Secrets of a Beethoven manuscript.
Category: Commentary
IT MUST NOT HAVE BEEN EASY BEING MOZART
It must not have been an easy life, being Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791). Perhaps even more so after the fact when scholars began to do their research and ìwanna besî began their intimations and psychoanalyzing. In the more seventy-five years of Mozart scholarship and its coming of age, one must ask: How much more is there to learn, to research?
The New San Francisco Opera
SAN FRANCISCO OPERA [11 January 2006]: “The San Francisco Opera today unveiled a new visual identity for the Company, heralding the beginning of a new era under the leadership of David Gockley, who became the Companyís sixth general director on January 1, 2006. Elements of San Francisco Operaís new image include a new logo, a glamorous and sophisticated new look for the print materials, and a major redesign of the Companyís Web site.”
Tributes to Birgit Nilsson
Birgit Nilsson died on 25 December 2005 at age 87. Her death was announced on 11 January 2006. Here are three tributes to this great soprano.
DNA detectives discover more skeletons in Mozart family closet
Scientists reveal results of tests on skull unearthed by Viennese gravedigger
The Guardian on Beaumarchais
How to stage a revolution
Beaumarchais, the dramatist behind The Marriage of Figaro and The Barber of Seville, was more than a mere playwright – he shaped the 18th century.
The Guardian on Lorenzo da Ponte
The phoenix
A poet, priest and womaniser, who ended his days as a grocer, he also wrote the words to some of the greatest operas. On the eve of Mozart’s 250th anniversary, Anthony Holden looks at the colourful life of his librettist, Lorenzo da Ponte
A musical genius? No, Mozart was just a hard-working boy
With the 250th anniversary of the composer’s birth just weeks away, the source of his brilliance is being disputed. Alice O’Keeffe reports
The truth about Shostakovich in his centenary year
Dmitry Shostakovich survived Stalin’s rule by the skin of his teeth. But is his music really the Soviet propaganda that many people claim?