Steven Isserlis plays Dvořák

Programme

British cellist Steven Isserlis is the soloist in Dvořák’s passionate Cello Concerto, one of the best-loved works in the orchestral repertoire.

Isserlis is acclaimed for his profound musicianship, and enjoys a distinguished career as a soloist, chamber musician, educator, author and broadcaster. He is a renowned interpreter of Dvořák’s concerto, his tone blending ‘impassioned feeling and mellow serenity in just the right balance’ (The Arts Desk).

Brahms’s Fourth Symphony is masterful music from a composer at the top of his game. Brahms called it “my sad symphony”, but this modest adjective belies the composer’s emotional range and consummate structural skill. His friend, the critic Eduard Hanslick, put it better: “It is like a dark well; the longer we look into it, the more brightly the stars shine back.” Jordan de Souza, who conducted the Philharmonia in Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier at Garsington Opera last year, makes his Royal Festival Hall debut.

This concert was originally advertised with Alisa Weilerstein performing Strauss’s Don Quixote. Unfortunately Alisa Weilerstein is no longer able to join us. We are grateful to Steven Isserlis for stepping in.