We first hear Lyadov's short tone-poem, Baba Yaga, based on one of the most famous witches in Slavic folklore and a popular (if not terrifying!) figure in children鈥檚 fairy-tales, and Aleksey Semenenko is the violin in Chausson鈥檚 darkly coloured 笔辞猫尘别, generally considered to be the composer鈥檚 best-known and most-loved work.
To end, Rachmaninov鈥檚 Symphonic Dances. Written only three years before his death, it pulses with exhilarating rhythmic energy and journeys from a passionate Allegro to a ferocious dance of death.
