SIR MARK ELDER

Sir Mark Elder embarks on a tour of Spain with an entirely Russian programme devoted to three composers whose music is particularly close to both the conductor and the OCV. One of them is Stravinsky, represented by his brief yet ingenious Scherzo à la russe, a jazz-influenced piece characterised by impetuous rhythms and a playful, burlesque spirit.

It was composed towards the end of the Second World War, as was Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 9, a work “dominated by a clear and transparent sense of humour”, as the composer himself acknowledged. Beneath its ironic nature, however, lay Shostakovich’s profound discontent with the Soviet regime, which he refused to satisfy with an epic score celebrating victory.

Tchaikovsky completes this Russian triptych with an extensive selection from The Sleeping Beauty, a masterpiece of melodic invention, orchestral brilliance and intense emotional contrasts, expressed through waltzes, adagios, fanfares and other dances that bring to life his most symphonic ballet.