‘Miloš Karadaglić & Joaquín Rodrigo Concierto de Aranjuez’

Explore a range of Hispanic and Russian musical cultures with the Belgian National Orchestra. Denounced in the Soviet Union for her modernism, the Tatar-Russian composer Sofia Gubaidulina was for a long time forced to limit her production to film and documentary scores. Her Fairytale Poem, first written for the radio, and then reworked as a symphonic poem, is a metaphorical fable about the condition of an artist prevented from creating. Sergey Prokofiev composed his opera The Fiery Angel in Bavaria, achieving a fusion between local popular mysticism and Russian symbolism. Though never staged in Prokofiev’s lifetime, the opera gave rise to an impressive symphonic suite and inspired the composer’s Third Symphony. On the Hispanic theme, we turn to the most famous guitar concerto: Joaquín Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez. Written in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, this work evokes the lush gardens of the Royal Palace of Aranjuez, which influenced Rodrigo’s childhood. Finally, Piazzolla’s Double Concerto for Guitar and Bandoneon takes us across the Atlantic into the embrace of other warm melodies.