London Schools Symphony Orchestra

Romantic declarations and dark deeds: the LSSO returns with a sensational programme of music by Rachmaninov, Berlioz and Ethel Smyth.

Swirling strings and fiery brass conjure the drama and romance of Smyth’s opera The Wreckers, set in a remote corner of Cornwall where a desperate, isolated community survives by plundering ships that they lured to their doom. The thrills continue in Rachmaninov’s ever-popular Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, performed by virtuosic pianist Clare Hammond.

Berlioz, ‘paralysed by passion’, wrote his revolutionary Symphonie Fantastique as an expression of his frenzied obsession with an unattainable woman. Bringing his psychological self-portrait to life are the talented young musicians of the LSSO – an orchestra hailed by Sir Simon Rattle as ‘an incomparable ambassador for the dynamism and excellence of British youth’ – conducted by Karen Ní Bhroin.

This performance will finish at approximately 9.30pm, including a 20-minute interval.