Symphoniker Hamburg / Sylvain Cambreling

Toru Takemitsu's "Signals from Heaven" (1987) for wind ensemble evokes a dialogue reminiscent of Venetian church music, drawing inspiration from nature and Duke Ellington. A Divertimento, attributed to Mozart but actually containing works by Starzer and Gluck, inspired Dvorak's Serenade in D minor after his 1877 Vienna visit. Composed in just two weeks, the Serenade premiered in 1878 to great acclaim. Rodion Shchedrin's popular Carmen Suite (1967), based on Bizet's opera, was written for his wife, Bolshoi ballerina Maya Plisetskaya, after Shostakovich and Khachaturian declined. She performed the role over 350 times, even at age 65.