鈥淚 have slandered the sea鈥� wrote Claude Debussy. 鈥淭oday it is beautiful enough to defy all comparisons鈥�. Yet 100 years after his death in 1918, Debussy鈥檚 'La Mer' is surely the most poetic seascape ever painted for an orchestra, the work of a composer whose quiet genius turned music into an art of limitless expressive subtlety. This centenary celebration opens with Nocturnes 鈥� Impressionist paintings, transformed into ravishing sound 鈥� and includes the 'Pr茅lude' whose unprecedented sensuality scandalised Belle 脡poque Paris. But there鈥檚 darkness as well as light: Thomas Dausgaard joins Joaqu铆n Ach煤carro in the brooding concerto that Debussy鈥檚 compatriot Ravel created for a pianist who鈥檇 lost an arm in the Great War.
Prelude: 6.30pm in the Old Fruitmarket (please note the earlier than usual start time)
A performance of the music for Javanese gamelan that partly inspired Debussy in 1889 to write the 'Nocturnes'. Performed by Gamelan Naga Mas in collaboration with the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (free to ticket-holders).
The main concert will be recorded for future broadcast on 大象传媒 Radio 3.