performed by the Stanislas Quartet and Christian Ivaldi (cover image by Easton Oliver) Florent Schmitt was born on September 28, 1870 in Meurthe-et-Moselle, and entered the Paris Conservatoire at the age of 19, studying with Fauré, Massenet, Dubois, and Lavignac. … Continue reading Florent Schmitt: Piano Quintet in Bm, op. 51
performed by Les Siècles under François-Xavier Roth, interviewed in the video below, with the piece itself available on Spotify (cover image by Bruno Abatti) François-Clément Théodore Dubois was born on August 24, 1837 in Rosnay in Marne. He studied with, among … Continue reading Théodore Dubois: Symphonie Française
performed by the Orchestre Symphonique et Lyrique de Nancy under Sebastian Lang-Lessing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvKw6UaG2SM (cover image by Annette Beetge) There is with Ropartz a science of folklore and its proper use, which one admires; but more often than the direct use of … Continue reading Guy Ropartz: Symphony no. 2 in Fm
performed by the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal under Charles Dutoit, or as below with the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Yan Pascal Tortelier (cover image by Aaron Burden) Amédée-Ernest Chausson was born on January 20, 1855 in Paris “into an extremely affluent … Continue reading Ernest Chausson: Symphony in B-flat, op. 20
performed by Quatuor Danel and Paavali Jumppanen, or below by Bell, Frank, Imai, Isserlis and Hamelin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Macobqdvda8 (cover image by Alessio Soggetti) César-Auguste-Jean-Guillaume-Hubert Franck was born (with a very long name) on December 10, 1822 in Liège, which is not … Continue reading César Franck: Piano Quintet in Fm, FWV 7
performed by the Schubert Ensemble, or below by the Quatuor Ysaÿe with Pascal Rogé, piano (cover image by Abigail Keenan) Gabriel Urbain Fauré was born on May 12, 1845 in Pamiers, Ariège, “in the Occitanie region in southwestern France.” He was the youngest of six … Continue reading Gabriel Fauré: Piano Quartet no. 1 in Cm, op. 15
performed by the Malmö Symphony Orchestra under Thomas Sanderling, or below with the Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse under Michel Plasson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZ6bN5zAgb0 (cover image by Anton Repponen) Lucien Denis Gabriel Albéric Magnard was born on June 9, 1865 in Paris. His … Continue reading Albéric Magnard: Symphony no. 1 in Cm, op. 4
performed by the Orchestre de l’Opéra Bastille under Myung-Whun Chung, Michael Matthes, organ (cover image by John Towner) I gave everything to it I was able to give. What I have here accomplished, I will never achieve again. Saint-Saëns, of his third … Continue reading Saint-Saëns Symphony no. 3 in Cm, op. 78 ‘avec Orgue’
performed by Catherine Collard (piano), and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France under Marek Janowski (cover image by Paul Morris) In spite of [d’Indy’s] conscious professionalism, one side of him remained a patriarchal countryman, with something of the air of … Continue reading Vincent d’Indy: Symphonie sur un chant montagnard français
performed by the Denis Clavier Quartet with Dimitris Saroglou, piano https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aK4tEGXihGA (cover image by Gaetano Cessati) Louis Théodore Gouvy was born on July 3, 1819 into a “into a French-speaking family in the village of Goffontaine, in the Sarre, a region on … Continue reading Louis Théodore Gouvy: Piano Quintet in A, op. 24
performed by the Concertgebouw Orchestra under Bernard Haitink (cover image by Gaetano Cessati) Georges Bizet was born on 25 October, 1838 in Paris as Alexandre César Léopold Bizet, but baptized as Georges. His father was a hairdresser and wig maker … Continue reading Georges Bizet: Symphony in C
performed by the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana under Oleg Caetani, or below by the Orchestra of St. John’s under John Lubbock (cover image by Chris Barbalis) Charles-François Gounod was born on 17 June, 1818 in Paris. His mother was a … Continue reading Charles Gounod: Symphony no. 2 in E-flat
performed by the Orchestre de Bretagne under Stefan Sanderling https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=up8MVoFOheU (cover image by Luca Bravo) Jeanne-Louise Dumont was born 31 May 1804 in Paris to a sculptor, Jacques-Edme, and his wife, and made for herself an impressive career, for anyone, … Continue reading Louise Farrenc: Symphony no. 1 in Cm, op. 32
performed by Quatuor Diotima, available on Spotify or below second, third and fourth movements (cover image by Dmitrii Medvedev) André Georges Louis Onslow was born on 27 July 1784 in Clermont-Ferrand to an English farmer and French mother, thus considered … Continue reading Georges Onslow: String Quartet no. 28 in E-flat, op. 54
performed by The Orchestra Of The Gulbenkian Foundation under Michel Swierczewski [Méhul] was convinced that musical expressiveness is a lovely flower, delicate and rare, of exquisite fragrance, which does not bloom without culture, and which a breath can wither; that … Continue reading Étienne-Nicolas Méhul: Symphony no. 1 in Gm
performed by the Orchestre Chambre de Versailles under Bernard Wahl (available on Spotify), or below by the Tafelmusik Orchestra under Jeanne Lamon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKlmXZzKzFI (cover image by Rachel Lynette French) About six years after the quartet we discussed Sunday comes the composer’s … Continue reading Chevalier de Saint-Georges Symphony no. 1 in G, op. 11
performed by the Concerto Köln under Werner Ehrhardt, or below, in a mislabeled video that is actually the first movement of this work, and probably the same recording (cover image by Denis Larose) François-Joseph Gossec was born on 17 January … Continue reading François-Joseph Gossec: Symphony in D, op. 13 no. 3 ‘La Chasse’
performed by the Quatuor à Cordes Jean-Noël Molard, available on Spotify, or as below in a(n incomplete) video by the Amistad String Quartet (cover image by Carolyn V) Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges was born on December 25, 1745 in Baillif, Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe, … Continue reading Chevalier de Saint-Georges: String Quartet no. 1
performed by I Fiori Musicali, or as below https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iuyZdi6zME (cover image by Larm Rmah) I willingly admit that I much prefer what moves me to what surprises me. François Couperin ‘Le Grand’ was born on November 10, 1668. He was … Continue reading François Couperin: Concert Royal no. 1
(cover image by Rob Potvin) In the past few years, I’ve done a number of this type of series, and it seems they spiral out of control as I find more and more outstanding music. In 2016, we saw the … Continue reading The French Symphony
featuring the Ningbo Symphony Orchestra, Creation Opera Institute, and more I have opined before that opera is a rarity here, so I wasn’t going to miss the chance to see one of the more famous pieces in the repertoire being … Continue reading Ningbo Symphony’s Carmen
Fugue for Thought 