notes: Daphnis et Chloé

At the beginning of the 20th century, Paris was the cultural place to be. The French capital was a vibrant melting point of art, music and literature, attracting artists from all over Europe and far beyond. In 1909, Russian impresario Sergei Diaghilev travelled to the city of lights to put his Ballets Russes on the international map. Not much earlier, the young choreographer Michael Fokine had given him a libretto based on the Greek love story of Daphnis et Chloé. Won over by the idea, Diaghilev knocked on Maurice Ravel's (1875-1937) door for the music. The latter accepted the commission honourably, although he did not have a traditional ballet in mind. He himself described it as a symphonie choréographique, in which colour, atmosphere and refinement took precedence. The creation process was arduous, but ultimately produced one of the finest orchestral scores of the past century.

At the time, Paris was not only known as a hotbed of artistic creation and experimentation. Music education at the Conservatoire de Paris and several private teachers also enjoyed world fame. One of the most influential pedagogues among them was Nadia Boulanger (1887-1979). In her flat on Rue Ballu, she taught more than 250 students, including Leonard Bernstein, Philip Glass and Aaron Copland. And although she devoted herself mainly to teaching and conducting from 1910 onwards, she wrote some underrated works, including her Fantaisie variée pour piano et orchestre.

What remains in 2025 - two World Wars, several social upheavals and geopolitical crises later - of the ideal of progress that resounded so loudly at the beginning of the 20th century? This question lies at the heart of Annelies Van Parys' EUtopia, a 2024 commissioned work for the European Union Youth Orchestra. Is there still hope for European ideals such as brotherhood and peace, or will only echoes of that dream remain?