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Donald Macleod explores Gluck鈥檚 final years - a time of Viennese culture wars, and friendships with Mozart and Salieri.

Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714-1787) arguably did more to transform opera than any composer of his generation: thinking deeply about how text and music should work together, and trying to strip away fripperies to ensure it was urgent, powerful and arresting. His radical approaches made him one of the most influential composers in history - and yet today, he鈥檚 known in the concert hall almost exclusively for one work: his masterpiece 鈥淥rpheus and Eurydice鈥�. This week, Donald Macleod puts that right: showcasing Gluck鈥檚 dazzling and enchanting music from across his life - whilst also showing off his most famous work across the week in its many fascinating versions.

By the 1770s, a new generation of composers were taking Vienna by storm with their own musical innovations - themselves influenced hugely by Gluck鈥檚 music. Donald Macleod ends the week by exploring Gluck鈥檚 encounters with the young Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and his rival Antonio Salieri, and tells the strange tale of an 18th century culture war between supporters of Gluck鈥檚 operas and those of his supposed sworn enemy, Niccolo Piccini.

Gluck (arr Schubert) Rien de la nature (Echo et Narcisse)
Ann Murray (mezzo-soprano), Graham Johnson (piano)

Armide (Act 5 opening)
Mireille Delunsch, soprano (Armide)
Charles Workman, tenor (Renaud)
Les Musiciens du Louvre, Chorus Of Les Musiciens Du Louvre, conductor Marc Minkowski

Iphigenie en Tauride, Wq 46 (excerpts)
Susan Graham, soprano (Iphigenie)
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Harry Bicket

De Profundis
Festivalchor Musica Franconia & La Banda, conductor Wolfgang Riedelbauch

Orphee et Eurydice (1774 Paris edition): Act 3 (finale)
Juan Diego Fl贸rez, tenor (Orph茅e)
Alessandra Marianelli, mezzo-soprano (Amour)
Ainhoa Garmendia, soprano (Eurydice)
Orquesta Sinf贸nica de Madrid, Coro Sinfonico de Madrid, conductor Jes煤s L贸pez Cobos

Produced by Steven Rajam for 鲍鱼tv Audio Wales & West