Valladolid, Spain – Orquesta Sinfónica de Castilla y León – Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, Prokofiev

Vasily Petrenko, conductor
Behzod Abduraimov, piano
Orquesta Sinfónica de Castilla y León

PROGRAMME
Tchaikovsky: Francesca de Rimini, op. 32
Rachmaninov: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini in A minor, Op. 43
Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5 in B flat major, op. 100

VENUE NOTE
Given his close relationship with the OSCyL, it seems difficult to imagine a better conductor than Vasily Petrenko for a Russian program like this. Francesca di Rimini, one of Tchaikovsky’s most inspired and complex works, uses Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy as a reference . Here, it precedes the famous Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, a composition in which Rachmaninoff plays with the themes of the so-called “devil violinist” and the medieval hymn Dies irae. Behzod Abduraimov’s magical virtuosity will be a guarantee for this demanding work.

In the second part, we find Sergei Prokofiev’s magnificent Symphony No. 5 , defined by the composer himself as “a symphony of the greatness of the human spirit.” Here we find redemption, freedom, and happiness, which contrasts with some of the darker aspects of humanity latent in the works in the first part of this program.