The Hallé - Pastoral Dvořák, cinematic Sibelius & Adès

The Hallé are back at the Royal Concert Hall on Wednesday 20 January 2027, as part of the Nottingham Classics season. It's a mixed bill that puts a contemporary concerto between two big orchestral works: Dvořák's In Nature's Realm opens the night, followed by Thomas Adès's Concentric Paths for violin and orchestra, with violinist Leila Josefowicz taking the solo. The second half belongs to Sibelius's Lemminkäinen Suite, and the whole evening is conducted by Elena Schwarz.

For those who don't know them well, The Hallé is Nottingham's resident orchestra and the oldest active orchestra in the UK, founded by Sir Charles Hallé in 1858. It's the only one still named after its founder. They've called the city home since 2002, when they first took up residency under Sir Mark Elder, who led more performances on the Royal Concert Hall stage than any other conductor and returns in April 2027 as Conductor Emeritus. The orchestra's debut here was on 11 March 1983, conducted by James Loughran; their first as Resident Orchestra followed on 1 October 2002, with Elder leading Holst's The Planets, Colin Matthews's Pluto and Walton's Belshazzar's Feast. Today's principal conductor is Kahchun Wong, winner of the 2016 Gustav Mahler conducting competition.

Doors open at 6:00pm, with the first half running from 7:30 to 8:05pm, a 20-minute interval, and the second half from 8:25 to 9:20pm. Tickets range from £13.00 to £44.50 for stalls and tier seating, with under-26s and full-time students paying £5 each and bargain seats available for £10 on the day. There's also a free pre-concert talk by William Ruff if you want to get a bit of background before the music starts.