A major figure during the golden age of American orchestral music, conductor Pierre Monteux had an exceptionally long career that began in the 19th century, encompassed the premiere of Stravinsky's Le Sacre du printemps, which he conducted, and extended into the 1960s. He fundamentally shaped several American orchestras in the French style. His conducting debut came in 1895 as a substitute for Camille Saint-Saëns in a performance of the oratorio La lyre et la harpe. Monteux made his recording debut in 1903 in a group backing tenor Albert Vaguet in an excerpt from Meyerbeer's Les Huguenots. Monteux remained a successful violinist and violist, but in the first decades of the 20th century, more and more conducting opportunities came his way. Many of Monteux's 78 rpm recordings, especially those he made with the Boston Symphony, were reissued; as of 2023, more than 175 albums featuring Monteux were in print.