Although Henri Dutilleux was a contemporary and colleague of the avant-garde composer Pierre Boulez, his musical language was always too dogmatic for him. Instead, Dutilleux loved the musical "fragrance" and richness of sound that connected him with his great compatriot Debussy. With his Second Symphony in 1959, Dutilleux wrote a work that was a distant link to the music of the 18th century.
From the Dutilleux idol Debussy and his "Ariettes oubliées" arranged for soprano and orchestra, we move on to Russia after the interval. It was here that Debussy became acquainted with the country's music on several trips. However, he never met the grand master of instrumentation Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. All the delicate and magnificent timbres with which Rimsky-Korsakov embellished his oriental orchestral fairy tale "Scheherazade" were nevertheless to have a decisive influence on Debussy.