Talks on Western Classical Music

Stuart-Liff Collection Library: Thursday, 6th November - 4.00 pm

Dvořák: Serenade for strings and Slavonic Dances

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 is all about Antonín Dvořák. In a burst of inspiration in May 1875, the Czech composer wrote his beloved Serenade for Strings in just two weeks. A blend of lyrical and playful elements, the work unfolds across five movements, each marked by its own distinct character. Another Dvořák favourite among the audiences is the Slavonic Dances, a series of 16 orchestral pieces composed in 1878 and 1886 and published in two sets. The composition is inspired by the Hungarian Dances of Brahms. 

Stuart-Liff Collection Library: Thursday, 20th November - 4.00 pm

Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E minor

This talk, the second in the series in November by Dr. Cavas Bilimoria, will take listeners through a Romantic era masterpiece, Felix Mendelssohn`s Violin Concerto. Among the most frequently-played violin concertos across the world, it begins with an impassioned first movement, leading to the return of the main theme and a thrilling coda. The session will delve deeper into the composition. 

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.

An NCPA Presentation

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

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