The fascist afterlife of The Four Seasons
Vivaldi’s masterwork, forgotten after his death, found new popularity when it was co-opted by Italian nationalists.
By
Reviewing politics
and culture since 1913
Vivaldi’s masterwork, forgotten after his death, found new popularity when it was co-opted by Italian nationalists.
By Phil Hebblethwaite
Sweetened arrangements of his works ensured the Russian composer’s afterlife – but left him hiding in plain sight.
By Phil Hebblethwaite
How the composer moved from riotously original piano music to the light-footed symphony that made his name.
By Phil Hebblethwaite
The composer lived for 33 years after his Symphony No 7 premiered a century ago. But he could never…
By Phil Hebblethwaite
First performed 100 years ago, George Gershwin’s great experiment defined the jazz age and took popular music in a…
By Phil Hebblethwaite
The harpsichord “cowboy”, who died from Aids in 1989, left behind a heroic body of work.
By Phil Hebblethwaite
The keyboard works of The Well-Tempered Clavier sound more novel and luminous 300 years later than in their composer’s…
By Phil Hebblethwaite
Fifty years ago the American composer perfected minimalism for the mainstream.
By Phil Hebblethwaite
A work ahead of its time, the composer’s great song cycle meditates on all our disappointments.
By Phil Hebblethwaite