗪𝗘𝗗 𝗖𝗛𝗢𝗣𝗜𝗡 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗖 𝗦𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗗 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗢 𝗝𝗮𝗻 𝗟𝗮𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗹𝗮𝘃 𝗗𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗸 𝗔𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗮𝘀: 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻 𝗟𝗮𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗹𝗮𝘂𝘀 𝗗𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗸 / 𝗝𝗮𝗻 𝗟𝗮𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗹𝗮𝘃 𝗗𝘂𝘀𝗶́𝗸 𝗕𝗼𝗿𝗻: 𝟭𝟮 𝗙𝗲𝗯𝗿𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝟭𝟳𝟲𝟬,…

𝗘́𝗧𝗜𝗘𝗡𝗡𝗘-𝗡𝗜𝗖𝗢𝗟𝗔𝗦 𝗠𝗘́𝗛𝗨𝗟: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗩𝗢𝗜𝗖𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗢𝗟𝗨𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗥𝗬 𝗙𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗥𝗘-𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗖 𝗙𝗜𝗥𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗟 𝗔𝗚𝗘 𝗘́𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗲-𝗡𝗶𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗮𝘀 𝗠𝗲́𝗵𝘂𝗹 𝗕𝗼𝗿𝗻: 𝟮𝟮 𝗝𝘂𝗻𝗲 𝟭𝟳𝟲𝟯, 𝗚𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘁, 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝗲𝗱: 𝟭𝟴 𝗢𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟴𝟭𝟳, 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘀, 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 Among the most powerful French…

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…

𝗥𝗢𝗚𝗘𝗥 𝗡𝗢𝗥𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗧𝗢𝗡: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗗𝗨𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥 𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗗 𝗧𝗢 𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗣 𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗖 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖 𝗢𝗙 𝗜𝗧𝗦 𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘 Few conductors have divided the musical world as violently as 𝗦𝗶𝗿 𝗥𝗼𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗡𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗼𝗻. To his admirers, he was a visionary who…

𝗕𝗘𝗬𝗢𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧 𝗠𝗘𝗟𝗢𝗗𝗜𝗘𝗦: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗘𝗥𝗦 𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗦𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗘𝗗 𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗛𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗢𝗙𝗙’𝗦 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗟 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗟𝗗 The music of 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗶 𝗥𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗼𝗳𝗳 is instantly recognizable: long-breathed melodies, darkly glowing harmonies, immense climaxes, tolling bells, dense piano textures and an almost…

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,…

𝗚𝗜𝗢𝗩𝗔𝗡𝗡𝗜 𝗕𝗔𝗧𝗧𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗔 𝗩𝗜𝗢𝗧𝗧𝗜: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗩𝗜𝗢𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗜𝗦𝗧 𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗕𝗥𝗜𝗗𝗚𝗘𝗗 𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗟 𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗚𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗖 𝗩𝗜𝗥𝗧𝗨𝗢𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗚𝗶𝗼𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶 𝗕𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮 𝗩𝗶𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗶 𝗕𝗼𝗿𝗻: 𝟭𝟮 𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝟭𝟳𝟱𝟱, 𝗙𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗼 𝗣𝗼, 𝗜𝘁𝗮𝗹𝘆 𝗗𝗶𝗲𝗱: 𝟯 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝟭𝟴𝟮𝟰, 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗻, 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗚𝗶𝗼𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶 𝗕𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮 𝗩𝗶𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗶 was one of…

𝗙𝗜𝗙𝗧𝗬 𝗘𝗦𝗦𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗔𝗟 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗘𝗥𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗟 𝗘𝗥𝗔 𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝟭𝟳𝟱𝟬 𝘁𝗼 𝟭𝟴𝟮𝟱 — 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗺, 𝗗𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗮 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 The 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗱 was not merely the age of 𝗛𝗮𝘆𝗱𝗻, 𝗠𝗼𝘇𝗮𝗿𝘁 and 𝗕𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗻.…

𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘁: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗙𝗮𝗺𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗕𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰 The history of classical music is often presented as a noble succession of geniuses: 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗵, 𝗛𝗮𝘆𝗱𝗻, 𝗠𝗼𝘇𝗮𝗿𝘁, 𝗕𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗻, 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘁,…

# **Why Bach Is Considered One of the Most Important Composers in the History of Music ** Speaking about Bach often means speaking about a point of origin. Not because he was the first,…

# **Mozart Seen by the Great Composers** When Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart died in December 1791, the world did not yet understand what it had lost. His contemporaries admired him, yes, but the depth of…

𝗚𝗘𝗢𝗥𝗚𝗘 𝗦𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗖𝗛𝗢𝗣𝗜𝗡: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧 𝗠𝗬𝗧𝗛 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗖 𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗦 The relationship between 𝗙𝗿𝘆𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗸 𝗖𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗻 and 𝗚𝗲𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗲 𝗦𝗮𝗻𝗱—the literary pseudonym of Aurore Dupin—is usually presented as one of the great love stories of…

𝗙𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗭 𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗭𝗧 𝗜𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗜𝗥𝗥𝗢𝗥: 𝗣𝗛𝗬𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗟 𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘, 𝗗𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗦, 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗚𝗘 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘, 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗦𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗢𝗙 𝗔 𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗖 𝗜𝗖𝗢𝗡 To describe 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁’s physical appearance is to describe one of the most powerful visual myths in…

𝗔𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗻 (𝟭𝟴𝟳𝟮–𝟭𝟭𝟵𝟭𝟱) was 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗳𝗶𝗴𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀 of 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗥𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰 and 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰. Trained at the 𝗠𝗼𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘄 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 as 𝗮 𝗽𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁 and 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿, he began his career under…

**Alexander Scriabin** (1872–1915) was one of the most original and visionary figures of late Romantic and early modern music. Trained at the Moscow Conservatory as a pianist and composer, he began his career under…

𝐇𝐎𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐒𝐎𝐍 — 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐄𝐑 𝐖𝐇𝐎 𝐊𝐄𝐏𝐓 𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐈𝐒𝐌 𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝟐𝟎𝐓𝐇 𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐘 Howard Hanson (1896–1981) occupies a unique place in American music. At a time when many 𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐡-𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐬 embraced 𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐦, 𝐚𝐧𝐝…

𝐉𝐎𝐀𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐌 𝐑𝐀𝐅𝐅 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐎𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐄 𝐅𝐀𝐌𝐎𝐔𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐍 𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐇𝐌𝐒... 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐋𝐃 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐆𝐎𝐓 𝐇𝐈𝐌 One of the nineteenth century's most admired composers almost disappeared from concert halls. When 𝐉𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐑𝐚𝐟𝐟 (𝟏𝟖𝟐𝟐–𝟏𝟖𝟖𝟐) was at the height…

𝗙𝗘𝗟𝗜𝗫 𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗟𝗦𝗦𝗢𝗛𝗡’𝗦 𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗣𝗜𝗘𝗖𝗘𝗦 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗜𝗨𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗟𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧, 𝗠𝗘𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗬 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗙𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 Felix Mendelssohn has often been admired for his elegance and simultaneously underestimated because of it. His music appears so lucid, balanced…

𝗙𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗖̧𝗢𝗜𝗦-𝗝𝗢𝗦𝗘𝗣𝗛 𝗚𝗢𝗦𝗦𝗘𝗖: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗙𝗔𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗛 𝗦𝗬𝗠𝗣𝗛𝗢𝗡𝗬 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗟 𝗩𝗢𝗜𝗖𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗢𝗟𝗨𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗥𝗬 𝗣𝗨𝗕𝗟𝗜𝗖 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰̧𝗼𝗶𝘀-𝗝𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗽𝗵 𝗚𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗰 𝗕𝗼𝗿𝗻: 𝟭𝟳 𝗝𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝟭𝟳𝟯𝟰, 𝗩𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀, 𝗛𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘂𝘁 — 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝗴𝗶𝘂𝗺 𝗗𝗶𝗲𝗱: 𝟭𝟲 𝗙𝗲𝗯𝗿𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝟭𝟴𝟮𝟵, 𝗣𝗮𝘀𝘀𝘆, 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲…

𝗝𝗢𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗡 𝗡𝗘𝗣𝗢𝗠𝗨𝗞 𝗛𝗨𝗠𝗠𝗘𝗟: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗚𝗔𝗡𝗧 𝗩𝗜𝗥𝗧𝗨𝗢𝗦𝗢 𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗢𝗗 𝗕𝗘𝗧𝗪𝗘𝗘𝗡 𝗠𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗧, 𝗕𝗘𝗘𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗡 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗖𝗛𝗢𝗣𝗜𝗡 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻 𝗡𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗺𝘂𝗸 𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗹 𝗕𝗼𝗿𝗻: 𝟭𝟰 𝗡𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟳𝟳𝟴, 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗯𝘂𝗿𝗴, 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗱𝗼𝗺 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝘂𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗿𝘆 — 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗹𝗮𝘃𝗮, 𝗦𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗮 𝗗𝗶𝗲𝗱: 𝟭𝟳 𝗢𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟴𝟯𝟳, 𝗪𝗲𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗿, 𝗚𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆…