Georges Bizet, the composer of the music on this album, entered the Paris Conservatoire at the age of nine, studying piano and composition.
Composer Biography
Bizet won the prestigious Prix de Rome at 18, which provided him with a five-year state scholarship and a three-year stay at the Villa Medici in Rome.
Performer Biography
The pianist on this album, Julia Severus, received her Ph.D. for her dissertation on J. S. Bach's Articulation Practice at the TU Berlin.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Bizet believed that a composer should first become a pianist to learn how to give form to their ideas, citing great composers like Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven as examples.
Composition History
Bizet's incidental music for Alphonse Daudet's drama L'Arlésienne was later transformed into two concert suites after the play itself was unsuccessful.
Composer Biography
Despite his skill, Bizet rarely performed in public, disliking the profession of a pianist and fearing he would be seen more as a performer than a composer.
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