MY FIRST SEASON
ALAN BURIBAYEV
Principal Conductor

When I first worked with the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra playing Tchaikovsky's 'Manfred' Symphony four years ago, I was amazed by the orchestra's rich palette of colours and by its technical possibilities. The beautiful, sometimes very impressionistic score was played very delicately in the intimate moments and with incredible force in the tutti moments. In later seasons, I was happy to enjoy similar spectacular orchestral experiences when conducting Prokofiev's beautiful Romeo and Juliet suites and the mighty Symphony No. 10 by Shostakovich.

These three milestones of Russian repertory became a starting point in creating my programmes in this my first season as Principal Conductor. I always had in my ear the rich and colourful sound of the RTÉ NSO when planning Scheherazade and overtures by Rimsky-Korsakov and the beautiful, romantic Symphony No. 2 by Sergei Rachmaninov. These two composers became a kind of Romantic frame for the whole season; it is always a pure delight to spend time with these composers, both for the audience and for the orchestra.

Rachmaninov will be a central figure in this season, appearing not only in my programmes, but also in the performances of other RTÉ NSO guest artists. We have chosen to concentrate mostly on Rachmaninov's late period, which can be described as more 'muscular' and where his music reflects the jazzy rhythms of the twentieth century in such pieces as The Bells, Piano Concerto No. 4 and the incredible Symphonic Dances.

I am also looking forward to Bartók's amazing Concerto for Orchestra which in a sense can be considered a 'brother-score' to the Symphonic Dances. Both scores were written in exile in America, are rich in nostalgia and use folk elements from the composers' home countries.

Manuel de Falla's Three-Cornered Hat, the famous ballet by the Spanish composer, is another 'kind of Russian' score. The music is so vivid and so optimistic, but most of all so characterful that you don't need to know the libretto to follow the funny story. We will perform this together with a 'kind of Spanish' work, the spectacular and beloved Capriccio Espagnol by Rimsky-Korsakov.

These are just some of the highlights in my first season as Principal Conductor and I am very happy to invite the audience to every concert!

See Alan: 10 September, 12 November, 3 December, 7 January, 29 April, 27 May