A Short Ride to Rachmaninovs Dances - Adams, Bartok and Rachmaninov

A Short Ride to Rachmaninov’s Dances_

_Adams, Short Ride in a Fast Machine Bartok , Concerto for Orchestra Rachmaninov, Symphonic Dances

This is a roller-coaster of a concert, starting with an orchestral fanfare, Short Ride in a Fast Machine by John Adams, inspired by his experience of a thrilling, white-knuckle ride in a fast sports car.

That short ride takes us on to Bartok’s ever popular Concerto for Orchestra. This is a symphonic work that earns its name by the way in which the composer enables each section of the orchestra to express itself in a soloistic and virtuosic way.

The journey ends with the Symphonic Dances by Rachmaninov which is the composer’s last major work and in which he makes reference to many of his previous works. Not least, we are reminded of the CSO’s January concert with Rachmaninov including a quotation from his Symphony No.1 in the first of the Symphonic dances.