Anthony Princiotti
@tonyprinciotti.bsky.social
Conductor, Violinist, Teacher; Longtime Producer of Digital Engagement Materials for @BostonSymphony. Juilliard/Yale grad.
E-mail: [email protected]
Newsletter: http://therefuge.substack.com (new editions on Wednesdays and Sundays)
E-mail: [email protected]
Newsletter: http://therefuge.substack.com (new editions on Wednesdays and Sundays)
Pinned
In this Week's Edition of "The Refuge":
Haydn in London
Retiring a Toxic Title
Telemann and the Art of Crisis Management
Berlioz Enters the Opera Fray
therefuge.substack.com
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Haydn in London
Retiring a Toxic Title
Telemann and the Art of Crisis Management
Berlioz Enters the Opera Fray
therefuge.substack.com
Please Share and Subscribe!
A man's buying a parrot.
Clerk: This one's $1000; it sings Mozart arias.
Man: And the other?
Clerk: $10,000; it can sing Wagner's Ring cycle. There's another out back for $30,000.
Man: Wow; what does it do?
Clerk: Not much; although the other two parrots keep calling him 'Maestro'.
Clerk: This one's $1000; it sings Mozart arias.
Man: And the other?
Clerk: $10,000; it can sing Wagner's Ring cycle. There's another out back for $30,000.
Man: Wow; what does it do?
Clerk: Not much; although the other two parrots keep calling him 'Maestro'.
November 27, 2025 at 3:59 AM
A man's buying a parrot.
Clerk: This one's $1000; it sings Mozart arias.
Man: And the other?
Clerk: $10,000; it can sing Wagner's Ring cycle. There's another out back for $30,000.
Man: Wow; what does it do?
Clerk: Not much; although the other two parrots keep calling him 'Maestro'.
Clerk: This one's $1000; it sings Mozart arias.
Man: And the other?
Clerk: $10,000; it can sing Wagner's Ring cycle. There's another out back for $30,000.
Man: Wow; what does it do?
Clerk: Not much; although the other two parrots keep calling him 'Maestro'.
“When I was a little boy, I told my dad, ‘When I grow up, I want to be a musician.’ My dad said: ‘You can’t do both, Son.”
- Chet Atkins
- Chet Atkins
November 26, 2025 at 4:29 AM
“When I was a little boy, I told my dad, ‘When I grow up, I want to be a musician.’ My dad said: ‘You can’t do both, Son.”
- Chet Atkins
- Chet Atkins
A dress owned by Haydn's wife, Maria Anna (née Keller).
November 26, 2025 at 4:28 AM
A dress owned by Haydn's wife, Maria Anna (née Keller).
On this date in 1760, Franz Josef Haydn married Maria Keller, the eldest daughter of a Viennese wig-maker. Their 40-year marriage was mostly miserable; Maria disliked music and couldn't recognize his genius. He claimed "it made me not indifferent to the charms of other women."
November 26, 2025 at 4:28 AM
On this date in 1760, Franz Josef Haydn married Maria Keller, the eldest daughter of a Viennese wig-maker. Their 40-year marriage was mostly miserable; Maria disliked music and couldn't recognize his genius. He claimed "it made me not indifferent to the charms of other women."
One of the things I find more interesting about Gabriel Faure's famous "Pavane" (originally for solo piano and later for small orchestra with an optional chorus) is its wonderfully strange affect. It has an aura that's at once distant AND affectionate.
November 26, 2025 at 4:27 AM
One of the things I find more interesting about Gabriel Faure's famous "Pavane" (originally for solo piano and later for small orchestra with an optional chorus) is its wonderfully strange affect. It has an aura that's at once distant AND affectionate.
87 years ago today, Robert Schumann's Violin Concerto was premiered - posthumously - in Berlin. Because the piece was written during Schumann's final mental collapse, it was suppressed by his wife Clara after Brahms claimed it was an unworthy reflection of her husband's talent.
November 26, 2025 at 4:17 AM
87 years ago today, Robert Schumann's Violin Concerto was premiered - posthumously - in Berlin. Because the piece was written during Schumann's final mental collapse, it was suppressed by his wife Clara after Brahms claimed it was an unworthy reflection of her husband's talent.
"Unfortunately, Fraulein Sontag ended up vomiting 15 times. With Fraulein Unger, the effect was in quite the opposite direction."
- Letter to Beethoven regarding the effects of some wine the composer had given to a pair of soloists who'd sing in the premiere of his 9th Symphony.
- Letter to Beethoven regarding the effects of some wine the composer had given to a pair of soloists who'd sing in the premiere of his 9th Symphony.
November 25, 2025 at 3:49 AM
"Unfortunately, Fraulein Sontag ended up vomiting 15 times. With Fraulein Unger, the effect was in quite the opposite direction."
- Letter to Beethoven regarding the effects of some wine the composer had given to a pair of soloists who'd sing in the premiere of his 9th Symphony.
- Letter to Beethoven regarding the effects of some wine the composer had given to a pair of soloists who'd sing in the premiere of his 9th Symphony.
There's a tendency to look upon each generation of teenagers as more sophisticated than the last. But when I listen to music Mozart wrote when he was a teen, that notion seems doubtful. It reflects a uniquely subtle emotional awareness and a profound level of psychological insight.
November 25, 2025 at 3:48 AM
There's a tendency to look upon each generation of teenagers as more sophisticated than the last. But when I listen to music Mozart wrote when he was a teen, that notion seems doubtful. It reflects a uniquely subtle emotional awareness and a profound level of psychological insight.
On this date in 1731, J.S. Bach's sacred Cantata "Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme" ("Wake up, cries the watchmen’s voice") was premiered in Leipzig. The capstone for the 2nd of Bach's annual church cantata cycle, it became one of his most well-known works in the genre.
November 25, 2025 at 3:48 AM
On this date in 1731, J.S. Bach's sacred Cantata "Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme" ("Wake up, cries the watchmen’s voice") was premiered in Leipzig. The capstone for the 2nd of Bach's annual church cantata cycle, it became one of his most well-known works in the genre.
"It is important to know that my very first work as a composer was a Concerto for Accordion."
- Alfred Schnittke
- Alfred Schnittke
November 24, 2025 at 5:08 AM
"It is important to know that my very first work as a composer was a Concerto for Accordion."
- Alfred Schnittke
- Alfred Schnittke
Schnittke wrote 9 Symphonies....sort of. He had to compose his 9th with his non-dominant hand after a series of strokes left him paralyzed on his right side. Thus the manuscript is hard to decipher. Alexander Raskatov's reconstruction of the piece is - inevitably - controversial.
November 24, 2025 at 5:07 AM
Schnittke wrote 9 Symphonies....sort of. He had to compose his 9th with his non-dominant hand after a series of strokes left him paralyzed on his right side. Thus the manuscript is hard to decipher. Alexander Raskatov's reconstruction of the piece is - inevitably - controversial.
The poly-stylistic character of Schnittke's music, which embraced everything from Baroque period gestures to Boulezian Serialism, has often struck me as a strength and a weakness all at once. Its expressive range is thrilling, but the overall effect can be incoherent.
November 24, 2025 at 5:07 AM
The poly-stylistic character of Schnittke's music, which embraced everything from Baroque period gestures to Boulezian Serialism, has often struck me as a strength and a weakness all at once. Its expressive range is thrilling, but the overall effect can be incoherent.
When Schnittke met the Italian serialist Luigi Nono 1962, he was captivated. Nono was a dramatic figure, loathed for his "monstrous" music and hailed for his fervent communism. Schnittke would grow less fond of what he'd call "the puberty rites of serial self-denial."
November 24, 2025 at 5:06 AM
When Schnittke met the Italian serialist Luigi Nono 1962, he was captivated. Nono was a dramatic figure, loathed for his "monstrous" music and hailed for his fervent communism. Schnittke would grow less fond of what he'd call "the puberty rites of serial self-denial."
There's a tendency to think the repression of Soviet composers was mostly a thing of the past by the 1970s. Not so. Schnittke survived by writing film music; his "serious" works were often denigrated by the government-controlled Composer's Union. The stress undermined his health.
November 24, 2025 at 5:05 AM
There's a tendency to think the repression of Soviet composers was mostly a thing of the past by the 1970s. Not so. Schnittke survived by writing film music; his "serious" works were often denigrated by the government-controlled Composer's Union. The stress undermined his health.
91 years ago today, the Soviet composer Alfred Schnittke was born in the central-Russian city of Engels. The most eminent successor to Dmitri Shostakovich, his wide-ranging output is characterized by the use of traditional forms as frameworks for a highly-eclectic aesthetic.
November 24, 2025 at 5:04 AM
91 years ago today, the Soviet composer Alfred Schnittke was born in the central-Russian city of Engels. The most eminent successor to Dmitri Shostakovich, his wide-ranging output is characterized by the use of traditional forms as frameworks for a highly-eclectic aesthetic.
"One can't properly judge Wagner's opera "Lohengrin" after a first hearing. And I certainly don't intend to hear it a second time."
- Gioachino Rossini
- Gioachino Rossini
November 23, 2025 at 3:10 PM
"One can't properly judge Wagner's opera "Lohengrin" after a first hearing. And I certainly don't intend to hear it a second time."
- Gioachino Rossini
- Gioachino Rossini
On this date in 1890, Dvorak's wonderful Piano Quartet in E-Flat was first performed in Prague. If you compare Dvorak's two works in the genre to Brahms' three, the sense of vastly different world-views is palpable. Dvorak was essentially an optimist; Brahms was, uh, not.
November 23, 2025 at 3:09 PM
On this date in 1890, Dvorak's wonderful Piano Quartet in E-Flat was first performed in Prague. If you compare Dvorak's two works in the genre to Brahms' three, the sense of vastly different world-views is palpable. Dvorak was essentially an optimist; Brahms was, uh, not.
If music has an evolutionary purpose, what is it? Perhaps its ability to access and help us process the most primitive aspects of our psyche is akin to what sports provides us in the external realm: a way to "practice" survival skills within a context that isn't life-threatening.
November 23, 2025 at 3:08 PM
If music has an evolutionary purpose, what is it? Perhaps its ability to access and help us process the most primitive aspects of our psyche is akin to what sports provides us in the external realm: a way to "practice" survival skills within a context that isn't life-threatening.
A passage from perhaps Penderecki's most famous work, his haunting "Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima" for 52 String Instruments (1960). Note the "blocks" of sound. Controversially, he embraced a more neo-romantic style in the 1970s, saying he found it "more constructive."
November 23, 2025 at 3:06 PM
A passage from perhaps Penderecki's most famous work, his haunting "Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima" for 52 String Instruments (1960). Note the "blocks" of sound. Controversially, he embraced a more neo-romantic style in the 1970s, saying he found it "more constructive."
102 years ago today, the Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki was born. He was best-known for investing traditional forms such as Symphonies, Concerti and Opera with an avant-garde musical language that eschewed melody and harmony in favor of large, contrasting blocks of sound.
November 23, 2025 at 3:05 PM
102 years ago today, the Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki was born. He was best-known for investing traditional forms such as Symphonies, Concerti and Opera with an avant-garde musical language that eschewed melody and harmony in favor of large, contrasting blocks of sound.
"He takes it twice as fast as it should be...When I tried to correct him, he replied: 'If I don't do it my way, it will fall flat.' Virtuosos! Lost in their dream worlds as though composers don't exist."
- Ravel, regarding Arturo Toscanini's interpretation of "Boléro":
- Ravel, regarding Arturo Toscanini's interpretation of "Boléro":
November 22, 2025 at 5:05 AM
"He takes it twice as fast as it should be...When I tried to correct him, he replied: 'If I don't do it my way, it will fall flat.' Virtuosos! Lost in their dream worlds as though composers don't exist."
- Ravel, regarding Arturo Toscanini's interpretation of "Boléro":
- Ravel, regarding Arturo Toscanini's interpretation of "Boléro":
Part 2 of a timeline of the Snare Drum player's thoughts during a performance a performance of Ravel's "Bolero":
(Credit: John Bogenschutz, ToneDeafComics.com)
(Credit: John Bogenschutz, ToneDeafComics.com)
November 22, 2025 at 5:03 AM
Part 2 of a timeline of the Snare Drum player's thoughts during a performance a performance of Ravel's "Bolero":
(Credit: John Bogenschutz, ToneDeafComics.com)
(Credit: John Bogenschutz, ToneDeafComics.com)
A timeline of the Snare Drum player's thoughts during a performance a performance of Ravel's "Bolero", Part 1:
(Credit: John Bogenschutz, ToneDeafComics.com)
(Credit: John Bogenschutz, ToneDeafComics.com)
November 22, 2025 at 5:03 AM
A timeline of the Snare Drum player's thoughts during a performance a performance of Ravel's "Bolero", Part 1:
(Credit: John Bogenschutz, ToneDeafComics.com)
(Credit: John Bogenschutz, ToneDeafComics.com)
What's often misunderstood about "Boléro" is that the monotony is the POINT. The ballet is set in a musty bar in rural Spain. Life is dull and grinding. The music begins; someone starts dancing. Others gradually join. Eventually, the room is filled with lusty, riotous humanity.
November 22, 2025 at 5:02 AM
What's often misunderstood about "Boléro" is that the monotony is the POINT. The ballet is set in a musty bar in rural Spain. Life is dull and grinding. The music begins; someone starts dancing. Others gradually join. Eventually, the room is filled with lusty, riotous humanity.
101 years ago today, the ballet "Bolero", with music by Maurice Ravel, choreography by Bronislava Nijinska and designs by Alexandre Benois, was premiered in Paris. Ravel was less ambivalent about the piece than surprised at its popularity as a stand-alone symphonic work.
November 22, 2025 at 5:01 AM
101 years ago today, the ballet "Bolero", with music by Maurice Ravel, choreography by Bronislava Nijinska and designs by Alexandre Benois, was premiered in Paris. Ravel was less ambivalent about the piece than surprised at its popularity as a stand-alone symphonic work.