Tales of a thousand nights: Rimsky-Korsakov, Liadov, and Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto.

Once upon a time…

Composers have always told stories: an enchanted lake ripples in the moonlight, hinting at tales untold; four horns throw down a challenge; a piano strides forward into combat, and, in Imperial Russia, Rimsky-Korsakov retells the One Thousand and One Nights stories through music of dazzling colour and unforgettable melody. There’s a good reason why Scheherazade is so popular, and conductor Charlotte Corderoy will relish every note.

Martin James Bartlett, meanwhile, is the soloist in Tchaikovsky’s epic First Piano Concerto – since his triumph in the 2014 BBC Young Musician competition, critics have declared him ‘not only a prodigy of the piano, but an accomplished artist who counts among the greats of his generation’.

So, if you’re sitting comfortably…

This concert is now sold out but tickets are still available for other concerts by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra – see their series page for full details.