Upcoming creative events in Brent.
‘You could never accuse violinist Maxim Vengerov of playing it safe’ wrote one critic – going on to praise ‘the sense of meaning and purpose… and, above all, that effortless charisma’. But perhaps it’s easiest to come and hear for yourself, as Vengerov summons the fire and ice of Sibelius’ windswept Violin Concerto. It’s music from an era of new beginnings and strong emotions – whether the swashbuckling, sensuous thrills of Richard Strauss’ Don Juan or the ear-popping colours of Stravinsky’s fairytale ballet The Firebird. When The Firebird premiered in Paris, four years before World War I, it was as if Stravinsky had waved a magic wand across the orchestra, and the tale of the enchanted Firebird, the demon Kaschei and the courageous Prince Ivan is one that Vasily Petrenko never tires of retelling.
