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César Franck was born in Belgium but established his career as a composer, organist, and influential teacher in France, most prestigiously at the Paris Conservatoire and at the church of Sainte-Clotilde. His music was heavily influenced by Liszt and Wagner, as in his Symphony in D minor, one of his most famous compositions. Franck's organ pieces are among the most celebrated Romantic works for that instrument, though his symphonic poems, chamber music (particularly the Sonata for Violin in A), and sacred choral settings are also regularly performed.

Franck was born in Liège (in the French region, which in 1830 became part of a new state, Belgium), on December 10, 1822. He was a keyboard player of extraordinary ability who had a short stint as a touring piano virtuoso before moving to Paris and throwing himself into musical studies. In addition, he was an organist at several major churches during his career, and his skills on the organ accounted in great part for his compositional interest in that instrument; his organ compositions stand at the apex of the Romantic organ repertoire. For much of his life, Franck was organist at the Paris churches of Saint-Jean-Saint-François and then Sainte-Clotilde, and in 1872 he became a professor at the Paris Conservatoire. He led a group of young composers, among them d'Indy, Duparc, and Dukas, who found much to admire in his highly individual, post-Romantic style, with its rich, innovative harmonies, sometimes terse melodies, and skilled contrapuntal writing. This group, sometimes known as "la bande à Franck," steered French composition toward symphonic and chamber music, finally breaking the stranglehold of the more conservative opera over French music.

Individual and instantly recognizable though Franck's music was, it owes a debt to Liszt and Wagner, especially to the latter's Tristan und Isolde and several other late works. He tended to use rather quick modulations, an inheritance from Wagner, and shifting harmonies. There is a Germanic ponderousness in some of his compositions and a mixture of paradoxical elements so typical of the composer, such as moments of peace and serenity that barely conceal an undercurrent of disquiet. These elements were used to great advantage in the Symphony in D minor of 1888, where Franck also adapts the Lisztian-Wagnerian predilection toward cyclical structure and melodic motto to an abstract symphonic form. Another characteristic of Franck's music is extended homophonic writing, as exemplified in his choral symphonic poem Psyché.

Franck was a man of strong religious convictions throughout his life, which often motivated him to compose works based on biblical texts or on other church sources, yet his choral works were slightly less successful than his organ works. However, his religious, solo vocal piece Panis Angelicus (1872) is highly popular and frequently recorded. Franck's most lastingly successful and recognizable composition is his Violin Sonata in A (1886), which shares characteristics with the Symphony and has been transcribed for a multitude of other instruments. Franck died in Paris on November 8, 1890. By the turn of the century, he had become the leading figure associated with the "old school" in France, while Debussy came to represent the "progressive" forces. ~ TiVo Staff

The interpretations of pianist Radu Lupu are particularly esteemed by connoisseurs. He was a top recording artist whose career extended from the 1970s to the 2000s.

Lupu was born on November 30, 1945, in Galați in far eastern Romania. His father was an attorney, and his mother was a linguist. Lupu was musical from early childhood and took up the piano at age six. At 12, he gave his debut recital, which featured some of his own compositions. For a time, Lupu considered a career as a composer, but he settled on the piano in his teens. From 1959 to 1961, Lupu attended the Bucharest Conservatory, studying with Florica Musicescu (also the teacher of Dinu Lipatti) and Cella Delavrancea. At 16, he earned a scholarship to the Moscow Conservatory. He studied there for seven years with Galina Eguiazarova, Heinrich Neuhaus, and Stanislav Neuhaus, and he also took lessons from Artur Schnabel's student Maria Curcio. Lupu said that he thought of himself as an autodidact, absorbing insights from conductors as well as pianists. In 1966, he won the first prize at the Van Cliburn Competition in Texas. That would have sufficed to launch Lupu on a high-flying international career, but he preferred to complete his studies in Moscow, which he did in 1969. That year, he won the Leeds Piano Competition in England, and in 1971, he made his recording debut on the Decca label with an album of piano works by Schubert and Brahms.

Lupu remained with Decca until the 1990s, recording for other labels only at the end of his career. He was renowned for his sensitive treatments not only of Brahms and Schubert but also of Schumann and Beethoven, and he was an enthusiastic performer of Mozart and 20th century music. Lupu made his U.S. debut with the Cleveland Orchestra under Daniel Barenboim in 1972; that performance was panned by Harold C. Schonberg of The New York Times, who later became one of Lupu's major supporters. Lupu's New York debut came with the New York Philharmonic in 1974. He subsequently appeared in most major U.S. and European cities. His recordings of Schubert were especially prized, and one -- of the Piano Sonata in B flat major, D. 960, and Piano Sonata in A major, D. 664 -- earned a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance in 1995. Lupu remained active into old age, cutting back on his recording schedule in the 2000s decade but continuing to perform. In 2016, he was named Commander of the Order of the British Empire. He retired completely in 2019 due to medical issues and died in Lausanne, Switzerland, on April 17, 2022. Lupu made more than 35 recordings. ~ James Manheim

Claude Debussy (born Achille-Claude Debussy) was among the most influential composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His mature compositions, distinctive and appealing, combined modernism and sensuality so successfully that their sheer beauty often obscures their technical innovation. Debussy is considered the founder and leading exponent of musical Impressionism (although he resisted the label), and his adoption of non-traditional scales and tonal structures was paradigmatic for many composers who followed.

The son of a shopkeeper and a seamstress, Debussy began piano studies at the Paris Conservatory at the age of 11. While a student there, he encountered the wealthy Nadezhda von Meck (most famous as Tchaikovsky's patroness), who employed him as a music teacher to her children; through travel, concerts and acquaintances, she provided him with a wealth of musical experience. Most importantly, she exposed the young Debussy to the works of Russian composers, such as Borodin and Mussorgsky, who would remain important influences on his music.

Debussy began composition studies in 1880, and in 1884 he won the prestigious Prix de Rome with his cantata L'enfant prodigue. This prize financed two years of further study in Rome -- years that proved to be creatively frustrating. However, the period immediately following was fertile for the young composer; trips to Bayreuth and the Paris World Exhibition (1889) established, respectively, his determination to move away from the influence of Richard Wagner, and his interest in the music of Eastern cultures.

After a relatively bohemian period, during which Debussy formed friendships with many leading Parisian writers and musicians (not least of which were Mallarmé, Satie, and Chausson), the year 1894 saw the enormously successful premiere of his Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune (Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun) -- a truly revolutionary work that brought his mature compositional voice into focus. His seminal opera Pelléas et Mélisande, completed the next year, would become a sensation at its first performance in 1902. The impact of those two works earned Debussy widespread recognition (as well as frequent attacks from critics, who failed to appreciate his forward-looking style), and over the first decade of the 20th century he established himself as the leading figure in French music -- so much so that the term "Debussysme" ("Debussyism"), used both positively and pejoratively, became fashionable in Paris. Debussy spent his remaining healthy years immersed in French musical society, writing as a critic, composing, and performing his own works internationally. He succumbed to colon cancer in 1918, having also suffered a deep depression brought on by the onset of World War I.

Debussy's personal life was punctuated by unfortunate incidents, most famously the attempted suicide of his first wife, Lilly Texier, whom he abandoned for the singer Emma Bardac. However, his subsequent marriage to Bardac, and their daughter Claude-Emma, whom they called "Chouchou" and who became the dedicatee of the composer's Children's Corner piano suite, provided the middle-aged Debussy with great personal joys.

Debussy wrote successfully in most every genre, adapting his distinctive compositional language to the demands of each. His orchestral works, of which Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune and La mer (The Sea, 1905) are most familiar, established him as a master of instrumental color and texture. It is this attention to tone color -- his layering of sound upon sound so that they blend to form a greater, evocative whole -- that linked Debussy in the public mind to the Impressionist painters.

His works for solo piano, particularly his collections of Préludes and Etudes, which have remained staples of the repertoire since their composition, bring into relief his assimilation of elements from both Eastern cultures and antiquity -- especially pentatonicism (the use of five-note scales), modality (the use of scales from ancient Greece and the medieval church), parallelism (the parallel movement of chords and lines), and the whole-tone scale (formed by dividing the octave into six equal intervals).

Pelléas et Mélisande and his collections of songs for solo voice establish the strength of his connection to French literature and poetry, especially the symbolist writers, and stand as some of the most understatedly expressive works in the repertory. The writings of Mallarmé, Maeterlinck, Baudelaire, and his childhood friend Paul Verlaine appear prominently among his chosen texts and joined symbiotically with the composer's own unique moods and forms of expression. ~ Allen Schrott

Osian Ellis was the long-time principal harpist for the London Symphony Orchestra. The Welshman once described his own personal outlook as "philosophical" and indicated that a symphony harpist had to be that way since a good deal of their time is spent sitting in the wings. When a solo feature is actually offered, it is most often in one of the same half-dozen repertoire pieces, such as the Mephisto Waltz No. 1 by Franz Liszt. Yes, this piece was a specialty of Ellis', but this performer's varied interests and deep respect for his instrument's legacy led to a career that consisted of much more than just waiting for a chance to play. He was associated closely with Benjamin Britten but established a repertoire that stretched back to medieval British and Spanish music as well as the traditional harp music of Wales.

Ellis was born on February 8, 1928, in Ffynnongroew, Flintshire, Wales. His mother was an amateur harpist and encouraged him to learn the instrument. He studied with Alwena Roberts before attending the Royal Academy of Music, where his teacher was Gwendolen Mason. In 1959, Ellis succeeded Mason as the harp professor at the Royal Academy. His stay with the London Symphony began in 1961, shortly after he first began his involvement with Britten. He was a creative player during his London Symphony days and was even known to toss in his own solos while performing with the orchestra. When the Melos Ensemble was formed in London in the late '60s, Ellis was a natural choice to become the ensemble's harpist. The ensemble was dedicated to performing the often neglected repertoire for extended chamber ensemble, in the case of the harp, leading to the impressionist masterpieces of Ravel and Debussy.

Britten's Suite for Harp was composed in 1969 after Ellis asked the composer for a solo piece, and it was premiered during that year's Aldeburgh Festival. Ellis toured extensively in America and Europe with tenor Sir Peter Pears from 1973 to 1980, prompting eager composers to submit songs to the duo. That included Britten, who came up with Canticle V and A Birthday Hansel during this period, the latter piece a special request from the Queen. After this, Ellis began to be referred to as "the Queen's harpist." Ellis continued this tradition, performing with his son, Tomos, who was also a tenor, in the U.K. and beyond. Ellis and Britten also collaborated closely on the 1976 Eight Folk Song Arrangements, with Ellis creating virtuoso harp accompaniment as well as English lyrics for Welsh text.

Ellis remained at the Royal Academy until 1989, and he retired from the London Symphony in 1994. He was a constant champion of his instrument, conducting multi-harp workshops and leading the Osian Ellis Harp Ensemble. In 1999, he conducted a 12-harp ensemble at a special concert for the Florida International Festival, where he was photographed practicing harp on the beach. He also had compositions written for him by Gian Carlo Menotti, William Schuman, and Alun Hoddinott, among others. He frequently performed excerpts from the harp compositions by composer Jørgen Jersild, many of which were dedicated to Ellis. Following a superb academic career, he was made an Honorary Fellow by the University of Wales in 2000. His short book, The History of the Harp in Wales, was published by the University of Wales Press. He was the subject of several full-length documentaries produced by British and Welsh television, the latter filmed when he was beginning his career. Ellis retired from performing to care for his wife Rene, a violist to whom he was married for over 60 years. They had two sons together, Richard and Tomos; Tomos died in 2009 and Rene in 2012. The Wales International Harp Festival in Caernarfon held a concert to honor Osian's 90th birthday in 2018. The celebration inspired Ellis to return to playing the harp. He also returned to composing, which resulted in a Lachrymae for solo harp and Cylch o Alawon Gwerin Cymru ("A Circle of Welsh Folk Songs"), written for bass-baritone Bryn Terfel and harpist Hannah Stone. Ellis died on January 5, 2021, at the age of 92. ~ Eugene Chadbourne & Keith Finke

Maurice Ravel was among the most significant and influential composers of the early 20th century. Although he is frequently linked with Claude Debussy as an exemplar of musical impressionism, and some of their works have a surface resemblance, Ravel possessed an independent voice that grew out of his love of a broad variety of styles, including the French Baroque, Bach, Mozart, Chopin, Spanish folk traditions, and American jazz and blues. His elegant and lyrically generous body of work was not large in comparison with that of some of his contemporaries, but his compositions are notable for being meticulously and exquisitely crafted. He was especially gifted as an orchestrator, an area in which he remains unsurpassed.

Ravel's mother was of Basque heritage, a fact that accounted for his lifelong fascination with Spanish music, and his father was a Swiss inventor and engineer, most likely the source of his commitment to precision and craftsmanship. At the age of 14, he entered the Paris Conservatory, where he was a student from 1889 to 1895 and from 1897 to 1903. His primary composition teacher was Gabriel Fauré. A major disappointment of his life was his failure to win the Prix de Rome in spite of numerous attempts. The difficulty was transparently the conflict between the conservative administration of the Conservatory and Ravel's independent thinking, meaning his association with the French avant-garde (Debussy), and his interest in non-French traditions (Wagner, the Russian nationalists, Balinese gamelan). He had already established himself as a composer of prominence with works such as his String Quartet, and the piano pieces Pavane pour une infante défunte, Jeux d'eau, and the Sonatine, and his loss of the Prix de Rome in 1905 was considered such a scandal that the director of the Conservatory was forced to resign.

Ravel continued to express admiration for Debussy's music throughout his life, but as his own reputation grew stronger during the first decade of the century, a mutual professional jealousy cooled their personal relationship. Around the same time, he developed a friendship with Igor Stravinsky. The two became familiar with each other's work during Stravinsky's time in Paris and worked collaboratively on arrangements for Sergey Diaghilev.

Between 1909 and 1912, Ravel composed Daphnis et Chloé for Diaghilev and Les Ballets Russes. It was the composer's largest and most ambitious work and is widely considered his masterpiece. He wrote a second ballet for Diaghilev, La Valse, which the impresario rejected, but which went on to become one of his most popular orchestral works. Following his service in the First World War as an ambulance driver and the death of his mother in 1917, his output was temporarily diminished. In 1925, the Monte Carlo Opera presented the premiere of another large work, the "lyric fantasy" L'enfant et les sortilèges, a collaboration with writer Colette.

American jazz and blues became increasingly intriguing to the composer. In 1928 he made a hugely successful tour of North America, where he met George Gershwin and had the opportunity to broaden his exposure to jazz. Several of his most important late works, such as the Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 2 and the Piano Concerto in G show the influence of that interest.

Ironically, Ravel, who in his youth was rejected by some elements of the French musical establishment for being a modernist, in his later years was scorned by Satie and the members of Les Six as being old-fashioned, a symbol of the establishment. In 1932, an injury he sustained in an automobile accident started a physical decline that resulted in memory loss and an inability to communicate. He died in 1937, following brain surgery.

In spite of leaving one of the richest and most important bodies of work of any early 20th century composer, one that included virtually every genre except for symphony and liturgical music, Ravel is most often remembered for an arrangement of another composer's work, and for a piece he considered among his least significant. His orchestral arrangement of Mussorgsky's piano suite Pictures at an Exhibition has been wildly popular with concertgoers (and the royalties from it made Ravel a rich man). Boléro, a 15-minute Spanish dance in which a single theme is repeated in a variety of instrumental guises, has been ridiculed for its insistent repetitiveness, but it is also a popular favorite and one of the most familiar and frequently performed orchestral works of the 20th century. ~ Stephen Eddins