Dvorak and Rachmaninoff

Dvorak’s Cello Concerto is a romantic work of unabashed grandeur, with a lush and lyrical first movement, a pensive and ethereal middle, and a swelling, pile-driving, rondo-form finale that briefly pauses to dredge up elements of the first two movements before coalescing into a passionate crescendo. Sommerfest artistic director Andrew Litton will conduct Scandinavian cellist Truls Mork, who recorded the work with the Oslo Philharmonic for Virgin two years ago. Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances is the perfect after-intermission refresher, a neat mixture of romance, rhythm, and modernism. Like the Cello Concerto, it benefits from being one of the later works of its composer. Walton’s fun, quirky and deceptively difficult Scapino Overture leads the program. 612-371-5656; www.minnesotaorchestra.org