Russian State Philharmonic with Valentina Lisitsa (piano)

Cadogan Hall is delighted to welcome back the enormously popular Russian State Philharmonic with its Music Director Valery Polyansky, recognized today as a leading interpreter of the works of Rachmaninov and Tchaikovsky.

Rachmaninov himself said that the third was his personal favourite amongst his piano concertos, requiring breathtaking virtuosity from both soloist and orchestra. Valentina Lisitsa joins them for one of the most difficult and physically demanding works for pianists.

Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4, written soon after the collapse of his brief and disastrous marriage, is saturated with the idea of fate, or as the composer wrote ‘that fatal force which prevents the impulse to happiness from attaining its goal’. The vigorous finale, incorporating a famous Russian folk song, swings from the dark emotions of the first movement to a more triumphant mood.

Part of Zurich International Orchestra Series 2017-18