Philharmonia Orchestra

Alexandr Borodin: Polovtsian Dances (Prince Igor)
Dmitry Shostakovich: Violin Concerto No.1
Interval
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Symphony No.5

An all-Russian evening, opening with Borodin's spectacular Polovtsian Dances from his most famous opera Prince Igor. Shostakovich's first Violin Concerto is often sad and searching, opening with a long nocturnal lament and featuring an intensely beautiful third movement Passacaglia, in which the soloist performs against a simple timpani accompaniment.

Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony is equally troubled, though its emotion is expressed more dramatically, through repeated emotional climaxes and a cruelly dominant musical 'Fate' motif, right until the symphony's brave and triumphant ending.

Tugan Sokhiev conductor
Sergey Khachatryan violin