Mendocino Music Festival Orchestra 1

The opening concert begins with a wild gallop of gauchos over the plains of Argentina in Ginastera’s Estancia. Cellist Evan Kahn is featured in two works, the dramatic Elgar Cello Concerto, which depicts hope for the future after the tragedy and loss of war, and the lovely Elégie by Fauré. Moussorgsky’s grand “Pictures at an Exhibition” wends its way through an eclectic art gallery, describing everything from oxen and chickens to stately processionals, ending the concert in triumphant style.