Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) lived a lonely and troubled existence that ended in madness and suicide, yet his paintings vibrate with energy and color. His works probably are reproduced more often and are more universally familiar than those of any other artist. On this CD, the world of van Gogh is given a musical perspective with a carefully chosen selection of pieces by the finest composers of his time. Inside, Hugh Griffith provides explanatory notes on his life and musical environment.

The character and ideals of this haunted, introverted, talented painter are reflected here in contemporaneous music of a new-found intensity of expression. Although van Gogh's isolated existence precludes any direct connections, we see, for example, how the drive of composers such as Franck and Berlioz to elevate the importance of orchestral color has a clear parallel in the art of van Gogh, and Gaugin, who used color not as superficial decoration but as an essential organizing feature of their paintings.