Month: May 2026

Gluck’s “Melody” from “Orfeo ed Euridice”: Ginette Neveu

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In his book Great Masters of the Violin, musicologist Boris Schwarz remembered the powerful musicianship and magnetic stage presence of French violinist Ginette Neveu (1919-1949): No one who saw or heard her could forget that impression—the serious concentration, the complete immersion in her task, the burning yet controlled intensity. To speak of technique is pointless because it never served for display—it was always subordinate to a musical goal. At the age of 15, …

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Wagner’s “Tannhäuser” Overture: Andris Nelsons and the Boston Symphony Orchestra

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When Andris Nelsons was five years old, his parents took him to see a production of Wagner’s Tannhäuser. The Latvian conductor recalls that his parents prepared him for the occasion by playing an LP of the opera at home. He was also introduced to the story, based on German medieval legend, of a knight who is pulled between the pleasures of earthly love and lust and the redemptive love of sacred devotion. According …

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Mozart’s “The Impresario” Overture: Comedy with Music

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In January of 1786, Mozart was hard at work on The Marriage of Figaro when he received an attractive imperial commission. Emperor Joseph II was hosting visiting nobility at Vienna’s Schönbrunn Palace. The festivities included a duel between two competing forms of opera. At one end of the room was Mozart’s Der Schauspieldirektor, K. 486 (“The Impresario”), representing German singspiel. At the other end, Antonio Salieri represented Italian opera buffa with Prima la …

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“Poinciana”: Keith Jarrett Trio

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After hearing American jazz pianist and composer Ahmad Jamal (1930-2023) deliver a refined, minimalist performance of the Latin standard, Poinciana, Keith Jarrett remarked, This is swinging more than anything I’ve been listening to, but they’re doing less. What’s the secret here? A similar effortless cool groove emerges in a performance of Poinciana featuring the Keith Jarrett Trio, recorded at the Palais des congrès de Paris on July 5, 1999. The concert can be …

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