Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé
October 16, 17 & 18, 2025
Overview
Ravel called his 1912 ballet Daphnis et Chloé a “choreographic symphony.” “My intention,” he wrote, “was to compose a vast musical fresco in which I was less concerned with archaism than with reproducing faithfully the Greece of my dreams.” The sumptuous, dreamlike music, conducted here by Jun Märkl in his SF Symphony debut, enchanted listeners from the start. Violinist Leonidas Kavakos joins the Symphony for a passionate performance of Bartók’s Violin Concerto No. 2, an exercise in radical simplicity. Bartók’s endlessly fertile five-note figure spawns hook after hook, each more captivating than the last.Concert Extras
Thursday Matinee: A postconcert conversation with Sarah Cahill will be presented onstage immediately following the performance. Free to all ticketholders.
Friday and Saturday: A preconcert conversation with SF Symphony musicians, hosted by Benjamin Pesetsky, will be presented onstage at 6:30pm. Free to all ticketholders.
Friday and Saturday: A preconcert conversation with SF Symphony musicians, hosted by Benjamin Pesetsky, will be presented onstage at 6:30pm. Free to all ticketholders.
Artists
Jun Märkl
Conductor
Leonidas Kavakos
Violin
San Francisco Symphony
Program
Béla
Bartók
Violin Concerto No. 2
Maurice
Ravel
Daphnis et Chloé
Sponsors
Thursday matinee concerts are endowed by a gift in memory of Rhoda Goldman.
Preconcert talks are supported in memory of Horacio Rodriguez.
Preconcert talks are supported in memory of Horacio Rodriguez.

Leonidas Kavakos, violin

San Francisco Symphony
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