Sinfonia Viva: Beethoven's Fifth and Elgar's Violin Concerto

Sinfonia Viva are at the Royal Concert Hall on Tuesday 17 November, as part of the venue's Nottingham Classics series. The evening is built around two heavyweights: Beethoven's Fifth Symphony and Elgar's Violin Concerto.

There's a bit of a story to the Elgar. It's earned a reputation as a fiendish challenge, the kind of thing that only the most determined violinists take on, and it's been that way ever since Elgar himself led the first performance. The Beethoven is the one everyone knows, and having them on the same bill gives you a good look at two very different ways of writing for the orchestra.

Before the music starts, there's a free pre-concert talk by conductor Michael Seal, who talks about everything from conducting to cricket. If you're not usually one for classical music, it's a handy way to get your bearings before the first note.

This is part of Sinfonia Viva's wider East Midlands season, which they split between Derby and Nottingham. The season is fronted by their patrons, the Kanneh-Mason siblings — Sheku, Isata and Braimah — who perform Beethoven's Triple Concerto with the orchestra before heading off on a major US tour. The rest of the season pairs all-time favourites like Vivaldi's Four Seasons and Vaughan Williams' The Lark Ascending with a new Introduces... concert, a one-hour tour of Beethoven's music with insights from the musicians and conductor Karen Ní Bhroin, and a programme of music by Imogen Holst and her father Gustav Holst, supported by an ABO Trust grant promoting music by historical women composers.

The concert runs for two hours and ten minutes, including a twenty-minute interval. Doors open at 6:00pm, and the music starts at 7:30pm. Tickets are between £13.00 and £44.50, with under-26s and full-time students getting in for £5 each, and bargain seats from £10 available on the day.