St. Petersburg Philharmonic

Vassily Sinaisky conductor
Freddy Kempf piano

Prokofiev Classical Symphony (15’)
Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No.2 (35’)
Tchaikovsky Symphony No.5 in E minor (55’)

We regret that Yuri Temirkanov has withdrawn from the St Petersburg Philharmonic UK tour owing to illness. We are delighted to welcome as his replacement Vassily Sinaisky, who has enjoyed a long and successful relationship with the orchestra.

As this change was only a day or two before the orchestra’s arrival in the UK, there have been considerable difficulties over the rehearsal schedule for this tour. We are extremely grateful to Vassily Sinaisky for standing in at the last minute but because of this situation and the shortage of rehearsal time the orchestra have had to slightly amend the tour repertoire. For this reason, Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 1 will be replaced by Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 2. The rest of the programme will remain unaltered.

We welcome back the St. Petersburg Philharmonic in a wonderful Russian programme. Prokofiev’s reputation as a challenging composer is belied by the popularity of works like his Classical Symphony which recaptures the playful spirit of Haydn. To close, Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony passes from darkness to light with characteristic passion and intensity.