Philharmonia Orchestra / Baeva / Rouvali

Around 1930, Prokofiev turned away from avant-garde experiments and developed the »New Simplicity«: melodies should be clear, understandable and memorable without being trivial; and the movement technique and design should also be simple, but not stereotypical. His second violin concerto from 1935 reflects this ideal: the first movement is lyrical, the second melancholic and the third virtuosic. Unlike the motorised first violin concerto, the new forms of expression quickly established themselves in the repertoire of great violinists. Alena Baeva is the soloist in the Philharmonia Orchestra concert conducted by the Finn Santtu-Matias Rouvali. The symphonic poem »En Saga« by Jean Sibelius, also from Finland, opens the evening.

Rachmaninoff's musical life balance
The second half of the concert will feature the last work from Sergei Rachmaninoff's pen, the Symphonic Dances op. 45. »They are my last spark«, he himself said about his composition, whose orchestral writing not only features a lavish percussion section, but also a saxophone part. Significantly, he subtitled the three movements »Noon, Dusk and Midnight«. Following echoes of many of his past works, the Symphonic Dances end with a dance of death in the truest sense of the word.