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On 26 February 1935, conductor Felix Weingartner gave the world premiere of Bizet鈥檚 first symphony in Basel. It was a huge success, and 15 performances had taken place around the world within the year.

Yet Bizet saw none of it. The symphony's premiere took place 60 years after his death at 36, and 80 years after he had written it. Why so long?

Bizet had composed the symphony when he was 17 and a student at the Paris Conservatoire. He was studying with Charles Gounod, so it's probably no surprise that his work was riddled with parodies, quotations and references to Gounod鈥檚 music. Perhaps this was why Bizet dismissed it. We tend to revere the composers who influence, yet there is often a sense of shame among the influenced.

In the 20th century, our preoccupation with originality has led to a deep self-consciousness about the nature of composition. Yet the practice of taking from other works is old and widespread: during the Renaissance, composers stole freely from one another with very little distinction between what was new and what was pilfered. Borrowing in the Baroque period was often an act of convenience and was even seen as a form of praise. But by the 18th and 19th Centuries, thorny questions of ownership and originality began to emerge.

Yet borrowing, whether hidden or openly acknowledged, remains a fascinating type of creative exchange between two artists. Bizet鈥檚 Symphony in C is now deservedly well known as the achievement of a remarkably creative young mind - and a homage to a teacher whose work he loved.

This is one of 100 significant musical moments explored by 麻豆社 Radio 3鈥檚 Essential Classics as part of Our Classical Century, a 麻豆社 season celebrating a momentous 100 years in music from 1918 to 2018. Visit bbc.co.uk/ourclassicalcentury to watch and listen to all programmes in the season.

This archive recording is by 麻豆社 National Orchestra of Wales with conductor Fran莽ois Xavier Roth.

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