Borisova-Ollas and Tchaikovsky

The title of the concerto, Golden Dances of the Pharaohs, reveals the background of the piece: we have gotten to know the remnants of the powerful Egypt, but their sounds have been lost in time. What did their voices sound like? What about their music and dances? Mendelssohn wrote concert overture Meeresstille and Glückliche Fahrt to two poems by Goethe at the age of 19, and gives the image of a calm and sultry, but successful sailing trip. Tchaikovsky depicts the destiny of the unhappily in love Francesca da Rimini, described by Dante in The Divine Comedy.