Stories
Articles, biographies and essays on composers, performers and great recordings, first published in our Facebook groups.
22 October 2023Regarding Schubert, July 13, 1900Mahler said: "Today I have reread all of Schubert's chamber music. Out of twelve works, there will be a maximum of four of good level. And among eight hundred Lieder, the really beautiful…
22 October 2023The Appearance and Personality of MahlerMahler, on whose outward appearance (the way he "appeared") there was always much to criticize, responded to the criticisms directed at him as follows: "I cannot lead any kind of aesthetic…
22 October 2023Mahler's Second Symphony in ViennaMahler allowed some of his closest friends to secretly attend the rehearsals of his Second Symphony. The first three movements were rehearsed yesterday, and the fourth and fifth today.…
28 August 2023Mahler in Laren and the Amsterdam concert (1906)The morning of March 10, 1906, Mahler visited the moors between Hilversum and Laren with Willem Mengelberg (conductor of the Concertgebouworkest) and Alphons Diepenbrock (composer). This…
28 August 20231. 1911, The funeral cortege of Gustav Mahler. Grinzing cemetery. MahlerFoundation.orgImages: 2. 1911, The funeral cortege of Gustav Mahler 1. Arnold Josef Rose (1863-1946), 2. Carl Julius Rudolf Moll (1861-1945), 3. Alfred Roller (1864-1935), 4. Alphons Diepenbrock…
27 August 2023The Rimsky-Korsakovs: The Fate of Nobles after the Revolution. Portrait: Varvara Rimskaya-Korsakova. The renowned…The Rimsky-Korsakovs: The Fate of Nobles after the Revolution. Portrait: Varvara Rimskaya-Korsakova. The renowned composer Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908) was born into a…
26 August 2023Carlo Maria Giulini working together with CSO music director Sir Georg Solti on planning a repertoire.
26 August 2023Conductors' Competition JudgesThe judges in a conductors' competition at Lime Grove Studios, London, for the BBC's arts programme 'Monitor' on 5th February 1961. Left to right: German conductor Otto Klemperer (1885 -…
24 August 2023Serge KoussevitzkyIn 1940, Koussevitzky established the Berkshire (now Tanglewood) Music Center as a school to train the most promising young composers, conductors, and instrumentalists. He himself taught…
24 August 2023Great works in a small house: During the summer months, Gustav Mahler withdrew to his composing house in Toblach in…Great works in a small house: During the summer months, Gustav Mahler withdrew to his composing house in Toblach in South Tyrol to work on his symphonies. The Villa Mahler in Breitenstein:…
24 August 2023Meyerbeer (1791-1864)Composer. He was the most celebrated creator of French grand opera. This style emphasized lavish spectacle and stagecraft, often at the expense of musical and dramatic quality. By sheer…
24 August 2023Bernstein and Koussevitzky Have Their Cake (and Eat It Too...)From the New York Philharmonic Leon Levy Digital Archives comes this gem of a photo, taken in the 1940s.13 July 2023In the classrooms of the Vienna Conservatory of Music in 1875, he formed a friendship with a distinguished musician,…In the classrooms of the Vienna Conservatory of Music in 1875, he formed a friendship with a distinguished musician, Hugo Wolf, with whom he shared a room, interests, and poverty until Wolf…