Royal Northern Sinfonia with Dinis Sousa and Julian Bliss

Prokofiev cultivated a reputation as an enfant terrible at the beginning of his career so his Classical Symphony, written in the year of the Bolshevik Revolution, was unexpected to say the least. The kind of symphony that Haydn might have written, had he lived 100 years longer, this compact modern classic is full of familiar Haydnesque gestures but with Prokofiev’s trademark rhythmic and harmonic edge. It’s a world apart from Beethoven’s ‘Eroica’ Symphony of 1805 whose sheer scale and emotional extremes marked a revolutionary moment in music.

Separating these sharply contrasting symphonies, Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto is performed by British clarinettist Julian Bliss. Marked for stardom from an early age (he turned professional at the age of 12), he quickly joined the ranks of the world’s greatest and is now an audience favourite in concert halls from New York to New Zealand. His light-touch virtuosity is tailor–made for the gentle poignancy and lyricism of this late Mozart masterpiece, which memorably formed part of the soundtrack for Sydney Pollack’s Oscar-winning movie, Out of Africa.

Free pre-concert talk, 6.20pm in the auditorium: Julian Bliss in conversation.