Symphonic Dances

Captivating vibrant theatric

Stravinsky Song of the Nightingale
Brahms Concerto for Violin & Cello
Rachmaninov Symphonic Dances

Principal Conductor Ryan Bancroft takes to the podium for his final concert in the title role as we draw our 2025-26 Season to a close, starting with Stravinsky’s symphonic poem Song of the Nightingale. Based on Hans Christian Andersen’s fairytale, we hear the story of an emperor in his ornate Chinese palace and the glorious singing of nightingales that accompanies his life.

BBC NOW Leader Lesley Hatfield then steps into the spotlight alongside former principal cellist Alice Neary for Brahms’ Double Concerto, and we explore Rachmaninov at his most inventive in his Symphonic Dances. With luscious shifting harmonies and the rhythmic vitality characteristic of his later style, Rachmaninov’s final complete composition, his Symphonic Dances, uses motifs derived from Russian Church music alongside quotes from his own first symphony, creating a stirring mix of nostalgia versus the big city bustle and driving energy of ‘Modern America’.