Xian Conducts The Sounds of Spain

Music Director Xian Zhang conducts a celebration of scintillating Spanish and South American dance rhythms. Édouard Lalo’s Symphonie Espagnole, featuring Concertmaster Noah Geller as the soloist, explores flamenco and other dance motifs of the Iberian Peninsula. Originally a ballet, but heard here as a suite, Alberto Ginastera’s Four Dances from Estancia utilizes sophisticated folk rhythms to evoke various aspects of life in the Argentinian countryside. Lastly, we hear from Russian composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, whose brief and only visit to southern Spain during a naval tour captivated his senses; the vibrant music he heard on the streets of Andalucía inspired his Capriccio espagnole.