'One of the wonders of the world' was how Alfred Brendel described Mozart's early Piano Concerto No.9. Winner of the 2009 Terence Judd/Hallé Award, the outstanding young Irish pianist Michael McHale returns to the Hallé to reveal its delightful, dramatic character. A recent Assistant Conductor of the Hallé, Rory Macdonald - now launched on an international career - returns with Dvorák's sunny Fifth Symphony. It has been overshadowed by his popular 'New World' but No.5 is no less enchanting with its pastoral nature and Bohemian turns of melody and harmonic colours. With comical military fanfares, unbuttoned festivity and that famous jingling troika ride, music from Prokofiev's film score relates the fantastic exploits of Lt. Kijé.