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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,…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗩𝗜𝗢𝗟𝗜𝗡 𝗦𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗔𝗦 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗖𝗬𝗖𝗟𝗘𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘 Selecting the greatest violin sonatas requires more than identifying the most famous or technically demanding pieces. The essential criterion is the quality of the…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗞𝗦 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗖𝗬𝗖𝗟𝗘𝗦 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗦𝗢𝗟𝗢 𝗣𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗢 𝗢𝗙 𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘 𝗔 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗦𝗘𝗗 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗘𝗫𝗣𝗔𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗗 𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 Selecting the fifteen greatest achievements in solo piano literature cannot be reduced to choosing fifteen isolated compositions.…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗠𝗕𝗘𝗥-𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘 Any attempt to identify the fifteen greatest chamber-music recordings must begin by acknowledging that “greatest” cannot mean merely the most technically perfect. A genuinely historic chamber…

𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗧 𝗕𝗟𝗢𝗠𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗗𝗧 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗢 𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗦𝗘𝗘𝗠𝗦 𝗧𝗢 𝗛𝗔𝗩𝗘 𝗢𝗨𝗧𝗟𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗗 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘 Few conductors have travelled through nearly an entire century of musical history while preserving such freshness, modesty and intellectual curiosity. 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘁 𝗕𝗹𝗼𝗺𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱𝘁, who…

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…

𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗵𝗺𝘀 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗛𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗦𝘆𝗺𝗽𝗵𝗼𝗻𝘆 - 1884

𝗦𝗘𝗥𝗚𝗜𝗨 𝗖𝗘𝗟𝗜𝗕𝗜𝗗𝗔𝗖𝗛𝗘 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗢𝗡 𝗕𝗥𝗨𝗖𝗞𝗡𝗘𝗥: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗘𝗧𝗔𝗣𝗛𝗬𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗦𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗗, 𝗦𝗜𝗟𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘, 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘 Among the great Bruckner conductors of the twentieth century, 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗶𝘂 𝗖𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗱𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲 occupies a position unlike anyone else. He was not a “Brucknerian”…

𝗢𝘁𝘁𝗼 𝗞𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗿: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗧𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝗔 𝗥𝗶𝗴𝗼𝗿𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗱𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗢𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗛𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗜. 𝗔𝗻 𝗔𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗲: 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗞𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗿 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗢𝘁𝘁𝗼 𝗞𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗿 was…

On December 4, 1953, 𝗟𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗕𝗲𝗿𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗶𝗻 conducted at 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗼 𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗮 𝗦𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗮 for the first time, in a production of 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘂𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗶’𝘀 “𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗮.” 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗮 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗮𝘀 (1923-1977) sang the title role. Bernstein was the first American to…

𝗟𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗕𝗲𝗿𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗮 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝘀 𝗔𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝘂𝗺𝗽𝗵𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗟𝗮 𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗯𝘂𝗹𝗮 𝗶𝗻 𝟭𝟵𝟱𝟱

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…

𝗧𝘄𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗽𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀: 𝗦𝘃𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗼𝘀𝗹𝗮𝘃 𝗥𝗶𝗰𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗿 (𝟭𝟵𝟭𝟱–𝟭𝟵𝟵𝟳), 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘃𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗼𝗶𝗿𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗭𝗼𝗹𝘁𝗮́𝗻 𝗞𝗼𝗰𝘀𝗶𝘀 (𝟭𝟵𝟱𝟮–𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟲)

𝗧𝘄𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗽𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀: 𝗦𝘃𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗼𝘀𝗹𝗮𝘃 𝗥𝗶𝗰𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗿 (𝟭𝟵𝟭𝟱–𝟭𝟵𝟵𝟳), 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘃𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗼𝗶𝗿𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗭𝗼𝗹𝘁𝗮́𝗻 𝗞𝗼𝗰𝘀𝗶𝘀 (𝟭𝟵𝟱𝟮–𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟲), 𝗮 𝗽𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁, 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗰𝗼-𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝘂𝗱𝗮𝗽𝗲𝘀𝘁…

# **Bruno Walter: Humanist Authority and the Art of Living Time in Orchestral Conducting** ## 1) Origins of a Style: From Central Europe to a Humanist Podium Bruno Walter’s art as a conductor grew…

# **Sergiu Celibidache and the Art of Conducting — When Time Became Music ** ## Sergiu Celibidache and the Philosophy of Sound Sergiu Celibidache did not believe that music was something you “played.” He…

# **Otto Klemperer in 1905: a summary of his life and situation at that time** In **1905**, Otto Klemperer was **20 years old** and still in a **decisive formative phase**, far from public recognition…

# **Mozart’s Poverty at the Time of His Greatest Achievements** One of the most persistent misunderstandings about Mozart’s life is the belief that his financial difficulties were the result of failure, neglect, or declining…

# **Edouard Hamman:** Mozart at the spinet, performing selections from 'Don Giovanni' for the first time to a small company. Illustration, 19th century

# **Schubertian melody: emotion made into time ** The **single defining characteristic that places Franz Schubert above any other composer in that specific realm** is **his uniquely natural ability to transform inner emotional experience…

**The 20 Most Performed Symphonies of All Time** 1. **Beethoven — Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67** 2. **Beethoven — Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 (“Choral”)** 3. **Mozart —…

The Sanctuary of San Luca: A Sacred Ascent Through Time High above the ochre rooftops and red brick towers of Bologna, on the wooded crest of the Colle della Guardia, stands one of Italy’s…