大象传媒

Join the 大象传媒 Philharmonic for an enchanting programme of music with a festive feel.

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov鈥檚 Christmas Eve Suite, which he created with music from his 1895 opera of the same name, glows with fairy-tale warmth and romance. Charming and stately, it closes with the hushed serenity of a snowy midwinter night.

We also hear from one of Rimsky-Korsakov鈥檚 orchestration students, Sergei Prokofiev. In the Palace, from Prokofiev鈥檚 Waltz Suite of 1947, perfectly conjures the formidably exciting and lively scenes of a royal ball in full swing, just as the downtrodden Cinderella begins her adventure.

Ottorino Respighi completed his Trittico Botticelliano in 1927, but its hymnal, celestial beauty evokes the Renaissance period from which it draws its inspiration. For Respighi, that inspiration came in the form of three of Italian painter Botticelli鈥檚 most revered works - La Primavera (Spring), L鈥檃dorazione dei Magi (Adoration of the Magi) and La Nascita di Venere (The Birth of Venus). The reverential second movement of Respighi鈥檚 tribute evokes the deific solemnity of the nativity and is interwoven with motifs from traditional Italian carols such as Tu scendi dalle stelle (You come down from the stars).