Russian music plays a significant role in the NSO’s 2017-2018 season programming. Here we meet two wildly different examples. Prokofiev’s Classical Symphony is well-named: in music of sparkling humor, youthful zest and transparent textures, it does indeed evoke the world of eighteenth-century classicism, the era of Haydn and Mozart. In the Poem of Ecstasy, Scriabin invites the listener into a world of exultant impulses, iridescent colors, sensuous sonorities, and overwhelming sonic climaxes. The first half of the program offers what many consider to be the greatest cello concerto ever written. Outstanding German cellist Jan Vogler is soloist in Dvořák’s concerto, music bursting with gorgeous melody and romantic spirit. Opening the program is Puyuma Celebration by Tainan-born I-Uen Wang Hwang, a work inspired by the aboriginal settlement in Taitung province.