Steeped in the traditions of Russian folk music, literature and the orthodox church, the music of the Russian romantics is full of drama, yearning and passion, brimming with memorable lyrical melodies.

Glazunov’s gently lilting Idyll reveals the young student’s love of the French horn. The Concerto in D, written in Stravinsky’s new home in Los Angeles, explores the rich possibilities of a string ensemble, juxtaposing vivacious, gritty writing with the graceful and lyrical.

Arensky dedicated his Variations to his friend and teacher, in an elegant setting of one of Tchaikovsky’s hauntingly beautiful melodies. Tchaikovsky’s lush, energetic tour de force, Souvenir de Florence, invites us to share in the composer’s happy memories of his time in Florence.