Rhapsody & Romance

Composer Sam Kane takes inspiration from Irish mythology in Danu’s Rhapsody, an Irish Trad-inflected telling of the story of the transformation of Danu into the Celtic goddess of nature. Sibelius, often inspired by the mythology of his own homeland, set the Finnish Kalevala to one side to create his lushly romantic First Symphony, where beautiful melodies appear out of musical storm and tempest. Shostakovich’s Second Piano Concerto sees him finally leave the pain of Stalinist Russia behind after the dictator’s death, to write a work for his son that is full of joy, lightness and wit, with a slow movement to swoon over.