Antonín Dvořák, The Water Goblin
Camille Saint-Saëns, Cello Concerto no.1 (soloist Eloise Ramchandani)
Alexander Borodin, Polovtsian Dances
Igor Stravinsky, suite from The Firebird (1919 version)

Durham University Orchestral Society Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Michael Kohn

Music inspired by Slavic history, magic and folklore. Dvořák’s symphonic poem The Water Goblin tells the story of a cunning and malicious goblin who lures a young girl to a watery marriage with a tragic end. There’s a cunning magician too in The Firebird, as Prince Ivan and his princess pursue Koschei who has stolen the magical firebird. Stravinsky’s music tells the story in vivid colour, building to an ecstatic climax – a truly happy ending.

Borodin’s opera Prince Igor draws its story from medieval Kievan chronicles, telling of Igor Svyatoslavich, Prince of Novgorod and his battles against the invading Polovtsian nomads. The famous sequence of dances depicts the captured Slavs being entertained by exotic dancers at Khan Konchak’s court and, as in this programme, is frequently performed as a stand-alone piece.

In the midst of all this slavonic turmoil, Saint-Saens’ Cello Concerto no. 1, offers a moment of timeless virtuosisty.

Tickets £16 / Concession £14