SOT Classics: BBC Philharmonic Orchestra - Frost and Fire

The BBC Philharmonic are playing Victoria Hall on Friday 6 November, part of the Sot Classics series. It's a double bill that pulls from two very different ends of the classical tradition, and the whole thing is led by Sunwook Kim, who's taking on a double role that night: he'll be conducting the orchestra from the podium and stepping out to the piano for the first half.

That first piece is Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3, one of his most loved. It's the kind of work that sits comfortably between the classical style he inherited and the more expansive, romantic direction he'd eventually push into. Having Kim play the piano part while also leading the orchestra is a bit of a rarity, and it's where the evening gets its title, Frost and Fire.

The second half shifts gears completely with Tchaikovsky's Winter Dreams Symphony. It's a piece that never quite made it to a full premiere in the composer's lifetime, and it carries exactly the kind of lyricism and emotional weight Tchaikovsky is known for. Between the two, you've got the structured elegance of Beethoven and the sweeping, late-Romantic sound of Tchaikovsky, so the programme covers a fair bit of ground in one sitting.

Kim is a pianist by trade, and that's the perspective he brings to the conducting here. The evening is described as one of elegance, lyricism and emotional depth, and with the BBC Philharmonic behind him, it's a full orchestral night rather than a chamber ensemble. It's a good choice if you're after a proper night of classical music in the city.

It starts at 19:30 at Victoria Hall, Bagnall Street, Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent ST1 3AD. Tickets are £26.79 to £49.59.