MAURICE RAVEL (1875 - 1937) Daphnis et Chloé

Bernard Haitink conductor

London Philharmonic Orchestra

John Alldis Choir

Recorded by BBC Radio 3 at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, London on 6 November 1979

Maurice Ravel, a notorious perfectionist, considered his 1912 ballet score Daphnis et Chloé his most important work, describing it as a ‘choreographic symphony’. Based on a pastoral drama by the Greek poet Longus, the story tells of the love between a goatherd and a shepherdess. In this live 1979 recording, Bernard Haitink conjures a sensuous and atmospheric performance from the London Philharmonic Orchestra and John Alldis Choir.

Bernard Haitink was Principal Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra from 1967–79 and has also held the posts of Music Director at the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Dresden Staatskapelle, the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and Glyndebourne Festival Opera; and Principal Conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He is Conductor Laureate of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and Conductor Emeritus of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and continues to perform regularly with the world’s leading orchestras.

As well as his recordings with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Haitink has recorded widely with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonic orchestras and the Bavarian Radio and Boston symphony orchestras. He has also recorded extensively for the LSO Live label and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s Resound label.

London Philharmonic Orchestra LPO0059