French Impressions

Two of the most evocative 20th-century orchestral sound-pictures fill the Royal Albert Hall with finely graduated shades of symphonic colours. Bashkortostan-born mezzo Aigul Akhmetshina makes her Proms debut with Maurice Ravel’s kaleidoscopic song-cycle Shéhérazade which ranges from a panoramic fantasy tour of Asia to the intimate disappointments of human love. Claude Debussy’s La mer has been variously described as the musical equivalent of Monet’s impressionist paintings or Japanese woodblock prints. But what’s perhaps most striking about this orchestral masterpiece is the way in which the composer uses novel instrumental colours rather than traditional harmonies to capture the mercurial nature of the sea.

The concert is introduced by Andrew McGregor and Flora Willson.

Broadcast programme:
Maurice Ravel - Shéhérazade
Claude Debussy - La mer
Performers: Aigul Akhmetshina, mezzo-soprano; London Philharmonic Orchestra, Edward Gardner, conductor

(Photo: Aigul Akhmetshina, London Philharmonic Orchestra and Edward Gardner at the 2025 BBC Proms. Credit: BBC/Andy Paradise)