Icons Rediscovered: Rachmaninoff’s The Bells | Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

In the old Russia of Rachmaninoff’s youth, bells rang and chimed throughout the whole of life: the bronze-voiced heralds of joy, terror, love – and oblivion. They peal, too, through Rachmaninoff’s great choral symphony The Bells, in music that’s exactly as heartfelt, as gorgeous and as unforgettably tuneful as you’d expect from the composer of Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini. Rachmaninoff thought it was one of his greatest works and Vasily Petrenko agrees, making this London performance a real high point of the series.

It’s the climax of a concert filled with great music that goes beyond your expectations: from Elgar relaxing in the Italian sunshine to a powerful, forgotten cello concerto by Shostakovich’s great friend Mieczyslaw Weinberg – championed today by the irrepressible Sheku Kanneh-Mason.

We are pleased to announce that Mirjam Mesak will join the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for Icons Rediscovered: Rachmaninov’s The Bells on Thursday 11 April as Olga Pudova is unfortunately no longer able to perform.