Adagio: musique et lumière - Elizabeth Sombart and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

Following the success of her recent recording Favourite Adagios, pianist Elizabeth Sombart returns to London to perform selections from the album with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in a brand new setting.

Adagio: musique et lumière is an exciting innovation in concert presentation. Slow movements from four of the great piano concertos are set in relief against much-loved spirited orchestral works, with unique lighting effects creating an extra dimension designed to enhance enjoyment of the music. Prize-winning lighting designers Federica Santambrogio and Francesco Vitali, who have received plaudits for opera, theatre and concert lighting design in Italy and internationally, describe the subtle art of creating visual effects to accompany symphonic music: “The goal is to enable the audience to perceive the sound atmospheres physically without ever distracting from the music that remains the absolute focus of the performance. Every line of light, every projected image is the visual synthesis of what the music has communicated to us.” Inspiration for visual enhancement may be drawn from underlying drama when music tells a story (Marriage of Figaro, Peer Gynt, Eugene Onegin) – but it also comes straight from the music itself, its rhythms and its emotional energy, illuminating as never before the adagio movements from great piano concertos at the heart of this performance.

Elizabeth Sombart has performed in the world’s most prestigious venues – Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Suntory Hall (Tokyo), Théâtre des Champs Elysées (Paris). She has recorded an extensive discography, published several books, and been honoured in France for lifetime achievements and services to music.

"Sombart's playing is superb" (Observer, 2016)