Perhaps one of Ravel’s most personal creations Le tombeau de Couperin is a memorial to the fallen in the First World War. Bursting with colour and inventiveness, he reimagines the clarity and rhythmic liveliness of its Baroque forebears. With its graceful main theme and resourceful invention, the Rococo Variations remains one of Tchaikovsky’s most popular pieces. It is a work characterised by carefree charm, grace and the indomitable spirit of his idol, Mozart, filtered through his Russian and Romantic sensibilities. Fauré’s exquisite music eschews melodrama and prefers to make its point in subtly shaded and highly original ways with smooth, sinuous, undulating textures, lyrical themes and sensual, central Sicilienne. Mendelssohn’s Fourth Symphony is extroverted from the outset, conjuring up the sunny skies and landscapes of the Italian countryside in a virtually flawless assembly of airy and fiery dances, never letting the excitement lapse for a moment.

Works and composers

Ravel Le tombeau de Couperin
Tchaikovsky Variations on a Rococo Theme
Fauré Pelléas et Mélisande Suite
Mendelssohn Symphony No.4 ‘Italian’

With thanks to all those who have remembered the BSO in their Will