Conductor, Ian Whyte
Rimsky-Korsakov's 'Antar' is one of a number of works showing the composer's fascination for Oriental colour. It was completed in 1868, but was revised and re-orchestrated three times. On the last occasion the composer changed its title of Second Symphony to Symphonic Suite. In a letter he said it ' was a poem, suite, legend, anything you like, but not a symphony '. That is obvious by its form, which consists of four freely-worked-out pieces depicting the story of the Arabian romance of Sennkovsky.