A River, a Queen, a Firebird

Anonymous

Modest Mussorgsky: Dawn on the Moscow River (Prelude to Khovanshchina)

Dawn on the Moscow River is the prelude to Mussorgsky's final opera, Khovanshchina (The Khovansky Affair). The opera delves into a turbulent period of Russian history. It tells the story of the struggle between old and new Russia, focusing on the rebellion of Prince Ivan Khovansky against the westernising reforms of Tsar Pete.

The music of Dawn on the Moscow River stands in beautiful contrast to the vicious political strife depicted in the opera's narrative.

Sergei Prokofiev: The Queen of Spades (arranged by Michael Berkeley)

Sergei Prokofiev (1891–1953) composed The Queen of Spades in 1936 as a film score. The film, to be based on Alexander Pushkin's short story, was scheduled for release in 1937 to mark the centenary of Pushkin's death. However, due to tightening censorship, it was never completed. Prokofiev, however, found ways to reuse the music, integrating themes into the third movement of his Fifth Symphony and Piano Sonata No. 8.

The version performed tonight is an arrangement by Michael Berkeley created for Kim Brandstrup's ballet Rushes, which premiered at London's Covent Garden.

Igor Stravinsky: Music for the ballet The Firebird

The impresario Sergei Diaghilev commissioned The Firebird for the Ballets Russes' 1910 Paris season. The premiere on June 25, 1910, was a resounding success, with some hailing Stravinsky as the "legitimate heir to The Mighty Handful". After this success, Diaghilev continued to commission Stravinsky, resulting in two other iconic collaborations: Petrushka (1911) and The Rite of Spring (1913).