Southbank Centre: Royal Festival HallBelvedere Road, London, Greater London, SE1 8XX, United Kingdom
Dates/times in London time zone
Wednesday 12 November 2025 | 19:30 |
Programme
Frank, Gabriela Lena (b. 1972) | Contested Eden | |
Walton, William (1902-1983) | Cello Concerto, Op.68 | |
Prokofiev, Sergei (1891-1953) | Romeo and Juliet: excerpts |
Performers
Elim Chan | Conductor |
Nicolas Altstaedt | Cello |
London Philharmonic Orchestra |
Sergei Prokofiev was the bad boy of Russian music; Romeo and Juliet is the greatest love story ever told. Not an obvious match – but somehow, they clicked, and Prokofiev’s ballet Romeo and Juliet drives straight to the raw, tender heart of Shakespeare’s drama. Tonight, it’s one of three very different visions of paradise from guest conductor Elim Chan. Cellist Nicolas Altstaedt plays the sun-kissed concerto that William Walton composed on a Mediterranean island. Meanwhile, with the UK premiere of Contested Eden, composer Gabriela Lena Frank joins our Harmony with Nature debate with a very personal response to California’s wildfires.

© Simon Pauly