Support The Quietus
Our journalism is funded by our readers. Become a subscriber today to help champion our writing, plus enjoy bonus essays, podcasts, playlists and music downloads.
Beethoven’s Grosse Fuge is one of the most extreme pieces of music ever written, in any genre. A visionary work that only began to make sense in the 20th century, asks Phil Hebblethwaite, or a cacophonous duff that betrays a disturbing truth about a highly complex man?
The enigmatic Carlos Kleiber was voted the greatest conductor of all time, although he performed infrequently and released only a few albums. Who was he, asks Phil Hebblethwaite, and how come his immense talent was coupled with such paralysing self-doubt?