So what is this piece? This is a piece on Mona Lisa. It was premièred in 1915 and had well over 2000 performances between 1915 and 1933 – it was hit! It was a hit for well over a decade. We haven’t discovered this from some dusty shelf.

Leon Botstein brings Max von Schillings’ Mona Lisa to New York: the American Symphony Orchestra and the Bard Festival Chorale will perform a concert performance of the opera in 2 acts on 20 February at Carnegie Hall.

WQXR’s Elliott Forrest has recently interviewed Leon Botstein about Mona Lisa, watch the interview on YouTube: