Jonathan Darlington  conductor
Federico Colli             piano

Weber                        Der Freischütz Overture
Beethoven                  Piano Concerto No. 5 ‘Emperor’
Brahms                       Symphony No. 4

Bold, provocative and brilliant, Federico Colli has commanded attention since winning the Gold Medal at the Leeds International Piano Competition in 2012 and has built a reputation as a ‘pianist likely to dominate the world stage in years to come’ (International Piano Magazine). For his debut at the Royal Concert Hall he brings Beethoven’s Fifth Piano Concerto, whose imperious opening sets the tone for a dynamic, epically-scaled dialogue between soloist and orchestra. As expected, Beethoven’s gestures are grand and heroic but there’s also room for great tenderness in the slow movement, which so impressed conductor Leonard Bernstein that he adopted its initial theme for the song ‘Somewhere’ in West Side Story.

Completing this richly Romantic programme are Weber’s dramatic overture to his 1821 opera Der Freischütz – a dark tale of tormented love played out through a Faustian shooting contest – and Brahms’s deceptively modern Fourth Symphony. On the face of it, it’s as classically conceived as any symphony could be, but there’s an undercurrent of tension to his graceful melodies and a compelling steeliness, particularly in the determined fourth movement which delivers no less than thirty variations on its forceful opening theme.

Free pre-concert talk, 6.20pm in the auditorium: Federico Colli in conversation.