1890–1956 Austrian conductor In 1923, Kleiber was appointed music director of the Berlin State Opera, where he performed several new works, including Berg’s Wozzeck. He spent World War II in South America and conducted regularly at Covent Garden 1950–53. He made fine recordings of Le nozze di Figaro and Der Rosenkavalier. Introduction | Modern Era | Classical Personalities ...
1897–1957, Austrian The son of music critic Julius Korngold, Erich was declared a genius aged nine by Gustav Mahler. Four years later, Korngold wrote a ballet pantomime, Der Schneemann (‘The Snowman’, 1910), orchestrated by his teacher Zemlinsky. The work drew the admiration of Puccini and Strauss, both of whom were already major influences on Korngold’s compositional ...
1930–2004 Austrian conductor Son of Erich Kleiber, he gained conducting appointments in Düsseldorf 1958–64, Zürich 1964–66 and Stuttgart 1966–68, his last full-time position. His debuts at Covent Garden, La Scala and the Metropolitan Opera brought almost unanimous critical acclaim, as did his few studio recordings, such as Beethoven’s Fifth with the Vienna Philharmonic (1974). Though ...
b. 1941 Argentinian pianist After her success at the 1965 Warsaw International Chopin competition, Argerich’s career involved regular appearances with such conductors as Abbado and Rostropovich (who, as a cellist, also partnered her in duo repertoire). Though her recordings, especially of Chopin, Ravel and Prokofiev, continue to be held in high esteem, she now ...
1886–1954 German conductor After various positions in German opera houses, Furtwängler became conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra 1922–45 and 1947–54. He was guest conductor of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra in the 1930s, and he conducted at Bayreuth and Covent Garden. His treatment of the German classics as works to be interpreted anew at each performance won him ...
Camille Saint-Saëns (1835–1921) is said to have written the first film score with L’assassinat du duc de Guise (‘The Assassination of the Duke of Guise’, c. 1908). Many composers in the US and Europe followed suit, although few wished to make a career in films. A famous exception was Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897–1957), whose scores include the Academy Award-winning The ...
In 1937, Arnold Schoenberg said, ‘I have at last learned the lesson that has been forced upon me during this year, and I shall not ever forget it. It is that I am not a German, not a European, indeed perhaps scarcely a human being – at least the Europeans prefer the worst of their race ...
After the devastation wrought in Europe by World War II, the urgent task of rebuilding the continent’s war-torn urban fabric demanded radical solutions. These were found in the centralized urban planning advocated before the war by architects such as Le Corbusier and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Writing in 1953, the composer Karlheinz Stockhausen (1928–2007) created an explicit analogy ...
‘The Knight of the Rose’ For the follow-up to Elektra, Strauss declared he wanted to write a Mozart opera. Despite Hofmannsthal’s protests about a light, Renaissance subject set in the past, the librettist soon came up with a scenario that delighted Strauss. The correspondence between librettist and composer was good-natured and respectful. Each made suggestions to the other ...
‘The Bat’ Composed: 1874 Premiered: 1874, Vienna Libretto by Carl Haffner and Richard Genée after Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy’s Le réveillon Prologue Falke wants revenge for a practical joke when Eisenstein left him sleeping, dressed as a bat, outside the Vienna law courts. Act I Eisenstein’s wife, Rosalinde, recognizes the voice serenading her as her ...
(Yo-han’-nes Bramz) 1833–97 German composer Brahms is a Janus-like figure in music history: he simultaneously faced the past and the future. Reviving and enlarging the classical principles of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven, his music has often been seen as a conservative reaction against the ‘new music’ of Liszt and, in particular, Wagner. Yet Brahms’ highly personal blend of ...
b. 1969, German Kaufmann’s mesmerising presence, fine acting and beautiful sound have secured his place in the operatic firmament. He sings a large number of spinto tenor roles, such as the title role in Don Carlos, Don Jose in Carmen, and Maurizio in Adriana Lecouvreur, alongside an increasing number of Wagnerian roles. His versatility in ...
(Lood’-wig van Bat’-ho-fan) 1770–1827 German composer Ludwig van Beethoven is one of the greatest composers in history – perhaps the greatest. Standing at the crossroads between the classical and Romantic eras, he created music that belongs not just to its period but to all time. He excelled in virtually every genre of his day, and had enormous influence on the ...
1910–76 German conductor After seven years as oboist in the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Kempe joined the music staff of the Leipzig Opera in 1935. He conducted at the Chemnitz Opera during and after the war, before becoming music director at Dresden 1949–52 and Munich 1952–54. He succeeded Thomas Beecham (1879–1961) as principal conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in ...
Originating as a device to mask the sound of a whirring projector, film music has become so much more than ‘music from the movies’. Before the advent of video and DVD, the soundtrack was the most accessible way to return to a favourite movie. It has since evolved into a multi-million dollar industry and one of the most thriving ...
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