Sir Mark Elder returns to Manchester and is reunited with the Hallé and Hallé Choir in this fantastic programme of Russian music.

He opens the concert with Glinka’s dazzling, high-energy overture that captures the magical, adventurous spirit of his opera Ruslan and Ludmilla which is followed by Stravinsky’s Song of the Nightingale – an effective musical illustration of both real and mechanical birdsong.

Based on the poem by Nikolay Nekrasov, Rachmaninov’s Spring, which quite opposed to its joyful title follows a husband who, previously inflicted with murderous thoughts towards his unfaithful wife during the winter, is released from his frustration with the return of spring. After the interval, Tchaikovsky’s Second Symphony, often dubbed ‘Little Russian’ thanks to its effective use of Ukrainian folksongs, provides a joyful end to the evening.

 

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