This concert opens with the world premiere of a Cello Concerto by composer Aftab Darvishi. After studying piano in her native Tehran, she went on to study composition in Amsterdam and The Hague. Her work is in the hands of cellist Kian Soltani—an ideal interpreter for the authentic Iranian elements with which Aftab infuses her music. Following this, fellow cellist Nicolas Altstaedt will perform the Cello Concerto by Witold Lutosławski, a work the composer dedicated to the master cellist Rostropovich. It is a fascinating composition that begins with an extended, multi-minute cadenza for solo cello.

The program also features the beloved orchestral suite Scheherazade by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, inspired by the famous Tales of the Thousand and One Nights—a frame narrative rich in Arabic and Egyptian elements. Just as Scheherazade enchants the Sultan with her stories, Rimsky-Korsakov captivates the listener with his evocative, Oriental-inspired soundscapes.