Orchestra Of The Swan Neoclassic Concert With Xuefei Yang

Stravinsky Concerto in E-Flat Major ‘Dumbarton Oaks’
Rodrigo Concierto de Aranjuez
Prokofiev Classical Symphony

Michael Collins Conductor
Xuefei Yang Guitar

Neoclassicism in music represented a creative rebirth for early 20th century composers looking for a new way of framing the future whilst taking inspiration from the past.

Inspired by the contrapuntal energy of Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos, Stravinsky’s Dumbarton Oaks received its premiere at the eponymous Harvard University research institute in Washington. Despite the nature of its source material, the work is undoubtedly a reflection of the modernist era in which it was conceived. Rodrigo found inspiration in the gardens at the Palace of Aranjuez for his popular guitar concerto. Suffused with yearning and punctuated by extraordinary outpourings of grief, the second movement is undoubtedly the heart of the work. Prokofiev’s Classical’ symphony has become a calling card for musical Neoclassicism. The Ukrainian’s distinct personality is channelled through the prism of Haydn and Mozart’s music, achieving a captivating transparency whilst nevertheless facing towards the future.

Free Pre-concert talk at 6.30pm