Conductor Hamish McKeich

Harpsichord Mahan Esfahani

Ravel Le Tombeau de Couperin

Poulenc Concerto champêtre

Bizet L’arlésienne: Suites (selections)

Dukas The Sorcerer’s Apprentice

A très chic concert. Coolly elegant, Ravel’s suite is an homage to the golden age of Versailles and particularly to Louis XIV’s court composer, François Couperin.

Another nod to the past is Poulenc’s glittering concerto for the harpsichord, an instrument which was only then being rediscovered. It is played by the hottest harpsichordist of the moment, Mahan Esfahani, who gave the first-ever harpsichord recital at the BBC Proms in 2011.

Bizet’s rustic picture of the south of France is followed by Dukas’ witty story of the apprentice wizard who knew how to start labour-saving magic… but, disastrously, not how to stop it.

For more APO events click here.