Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra: Country Folksongs

Khachaturian was a composer with an incredible gift for melody, and the Violin Concerto is a fun and playful example of this. Its lush, oriental-sounding tunes, high-flying virtuosity and yearning melodic intensity soon appealed to worldwide audiences. Musical elements drawn from the folk songs and dances of Khachaturian’s native Armenia add to the festive intoxication, which are also present in the lusciously evocative Adagio from his ballet Spartacus. The Seventh is the earliest of Dvořák's symphonies to have captured and held popular approval, and it remains unsurpassed among his works for profundity of conception and consummate craftsmanship. Marked by an ominous sounding opening that hints at tragedy and dark skies, it presents an atmosphere of stately richness which weaves its way through uncertainty and agitation to a final triumphant conclusion.