Music: The Rise of Little Igor

When the Lamoureux Orchestra of Paris presented the French premiere of Wagner's Lohengrin in 1887, with the memory of the Franco-Prussian War still lingering in the audience's mind, the conductor prudently laid a revolver on his desk before picking up the baton. Since then Lamoureux conductors have needed no firearms, although the orchestra has consistently crusaded for modern music, introduced works of Dukas, Debussy, Ravel, Honneger. Last week the Lamoureux arrived in Manhattan to begin an ambitious U.S. tour (27 cities in 35 days) under the baton of Russian-born Igor Markevitch, one...

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