Tchaikovsky

Cossack Dance from Mazeppa

Prokofiev

Sinfonia Concertante for cello and orchestra

Glazunov

Raymonda, Excerpts

Khachaturian

Spartacus, Suite

Vasily Petrenko

conductor

Alban Gerhardt

cello

Heroic gladiators, tragic lovers, fairytale princesses and Cossack riders: when you hear the music of the Russian ballet, it’s like stepping into a fabulous storybook. Vasily Petrenko adores it, and this afternoon he takes us from the Imperial splendour of Glazunov’s Raymonda to the hard-hitting action and soaring romance of Khachaturian’s Spartacus – plus a brilliant little vodka-shot of an opener from Tchaikovsky (it’s got snow on its boots). But at the heart of this concert is the bold, passionate poetry of Prokofiev’s Sinfonia Concertante: a truly epic cello concerto, played by a truly great cellist.