When Brahms’ Symphony No. 1 was first performed in 1876, some critics sarcastically labelled it as ‘Beethoven’s 10th’. While Brahms was inspired by the Viennese classical tradition, he also managed to reconcile the compact nature of its themes with the romantic sound idiom in a highly personal manner. Although Debussy’s sound is quite different to that of Brahms, in Images he treads the path of thematic economy. Images is characterised by a sparkling tonal image full of folk accents while at the same time pointing ahead to trends that influenced European music until well beyond World War II. Pierre Bartholomée frequently expresses his indebtedness to Debussy: in his works he also explores all the nuances of sound available to an orchestra. Folie d’Oedipe is inspired by his opera Oedipe sur la route and is a direct link with Enescu’s Oedipe on the programme in autumn.