For centuries composers have been inspired by the great outdoors and in this concert Jac van Steen conducts a programme of such picturesque inspirations.

Enthused by a holiday trip to the Italian Riviera, Elgar’s In the South (Alassio) is complete which flowing streams and chirping birds. Vaughan Williams’ Oboe Concerto, filled with folk-inspired pastorals and a show-stopping finale, provides a virtuosic showpiece for the RPO’s Principal Oboe John Roberts. Written at the turn of the century, Sibelius’ Second Symphony evokes expansive glacial landscapes of his native Finland, culminating in a flourish of exhilarating heroism.