Some French composers and a world of exotic music – this would be a worthy summary of this concert programme. On this evening, familiar passages from popular pieces by three maestros from the 19th century will be performed. The melodies will be both Spanish in nature and oriental, since the first work to be heard will be the orgiastic Bacchanalia, that is, the sultry, oriental ballet from Saint-Saëns’ Samson and Delila, which will be truly striking even without the stage setting of God Dagon’s temple. The title of Édouard Lalo’s best known orchestral piece anticipates a symphony, however, we can regard it as a violin concerto: Sergei Krilov, the soloist, is a popular acquaintance of both the Hungarian audience and Concerto Budapest. The Spanish Symphony premiered in Paris in 1875, and it was only a few weeks later that another French-Spanish masterpiece, Carmen, was first performed. In the second half of the concert, the most popular excerpts from Bizet’s opera will be conducted by András Keller. Furthermore, these melodies were merged into a suite by Rodion Shchedrin in 1967, originally for the great ballerina (and wife of the composer), Maya Plisetskaya, to provide her with musical accompaniment.