Bedford: The Tales of Scheherazade | Philharmonia Orchestra

Conductor Stanislav Kochanovsky takes to the stage for this concert, with Alexei Volodin as the soloist in Rachmaninov’s captivating Piano Concerto No 2. Full of rich, romantic intensity, and with a fiendish cadenza, it’s one of the most difficult – and rewarding – pieces within the piano repertoire.

Inspired by ancient folktales of The 1001 Arabian Nights, Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade takes us on an exhilarating adventure with all the colours of the orchestra depicting princesses, princes, sailors, ships and storms. Scheherazade herself is represented by an exquisite solo violin melody, where night after night she tells scintillating tales to the Sultan in an effort to keep herself alive…