The Rite of Spring

The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra are at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall on Saturday 17 October, with the programme built around the 50th anniversary of Benjamin Britten's death. The night opens with Britten's Suite on English Folk Tunes, and the second half is taken up by Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring, a cornerstone of the modern repertoire that's as famous for the riot it caused at its premiere as for the music itself.

In between sits the world premiere of Gavin Higgins' Clarinet Concerto, co-commissioned by the orchestra and performed by clarinetist Mark Simpson. It's a bit of a farewell for Simpson, who's been the orchestra's Artist in Residence; this is one of his final appearances in that role. Higgins grew up in a heart-shaped woodland region on the Welsh border, a place with its own dialect, and his musical language is described as infused with spirituality and an affinity with nature.

Conducting the whole thing is Adam Hickox, a young firebrand of a conductor who's returning to lead Britten's music alongside Stravinsky's. The pairing makes a certain kind of sense: Britten's folk-inflected suite and Stravinsky's revolutionary Rite are separated by a world of style, but they both sit on the same stage here.

The concert starts at 19:30, and tickets range from £16.50 to £71.50. There's a 10% administrative fee for online and telephone bookings, and an optional £2.50 postage fee if you're having tickets mailed to you.