The esteemed Chamber Orchestra of Europe continue their celebrated residency at the historic Esterházy Palace in Eisenstadt, Austria, launching the 2023 Herbstgold ("Autumn Gold") Festival. This year's festival is devoted to the human experience of longing—whether for romantic love, a place to call home, or peace during tumultuous times. The great Julian Rachlin kicks off the program in the solo role of Prokofiev's unsettling Violin Concerto No. 2 in G minor, written in 1935 while the composer prepared to return to Stalinist Russia after years living in America and France. With Rachlin now conducting, the COE then perform the Overture from Glinka's Ruslan and Lyudmila, which follows Ruslan's quest to find his kidnapped beloved, and Tchaikovsky's powerful Fifth Symphony, evocative of a mighty struggle against fate that ultimately ends in triumph—a perfect accompaniment to the heady mix of emotions we often feel as the seasons change.

Photo: Julian Rachlin © Vasilka Balevska