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In the wake of the terrible attacks in Paris, I found myself listening to a lot of French music and thinking about the Leonard Bernstein quote going around on Facebook: "This will be our reply to violence: to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before." This list came to seem like my natural response. A very small response, I know. This list is chronological and leaves off people I should probably include. The forty [note: now forty-one] composers listed below are merely a start.

Léonin Aka Leoninus (c.1135-c.1201)

The Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris in the 1100s was a major musical center, and Léonin (the first named composer from whom we have notated polyphonic music) was a crucial figure for defining the liturgical use of organum, the first polyphony. Earlier organum was fairly simple, involving parallel intervals and later contrary motion, but the mid-12th century brought...

American baritone Thomas Hampson has been named the Leonard Bernstein Scholar-in-Residence at the New York Philharmonic for the 2009-10 season in conjunction with his role as The Mary and James G. Wallach Artist-in-Residence. Mr. Hampson will present two Insight Series events and the Annual Erich Leinsdorf Lecture in a series entitled "Listening to Thought," exploring the interplay of verbal and musical languages in vocal music.

The Metropolitan Opera presents another show in the acclaimed "Live in HD" series in movies nationwide on Sunday, April 19 at 3 pm Et. The documentary "The Audition" will takes fans backstage to see the pressures that young opera singers face as they struggle to succeed in one of the most difficult professions in the performing arts.

The feature-length film will be hosted by soprano star Renée Fleming and is a one day only event. It documents the final week of the 2007 competition of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions where thousands of potential opera stars compete against one another for a cash prize, the chance to sing on the Met stage and an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to launch an international career in the opera field.

The rigid competition features judges narrowing the contestants down to 22 semi-finalists and then down to 11 finalists. It will be followed by panel discussion led by Fleming and...

The Metropolitan Opera presents another show in the acclaimed "Live in HD" series in movies nationwide on Sunday, April 19 at 3 pm Et. The documentary "The Audition" will takes fans backstage to see the pressures that young opera singers face as they struggle to succeed in one of the most difficult professions in the performing arts.

The feature-length film will be hosted by soprano star Renée Fleming and is a one day only event. It documents the final week of the 2007 competition of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions where thousands of potential opera stars compete against one another for a cash prize, the chance to sing on the Met stage and an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to launch an international career in the opera field.

The rigid competition features judges narrowing the contestants down to 22 semi-finalists and then down to 11 finalists. It will be followed by panel discussion led by Fleming and...

Tchaikovsky's romantic masterpiece Eugene Onegin, based on the Pushkin poem, returns to the Met on Friday, January 30, with a superb international cast. American baritone Thomas Hampson returns to the role of Onegin, the haughty aristocrat who acknowledges love too late, opposite the Finnish soprano Karita Mattila making her Met role debut as Tatiana, who grows from a love-struck young girl to an aristocratic woman. Russian mezzo-soprano Ekaterina Semenchuk is her sister, Olga; Polish tenor Piotr Beczala is Lenski, Onegin's doomed friend; and Russian bass Sergei Aleksashkin is Gremin, the elderly prince who marries Tatiana. Aleksashkin will sing the first two performances and American bass James Morris, taking on the role for the first time at the Met, does the remainder of the run. Czech maestro Jiř? Bĕlohl?vek conducts all performances, through February 21. The production is by Robert Carsen, sets and costumes are by Michael Levine, Jean Kalman is the lighting designer,...

Opera fans across the nation can head to local movie theaters to check out Massenet's "Thias" presented by the Metropolitan Opera. The new production of the opera will be shown live in HD for the best viewing experience.

The opera tells the story of an Egyptian courtesan, played by Renée Fleming, who is searching for spiritual guidance and Thomas Hampson, who plays the monk Athanaël that falls from grace.

According to Fathom, the musical score is presented in a new production by John Cox with Jesús López-Cobos acting as the conductor.

The presentation has a running time of 3 hours and 21 minutes, but offers 2 intermissions. For those who miss the live streaming HD performance, other encores performances are played on other nights by certain theaters.

Opera fans across the nation can head to local movie theaters to check out Massenet's "Thias" presented by the Metropolitan Opera. The new production of the opera will be shown live in HD for the best viewing experience.

The opera tells the story of an Egyptian courtesan, played by Renée Fleming, who is searching for spiritual guidance and Thomas Hampson, who plays the monk Athanaël that falls from grace.

According to Fathom, the musical score is presented in a new production by John Cox with Jesús López-Cobos acting as the conductor.

The presentation has a running time of 3 hours and 21 minutes, but offers 2 intermissions. For those who miss the live streaming HD performance, other encores performances are played on other nights by certain theaters.