London Symphony Orchestra/Sir Simon Rattle

With its shimmering harmonies conjuring dreamlike atmospheres, Debussy's Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune delighted early audiences with its hazy portrayal of a faun in the heat of a summer afternoon. Prokofiev wrote his Symphony No 5 in 1944 as Soviet forces pushed back the Nazi invasion and wanted the work to ‘sing the praises of the free and happy man’.