He performed for Brahms, Grieg, and Saint-Saëns, conducted the premieres of Petrushka and The Rite of Spring, and lived long enough to record dozens of studio recordings until his death in 1964.

Yet his operatic legacy remains underappreciated despite having recorded everything from a delectable Manon with Victoria de los Angeles to a crisp, thrilling Orfeo. It’s his Traviata that I treasure the most though, where Monteux’s ear for orchestral pacing and structure gives Verdi all the gravitas of Brahms.