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Violinist Bomsori, a woman with dark hair in a loose updo, wearing a pale pink lace blouse, holding her violin and looking directly at the camera against a deep teal background. Violinist Bomsori, a woman with dark hair in a loose updo, wearing a pale pink lace blouse, holding her violin and looking directly at the camera against a deep teal background.
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The Mermaid

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The music

    Schreker ‘Nachtstück’ from Der ferne Klang (14’)
    Korngold Violin Concerto (25’)
    Zemlinsky The Mermaid (39’)

The performers

  • Edward Gardner conductor*
  • Bomsori violin

Once upon a time in Vienna, music and desire became inseparable.

In the city of Freud and Klimt, no emotion was off-limits, and composers transformed fantasy into music that glittered with colour and surged with emotion. Zemlinsky’s The Mermaid – inspired by his unrequited love for Alma Schindler – tells of a mermaid who sacrifices everything for love. After Alma married Gustav Mahler and later began a relationship with Franz Schreker, tension and fascination tangled further: Schreker gazed into the darkness of night, creating Nachtstück, a work of longing and obsession. Zemlinsky’s student Korngold later composed his glowing, nostalgic Violin Concerto – dedicated to Alma – as he built a new life in Hollywood. Tonight, Edward Gardner and Korean violin sensation Bomsori bring these intertwined dreams and desires to life.

*Edward Gardner’s position with the LPO is generously supported by Aud Jebsen.

Wed 7 Apr 2027, 7.30pm

London, Royal Festival Hall

Tickets from £19.50 (including a transaction fee of £3.50)

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The sheer vigour of her articulation was a wonder to behold, the creamy tone of her highest register and the extraordinary boom of the lower a phenomenon of sound projection.

Bachtrack on Bomsori

Featuring

Conductor Edward Gardner, a man with short silver hair, colour portrait in a conducting pose.
Edward Gardner, conductor
Violinist Bomsori, a woman with long dark brown wavy hair, wearing a sleeveless pink blush dress, seated leaning on a white surface with her violin resting in front of her, hands clasped, smiling warmly and looking to the side.
Bomsori, violin

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Watch the Orchestra in action

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Korngold: Violin Concerto - with Arabella Steinbacher

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