Petr Popelka and Gautier Capuçon

Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra
Petr Popelka – conductor
Gautier Capuçon – cello

Antonín Dvořák: Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104 (40′)
Igor Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring (35′)

Music is energy that connects body and soul.
Igor Stravinskij

This evening with the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra opens with Dvořák’s celebrated Cello Concerto in B minor, composed in 1894 for the Viennese cellist Hanuš Wihan. In this work, Dvořák combines lyrical melodies with dramatic contrasts, intertwines the solo part with the orchestral texture, and creates a piece that stands among the pinnacles of the Romantic cello repertoire. The solo part will be performed by the French cellist Gautier Capuçon.

The second half of the programme brings Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring. Completed in 1913 for Sergei Diaghilev’s ballet, the work transforms an ancient pagan ritual into music filled with unusual harmonic language and rhythmic innovation. Stravinsky created a richly imagined musical world that has drawn attention ever since its premiere for its energy and striking inventiveness.