From The Flames Bernstein, Ravel, Stravinsky

Lighthouse, Poole

Though titled as such, The Age of Anxiety bucks the traditional form of a symphony, Bernstein scored it for solo piano and orchestra and split it into two parts that are performed without pause, further divided into six subsections that mirror the text of Auden’s “fascinating and hair-raising” poem. The narrative is of four anxious New Yorkers seeking meaning amid post-World War II disillusionment. Ravel greatly admired Schubert’s collection of Valses Nobles and Valses Sentimentales, inspiring him to write his own cycle of eight solo piano waltzes which he later orchestrated – each a sparkling jewel. One of the most impressive calling cards in the history of music, The Firebird is a work of such brilliance that it could only have been written by Stravinsky, mixing the orchestral mastery of his Russian mentors with the rhythmic vitality of the revolutionary about to burst out of his shell. The musical language shifts between exotic, chromatic gestures to illustrate the supernatural dimension and the sing-song simplicity of folk song for the mortals creating a dazzling, evocative atmosphere.