French academic music here sounds like a change of scenery: the elegant virtuosity of Saint-Saëns, the sensitive plasticity of Debussy, the theatrical grandeur of Dukas. At the piano is Evgeny Izotov, at the podium is Ivan Stolbov, and the orchestra leads the listener from "The Faun" to "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" in one breath - with the Bacchanale and the choreographic poem "Péri." A February evening is well suited for France to the ear - when one wants the orchestra to speak in shades rather than volume. In this program, the St. Petersburg Cappella Symphony Orchestra gathers the French line from late Romanticism to Impressionism and beyond - to a bright orchestral tale. The listener has only one thing left: to trust the change of colors and catch how familiar melodies give birth to new images. At the center is Camille Saint-Saëns' Second Piano Concerto. This is music where the brilliance of form does not conflict with lyricism: soloist Evgeny Izotov leads the piano part as if in his hands are both the lightness of a salon and the strength of a concert hall. Fast passages flare up like sparks, slow pages give a breather - and suddenly again excitement, like in a good conversation where every word is in its place. That evening, Saint-Saëns will remind of his operatic side - the "Bacchanale" from "Samson and Delilah" will sound, a whirlwind of dance intonations and dramatic gesture. Debussy will add air and movement of lines to the sound - his "Afternoon of a Faun" knows how to turn the orchestra into a living drawing: sometimes a whisper, sometimes a shimmer, sometimes a sudden glow. If you listen closely to the timbres, you can notice how the flute and strings seem to paint light and shadows, while harmonies gently shift the familiar support underfoot. Next, the word goes to Paul Dukas: the choreographic poem "Péri" shows how French orchestration can be both strict and luxurious. "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" unfolds the plot almost cinematically - with an increasing tempo, humor, and striking climaxes, when the orchestra turns into a mechanism that cannot be stopped. At the podium is Ivan Stolbov: his task here is to maintain a balance between transparency and grandeur.