Composer of the Week

In post-war Paris Darius Milhaud became part of an artistic community that was close-knit and buzzing with ideas. He experimented with different forms, gaining some notoriety as well as a name for himself among the critics. One of them, Henri Collet bracketed his name with five other French contemporaries, dubbing them Les Six. In today's episode Donald Macleod considers what being part of this seemingly disparate group meant to Darius Milhaud, with works including an excerpt from the experimental studies for piano and orchestra, opus 63 and the miniature vocal work Catalogue des Fleurs. Alongside his increasing reputation as a composer, Milhaud developed a career as a soloist and it's for this role that he produced Le Carnaval d'Aix.