Rimsky-Korsakov: Capriccio Espagnol - North Sydney Symphony Orchestra

Conductor: Steven Hillinger Concertmaster: Shuti Huang Capriccio Espagnol I. Alborada 00:14 II. Variazioni 01:45 III. Alborada 07:18 IV. Scena e canto gitano 08:50 V. Fondango asturiano 14:34 The Capriccio Espagnol was first performed in 1887 at The Russian Symphony Concerts, a series of concerts supported by nouveau-riche industrialist Mitrofan Belyayev. Belyayev was one of a growing number of new patrons of the arts that believed in greater glory of Russia and wanted to contribute to public life and so were inclined to support local, nationalist artists. In Capriccio Espagnol, Rimsky-Korsakov uses themes from the gypsy flamenco tradition as well from Asturias in the green north, characterised by its strong bagpipe (gaita) tradition. The work is structured in five movements: I. Alborada, a festive dance from Asturias in 2/4 which celebrates the rising of the sun; the word alborada translates as “dawn”. II. Variazioni, a set of 5 variations based on a slow, romantic melody. III. Alborada, the same tune from movement 1. IV. Scena e canto gitano (Scene and gypsy song). A theme that is highly reminiscent of the flamenco style of singing in the south of Spain and where the violins are violas are asked to imitate guitars by playing “quasi guitara”. V. Fandango asturiano, another dance from Asturias in 3/4. This form of dance however is currently thought to have originated in Latin America. Capriccio Espagnol was a tremendous success. Not only did the orchestra frequently interrupt rehearsals to applaud the conductor/composer but the audience at the premiere demanded a full repetition of the work. After the first performance, Rimsky-Korsakov dedicated Capriccio Espagnol to the musicians of the orchestra (Imperial Opera in St Petersburg) all individually named. For more information about the NSSO, visit https://nsso.org.au/   / thensso