Venue: Cheltenham Town Hall

Well-honed performances from the CBSO under Andrew Gourlay are enjoyed by a packed Town Hall on the opening night of the festival.  

The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra is reunited with its former Chief Conductor for an all-Russian evening in Cheltenham Town Hall as the festival opens its 77th season.

Callum Smart, playing Bruch’s Violin Concerto no. 1 in G minor, and conductor Matthew Halls made very successful debuts with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at a packed Cheltenham Town Hall.

This double-bill concert was a fantastic success at Cheltenham’s Town Hall. It had been moved from the main stage to a smaller side-room, but rather than this being to the detriment of the performance, this enhanced it. The performers were up close, which created a personal recital in an intimate setting.

Red, white and blue bunting, with matching lighting, adorned the balconies of Cheltenham Town Hall, setting a patriotic scene for a concert of music from the year that World War I ended. Television presenter Julia Somerville opened the evening sat at a vintage newsdesk with her own careful research, for which she can be highly commended.