Talks on Western Classical Music

Stuart-Liff Collection Library: Thursday, 4th December – 4.00 pm

The magical music of Alexander Borodin

In this series of talks on Western classical music, Dr. Cavas Bilimoria takes listeners through musical concepts, the lives of composers and their famous works, interspersed with examples from recorded music. The first talk this month will discuss three beloved works of Alexander Borodin. These include In the Steppes of Central Asia, a symphonic poem describing a caravan passing through the grasslands of Steppes; Notturno, the third movement of Borodin’s String Quartet No. 2, which is thought to be a 20th anniversary present to his wife; and the Polovtsian Dances from his unfinished opera Prince Igor.  

Stuart-Liff Collection Library: Thursday, 18th December – 4.00 pm

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 10

The second talk of the series in December by Dr. Cavas Bilimoria will focus on Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 10, completed shortly after the death of Joseph Stalin and seen as a powerful artistic response to years of political repression. Unfolding in four movements, the composition moves from terror and tragedy to a triumphant, if hard-won, resolution.

Stuart-Liff Collection Library: Thursday, 8th January – 4.00 pm

Sibelius: Symphony No. 2

In this series of talks on Western Classical Music, Dr. Cavas Bilimoria takes listeners through musical concepts, the lives of composers and their famous works, interspersed with examples from recorded music. The sessions this month will offer deeper insight into the music being featured in the SOI Spring 2026 season. The first talk will discuss Finnish composer Jean Sibelius’ Symphony No. 2. At a time when Finland was struggling from attempts at Russification in the late 19th century, Sibelius helped the country develop a stronger national identity. A composer of the late Romantic and early modern periods, he described his second symphony as “a confession of the soul.” Sibelius’ Symphony No. 2 is a four-movement work for orchestra written from 1901 to 1902. 

Stuart-Liff Collection Library: Thursday, 22nd January – 4.00 pm

The Song of the Cello

The second talk of the series this month by Dr. Cavas Bilimoria will focus on the instrument, cello. The talk will showcase how the cello’s depth and the timber of its sounds can evoke different and profound emotions more convincingly than other string instruments. In this talk, Dr. Bilimoria will also demonstrate different pieces of music and inform the audience that the cello is best suited to interpret them.

An NCPA Presentation

Entry free on a first-come-first-served basis.

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