Elgar, Debussy & Ravel

Music transcends time and place, as this evening demonstrates clearly. In a large orchestra setting, the Residentie Orkest takes the audience on a tour of England, France and Spain: three countries united through water and history. With music that is brimming with emotion, combining dazzling picturesque scenes with deeply poignant passages.

The incredible cello player Leonard Elschenbroich performs the deep and melancholic tones of Elgar’s beloved Cello Concerto. The English composer created this work in the wake of the devastating First World War that ripped apart the British Empire; the result is a highly emotional yet intimate composition. Next, the Orchestra zooms out with a performance of Images by the grand master of tonality, Claude Debussy. It is a rich and impressionistic work that evokes a variety of scenes: along streets and squares, the colours of the night and the sparkling promise of morning, before the feast begins. Chief conductor Jun Märkl completes the evening with Ravel’s Boléro. The entrancing rhythm of this Spanish dance brings the evening to a surprising climax.