Around the World in 80ish minutes

The honourable Phileas Fogg travelled around the world in 80 (+1) days, spending a fortune like a true gentleman in order to win a bet. Alternatively, he might just as well have settled deeper into the armchair of his London club and journeyed in his imagination across seas and continents — ears open, and in the company of dazzling soloists, the city’s State Orchestra with a festive, brilliant, and highly virtuosic programme, and of course Alexandros Myrat, a familiar friend of Megaron. Before him (and us) will parade Gershwin’s syncopated jazz swing, the nostalgic waltzes of Hisaishi and Shostakovich, the African-American rhythms of Florence Price, and Chen Yi who transports us for a while to 19th-century China. Johann Strauss makes a brief appearance, as does Ravel with his jester, Skalkottas with a sparkling miniature for xylophone, the dazzling John Williams and Ennio Morricone, Villa-Lobos with his beguiling Bachiana, and Sarasate with his fiery Gypsy Airs. And for the finale, we head to South America, so that we — together with our Phileas — may welcome the New Year dancing to Latin American rhythms.