On Sunday, March 25, 2012 at 2:11:33 PM UTC-7, aesthete8 wrote:

Do you agree?:

- ...This is a pure celebration of the apex of French culture –
graceful yet powerful; complex yet elegant; understated yet deeply emotional; committed yet relaxed; respectful of tradition yet
thoroughly modern; each instrument gleaming with individual pride yet perfectly nestled in the ensemble; utterly natural yet exquisitely
polished; deeply cultured yet an invitation for all to enjoy and
partake of its wonder. It’s a stunning tribute to these and so many
other things.

http://www.classicalnotes.net/columns/paray.html

Could the French aesthetic be better understood by comparing the music of LA FILLE DU REGIMENT (which I understand the French love) with Donizetti's Italian operas which sound very different?

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