Carmen made Georges Bizet world famous, but he lived only a few months to enjoy the overwhelming success of this opera depicting love and jealousy among hot-blooded Spaniards. A swim in the cold Seine did him in. Today hardly anybody remembers that Bizet also composed piano music. To our good fortune, Johann Blanchard’s inventory of his rarities cabinet has yielded more new discoveries that will make the hearts of music lovers beat faster-while the lastest recording technology will have the same effect on those of audiophiles. Bizet was an outstanding pianist who already at the age of ten enjoyed the privilege of instruction at the Paris Conservatory- including lessons in composition. And so it is not surprising that his works for piano represent the very best of their times. Already the “Grande Valse de Concert” that the sixteen-year-old boldly labeled his Opus 1 and the “Premiere Nocturne” op. 2 composed during the same year display the genuinely orchestral design so typical of Bizet’s piano music.