Saturday, May 23, 2026 at 6 p.m., on the podium of the Sala Mehta, conducting the Orchestra and Chorus of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino and performing as violin soloist, Maestro Dmitry Sinkovski.

The program features music by Antonio Vivaldi, Aleksandr Borodin, and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.

Florence, May 22, 2026 – On Saturday, May 23, Maestro Dmitry Sinkovski makes his debut conducting the Orchestra and Chorus of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino.

The Chorus Master of the Maggio is Lorenzo Fratini.

The concert, scheduled in the Sala Mehta at 6 p.m., opens with the performance of Antonio Vivaldi’s Concerto in D major RV 562a “Per la solennità di San Lorenzo”. It represents the second version of an earlier concerto, RV 562, probably composed by the “Red Priest” between 1710 and 1717 and intended for the Venetian celebrations of the Feast of Saint Lawrence. The second version dates from 1738 and was performed in Amsterdam on the occasion of the centenary of the Schouwburg Theatre. Maestro Sinkovski himself will perform as violin soloist.

This is followed by Polovtsian Dances from Prince Igor by Aleksandr Borodin. Inspired by a 12th-century Russian epic, Prince Igor alternates musical images of great evocative power, from the chorus’s passages, at times nostalgic and at times fiery, to the sinuous dance of the maidens, the wild energy of the warriors’ dance, and finally the majestic conclusion in which the dances merge into a whirlwind of pure kinetic frenzy.

The symphonic evening concludes with the celebrated Shéhérazade, Symphonic Suite Op. 35 by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. The composer had long nurtured a deep fascination with the Oriental world, and in 1888 he found the opportunity to recreate its picturesque and marvelous atmospheres in music with Scheherazade, Symphonic Suite Op. 35, freely inspired by the collection of tales One Thousand and One Nights. The ancient Arabic collection recounts the story of the violent Sultan Shahryar, who ordered the execution of each of his wives after their wedding night, and of Scheherazade, who succeeds in escaping her already sealed fate thanks to a clever stratagem.

The concert:

Antonio Vivaldi
Concerto in D major RV 562a “Per la solennità di San Lorenzo”

Vivaldi’s Concerto in D major for violin, two oboes, two horns, timpani, strings, and continuo, RV 562a, represents the second version of an earlier concerto, RV 562, probably composed by the “Red Priest” between 1710 and 1717 and intended for the Venetian celebrations of the Feast of Saint Lawrence. The second version dates from 1738 and was performed in Amsterdam on the occasion of the centenary of the Schouwburg Theatre. Compared to the original concerto, this later version features a different slow movement and the addition of timpani to the ensemble, functioning in concertante dialogue with the horns.

From the very first movement, Allegro, the calls of the horns emphasize the solemn and celebratory character of the piece, while the solo violin emerges with virtuosic momentum in the interplay of contrasts typical of Vivaldi’s musical language, alternating concertante episodes with full orchestral passages. In the central movement, Grave, the rich sonorities of the opening give way to the sound of strings and harpsichord alone, supporting the long recitative of the solo violin. The final movement, Allegro, resumes the festive tone of the opening with lively, driving rhythms, in which the solo violin stands out through numerous brilliant passages.

Aleksandr Borodin
Prince Igor, Polovtsian Dances

A distinguished chemist by profession and musician by vocation, Alexander Borodin was a member of “The Five,” the group of composers who, in the second half of the nineteenth century, opposed the dominance of Western European musical fashions by promoting a language rooted in Russian musical traditions. Although he could devote himself to music only in his spare time, Borodin poured all his energy into the creation of an opera inspired by a 12th-century Russian epic: Prince Igor.

The opera, left unfinished and completed by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov after the composer’s death, includes the famous Polovtsian Dances, which appear at the end of the second act, in the scene where the prince, held prisoner by the Khan of the Polovtsians, is entertained with songs and dances by the barbarian people. The score alternates musical images of great evocative force, from the chorus’s passages, now nostalgic, now fiery, to the sinuous dance of the maidens, the wild fervor of the warriors’ dance, culminating in a majestic conclusion in which the dances blend into a vortex of pure kinetic frenzy.

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Shéhérazade, Symphonic Suite Op. 35

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov had long nurtured a profound fascination with the Oriental world, and in 1888 he found the opportunity to recreate its picturesque and marvelous atmospheres in music with Shéhérazade, Symphonic Suite Op. 35, freely inspired by the tales of One Thousand and One Nights.

The ancient Arabic collection tells the story of the violent Sultan Shahryar, who ordered the execution of each of his wives after their wedding night, and of Scheherazade, who succeeds in escaping her seemingly inevitable fate through a clever stratagem. On the first night, the young bride begins telling stories that seem endless, arousing the Sultan’s curiosity so deeply that he postpones her execution day after day. Thus, after one thousand and one nights, the Sultan, won over by the woman’s intelligence, realizes that he has fallen in love with Scheherazade, thereby sparing her life.

The suite consists of four separate tableaux, connected by recurring themes and presented as a kaleidoscope of fabulous Oriental images. The sinuous, arabesque-like theme of Scheherazade, the musical alter ego of the female narrator, serves to link the four episodes, in which the colorful and ever-changing images of that distant world are enhanced by a richly multicolored orchestral palette capable of creating sonic textures of extraordinary fascination and suggestive power.