The Tales of Hoffmann

Rita Streich (born 18 December 1920 in Barnaul, Altai Krai, Russia, died 1987) was one of the most significant coloratura sopranos of the post-war period.
Rita Streich moved to Germany with her parents during her childhood, where she grew up bilingual, something that was extremely helpful during her later career. Among her teachers were Willy Domgraf-Fassbaender, Erna Berger, and Maria Ivogün.

This is a collection of absolute gems. The one-movement Concerto by Fauré is the only movement to have survived from an original three-movement violin concerto, and Saint-Saëns’s Morceau de concert was originally intended as the first movement of his third violin concerto. Lalo’s Fantaisie norvégienne, with its utterly gorgeous slow movement, was to become the inspiration behind Bruch’s Scottish Fantaisie, and Guitare is an early encore piece for violin and piano (later orchestrated by Gabriel Pierné) that Lalo (himself a violinist) wrote for his own use. Guiraud, who taught composition to both Debussy and Dukas, wrote the haunting Caprice for Sarasate, and the Poème by Canteloube shows much of the charm he is now so famed for through his Chants d’Auvergne.

The poet Henrik Ibsen and Edvard Grieg met in Rome in 1866. At this time, Ibsen was working on the dramatic poem "Peer Gynt" based on Norwegian fairy tales by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen. Ibsen reworked it into a stage play and commissioned Grieg to write the music for it.

The poet Henrik Ibsen and Edvard Grieg met in Rome in 1866. At this time, Ibsen was working on the dramatic poem "Peer Gynt" based on Norwegian fairy tales by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen. Ibsen reworked it into a stage play and commissioned Grieg to write the music for it.