London Philharmonic Orchestra: Mendelssohn's Scottish Symphony

The London Philharmonic Orchestra are playing at the Congress Theatre on Sunday 14 February 2027, a Valentine's Day matinee built around the Romantic generation and the Mendelssohn siblings, Felix and Fanny. The programme describes their music as painting landscapes in sound and reveling in untamed emotion, and the two halves of the afternoon divide the spotlight between the family and one of their contemporaries.

Felix's Symphony No. 3 'Scottish' takes the lead, a tuneful tour of the Highlands that earns the title. His sister Fanny rounds out the family's contribution with her Overture, so the two of them share the first half of the bill. The second half belongs to Louis Spohr, a contemporary whose music his peers rated alongside that of Beethoven; the LPO's Principal Clarinet, Benjamin Mellefont, takes the solo for Spohr's Clarinet Concerto No. 4.

Leading the orchestra is Shira Samuels-Shragg, the LPO's Fellow Conductor for 2026/27. With Mellefont on the clarinet, the afternoon moves from the Mendelssohn siblings' Romantic landscapes to a concerto from a composer who held his own with the heavyweights of the era. It's a matinee that keeps the Romantic era at the centre throughout.

The concert starts at 3.00pm at the Congress Theatre on Carlisle Road, with tickets from £17.50 including booking fees.