Description

Under the direction of Russian conductor Alevtina Ioffe, the Orchestre national d'Île-de-France offers a journey to the heart of Slavic legends.<div> The concert opens with the dazzling overture to Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's The Golden Cockerel, inspired by Pushkin's tale, in which the Golden Cockerel warns the Tsar of the dangers that await him. This is followed by the rich and virtuosic harmonies of Sergei Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 2, a work written when he was twenty-two and which has become a staple of international competitions, performed here by the young pianist Arsenii Moon, winner of the Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli Prize. The concert closes with the captivating world of Modest Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, arranged by Maurice Ravel, which translates Viktor Hartmann's paintings into music: gnomes, Baba Yaga, garden scenes, and old castles are revealed through the brilliant orchestration.</div>