A year of political and musical upheaval. The title of French composer Elsa Barraine's 2nd symphony is the Russian word for »war«, a work commissioned by the French Ministry for Culture in 1938. After the annexation of Austria and the Munich Agreement war was in the air, and subsequent events proved her right. But the work hints at a distant future. The war in the 1st movement is followed by a funeral march in the 2nd before the music returns to life in the finale.

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6th Sunday & Monday Symphonic Concerts

Alte Oper

He’s been called a “musical omnivore” but anyone who’s experienced the BBC SSO’s former Chief Conductor (and current Creative Partner) Ilan Volkov knows that he’s an artist who sees music differently – and turns every concert into a voyage of discovery.

Debussy, Ravel & Rare Gem

City Halls

National Orchestra of France Tour in the United States

LIU Post

Carnegie Hall

Mechanics Hall

Tackling Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto is like crossing the Olympus of the violin. Yet it's not just about flitting around it, but about making the lines sing, finding the right tone between reason and feeling. American Randall Goosby, 27, has already made it one of his hobbyhorses, and we'll be watching closely for his first steps on Radio France. For the occasion, it was necessary to summon "Levre du Jour" from Daphnis et Chloé and this new 20th-century classic, Elsa Barraine's Symphony No. 2 , rediscovered by the National and its conductor.

Tchaikovsky, Violin Concerto / Randall Goosby

Cité de la Musique

The thrum of urban America – jazz clubs and bustling sidewalks, pulsing Latin rhythms and night-time lights – runs through this Prom given by Joshua Weilerstein and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. Rachmaninov’s enigmatic final masterpiece, the Symphonic Dances, blends Russian soul with bold colours from the composer’s adopted homeland. Copland’s Clarinet Concerto draws on the virtuoso skills of jazz legend Benny Goodman, while bandleader Artie Shaw wrote his Clarinet Concerto for his own considerable skills as a player. Elsa Barraine’s tautly lyrical Symphony No. 2 opens the programme.

Rachmaninov and Copland

Royal Albert Hall

Stravinsky asserts that in composing Petrushka , he had the vision of a suddenly unleashed puppet, whose diabolical stunts exasperate "the patience of the orchestra, which responds in turn with threatening fanfares." All this before the battle, the climax, and the fall. But doesn't the viola in Walton's Concerto also have the traits of a nasty little rascal, who only becomes agitated to better bounce back and ham it up? Alongside Antoine Tamestit, the French conductor Marie Jacquot, winner of the Victoires de la Musique, makes her debut at Radio France and at the head of the Orchestre National de France.

Stravinsky, Petrouchka: Massy

Cinémassy

Maurice Ravel's ballet Daphnis et Chloé is based on the ancient tale of the shepherd Daphnis who loves Chloé, but loses her when robbers ravage the land. However, with the help of the god Pan, he manages to save her. The Romanian conductor Cristian Măcelaru leads the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra in this love story with a happy ending. Also, Elsa Barraine's second symphony and Rudolf Buchbinder in George Gershwin's piano concerto in F major.

Ravel's Daphnis Et Chloé

SR Berwaldhallen

Stravinsky, Petrushka

Maison de la Radio et de la Musique

Manhattan School of Music’s public programs are made possible in part by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

MSM Symphony Orchestra

Manhattan School of Music

Even though your name is Brahms, composing an unplayable concerto is not going to delight its recipient: so Joseph Joachim demanded that the master revise his copy, which was riddled with difficulties. Fortunately, the years have passed, and this masterpiece of Romanticism has become a hobbyhorse for virtuosos – starting with Julia Fischer. In contrast, the Images, the great Debussy signature of the National, and the rediscovery of a too-forgotten figure, the adventurous Elsa Barraine.

Elsa Barraine

Events

Upcoming events

Jun 28, 2026

Guest performance in Bad Kissingen | Kissinger Summer · WDR Sinfonieorchester

Past events

8 - 9 Feb, 2026

6th Sunday & Monday Symphonic Concerts · Oper Frankfurt

Dec 11, 2025

Debussy, Ravel & Rare Gem · BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra

About

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