Nil Venditti conducts Clyne, Puccini, Respighi and Say

The Grand Bazaar of Istanbul: a trading place of civilisations, in which the tales told are as countless as the treasures for sale. The eternal city of Rome, where la dolce vita thrives amid the memory of far older – and more savage – celebrations. An Irish legend of banshees and night terrors, retold by two of 21st century Britain’s liveliest musical voices and highlighting the wonderfully communicative gifts of saxophone virtuoso Jess Gillam.

Well, they say a musical picture is worth a thousand words, and for Turkish composer Fazil Say, his vibrant home city represents a place “without any borders, not even in the mind.” Closing the concert is Respighi’s Feste romane: a blockbuster Roman tone-poem that certainly doesn’t hold back.