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Classical Concerts in London UK A selection of forthcoming live music |
Look ahead: May
June
July
August
September
October
| 22 April 2014 | |
| 7.30pm Royal Festival Hall Belvedere Road London SE1 8XX United Kingdom Details: Web site +44 (0)844 847 9910 £10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 38, 45, 58 | Steven Isserlis performs Elgar Steven Isserlis, cello Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Kirill Karabits, conductor Prokofiev: Symphony No.1, 'Classical' Elgar: Cello Concerto Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade The great cellist Steven Isserlis performs Elgar’s Cello Concerto, with Kirill Karabits at the helm. Elgar wrote the piece – his last major work – in the wake of the First World War. The Concerto is suffused with desolate beauty, and the human quality of the cello makes it the perfect mouthpiece for such profoundly moving music. Framing the Concerto are works by Prokofiev and Rimsky-Korsakov. Prokofiev’s ‘Classical’ Symphony is a witty tribute to the music of Haydn and his contemporaries, while Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade is a glittering and irresistible score. |
| 6 May 2014 | |
| 1.15pm Lauderdale House Waterlow Park, Highgate Hill London N6 5HG United Kingdom Details: Katherine Ives Web site +44 (0)20 8348 8716 free | Billroth Quartet with Stephen Hose, piano Thomas Leate, violin Christian Halstead, violin Simon Ballard, viola James Greenfield, cello Stephen Hose, piano Antonin Dvořák: Piano Quintet in A Major, Op 81 Quartet in Residence |
| 14 May 2014 | |
| 7.30pm Royal Festival Hall Belvedere Road London SE1 8XX United Kingdom Details: Web site +44 (0)844 847 9910 £10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 38, 45, 58 | Charles Dutoit conducts French Masterpieces Susan Graham, mezzo-soprano Stephen Disley, organ Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Charles Dutoit, conductor Ravel: Valses nobles et sentimentales Berlioz: Les nuits d’été Saint-Saëns: Symphony No 3, 'Organ' Praised by The New York Times for her ‘creamy singing’, mezzo-soprano Susan Graham performs Les nuits d’été by Berlioz: exquisite orchestral songs which make perfect listening for a summer evening. The programme opens with Ravel’s witty Valses nobles et sentimentales, which began life as a piano suite before being transformed by Ravel's unique palette of orchestral colours. Saint-Saëns' ‘Organ’ Symphony is perhaps his most majestic achievement, with an expansive structure, virtuosic display and the grand sound of the organ adding richness to the timbre. |
| 20 May 2014 | |
| 7.30pm Royal Festival Hall Belvedere Road London SE1 8XX United Kingdom Details: Web site +44 (0)844 847 9910 £10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 38, 45, 58 | Stephen Hough performs Saint-Saëns Stephen Hough, piano Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Charles Dutoit, conductor Chabrier: España Saint-Saëns: Piano Concerto No 5, 'Egyptian' Debussy: Images for orchestra Ravel: La valse Stephen Hough is one of the most dynamic and versatile pianists of his generation, and brings his astute insight and finesse to Saint-Saëns’ Piano Concerto No.5. The ‘Egyptian’ Concerto is so called because it was written while Saint-Saëns was staying in Egypt, which he conjures up with exotic, captivating music. We are also transported to warmer climes in Chabrier’s España and Debussy’s Ibéria, the central piece in his magical orchestral Images, which is followed by Ravel’s La valse, an opulent, intoxicating dance. There is no better interpreter of this repertoire than Charles Dutoit, whose deft conducting is sure to make these performances unforgettable. |
| 11 June 2014 | |
| 7.30pm Royal Festival Hall Belvedere Road London SE1 8XX United Kingdom Details: Web site +44 (0)844 847 9910 £10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 38, 45 and 58 | John Williams performs Concierto de Aranjuez Alexander Shelley, conductor John Williams, guitar Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Elgar: In the South Rodrigo: Concierto de Aranjuez Goss: Guitar Concerto Gershwin: An American in Paris The most celebrated classical guitarist in the world, John Williams, performs what is surely the most popular guitar concerto in the world: Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez. Inspired by the composer’s honeymoon, the Concerto conjures up the palatial gardens at Aranjuez, and, as Rodrigo recalled: ‘the fragrance of magnolias, the singing of birds, and the gushing of fountains’. The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra gave the first performance of the new Guitar Concerto by Stephen Goss, a work championed by John Williams. As well as our trip to Spain with Rodrigo, we visit Italy, in Elgar’s sunny In the South, and Paris, in Gershwin’s delightful and humorous work, An American in Paris. |
| 7 November 2014 | |
| St John's Smith Square London SW1P 3HA United Kingdom Details: Web site | Mark Bebbington at St John's Smith Square Mark Bebbington, piano To include: McCabe: Tenebrae |