RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra
Nathalie Stutzmann conductor
Victor Julien-Laferrière cello

Dvořák Cello Concerto / 40’
Dvořák Slavonic Dances Nos. 1, 2 & 8, Op. 46 / 13’
Ravel Menuet antique / 7’
Une barque sur l’océan / 7’
La Valse / 12’

Soundings: Free pre-concert talk at 6.30pm. Artist(s) in conversation.

Gypsy romance, rustic reverie, French elegance, an ocean voyage and a waltz that snaps at your dancing ankles not enough for you? You want more? What about the most popular Cello Concerto ever composed?

Treat yourself to an evening packed with heart-stopping tunes, pulse-quickening romance, liquid adventure (no, we don’t mean the interval bar) and some of the most colourful and brilliant orchestral playing you’re likely to hear until our next concert!

Dvořák’s Cello Concerto is a musical conjuring trick that transforms a concerto into exquisite chamber music. (Imagine a purring Rolls Royce engine in your Renault Clio.) Your rising star soloist is Victor Julien-Laferrière, victor (if you’ll pardon us) of the International Queen Elisabeth Competition for young musicians in 2017 – the first ever cellist in 81 years. He’s that good!

Dvořák’s Slavonic Dances are like a drunken night out in Bohemia without actually going there (or drinking alcohol, if it comes to that). The First crashes the party with infectious gusto (annoying when that happens, isn’t it?), the Second wins you over with beautifully refined conversation (what a relief when that happens), the tipsy Eighth is the life and soul of the party but can’t decide between being sentimental and showing off (there, but for the grace of God…).

Ravel’s Menuet Antique has its delectable cake and eats it, glancing backwards while sounding brilliantly modern. Sea legs at the ready for Une barque sur l’océan where the forecast is smooth sailing with choppy seas later on. (Kwells anyone?) La Valse is a waltz like you’ve never heard before, vinegar dotting the sugar and enough grit in the oyster to produce a darkly-gleaming pearl.