The Hallé – Spring with Sir Mark Elder

Sir Mark Elder conductor
Kostas Smoriginas baritone
Hallé Choir Matthew Hamilton, choral director

Glinka Ruslan and Ludmilla Overture
Rachmaninov Spring
Stravinsky Song of the Nightingale
Tchaikovsky Symphony No.2

Sir Mark Elder returns to Manchester and is reunited with the Hallé and Hallé Choir in this fantastic programme of Russian music.

He opens the concert with Glinka’s dazzling, high-energy overture that captures the magical, adventurous spirit of his opera Ruslan and Ludmilla which is followed by Stravinsky’s Song of the Nightingale – an effective musical illustration of both real and mechanical birdsong.

Based on the poem by Nikolay Nekrasov, Rachmaninov’s Spring, which quite opposed to its joyful title follows a husband who, previously inflicted with murderous thoughts towards his unfaithful wife during the winter, is released from his frustration with the return of spring. After the interval, Tchaikovsky’s Second Symphony, often dubbed ‘Little Russian’ thanks to its effective use of Ukrainian folksongs, provides a joyful end to the evening.

Concert sponsor: Siemens