Russian Masters
Location: Portsmouth
Date: 27-04-2012
Time: 19:30
Venue Details: Portsmouth Guildhall
Works Performed
- Stravinsky : Fireworks
- Prokofiev : Sinfonia Concertante
- Tchaikovsky : Sleeping Beauty (excerpts)
Performers
- Conductor : Kirill Karabits
- Soloist: Truls Mørk (Cello)
Stravinsky’s Fireworks is strongly influenced by his teacher, Rimsky-Korsakov, full of colourful, folk-flavoured nationalism. Compact, dazzlingly scored for huge orchestra and aptly explosive, it clearly forecasts such later scores as The Firebird and Petrushka.
Through the encouragement of Mstislav Rostropovich, Prokofiev reworked an earlier cello concerto into the Sinfonia Concertante. It displays his full mastery of orchestral colour and elicits some astonishing sounds from the soloist. An undoubted masterpiece, it proved that Prokofiev still had something to say, in spite of those who would have silenced him.
Sleeping Beauty presents a tale of magical spells, a long-delayed romance and a royal wedding full of colourful characters. A soaring waltz, one of the most popular ever written, and the Rose Adagio are among the highlights of this extended suite. Tchaikovsky finally took pleasure in one of his own compositions: “The subject is so poetic lending itself so admirably to music that I enjoyed composing it very much, and worked with a zeal and eagerness that always makes for good results.” The critics agreed.
“Mørk’s cello playing, delicate yet forceful, is a treat in itself.”
The Telegraph
