The Hallé with Delyana Lazarova and Sean Shibe (guitar)

Winner of the inaugural Siemens-Hallé International Competition in 2020, Delyana Lazarova takes the reins for the Nottingham Classics spectacular season finale. Rimsky-Korsakov’s Capriccio Espagnol sets the tone with gypsy rhythms and fiery fandangos brilliantly captured in the composer’s peerless orchestration. There’s more Iberian colour from the much garlanded Scottish guitarist, Sean Shibe, who performs the most famous concerto for the instrument, Rodgrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez. Recorded over a hundred times, the concerto’s popularity owes much to the haunting melody of its central adagio, which has inspired countless arrangements, from trumpeter Miles Davis’s Sketches of Spain album to Tara Fitzgerald’s flugelhorn solo in the hit movie Brassed Off.

Inspired by “the great surge of the creative power of Spring,” Stravinsky assailed the ears of Parisian polite society with primal cries and pulverising rhythms from a massive orchestra. The Rite of Spring’s riotous 1913 premiere at the Theatre des Champs Elysées will forever be remembered as one of classical music’s seismic moments and over a century later there’s still nothing that pumps the adrenalin so fast.

Free pre-concert talk, 6.20pm in the auditorium: Neil Bennison, Music Programme Manager for the Royal Concert Hall, introduces the 2023-2024 season.