Alpesh Chauhan conducts Schumann

The music

Felix Mendelssohn Overture, Ruy Blas (7’) Listen
Saint-Saëns Piano Concerto No. 2 (23’) Listen
R Schumann Symphony No. 3 (Rhenish) (31’) Listen

The performers

• Alpesh Chauhan conductor
• Sophia Liu* piano

A symphony brimming with joy and imagination.

Schumann’s ‘Rhenish’ Symphony opens in a blaze of glory, and ends at a wine festival! In between comes a guided tour of Cologne Cathedral, all drenched in Schumann’s trademark poetry and warmth. There’s no more tuneful way to take a holiday in the Rhineland (and you don’t even have to leave your seat). First, though, Mendelssohn goes Gothic in a dark and stormy overture, and guest conductor Alpesh Chauhan joins the ‘phenomenal’ (Bachtrack) Sophia Liu in a sparkling French showpiece. This award-winning young star is already causing quite a stir, and she’s the perfect soloistfor Saint-Saëns’s champagne cocktail of a concerto.

*LPO Alexandra Jupin Award recipient. An annual award for an artist making their debut with the London Philharmonic Orchestra