Transformations

Maurice RAVEL Mother Goose Suite
Elena KATS-CHERNIN AO Night and Now
Igor STRAVINSKY Firebird (1945 version)

Due to the current COVID-19 circumstances in the ACT, the CSO has made the difficult decision to cancel this concert.

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European audiences of the early twentieth century were captivated by the magic of Russian fairytales. This program marks Stravinsky’s fiftieth anniversary with one of the composer’s greatest ballets, his spectacular interpretation of Firebird folklore. Premiered in 1910 at the Opéra de Paris, Firebird was Stravinsky’s big break, catapulting the composer into the spotlight.

Elena Kats-Chernin’s flute concerto also draws inspiration from Russian fairytales and the composer’s own childhood. The piece evokes colourful, contrasting settings, from an elaborately bejewelled castle to the foreboding depths of a dark forest. The piece was written for Sally Walker, making here her debut appearance with the CSO.

I have been blessed in that each of my concerti was written for a unique soloist. I aim to write a bespoke work that reflects their personality as well as their musical taste and sound, as with Night and Now for the virtuosic and unusually compelling flautist Sally Walker.

ELENA KATS-CHERNIN
Read more in the CSO Magazine

From Sleeping Beauty to Tom Thumb, familiar fairytale characters feature in Maurice Ravel’s Mother Goose Suite, a shimmering world of innocence and imagination. Fanfares suggest a distant castle while nature comes alive with the teeming of birdsong, the work culminating in the ecstatic beauty of the Enchanted Garden.

Image: Penny Bradfield