Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham

Repertoire

• Sibelius En Saga
• Mozart Piano Concerto No. 21
• Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4

Performers

• Karina Canellakis conductor
• Benjamin Grosvenor piano

The London Philharmonic Orchestra perform at Nottingham's Royal Concert Hall.

LPO Principal Guest Conductor, Karina Canellakis, begins her first visit to Nottingham in this role with Sibelius’s En Saga. Although he described it as the ‘expression of a state of mind’ rather than a mythical adventure, there’s no shortage of action in this powerful ‘psycho-drama’. There’s an altogether more serene mood in Mozart’s most popular Piano Concerto, particularly in the ethereal central movement which gained the nickname, the ‘dream andante.’ It’s performed here by the exceptional British pianist, Benjamin Grosvenor, a perfect match for Mozart’s light-touch lyricism.

Bringing the concert to an emphatic close is Tchaikovsky’s fiery Fourth Symphony. Emerging from the wreckage of his short-lived marriage, it bares its soul in a maelstrom of emotions, opening up with an arresting fanfare signalling the malign forces of fate. But there’s also heartfelt poignancy and some delightfully deft play between the separate sections of the orchestra before it all ends exuberantly with a whirling folk dance finale.