EN - “This little stone must serve some purpose. If it’s useless, then everything is useless—even the stars.” This line from the film La Strada, elevated by Nino Rota’s music, serves as a common thread throughout this program—a poignant reminder of humanity’s deep need to find meaning in the world around us. In Petrov’s vision, it isn’t a divine force but an old, bearded, generous man who governs the heavens and the earth—like a labourer at work. While Mozart proclaims humanity’s triumph over its dark fate, Arthur Honegger’s Symphony No. 4 glows with a bucolic innocence that feels restorative. In 1946, as if returning to a state of nature after the war, Honegger composed his work with the hope of revealing the beauty of our world. A message of hope—and of faith in humankind.