The Royal Scottish National Orchestra play Mussorgsky's 'Pictures at an Exhibition' with pianist Rafał Blechacz, conducted by Samy Rachid.
The Royal Scottish National Orchestra are at Perth Concert Hall on Wednesday 9 December, with pianist Rafał Blechacz. It's part of the Perth Concert Series, a joint promotion between the RSNO, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, and the venue itself.
The evening opens with Bacewicz's Overture (6 minutes), followed by Chopin's Piano Concerto No 1 (39 minutes) with Blechacz on piano. The second half brings Thea Musgrave's Loch Ness - A Postcard from Scotland (9 minutes) and Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, in Ravel's orchestral arrangement (29 minutes). That last one is the big name on the bill: it's a piece that conjures dancing chickens, glowing skulls, witches, gnomes, and the sound of a thousand bells.
Blechacz, born in Poland in 1985, took first prize at the 2005 International Chopin Piano Competition and became the second Polish pianist to join Deutsche Grammophon. He's the one handling the Chopin concerto, and the programme also takes in a surprise from Scotland's own Thea Musgrave. Conducting is Samy Rachid, formerly cellist of the Arod Quartet and second prize winner of the Tokyo International Music Competition for Conducting, who steps in for Anna Sułkowska-Migoń while she's on maternity leave. The RSNO says the programmes remain unchanged.
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The concert starts at 7.00pm, with a pre-concert talk at 6.45pm that's free for ticket holders. The whole thing runs about 1 hour 50 minutes, including a 20-minute interval. Tickets are £38.50, £33.50, £29.50, £24.50, and £17.50, with disabled tickets at £20.50, £18, £16, £13.50 (all including a £2.50 booking fee), and £8. There's a £6 ticket for those unwaged or studying, and under-26s go in for free.
