Symphonic Dances

The music

Glazunov Concert Waltz No. 1 (11’) Listen
Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 (33’) Listen
Rachmaninoff Symphonic Dances (35’) Listen

The performers

• Juraj Valčuha conductor
• Boris Giltburg piano

Juraj Valčuha presents Rachmaninoff’s final masterpiece, the electrifying Symphonic Dances.

The horns throw down a challenge, the piano strides forward, and Tchaikovsky launches his First Piano Concerto with a tune you’ll never forget. This is music that demands total commitment, so it’s perfect for Boris Giltburg, the Moscow-born piano virtuoso whom BBC Music Magazine described as ‘characterful, sensitive and technically dazzling’. But even the most brilliant jewel needs the right setting, and conductor Juraj Valčuha pairs it with showpieces by two of Tchaikovsky’s most devoted fans: Glazunov’s elegant whirl around the ballrooms of St Petersburg, and Rachmaninoff’s final masterpiece, the electrifying Symphonic Dances.