On Monday 13th February, the Kazakh State Symphony Orchestra return to the Coca-Cola Arena for their second performance at the 2023 InClassica International Music Festival. Led by Italian conductor Massimiliano Caldi, the ensemble begins with the famous ‘Overture’ from Mozart’s 1786 opera Le Nozze di Figaro. Based on a 1784 stage comedy of the same name, the opera is widely considered a masterpiece of the genre, and remains one of the most well known and frequently performed works in the repertoire, with its Overture in particular transcending the realm of opera to achieve global renown. The Çukurova State Symphony Orchestra then welcomes Latvian cellist Kristina Blaumane for Composer-in-Residence Alexey Shor’s much-loved Cello Concerto No. 2, which saw its world premiere taking place in May 2021, and since then has quickly become one of Shor’s most popular pieces for the instrument. After the interval, the orchestra will conclude with Mozart’s Symphony No. 40, the composer’s penultimate symphony, and the second of a set of three symphonies that the prolific maestro wrote in the summer of 1788. Easily the best-loved of all Mozart's symphonies, the work is an example of introspection mixed with high dramatic content, featuring emotional elements which anticipate and set the groundwork for the romantic era which was to follow.
