Orchestre National de France & Daniil Trifonov

In this brilliant presentation of French music, Orchestre National de France and Grammy- winning pianist Daniil Trifonov perform the works of Barriaine, Ravel, and Saint-Saëns. Under the baton of Cristian Mǎcelaru, this masterful program stuns in the musical story it provides, bringing the listener on a picturesque journey from start to finish.

The programming of Elsa Barraine’s Symphony No. 2 with its’ gumptous string lines that compliment the playfulness of the work’s structure sits beautifully in the program with Ravel’s Daphnis & Chloé. A grandiose work, Ravel envisioned Daphnis & Chloé as “a vast musical fresco, in which [he] was less concerned with archaism than with fidelity to the Greece of [his] dreams.”

The two piano concertos on this program – Ravel and Saint-Saëns’ – bring different stylistic characters to the stage: Saint-Saëns offering late romantic era lushness and Ravel offering the lavish fancy. Hearing these two works performed by Trifonov, a performer with a dedication to perfecting concerto repertoire for piano, is iconic.