Three Parisian composers—Hector Berlioz, Camille Saint-Saëns and Maurice Ravel, all celebrated for orchestral colors and fanciful imagination—present a true evening-long musical journey of the French mindset. Ravel’s Pavane pour une infante défunte, originally a solo piano work, was recast in a fine and delicate orchestration by the composer himself. Saint-Saëns’ Piano Concerto No.5, written on a trip to Egypt, was a special commemoration celebrating the composer’s half-century musical career. Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique, built on an idée fixe representing his beloved Harriet Smithson, has long been a romantic classic: a thrilling ride from despair to elation through a ball and a witches’ sabbath.