Half Six Fix: Daphnis and Chloé | London Symphony Orchestra

Begin your evening with the gauzy, sensuous soundscape of Ravel’s pastoral ballet.

Sir Antonio Pappano tells us why he loves Daphnis and Chloé at the start of this hour-long concert.

In turn-of-the-century Paris, Ravel composed a ballet about ancient Greece for a Russian dance company. The result was music of fluid, diaphanous beauty, a languid drama of danger and desire. Confronting its strange, modern rhythms, the dancers are said to have chanted the name of Ballet Russes impresario ‘Ser-gei Dia-ghi-lev’ to stay on beat.

But Ravel’s choreographic symphony, complete with wordless chorus and even a wind machine, has stood the test of time.

Sir Antonio Pappano, Chief Conductor Designate, and the LSO unfurl the story of the young lovers in an enchanting interplay of rhythm and colour. The choral phenomenon Tenebrae contribute their unforgettable sound.