A citizen of the world, Milhaud was a resolute traveller who lived away from France and his native Provence for many years. Each immersion in a different country presented him with an opportunity to take in different cultures, rhythms and musical hues that enriched his artistry and nurtured his creativity. His work is a unique example of musical syncretism both in his expression and in the means he employed. His vast output, which spreads across all genres, shows an irrepressible need to write music unhindered by aesthetics or technique. It did not matter where he was, he never stopped composing.

In France, Eric Montalbetti is widely known for his work as an arts administrator. He worked for the French Ministry of Culture (1990-1993) and served as Chief executive of the Association of French Orchestras (1993-1996) and Artistic director of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France (1996-2014). Now his first orchestral composition will be premiered by Orchestre national des Pays de la Loire under the baton of Pascal Rophé on March 12, 2015 in Saint Brevin.

Georges Aperghis has added two new pieces to his orchestra cycle Études which he started in 2013. Études 5 & 6 were composed for Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks and will be premiered in Munich under the baton Emilio Pomarico on March 20, 2015. In this video interview the composer reflects on the composition process.

After the critically acclaimed German premiere of Perelà, uomo di fumo at Staatstheater Mainz (director: Lydia Steier) in January, Pascal Dusapin’s seventh opera Penthesilea will have its world premiere in Brussels on March 31.

The ensemble Sentieri selvaggi will join Tim Berne and his group Snakeoil as guests at a concert on March 8 at the Teatro Manzoni in Milan where the two groups will perform the world premiere of Carlo Boccadoro’s Snakes for jazz quartet and instrumental ensemble.

Giselle, Swan Lake, Bólero, La creation du monde, Le boef sur le toit, Kaguyahime and La strada: the repertoire of Durand-Salabert-Eschig and Ricordi not only includes many of the most popular ballets, but also some hidden gems that are waiting to be rediscovered. For more information and a full list of our ballet repertoire, please click here for a free download.

On March 26 at the Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome, as part of the concert series Contemporanea, the world premiere of Riccardo Nova’s Wav Alif Ha Da for guitar, percussion, and tape will be performed by Luca Nostro and Flavio Tanzi.

On our blog, our contemporary composers present their favorite work from our catalogs. This time Adam Schoenberg introduces Eric Tanguy’s Concerto pour violoncelle n° 2.

On March 12 Fabio Luisi will lead the Cleveland Orchestra in a performance of Luca Francesconi’s Cobalt, Scarlet - Two Colours of Dawn for large orchestra. Composed in 2000, the piece has since then been performed by 18 different orchestras in Europe, Asia and in the US, including the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Gewandhausorchester, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and Los Angeles Philharmonic.

In 1897 Pietro Acciarito, a Florentine anarchist, attempted to stab King Umberto I. He was arrested, put on trial, and condemned to a life of imprisonment. Later, after being put in solitary confinement, he went mad and ended his days in a prison mental asylum.