César Franck: Le chasseur maudit
Joaquín Rodrigo: Concierto de Aranjuez
Maurice Ravel: La valse
Maurice Ravel: Bolero
Josep Vicent once again conducts the Belgian National Orchestra on a tour that presents a colourful programme, by way of a musical journey. César Franck is probably Belgium's most famous composer and his symphonic poem The Accursed Huntsman is one of his most fascinating works. Franck's orchestration evokes the strange, gloomy atmosphere of the infernal chase, and as he cites a passage from Héctor Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique in the conclusion of the piece, we move on to France. We arrive in the Gallic country with two of Ravel's most famous compositions.
Regarding La valse, the composer stated that it is “a fateful, fantastic whirlwind”, while with the Bolero we set course for his Basque roots. Ravel considered the work to be a study in orchestration, but the truth is that the Bolero displays great originality and has become one of the most performed compositions in the world. The same thing happens with the famous Concierto de Aranjuez by Rodrigo, which contains some of the most beautiful and evocative melodies in the guitar and orchestra repertoire.
Listening to this concert at the hands of Pablo Sainz – Villegas is always an opportunity to experience an evening to remember. He is an ambassador for the guitar around the world, having played with orchestras such as the Los Angeles, Boston, San Francisco, Toronto and Israel Philharmonics and appeared at such historic venues as Carnegie Hall in New York. He has also given numerous world premieres, which include the first work written for solo guitar by John Williams,
