Santtu and Vikingur Ólafsson

The Philharmonia’s 80th birthday season opens with time-honoured classics and brand new sounds.   

A new piece by Gabriela Ortiz, the Philharmonia’s Grammy-winning Featured Composer, is first on the menu. Ortiz’s music has immediate appeal, and a distinctive flavour of her Mexican homeland.  

The drama and grace of Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto are in the more-than-capable hands of soloist Víkingur Ólafsson. A remarkable interpreter of music from Bach to Glass, Ólafsson is the Philharmonia’s Featured Artist this season.  

Last but certainly not least comes Saint-Saëns’s magnificent Organ Symphony. Hearing the huge Royal Festival Hall organ playing with a full orchestra is something you experience not just with your ears but with your whole body. Saint-Saëns poured his soul into what he considered his greatest work, and the result is a spine-tingling orchestral masterpiece.