Going on tour with Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring in your luggage means taking the OSR in its entirety – no small feat. This fabulous score requires a massive ensemble, the size of which the Russian composer will never return to: 120 musicians. The tour ends in Clarens where Stravinsky and Ernest Ansermet were neighbours. Premiered in Berlin under the baton of Richard Strauss, Jean Sibelius’ Violin Concerto has become a flagship piece for violinists worldwide. Reputed for its extreme difficulty, the beauty of its melodies, and its vivid evocation of vast landscapes, it has become tremendously popular. Midori, at the age of 11, chose this concerto for her début in New York under the direction of Zubin Mehta. Debussy, likely inspired by Verlaine’s Clair de lune, composed his famous piece at the turn of the 20^th century. André Caplet undertook the subtle arrangement of the version played this evening.