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Her er enorme havdyr, flyvende øgler, mammutter, dinosaurer og sabeltigre. Tag med tusinder af år tilbage i tiden til dengang, jordens landområder var ubeboelige. Oplev de første arter opstå og uddø – det er alles kamp mod alle, og kun de stærkeste overlever.

Can a cello sound happy? Can a violin laugh? Can a bass make you dance? What is it that music can do that hits our emotions and moods so well?

License To Kill, Goldfinger, Live and Let Die, Nobody Does It Better and No Time To Die. Now a pearl string of the well-known theme songs from the many fantastic James Bond films is brought together in one blast of a concert.

In the post-war Soviet Union, a number of cultural figures fell victim to massive censorship – first authors, and from 1948 it was the turn of composers. At the head of the censorship was Andrey Shjdanov, who was put in charge of the Soviet Union's cultural policy by Joseph Stalin. His purges in the field of music affected Prokofiev, Khatjaturyan and Shostakovich, among others. It is during this period that Shostakovich composes his violin concerto, but it is too dark and introverted for him to dare to have it performed, even though the music is also moving, enthralling and oozes emotional depth. The work did not have its world premiere until 1955 – after Stalin's death.

Meet the Aalborg Symphony Orchestra's musicians in smaller ensembles when they play works they have chosen themselves because they are close to their hearts

Recent seasons have offered great experiences with great cellists, and this season is no exception. There is a rehearsal with Maximilian Hornung, who in 2018 enchanted the audience when he was a soloist in Bruch's Kol Nidrei. Now he is the soloist in the cello concerto that Elgar composed in the aftermath of the First World War. At that time, his music was already slowly falling out of fashion among concert audiences. Unlike Elgar's earlier violin concerto, which is lyrical and passionate, the cello concerto is mostly pensive and elegiac. Many years later, the concerto was reborn when the 20-year-old cellist Jacqueline du Pré practically made it her signature piece in 1965.

The star composer of film music, John Williams, has not only written some of the best music for the biggest films. He is also a master at manipulating our emotions, when his music makes us cry one moment and shudder in terror the next. But what can film music do? And is there a reason why the classical symphony orchestra has been the filmmakers' preferred instrument since the birth of the film?

Strauss was 84 and in the autumn of his life when he composed Vier Letzte Lieder – a song cycle for soprano and orchestra. The songs are about saying goodbye to life, but there is no dirge about Strauss's work – rather a clarity. The music is sparklingly beautiful, and together with the Aalborg Symphony Orchestra this evening, the Australian soprano Siobhan Stagg, who since her employment at the Deutsche Oper in Berlin from 2013-15, has been in demand on opera and concert stages all over the world.

The only 27-year-old Hjalte Ross is both a local city kid and a citizen of the world. The young person from Aalborg has already achieved significant recognition abroad – he is praised in media such as Rolling Stone Magazine and The Guardian, and there are probably still more people who know his name outside Denmark's borders than here at home. But Danish music media have also praised his three albums Embody (2018), Waves of Haste (2020) and his latest intimate, self-produced Less (2023).

We spread cushions on the floor and are looking forward to welcoming the orchestra's youngest audience again – the 0-3 year olds. For a good half hour, a cello, a flute and a singer will take the children into the wonderful world of music, where there is room for play and presence. The atmosphere is relaxed, and there is no compulsion to sit still