Paris Exposition
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Listen to the Saxophone in Ambroise Thomas’s 1889 ballet, La Tempête
In 1889 Paris hosted the Exposition Universelle, a centennial celebration of the French Revolution. This was a showcase of the latest engineering marvels—the Eiffel Tower, technological advances—the telephone, and a showcase of the best of French culture. The Paris Opéra was slated to premiere Saint-Saëns’s newest opera, Ascanio, but the opera was not ready for…
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The Saxophone and Ondes Martenot at the 1937 World Exposition
The World’s Exposition in Paris in 1937, initially intended to recreate the successful Expositions of the past (i.e. the Eiffel Tower’s construction for the 1889 Exposition to demonstrate the power of steel), ended up as prelude to war. Each nation built pavilions along the River Seine, but rather than showcasing technological achievement, these pavilions became…
the Operatic Saxophone 