Melancholy, Waltz and Madness

It begins at home in Sweden: in Max Bruch's Swedish Dances, several folk melodies can be heard, including "Seven Beautiful Girls in a Ring". This is followed by Bruch's melancholic Violin Concerto No. 1 - a work in which a virtuoso violinist truly gets to display their artistry.

The journey continues to France for the rest of the evening. Massenet's four picturesque scenes include a waltz, and Massenet is also behind the spring opera Manon - conducted by Sébastien Rouland. Canteloube's orchestrated songs then open the door to the landscapes and folk melodies of the Auvergne region.

The concert's finale is Ravel's Boléro, built on an idea as simple as it is brilliant: a single theme is repeated - a total of 169 times - in constantly new timbral colours from the orchestra's palette, with increasing volume until the music explodes into a hypnotic climax where cymbals play one of the leading roles.

Max Bruch (1838-1920) Swedish Dances; Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, op. 26. Jules Massenet (1842-1912) Suite No. 4, Scènes pittoresques. Joseph Canteloube (1879-1957) Songs from Auvergne, selection. Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) Boléro.