“Tone color” and “Gabriel Fauré” are almost synonymous in my mind.  The composer arose to prominence around the same time as Impressionism was leaving its mark in the visual arts, and one can certainly “see” a rich pallet of colors used masterfully to create a loosely-defined musical “shape” as one listens to the phrases of his music.

The cello is perhaps one of the greatest instruments for capturing and portraying tonal color, and Yo-Yo Ma perhaps one of the greatest at painting with the bow as his brush.  Enjoy his performance of Après un rêve (After a Dream) with pianist Patricia Zander.