Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France / Mao Fujita / Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla

If one were to imagine the two halves of the concert as paintings side by side, on one side would be Brahms with a rigorously thought-out image, a precisely conceived perspective and precise, colour-rich motifs in the foreground and background. On the other side, Debussy and Ravel – rich impressionistic swathes and splashes of colour would merge into one another, the visual language would be associative and dreamlike.

Debussy’s »Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune« and Ravel’s ballet »Daphnis et Chloé« have been closely linked since the latter’s premiere. This was the first time Ravel’s piece had been performed with dance, and the staging of the faun’s erotic dreams caused such a stir among the audience that they could scarcely hear Ravel’s music. As a concert suite without dance, however, the opulent music accompanying the ancient love story also quickly gained fame.