Royal Philharmonic Orchestra - Classical Music Alive in Reading

A display of quintessentially Czech music from two Bohemian legends, with Smetana's exhilarating Overture to his first and most enduring comic opera The Bartered Bride and Dvorák's magnificent Cello Concerto, performed by world-class cellist Natalie Clein. Although composed in America, it expresses the melodic inflections derived from Czech folk music with a continuous flow of invention and lyricism.

Young Spanish Maestro Eduardo Portal will lead the Orchestra in the tale of 'One Thousand and One Nights' in Rimsky-Korsakov's colourful epic Scheherazade. Heard is the mysteriously haunting sound of the violin voice of Scheherazade, as she clams the Sultan's menacing brass fanfares with the strumming of the harp, calling to mind a mysterious far-away land.

Pre-concert talk 6.15pm - The Hexagon Auditorium (free)