After considering careers in both science and music, Casella settled on music and entered the Paris Conservatoire in 1896. He later turned his focus to composition and studied with Fauré. During this time, he counted Ravel and Enescu as his friends and developed a taste for the work of Debussy, the Russian nationalists, Strauss, Mahler, Bartók, Schoenberg and Stravinsky. He was also influenced by the new trends in the art of the time, cubism and futurism. After a period of travel, Casella returned to his native Italy where he played a large role in introducing contemporary music to the provincial Italian public, an effort that was not always greeted with enthusiasm. Casella's compositions range in style from the influences of the Impressionists to the extreme avant-garde to a third period of neo-classicism. ~ Lynn Vought, Rovi