Over the past few years, the Lithuanian conductor Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla has established herself as one of the foremost conductors of our time. She now returns with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, of which she will be the principal guest conductor from the 2026/27 season onwards. For Brahms’ magnificent Second Piano Concerto, rising star Mao Fujita performs alongside her.
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.
PERFORMERS
Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France orchestra
Mao Fujita piano
Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla conductor
PROGRAM
Johannes Brahms
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 83
- Interval -
Claude Debussy
Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune
Maurice Ravel
Daphnis et Chloé
