Georges Bizet (1838 - 1875)

Bizet was born on October 25, 1838, the only child of musician parents. His parents nurtured his talent, and he entered the Paris Conservatoire in 1848, at the age of ten. Among his talents was a musical memory similar to that of Mozart.

At seventeen, Bizet wrote his Symphony in C, of which I have a copy that shares disc space with Mendelssohn's excerpts from his incidental music for A Midsummer Night's Dream, along with Smetana's The Moldau. If you haven't heard the latter work (or you have, but just don't recognize the name) you are in for a real treat. Though this is an entry for Bizet, I can't help but include a YouTube performance of The Moldau, in two parts.

Part One



Part Two



Bizet's symphony sounds like something Mozart or Haydn might have written. It is a charming piece, but it resembles music from the Classical era more than the Romantic era in which Bizet lived. It was never performed in his lifetime, and he tucked it away with other works from his youth. It was eighty years later when the piece was discovered by music historian Douglas Parker, who in turn drew the attention of conductor Felix Weingartner. It received its first performance in Basle, Switzerland in February 1935.

Bizet is best known for his opera Carmen, one of the most popular operas of all time. I have a recording of excerpts from the two Carmen suites, but not the entire two suites. The CD also has his Petite Suite for Orchestra and the L'Arlesienne Suite Nos. 1 & 2.

Though the recording does not include both Carmen suites, what it does include is a lot of fun, especially if you have seen the opera. Bizet didn't actually arrange the two suites, as he died just three months from the opera's premiere. This first performance, shown in Paris, was not much of a success. However, it was a blockbuster smash hit in Vienna. By this time, Bizet had died at the young age of 36. A couple of years ago I did a "Carmenathon" by watching all the DVD versions I could find at Borders, as well as through NetFlix. I thought I posted it here, but apparently did not. In any event, it was fun to do. I read that Brahms went to the opera some twenty times. Hopefully one day I'll see the opera live.