Joshua Bell plays Dvorák | Philharmonia Orchestra

With a career spanning almost four decades, Grammy® award-winning violinist Joshua Bell is one of the most celebrated artists of his era.

He returns to the Philharmonia for the first time since 2010 to play Dvorák’s Violin Concerto. A violinist himself, Dvorák poured all his skill and a characteristic dash of Czech soul into this concerto. A rich and colourful first movement leads to a gloriously lyrical Adagio, and an exuberant finale full of dancing, syncopated melodies.

To frame the concerto, conductor Paavo Järvi has chosen two very different symphonies. In his Seventh, the last symphony he completed, Sibelius throws out the rule-book on symphonic form. He envelops his listeners in a seamless single movement, a winding journey through different themes, tempos and emotions.

Beethoven’s Eighth Symphony, on the other hand, shows what can happen when the rule-book is in the hands of a master. Full of good humour and dramatic contrasts, this was one of Beethoven’s own favourite works.