Music of the sun and the snow

We have entitled the fourth concert in our subscription series Music of the Sun and the Snow, although it could have been called The Seasons of the Year. But the fact is that the core part of the programme is taken by aural scenes of summer and winter (the sun and the snow) and they were created by the great 20^th century Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev. His suite A Summer Day for small orchestra depicts the life of a child in the vast expanses of the forests and in the freedom that summer always gives to a child’s soul. While his orchestral suite A Winter Bonfire conveys sensations of liveliness and comfort, familiar to all children (and adults) who have grown up in Russia with its wonderful, snowy landscapes.

Our programme also includes music of autumn (Antonio Vivaldi’s violin concerto from the cycle The Seasons). The final piece will be the Spring concerto (from the same cycle); we hope that on hearing it you will take with you a feeling of the light, living hope that this concerto gives, as do all the other pieces in this programme.

Leonid Gakkel