Daphnis et Chloé

Oct 20, 2007 12:29 AM

Heute Abend werde ich schöner klassischer Musik zuhören.
Tonight I attended a performance of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra at Heinz Hall:

Sibelius: Concerto in D minor for Violin and Orchestra superbly performed by Nikolaj Znaider!
Debussy: Nocturnes, Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh
Ravel: Suite No. 2 from Daphnis et Chloé, Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh

''The Suite No. 2 consists of the last three scenes of the ballet, after Chloé has been rescued from the pirates. The music begins with a shimmering “Daybreak.” After this Daphnis and Chloé realize their love for each other and embrace; they then dance a mime recalling the love of Pan for Syrinx. Chloé disappears into the reeds, and Daphnis calls her back with a flute he fashions from the reeds themselves. Then all join together in a celebratory dance.

''Ravel’s comments sum up the music best: “It was my intention to compose a vast musical fresco, less concerned with archaism than fidelity to the Greece of my dreams, which was similar to that imagined and painted by French artists at the end of the eighteenth century. The work is constructed symphonically, on a very strict tonal plan, based on a small number of motives, the full development of which is assured by the symphonic unity of the whole.”''