|
Our season of concerts at Oaklands comes to a dramatic close with three works
inspired by fictional or personal battles.
Borodin based his opera ‘Prince Igor’ on an ancient Russian epic
tale which tells of the war of Igor against the Polovtsian tribes in
1185. The music is dramatic, intense and full of great energy.
The English composer, Gerald Finzi, wrote his Cello Concerto shortly after
being diagnosed with a life-shortening illness and the first movement contains
more than a hint of his internal struggle with this. He also gives us a
more serene portrait of his wife in the second movement.
Fate was a recurring theme for Tchaikovsky who struggled all his life with
emotional turmoil and uncertainty. With the Symphony No 4 he began to
pour out his melodies in a more autobiographical way and this music is full of
emotion and potential for impending doom or triumph!
| 
