An Evening with Fuse

An Evening of Songs

Piotr Beczała, photo: Jean-Baptiste Millot The programme of he recital will be announced at a later date.

An evening with Renée Fleming

It always feels good to make music with friends – and when that friend is soprano Renée Fleming, you just know that something extra-special is on the cards. No introduction is required for one of the LPO’s best-loved guests, the American soprano whose personality lights up the world’s greatest stages and whose voice has been compared to double cream. ‘Unforgettable’ was how one critic described her 2022 Gala with the LPO, and tonight she returns to sing Richard Strauss’s radiant Four Last Songs. Music that never grows old, sung by one of the supreme voices of our time.

An evening with Amjad Ali Khan

Sarod Grand Master Amjad Ali Khan comes together with his two sons for a concert that spans continents and cultures. Sarod Grand Master Amjad Ali Khan was born to a family steeped in Indian classical music and is regarded as one of the undisputed icons of the music world, bringing a new and yet timeless interpretation to the technique of playing the Sarod. His sons Amaan Ali Bangash and Ayaan Ali Bangash are virtuoso performers in their own right, and tonight they come together with conductor (and regular collaborator) Lidiya Yankovskaya and the LPO at the centre of a concert that spans continents and cultures – from a flamboyant new overture by Indian-American composer Reena Esmail to the hugely popular Bollywood film scores of AR Rahman, the composer they call the ‘Mozart of Madras’.

An Evening of Heinz Erhardt with Andreas Neumann

Parodist Andreas Neumann is a master at bringing popular comedians, humourists and film stars of the economic miracle years back to life. The press describes him as »the best Heinz Erhardt since Heinz Erhardt« and even Grit Berthold, daughter of Heinz Erhardt, acknowledges, »When I heard Andreas Neumann, I thought my father was alive again.« In addition to Heinz Erhardt, Neumann parodies other personalities such as Heinz Rühmann, Theo Lingen and Marcel Reich-Ranicki. Neumann fans also get their money’s worth: because the programme always includes newly written texts. Extensive laughter is virtually guaranteed for everyone!

A Ravel evening with Seong-Jin Cho

Seong-Jin Cho loves the “incredible wealth of colours” and “often orchestral sound” of Maurice Ravel's piano music, where he finds a special form of sensitivity. He sees in Ravel “a person who smiles gently, but with tears in his eyes”. To mark the 150th anniversary of the French composer's birth, our Artist in Residence will perform Ravel's complete works for solo piano, including the gravitational Pavane pour une infante défunte, the mysterious Gaspard de la nuit and the sometimes lively, sometimes dreamy Valses nobles et sentimentales.

An absolute work / The Goldberg Variations

The Goldberg Variations are described as an absolute work of art. The commission is said to have come from count Hermann Carl von Keyserlingk, suffering from insomnia during his time at the Viennese court. The piece was intended to be performed by the very young harpsichordist Johann Gottlieb Goldberg, a musician of the count’s own court, whose playing helped the aristocrat while away the sleepless hours. The composer found variations to be the best form for night-time music-making. And that was how the aria with thirty variations, which over time became a synonym for musical innovativeness, came to be. The work Bach created is eclectic in its every aspect, showing a skillful use of various musical elements, such as counterpoint, virtuosity, and musical rhetoric. The leitmotif, however, is not the melody of the aria, but… the bass line! What is more, the composer created a work of unbelievable singability, which can be heard in the entirety of the cycle. There is no other keyboard composition of Bach’s that adheres to the idea of the cantilena – a singable and smooth melody, highly engaging for the listener – to such an extent. The Goldberg Variations stood the test of time and continue to delight listeners. Their influence on further generations of composers and the development of pianistics cannot be overstated. Centuries after the work’s creation, numerous renowned artists, such as Glenn Gould, proposed interpretations as controversial as they were groundbreaking, often crossing the borders laid out by the composer, perceiving the piece not only as a technical challenge, but predominantly as a source of deep musical knowledge. The contemporary grand piano performances represent another innovative trend, which constitutes a significant departure from the composer’s original imagination and concept. While the piano is indeed different from the harpsichord, it does, however, enable even more depth and complexity to be found in the masterpiece, thus showing the richness of its sound and the unsurpassed skill of its composition in all their glory. [Alexandra Kozowicz]Concert duration: approximately 90 minutes

An Alpine Symphony

Franz Schubert was only around 17–18 years old when he wrote his second symphony. Yet it is an impressive work in the spirit of Beethoven. In other words, it is music full of contrasts and captivating melodies.The Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra is led by Franz Welser-Möst, who in 2018 was awarded the title Eric Ericson Honorary Chair. Since 2020, he regularly conducts the orchestra. It is a collaboration that follows the bond that developed between the orchestra and conductor during the initial concerts together, and has deepened over the years.A composer who holds a special place in Welser-Möst's heart is Richard Strauss. Here, he leads the orchestra in An Alpine Symphony, which, despite the title, is not a traditional symphony but a tone poem that depicts a dramatic journey up and down an Alpine mountain, with changing weather and nature immersions. To portray the adventure, Strauss prescribes an enormous orchestra – including cowbells, wind and thunder machines, and an extra-large brass section.

An Alpine Symphony

Franz Schubert was only around 17–18 years old when he wrote his second symphony. Yet it is an impressive work in the spirit of Beethoven. In other words, it is music full of contrasts and captivating melodies.The Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra is led by Franz Welser-Möst, who in 2018 was awarded the title Eric Ericson Honorary Chair. Since 2020, he regularly conducts the orchestra. It is a collaboration that follows the bond that developed between the orchestra and conductor during the initial concerts together, and has deepened over the years.A composer who holds a special place in Welser-Möst's heart is Richard Strauss. Here, he leads the orchestra in An Alpine Symphony, which, despite the title, is not a traditional symphony but a tone poem that depicts a dramatic journey up and down an Alpine mountain, with changing weather and nature immersions. To portray the adventure, Strauss prescribes an enormous orchestra – including cowbells, wind and thunder machines, and an extra-large brass section.

An Alpine Symphony

Waterfalls, glaciers, an ear-splitting storm – spectacular isn’t the word for Strauss’s Alpine Symphony. No composer tells a story quite like Richard Strauss – or paints a picture in more fabulous sounds. So when he set out to depict the majesty of the Bavarian Alps, the results are … well, hear for yourself as Edward Gardner and a specially-enlarged LPO conquer the summit of Strauss’s mighty Alpine Symphony. Waterfalls, glaciers, an ear-splitting storm – spectacular isn’t the word. But first, enjoy the fresh Nordic melodies of Grieg’s famous Piano Concerto, played by a true rising star, and hear Pasajes by LPO Composer-in-Residence Tania León, which evokes memories of her youth, blending Latin American melodies, Caribbean rhythms and vibrant Carnaval dances.

Hommage an Heifetz