Tchaikovsky: [re]creating the First

Back in 2013, when this blog was but a fledgling, I thought it would be clever, as my very first post, to discuss Tchaikovsky creating his first symphony. The post, entitled “Creating the First” applied to both him and me, you see. I just love Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 1 and I love the story behind … Read more

Henri Dutilleux & “Tout un Monde Lointain”

“Tout un monde lointain, absent, Presque defunct, vit dans tes profondeurs, forêt aromatique,” (A whole distant world, absent, barely alive, dwells in your depths, oh scented forest.) Mstislav Rostropovich commissioned this cello concerto. The poetry of Charles Baudelaire inspired it, albeit loosely. Pierre Boulez disdained its composer, Henri Dutilleux, and his work, which might be … Read more