Today is the birthday of two outstanding French composers: Jules Massenet (born 1842) and Gabriel Fauré (born 1845). Massenet’s fluency and emotionally direct style made him the most successful French opera composer of his generation. Fauré was the radical who blew the dust off the Paris Conservatory and ushered in an era of unprecedented reform.
We’ll enjoy music by both this afternoon, along with a Divertimento by Sir Lennox Berkeley (born 1903) and works by Johann Baptist Wanhal (born 1739), who played string quartets with Haydn, Mozart and Dittersdorf, and Franz Anton Hoffmeister (born 1754), who published works by all four.
“Picture Perfect” comes your way at 6. I’ll be posting more about that in just a bit. Suffice it to say, I’ll be your host from 4 to 7 p.m. EDT, on WWFM The Classical Network and wwfm.org.
PHOTOS: Fauré (left) and Massenet enjoying a little fresh air