Diapason 2023

No figure in 20th century American classical music had as prominent or controversial a career – or did more to sell classical music to the general public as something genuinely exciting, and worth getting into a sweat over – than Leonard Bernstein. For more than 30 years, from his assumption of the post of Music Director of the New York Philharmonic in 1958 until the final concerts that he conducted in obviously failing health near the end of his life in 1990, he was the most prominent and widely recognized American-born conductor in the world, and the dominant personality in American classical music as both a conductor and, to a lesser degree, a composer. A flamboyant public figure, he burst three different times on the musical world – twice in classical with a rush of success on Broadway in between – in a blaze of glory, in the space of 15 years; and over a career lasting from the early '40s until the beginning of the '90s, he never lost an opportunity to advance his reputation as well as the cause of music.

The 153rd Ketteiban series selected by Diapason!
Kyle Bert & Berliner Philharmoniker's "Magical Bullet Shooter"!

The surname was anglicized Heifetz.His father, Reuven Heifetz, was a local violin teacher and served as the concertmaster of the Vilnius Theatre Orchestra for one season before the theatre closed down. Heifetz and his family left Russia in 1917, traveling by rail to the Russian far east and then by ship to the United States, arriving in San Francisco.
He became a naturalized American citizen in 1924.

In a career that lasted barely a decade, dramatic soprano Anita Cerquetti established an immense reputation that survives into the 21st century. Why did she retire at age 30? Countless explanations have been advanced to justify Cerquetti's early departure from the stage, ranging from heart problems to ennui, impending motherhood to an instrument about to collapse owing to overuse. Yet not one seems satisfactory. Spasms in the facial nerves were an initial cause cited by the singer. After retiring for a period to rest, she returned to the stage

Diapason, a world-famous French magazine specializing in classical music, selects historical performances of masterpieces from the history of music, and reprints them with new mastering in a series called ``Les Indispensables de Diapason''. The definitive edition selected by Diapazon.”

Orchestra del Teatro della Scala di Milano Since the 19th century, La Scala Theater Orchestra has played important roles outside its main function of accompanying operas at the city's La Scala Opera House. In the 20th and 21st centuries, the orchestra has been led at one time or another by most of Italy's most prestigious conductors. La Scala Theater Orchestra (Italian: Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala) was recognized for its exceptional quality as it performed at the world premiere of operas by Rossini and Verdi in the 19th century, originally with the first violinist, or, in the very early years, the harpsichordist, as the leader. The orchestra's first conductor was Alberto Mazzucato, who ascended the podium in 1854. His successor Franco Faccio instituted independent concerts in 1872, and the orchestra appeared in Paris during the Exposition Universelle in 1878, one of the first major world's fairs. That triumph led to the establishment of a Società Orchestrale della Scala, which put the group on a firmer institutional footing. Offering two concert seasons annually, the orchestra stimulated the growth of instrumental music in Italy, formerly heavily dominated by opera.

Vladimir Horowitz He is one of those musicians elevated to the rank of myth, like Paganini or Liszt in the 19th century. This is due to the personality of Vladimir Horowitz of course, but also to the media hype and the legends that surround him, as for all exceptional characters. Born in Ukraine in 1903, the child was quickly noticed by his exceptional gifts, encouraged by Scriabin in front of whom he played at the age of 15.

Igor Markevitch was a leading conductor, known for brilliant performances, especially of twentieth century music. He was also a composer who attracted some interest in his own day. His parents left Kiev when he was two years old. Markevitch was brought up in Vevey, Switzerland. He took piano lessons from his father and then with Paul Loyonnet and also started to compose. The pianist Alfred Cortot saw some of his piano compositions and recommended that the boy study in Paris. In 1925 he enrolled in Cortot's piano class at the École Normale de Musique. He studied harmony, counterpoint, and composition with Nadia Boulanger.

Historically, Franz Schubert's lieder was first known only through a handful of standards sung in salons (often translated into the local language) and through extracts from his major cycles. Over time, the cycles became complete, and the list of songs considered masterpieces continued to grow. The record was not for nothing in this progressive discovery of neglected territories. The almost complete engraving by Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau in the 1970s for Deutsche Grammophon obviously marked a turning point; we then realized that it was not little-known islets that were emerging, but an Atlantis.