When Felix Mendelssohn was writing his Violin Concerto, he told a friend he couldn’t get the music out of his head – and you’ll hear why when Tianyou Ma plays the dramatic and vigorous opening notes. Beethoven’s Leonore Overture No.3 boldly follows, a richly textured piece that tells the story…

It opens with Stravinsky’s Danses Concertantes: music that feels like a witty, abstract ballet, full of twists, playful rhythms and bursts of colour. It’s lean, stylish and packs a punch. Next comes Nielsen’s Flute Concerto, a piece that feels both charming and mischievous. It’s music that sings, sparkles and teases,…

Stravinsky’s airborne neoclassical dances; the soaring flute lines of Nielsen’s concerto; Stanhope’s wind octet, a tribute to space exploration; Beethoven’s first ascent to the symphonic stratosphere: this propulsive program draws together eclectic styles across three centuries under the heartfelt leadership of Maestro Umberto Clerici. Igor Stravinsky’s Dances Concertantes (1941–42), written after…