Elements

This program, typical of the OSR’s DNA, begins with Les Quatre Éléments (The Four Elements) composed by Frank Martin in 1963 on the occasion of the 80th birthday of its founder Ernest Ansermet. The evocation of natural phenomena gave the Genevan composer the opportunity to express both his love of nature and his admiration for the indomitable energy of the conductor who had been the creator of a large part of his works at the podium of our orchestra.

Claude Debussy’s La Mer was the first disc recorded by the OSR for the Decca company. It was to be followed by three other versions as sound recording techniques progressed, each time winning great critical success.

The brilliant and wild second suite of Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé has long been one’s hobbyhorse of our concerts with its fantastic final bacchanal which always produces a great effect thanks to its incantatory power and its dazzling orchestration.