The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra performs Smetana, Tchaikovsky and Brahms in its Symphonic Horizons cycle at Portsmouth Guildhall.
The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra are back at Portsmouth Guildhall on Thursday 17 September, kicking off their 2026/27 Portsmouth season with a programme that runs for about two hours. It's part of their Symphonic Horizons series, and they've brought in pianist Martin James Bartlett to join them on stage, with Jamie Phillips conducting.
The night opens with Smetana's overture to The Bartered Bride, a piece that sits at the heart of comic opera and is described as one of the most exciting ever composed, full of folk-like elements and rich orchestrations. After that, the focus shifts to Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1, an exuberant and passionate work whose first movement draws on the Ukrainian folk tune 'Song of the Blind'. It's a big, dramatic concerto, and Bartlett takes the lead on it.
To close, the orchestra moves into Brahms' Symphony No. 2, often called his 'Pastoral'. It's a gentler, more lyrical piece than his First, built around song-like melodies and what Brahms himself called 'a delightfully happy spirit' running through the whole thing. It's a lighter, more open-hearted way to end the evening than the Tchaikovsky that comes before it.
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The concert starts at 7pm at Portsmouth Guildhall, Guildhall Square, Portsmouth PO1 2AB, and runs for around two hours. Tickets are £17 to £33, and it's recommended that anyone 14 and under be accompanied by an adult.
