Born in Paris in 1838, Georges Bizet entered the Conservatoire before he was ten and won the Prix de Rome there in 1857. A brilliant pianist, he first earned his living by making arrangements and piano reductions of other composers' works. He wrote The Pearl Fishers (1863), the incidental music for L'Arlésienne (1872), the twelve piano duets of Jeux d'enfants (1871), and then Carmen, first performed in March 1875. He died at Bougival in June 1875, aged thirty-six, without seeing his opera succeed.
The catalogue presents the prelude to Carmen in the solo piano version of the Schirmer edition. It is an advanced piece: start with the first part, hands separately and slowly, so that the detached chords and repeated notes stay clean, then work on the fate motif, where the left hand sings beneath the right hand's tremolos.
