Russian Philharmonic of Novosibirsk - May 2019

Rachmaninov’s trio of Symphonic Dances, the last score he completed, are so full of colour, ravishing melodies and dashing rhythms, that it’s hard to believe he’d almost given up composing a few years earlier. Here they form a winning double bill with the composer’s endlessly inventive Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, which puts the virtuoso violinist’s familiar tune through a series of ever more ingenious contortions.

Glinka’s Overture to Ruslan and Ludmila dances with the sounds of Russian folk tunes, while Rimsky-Korsakov’s Capriccio Espagnol brings the passion and heat of Andalusian flamenco to the concert hall.