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Two pieces of orchestral storytelling make up this concert, conducted by the brilliant Ukrainian conductor, Kirill Karabits. In Richard Strauss’s Don Quixote, Cervantes’ deluded hero - played by solo cello - inspires a set of ‘Fantastic Variations on a Theme of Knightly Character.’ As the Don stumbles through his misadventures Strauss delights in wonderful special effects, including baa-ing sheep and a wind machine, and offers an ironic commentary from the long-suffering Sancho Panza, played by solo viola. In Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade the heroine stays alive by keeping her vengeful husband, the Sultan, interested in suspenseful tales. Here the solo violin becomes the seductive spinner of yarns about the great sea adventurer, Sinbad, with the stories’ exotic locations coloured by the composer’s most gorgeous melodies and dramatic orchestration. This concert also features an exciting finale... but you’ll have to wait until the concert to discover what it is. Scheherazade would certainly have approved!

Creatives/Company

Conductor: Kiril Karabits