Details

Mussorgsky's dramatic and full-blooded depiction of a witches' Sabbath is one of his most successful short pieces. After a riotous night, the frenzied participants are dispersed by dawn and church bells. Stravinsky's Violin Concerto takes its cue from the baroque suite, with four short movements which each start with the same chord. After a busy toccata come two Bach-like arias, and the piece ends with a playful capriccio. Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra is a late masterpiece in five movements, commissioned by the Boston Symphony Orchestra to try to help the composer in his difficult period of exile in America. Filled with orchestral colour and bursting with ideas, it is perhaps the composer's most approachable work, building steadily to an exultant and affirmative conclusion. Philharmonia Orchestra website.

Cast/Performers

Viktoria Mullova (violin)

Creatives/Company

Conductor: Esa-Pekka Salonen