Soloist: Nina Kotova, cello

Dvořák Carnival Overture

Dvořák Cello Concerto in B minor

Dvořák Symphony No 9 in E minor, 'From the New World'

Appearing for the first time at the Corn Exchange are the Prague Symphony Orchestra, conducted by fellow Czech Petr Altrichter, well known in the UK as former Principal Conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. Together they present a programme made up of three of the most popular works by their famous countryman, Antonín Dvořák.

Opening the programme is Dvořák's scintillating Carnival overture, which bubbles with energy and exuberance, except for a haunting cor anglais melody. Like much of his music, the overture abounds with dance rhythms and folk music influences from the composer's native Bohemia.

Dvořák Cello concerto is described in the Grove Dictionary of Music as 'the crowning item in that instrument's repertory, with its characteristic richness and eloquence'. It will be played by the carismatic Nina Kotova, praised by the Daily Telegraph as an 'exceptional cellist...an artist of proven technical prowess...and extroverted vigour'.

Dvořák ninth and perhaps best-known symphony was penned during the composer's years in America, hence the nickname 'From the New World'. Whether inspired by American or Bohemian folk themes, or both, the music is always utterly appealing - not least in the famous Largo where the cor anglais makes another prominent and soulful appearance.

PRE-CONCERT TALKS
Why not join music writer and critic James Day for fascinating and informative talks about the programme before each concert. Talk will take place at the Maple Suite, Crowne Plaza Hotel, 20 Downing Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3DT at 6.00pm

Soloist: Pieter Wispelwey, cello

Haydn Symphony No 59 in A, 'Fire'

Haydn Cello Concerto in C

Haydn Harpsichord Concerto No 11 in D

Haydn Symphony No 44 in E minor, 'Trauer'

The reputation of the Academy of Ancient Music (AAM) as arguably the world's foremost period-instrument orchestra has only strengthened in recent years under Richard Egarr, their current Music Director. They continue to delight audiences with the breathtaking brilliance of their playing and the crystal clarity of their sound. Here they present a programme of works by the towering genius of 18th-century Classical style, Franz Joseph Haydn.

Known as the 'Father of the Symphony', Haydn composed over 100 examples of the form. AAM perform two of them tonight, both from his Sturm und Drang ('Storm and Stress') period. The symphony No 44 is nicknamed 'Trauer' ('Mourning') from the fact that late in life, Haydn asked for the slow movement of this symphony to be played at his funeral. The nickname of no 59, 'Fire', probably comes from the work's use by Haydn as entr'acte music for a play called The Conflagration, performed at the Esterházy palace in 1774. It is indeed a fiery work, not least with its sudden contrasts in dynamics and orchestration.

Two concertos complete the programme. Supreme Dutch cellist Pieter Wispelwey plays the delightful Cello Concerto in C, a work that was considered lost for good until the manuscript parts were discovered in Prague in 1962 by a librarian in the national museum, while Richard Egarr shows his prodigious keyboard skills in the Harpsichord Concerto No 11 in D.

Soloist: Tatyana Polianskaya, piano

Stravinsky Firebird

Shostakovich Piano Concerto No 2 in F

Tchaikovsky Symphony No 6 in B minor

The second Russian orchestra in the series is the Russian State Philharmonic under their Principal Conductor, Valery Poliansky, with a superb all-Russian programme. They are joined by another Russian, Tatyana Polianskaya, playing Shostakovich's Second Piano Concerto, written in 1957 as a birthday gift for the composer's 19-year-old Maxim, the now internationally renowned conductor and pianist. The piece is full of a light-hearted energy that may owe as much to the composer's relief at the demise of Stalin as to his cheerful wishes for his son.

Stravinsky's Firebird offers a dazzling display of the young composer's genius. A more 'traditional' work than the later innovative ballets, Rite of Spring and Petrushka, it shows the influence of bothe Rimsky-Korsakov, in its brilliant orchestral colouring, and Debussy, in its impressionistic qualities.

Tchaikovsky's 6th and last symphony, the 'Pathétique' is quite simply a beautiful work, albeit one work suffused with melancholy. Its four movements take us on a journey through passion, love, disappointment and, in its finale, death - foreshadowing the composer's own death only nine days after the first performance in October 1893.

PRE-CONCERT TALKS
Why not join music writer and critic James Day for fascinating and informative talks about the programme before each concert. Talk will take place at the Maple Suite, Crowne Plaza Hotel, 20 Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3DT at 6.00pm

After whetting the audiences appetite with a platterful of tunes, courtesy of Weber's oberon overture, the RPO offer the rare pleasure of a concerto for not one, but three instruments, in the form of Beethoven's magnificent Triple Concerto for violin, cello and piano. Beethoven's biographer Anton Schindler claimed that it was written for Archduke Rudolf, one of Beethoven's pupils and an accomplished pianist, although the virtuosic violin and cello parts suggest that he was backed up by two extremely skilled professionals! All three of the brilliant young soloists certainly fall into that category: former BBC Young Musician of the year, violinst Rafal Zambrzycki-Payne, the exceptionally gifted young cellist Thomas Carroll and international prize-winning pianist Anthony Hewitt.

The second half of the programme is taken up with Elgar's orchestral masterpiece, the Enigma Variations. While the identity of some of the composer's friends portrayed in the variations remains a mystery, other, such as 'Nimrod', memorably captured in imperiously sweeping chords, have been rendered immortal by Elgar's glorious, sumptuous music.

PRE-CONCERT TALKS
Why not join music writer and critic James Day for fascinating and informative talks about the programme before each concert. Talk will take place at the Maple Suite, Crowne Plaza Hotel, 20 Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3DT at 6.00pm.

Conductor: Jonathan Brett
Soloist: Freddy Kempf, Piano

Khachaturian Spartacus Suite
Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No 1 in C minor
Tchaikovsky Symphony No 4 in F Minor

The mighty Russian orchestras produce a quite distinctive and thrilling sound, and we are delighted to include two of them in this concert series. First off is the Moscow Philharmonic appearing under the dynamic English conductor Jonathan Brett, described by the Independent as 'brillantly exuberant'.

Their programme opens with Aram Khachaturian's best-loved work, his music for the ballet Spartacus, which juxtaposes glorious lyricism with frenetic drama. Now forever linked with the BBC TV series The Onedin Line, the work enjoys enormous popularity in its own right.

Having thrilled audiences with his reading of Rachmaninov's Third Piano Concerto in the last series, Freddy Kempf now tackles the composer's ultra-romantic Second Concerto (used to such atmospheric effect in David Lean's classic film Brief Encounter). Since winning the BBC Young of the Year Competition in 1992, Kempf has established himself as an outstanding pianist of international repute.

This concert comes to a barnstorming finale with Tchaikovsky's powerful Fourth Symphony. This gives the brass section plenty to do, not least in the resounding fanfare that opens the work and returns towards the end (incidentally, this featured as the theme tune to the 1970 mini-series Ivanhoe - just to complete the hat trick of film/TV theme tunes!). Another wonderful touch is the third movement scherzo, marked pizzicato ostinato, which gives the strings the chance to show their dexterity.

The Cambridge Early Music Concert Series 2008 are delighted to welcome back this vibrant young period-instrument chamber orchestra for a Christmas concert. This year they will play Bach's Concerto for 3 violins, Vivaldi's Concerto for 4 violins, Telemann's Concerto for 2 violas, and Graun's Harpsichord Concerto.