Santtu conducts the New World Symphony

Programme

Be part of our spectacular return to Leicester as we perform Dvořák’s best-loved symphony under the baton of our new Principal Conductor Santtu-Matias Rouvali.

Celebrating the start of his tenure as just the sixth Principal Conductor in the Orchestra’s 75-year history, Santtu launches our thrilling new Leicester season with our first performance at De Montfort Hall in almost two years.

Joining Santtu, soloist Jack Liebeck takes centre stage in an opening half celebrating the rugged landscapes and Celtic culture of Scotland. In Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy, a solemn brass opening gives way to a spellbinding melody for the violin soloist, the first of four beautiful traditional folk songs that underpin the piece. Ranging from effortless virtuosity to tender interplay with the harp, it’s easy to see why almost 150 years after it was written, it remains one of the world’s most popular works for violin.

After the interval we venture across the Atlantic for that timeless masterpiece, Dvořák’s New World Symphony. Blending his trademark Czech style with the Native American music and African-American spirituals Dvořák came to love and admire during his time in the United States, the symphony packs drama, excitement and hope into one unforgettable work. No one could have imagined during lockdown that the pandemic would keep us from our Leicester home for so long – but with the quietly optimistic melody of the Largo in our ears, there could surely be no better way to return.