Rattle Conducts Dvořák, Ginastera and Gerhard

This orchestral concert program, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle, presents a curated selection of works by three major twentieth-century composers exploring themes of cultural identity, exile, and national heritage. Antonín Dvořák's Serenade for Winds in D minor and his American Suite reflect his time in the United States and his enduring connection to Czech traditions, blending New World optimism with Old World nostalgia. Alberto Ginastera's Variaciones concertantes showcases Argentinian folk influences through virtuosic orchestral writing, while Roberto Gerhard's Dances from Don Quixote—originally conceived as a ballet and drawing on Spanish folk traditions—carries the poignancy of a composer imagining his homeland from exile in Britain. Together, these works demonstrate the orchestra's expressive range and the profound ways composers transform folk idioms and personal experience into sophisticated concert works.