Brahms Hungarian Dances Nos. 1, 5 and 17
Mozart Piano Concerto No. 21
Manu Martin Lim Fantasy of Companionship for Piano & Orchestra
Ivan Nebesnyy Suite from the ballet Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors
Dvořák Symphony No. 7

Theodore Kuchar, conductor
Mark Bebbington, piano

This welcome visit by the heroic Ukrainian National Philharmonic Orchestra, under their fellow countryman, conductor Theodore Kuchar, begins exuberantly with three of Brahms’ lively Hungarian Dances. There’s an elegant contrast as popular British pianist Mark Bebbington performs Mozart’s best-loved Piano Concerto No.21, whose ethereally beautiful slow movement acquired the nickname, the ‘dream andante’.

Two imaginative contemporary works add contrasting colours and textures to the programme. Ivan Nebesnyy’s music for the ballet, The Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors captures the fantastical spirit of this Ukrainian story of star-crossed lovers, whilst Manu Martin’s Lim Fantasy of Companionship for Piano and Orchestra is a joyful exploration of the meeting point between humanity and robotic technology. The finale is Dvořák’s tautly dramatic Seventh Symphony. Inspired by hearing Brahms’s turbulent Third Symphony a few months earlier, it’s the most compellingly urgent of all his symphonies, its smouldering intensity catching fire in a thrilling mix of soaring melodies and driving rhythms.