French Fantasies

The French impressionists brought a fresh perspective to the arts. Their vision inspired musicians to compose masterpieces packed with sensuality and a new orchestral colour palette vividly heard in Ravel’s Ma Mere L’Oye. The young Ralph Vaughan Williams studied briefly with Ravel, whose influence on later composers is profound. 

WSO are delighted to welcome back the sensational Swedish violinist Johan Dalene. Johan made his UK concerto debut with WSO days before the Pandemic and has since been internationally acclaimed as one of the top violinists of our age. 

Revel in the magical worlds of French composers Ravel and Debussy, be dazzled by the vibrant Wasps Overture by Vaughan Williams’s, and tap your feet to virtuosic Hungarian style rhapsody Tzigane by Ravel.

Soloist
Johan Dalene*

Conductor
John Gibbons

Leader
Julian Leaper

Malcolm Arnold
Serenade

Claude Debussy
Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune

Einojuhani Rautavaara
Deux Sérénades*

Vaughan Williams
Overture The Wasps

Claude Debussy
Claire de lune 

Maurice Ravel
Tzigane*

Maurice Ravel
Suite Ma mère l’Oye