Vivaldi in Shawlands: BSOP come to Glasgow

Glasgow's Southside is about to get a bit more classical. On Sunday 8 November, the Bohemian Symphony Orchestra Prague brings its autumn UK tour to Destiny Church in Shawlands, with a programme built around Vivaldi's The Four Seasons. The concert starts at 7:30pm in the church's main hall at 1120 Pollokshaws Road, and the whole thing runs roughly 75 to 90 minutes including the interval. Doors open half an hour before the first note, so there's time to settle in rather than rush through the doors as the music begins.

The programme is a crowd-pleasing one, not just Vivaldi. Alongside The Four Seasons, published in Venice around 1725, you'll hear Mozart's Eine kleine Nachtmusik, Bach's Air on the G String, Pachelbel's Canon in D Major, and a selection from Handel's Water Music. It's the kind of setlist that works as well for someone who's never been to a classical concert as it does for a regular.

The soloist is the real story here. Matteo Hager is a young Czech violinist, born in 2003, who has been playing since he was four. He graduated from the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he studied under Professor Rodney Friend, and he's currently working towards a master's at the Royal College of Music. He holds the Christopher Hogwood Scholarship and was named one of the world's "Rising Stars" by BBC Music Magazine in 2023. Hager has performed as a soloist across three continents, working with conductors like Jack Gonzalez-Harding, Tomáš Netopil and Radek Baborák, and appearing with the Barbican Sinfonia, the Prague Symphony Orchestra FOK and the Prague Philharmonia. He's also composing: his Violin Concerto premiered with the Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava in February 2026, and his Toccata for piano trio was played at Prague Spring earlier this year. He's a member of the Ernest Bloch Trio alongside pianist Pavol Praženica and cellist David Pěruška.

Behind him is an orchestra with a bit of range. The Bohemian Symphony Orchestra Prague was founded in 2000 by Martin Šanda, who still directs it as chief conductor, and it runs at around 70 musicians. While the core is classical, they've not been afraid to stray: they've accompanied Vanessa Mae in Brno and Gianna Nannini in Verona, and have even collaborated with the Czech black metal band Cult of Fire. This Glasgow stop is part of their autumn 2026 UK tour and the 30th Made in Prague Festival, put together by the Czech Centre London.

The venue is a handy one if you're coming in from elsewhere. Destiny Church is a spacious, modern auditorium in the heart of Shawlands, only a few minutes' walk from Shawlands and Pollokshaws East stations and well served by buses from the city centre, with Queen's Park nearby. Tickets start at £24 plus a booking fee, with priced seating tiers, so there's a place for most budgets. It's a straightforward evening: a world-class soloist, a broad programme of familiar pieces, and a venue that's easy to get to.