March 10, 2026 | Rachmaninoff Concert Hall (Philarmonia-2)
“A Corner in France”
Conductor – Vladimir Spivakov
Bizet – Shchedrin. “Carmen Suite”
Faure. Pavane, Op. 50
Ibert. “Paris”, symphonic suit
Ravel. Bolero
Vladimir Spivakov conceived and premiered "A Corner of France" program with the NPR in 2022 as part of the "Images" concert series dedicated to the outstanding Russian conductor Evgeny Svetlanov. Spivakov got inspired by Svetlanov's series of the same title played by the State Orchestra in Moscow in the 1992/1993 season. One of the concerts of the cycle “A Corner in France” featured works by Debussy, Ravel, Fauré, Chausson and Dukas. Vladimir Spivakov has compiled the program according to his own taste, also including some of the composers mentioned above. The maestro is well known as a fine connoisseur of French culture, and he will once again please the audience with his exquisite interpretations of renowned gems by French composers.
There will be played excerpts from Georges Bizet's opera “Carmen” in Rodion Shchedrin's famous transcription (“Carmen Suite” written for Maya Plisetskaya); Pavane by Gabriel Fauré, the “French Schumann's” reminiscence of the old-time slow processional court dance; the “Paris” Suite by Jaques Ibert, a witty musical tour around the French capital in six parts (Le Métro, Faubourgs, La Mosquée de Paris, Restaurant au Bois de Boulogne, Le Paquebot “Ile-de-France”, Parade foraine); Maurice Ravel's legendary Bolero, a piece that reflects the author's passion for Iberian culture, probably owing to his Basque mother.
Vladimir Spivakov describes the program as a travel to Paris, which will be possible thanks to music. ‘I am well acquainted with France and have been there many a time, also with concerts, and now I feel inclined to «bring» France into Russia. You will hear works by Ibert, Ravel, Fauré and the Carmen-Suite by Rodion Shchedrin, which had been danced by great Maya Plisetskaya… Ibert’s Paris Suite is compiled of very vivid sketches such as suburbs (faubourgs), the underground, the Île-de-France sea-liner, a restaurant in the Boulogne Forest, a Mosque and a mere street fest. Following Hemingway’s thought that Paris is a movable feast I would add that it is an eternal feast.’