CANCELLED due to coronavirus - Sibelius' Seventh Symphony

Two soloists sign for two rarely heard, romantic works. Alphons Diepenbrock was a bit like the Dutch Claude Debussy. A night-time boat trip with his lover from Amsterdam to Nieuwendam inspired him to write Die Nacht. For Helena Rasker the piece contains everything she loves about the night. It is a very unknown but unbelievably beautiful piece. The atmosphere of the night and the magic is so beautifully expressed. I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the music. The silence and the vastness of the night, the starry sky, magnificent. A nice combination with William Walton's not-so-famous Cello Concerto. You can hear an ode to his wife in it. It is more reminiscent of the romantic (cello) language of Schumann than of pained composers such as Shostakovich. There are plenty of fireworks but no anger, reflection but no despair. Lyricism in which the cello excels.