idée fixe

Insistently downward melodic phrases appear to echo section’s title until they emerge as the idée fixe of the entire piece, doleful and reflecting a world in decline.

Pordoy, to his credit, matched Spyres with lush and luxuriant playing that got its own moment under the spotlight with the Liszt solo “L’Idée Fixe,” based on the longing theme of Berlioz’s “Symphonie Fantastique.”

Presenter Taras Berezovets describes Russia's president as "unpredictable" and worries about Mr Putin's "idée fixe" that Ukraine has never been a sovereign nation.

“You see it repeated, the dotted rhythm coming back when Rigoletto sings. It’s like an idée fixe.”

“I was thinking about how all of these 13 people have their own story and their own motivations, and how we all experience every moment differently. We all pay attention to different things. This became a kind of idée fixe for me.”