Sinfonia of London - Rachmaninov’s Second Piano Concerto & Scheherazade

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Thursday 29 October 2026
Royal Concert Hall
From £15.50 to £45.50

Sinfonia of London
John Wilson Conductor
Benjamin Grosvenor Piano

Bacewicz Concerto for String Orchestra
Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 2
Rimsky-Korsakov Scheherazade

A phenomenal night is guaranteed as beloved conductor John Wilson and piano extraordinaire Benjamin Grosvenor return to Nottingham alongside the all-star Sinfonia of London. Vivid musical colours unify the evening's programme beginning with Grażyna Bacewicz's Concerto for String Orchestra. Written amidst brutal Stalinism, its bold melodies radiate as the music ebbs and flows from its vigorous opening and through its haunting middle towards its fiercely defiant conclusion.

From being crowned BBC Young Musician of the Year to his numerous dazzling performances at the BBC Proms, we're thrilled that Benjamin Grosvenor is joining us to perform Rachmaninov's Second Piano Concerto. Overflowing with soaring romantic melodies, it's deservedly worshipped as one of the finest works written for piano and orchestra, its staggering emotional depth making it the perfect soundtrack for the heart-wrenching Brief Encounter. With its seductive melodies and shimmering harmonies, Rimsky-Korsakov's dazzling Scheherazade evocatively whisks us away to Persia, bringing the colourful tales of The Arabian Nights to life. Exotic imagery forms the heart of this enchanting suite, the violin exquisitely capturing the opulent Princess against the desert's ever-shifting sands.

Free pre-concert talk, 6.00pm in the auditorium: In conversation with John Wilson