Was it the love for his mistress that inspired Debussy, or the sweeping view of the sea from the hotel room where he stayed with her? Just as impressionist painters like Monet captured the flickering on the water in colors, Debussy painted his masterpiece using the most refined orchestral sounds. In his La Mer you can almost smell the sea. Benjamin Britten also gave voice to the sea. The Four Sea Interludes come directly from his gripping opera Peter Grimes. And of course, chief conductor Duncan Ward opens this symphonic ode to the sea with Mendelssohn's stormy Hebrides Overture. None other than top violinist Baiba Skride and master pianist Alice Sarah Ott, one of the big stars of Deutsche Grammophon, take turns giving an extra sparkle to this programme.

An ode to the sea