BBC Philharmonic | 25 March

John Storgårds conductor
Nicolas Alstaedt cello

Rachmaninov The Isle of the Dead
Tchaikovsky Rococo Variations
Shostakovich Symphony No.15

Following his resounding success at the BBC Proms, John Storgårds and the BBC Philharmonic return to Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 15, complete with its playful quotations and curious allusions, but first, Nicolas Alstaedt joins us for a flirtation with the past as Tchaikovsky dons his most Classical guise in his joyous Rococo Variations. Playing the part of prelude to the whole programme is Rachmaninov’s The Isle of the Dead, a symphonic poem brimming with colour. Rachmaninov had only seen a black and white reproduction of the painting which it is based upon.