We are Classical

Founder of the dynamic period instrument orchestra Les Siècles, Music Director of the Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne and Principal Guest Conductor of the LSO (to name just a few), François-Xavier Roth is in demand for his unique and innovative work. We spoke to him about his experience of working with different orchestras, and connections between the music of Lachenmann and Mozart. 

Stravinsky’s Petrushka tends, arguably, to be seen as a poor relation to his more frequently programmed ballets,The FirebirdandLe Sacre de printemps. Undeservedly so. It’s an endlessly fascinating score, as vividly pictorial as anything within its siblings. Stravinsky brings the full force of his dazzling imagination to bear upon the seething sounds, colours and characters of the fairground, the agonising claustrophobia of the puppet Petrushka circling his walls like a caged animal, and the snarky caricatures of the pretty ballerina he loves and the “blackamoor” she prefers.