Simon Hewett – Conductor Sally Walker – Flute Canberra Symphony Orchestra Maurice Ravel Mother Goose Suite Elena Kats-Cherinin AO Night and Now Igor Stravinsky Firebird (1945 version) European audiences of the early twentieth century were captivated by the magic of Russian fairytales. This program marks Stravinsky’s fiftieth anniversary with one of the composer’s greatest ballets, his spectacular interpretation of Firebird folklore. Elena Kats-Chernin’s flute concerto also draws inspiration from Russian fairytales and the composer’s own childhood. The piece evokes colourful, contrasting settings, from an elaborately bejewelled castle to the foreboding depths of a dark forest. The piece was written for Sally Walker, making here her debut appearance with the CSO. From Sleeping Beauty to Tom Thumb, familiar fairytale characters feature in Maurice Ravel’s Mother Goose Suite, a shimmering world of innocence and imagination. Fanfares suggest a distant castle while nature comes alive with the teeming of birdsong, the work culminating in the ecstatic beauty of the Enchanted Garden.