Stravinsky The Firebird

The evening

With a burst of flame and a cascade of sparks, the magical Firebird leaps into life. When Igor Stravinsky composed his great ballet, he didn’t just imagine a world of enchanted princesses, courageous heroes and green-clawed demons - he let us hear it, too. That is our final destination tonight as Vasily Petrenko and the RPO set out on a fantastic musical voyage that opens with Tchaikovsky’s lush Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture; for many the perfect illustration of the fate of those star-cross’d lovers. And as for Saint-Saëns’ exuberant Second Piano Concerto: well, one critic said that it begins in church and ends at an orgy. It’ll fizz like champagne as Vasily Petrenko partners one of France’s most brilliant living pianists, Bertrand Chamayou.