The Glories of Venice and Buenos Aires

Two fascinating cultures collide as we bring together the glories and grandeur of 18th century Venice with the sophistication and elegance of the Argentinian Belle Epoque…

Without Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) we probably would not have had theclassical three-movement concerto with its fast-slow-fast plan for solo instrument and orchestra.

Vivaldi

Of his 300+ concerti, Le quattro stagioni (The Four Seasons) is easily the best known. Each of the four concerti explores a different season of the year – complete with poems to heighten the descriptive qualities of the music.

Vivaldi was also known as Il Prete Rosso ‘The Red Priest’due to his distinctive red hair which he inherited from his father. But don’t be fooled by the white hair in this painting – the composer was wearing a wig!

By contrast, without Ástor Piazzolla (1921-1992) we would probably not have the Tango as we know it today. The family of the two-year-old Piazzolla left their home in Buenos Aires for Greenwich Village, Manhattan, where Ástor was to grow up in 1930s New York.

Astor Piazzolla

Yet his heart never left the Argentinian spirit – in fact he was to revolutionise it with the creation of Nuevo Tango – where he discovered a unique musical voice at the crossroads of classical, tango and jazz.

Piazzolla’s Estaciones Porteñas, or The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires, mirrors Vivaldi’s four concerti with a set of four Tangos, each giving an impression of the four seasons in the Argentinian capital of Buenos Aires.

Yury Revich

This concert will feature the internationally-celebrated and multi-prize-winning violinist Yury Revich.  A successful composer in his own right, his 2023 his album of music by Chevalier St. Georges was included in the official soundtrack of Netflix series Bridgerton.

‘Full-blooded authority, fleet-fingered dexterity, innate musicality, and substantial accuracy…’ 

The Strad

Yury Revich

Vivaldi with Yury Revich

Tuesday 29 April 7.30pm
St George’s Hanover Square, Mayfair, London W1S 1FX

Vivaldi Le Quattro Staggioni
Piazzolla Estaciones Porteñas

London Firebird Orchestra
Principal Guest Conductor Michael Thrift
Violin Yury Revich

Vivaldi with Yury Revich

The glories of Vivaldi’s Venice meet the tangos of Piazzolla’s Buenos Aires in Firebird’s next concert starring violinist Yury Revich.

Internationally-celebrated and multi-prize-winning violin star Yury Revich returns to Firebird for the seventh time, with a programme displaying his virtuosic talents as part of Firebird’s 2025 season of classical greats. 

Easily the best known of Vivaldi’s works, Le quattro stagioni (The Four Seasons) is a group of four violin concerti each exploring a different season of the year. They were composed around 1718–1720, when Vivaldi was the court chapel master in Mantua.

Estaciones Porteñas, or The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires, are a set of four Tangos by Astor Piazzolla. Porteña refers to those born in Buenos Aires, with an impression of the four seasons in this Argentinian capital city.

Yury is also a successful composer with recent premieres with the Staatsphilharmonie Zagreb Soloists and the World Expo in Dubai in 2021. In 2023 his album of music by Chevalier St. Georges was included in the official soundtrack of Netflix series Bridgerton.

Full-blooded authority, fleet-fingered dexterity, innate musicality, and substantial accuracy…

The Strad

Vivaldi with Yury Revich

Tuesday 29 April 7.30pm
St George’s Hanover Square, Mayfair, London W1S 1FX

Vivaldi Le Quattro Staggioni
Piazzolla Estaciones Porteñas

London Firebird Orchestra
Principal Guest Conductor Michael Thrift
Violin Yury Revich

Yury and Firebird in Oxford this Sunday

SJE Arts hosts the London Firebird Orchestra with soloist Yury Revich performing the celebrated Bruch Violin Concerto on Sunday 9 March.

Composer Max Bruch

One of the best-loved violin concertos of all time, Bruch’s first violin concerto dates from 1866. Classic FM listeners voted it No.1 in the UK in 1996, and in its profile of Bruch, it described the violin concerto as ‘one of the best works of the Romantic period’.

Did you know?

Bruch also composed two more violin concertos, but neither has gained as much fame as his first. This was a source of great frustration for Bruch who wrote: ‘On the corner of the Via Toledo they stand there, ready to break out with my first violin concerto as soon as I allow myself to be seen. (They can all go to the devil! As if I had not written other equally good concertos!).

Either side of the violin concerto will be two fantastic orchestral pieces: Mozart’s Overture to Die Zauberflöte, K. 620 – The Magic Flute, and probably Beethoven’s most famous symphony, Symphony no. 5 in C minor, Op. 67.

Yury Revich at SJE Arts

SJE Arts with Yury Revich

Yury Revich

Sunday 9 March, 6pm
SJE Arts, St John the Evangelist, Oxford OX4 1EH

Mozart Overture to Die Zauberflöte, K. 620
Bruch Violin Concerto no. 1 in G minor, Op. 26
Beethoven Symphony no. 5 in C minor, Op. 67

London Firebird Orchestra
Yury Revich violin
Michael Thrift conductor

This concert is generously sponsored by the Morris-Venables Charitable Foundation.

In London on Tuesday 29 April Yury will perform a virtuosic programme of violin delights with Vivaldi’s timeless classic The Four Seasons paired with Piazzolla’s The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires.

Meet Oboist Polly Bartlett

Discover how one of  Firebird’s  orchestral team  Polly Bartlett started her career in music and why her favourite piece of music is fiery!

1. When did you realise your future could be as a musician?

I started learning the oboe aged 7. Over the next few years, I joined various school music groups and took a few exams. Aged 10, I successfully auditioned for the National Children’s Orchestra and fell in love with orchestral playing on my first course. From that moment on, I knew I wanted to build a career in music.

2. Tell us about one of your career highlights to date…

Without a doubt, that was a tour to Germany with the London Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Francois Xavier-Roth. Performing works such as Till Eulenspiegel by Richard Strauss in various concert halls around Germany such as Elbphilharmonie Hamburg was a week of my life that I will never forget and a memory I always go back to if I’m ever feeling sad.

3. How long have you been involved with Firebird and what has been the benefit for you?

I’ve been involved with Firebird since September 2022, and have rarely missed a concert since. It is an incredible opportunity to perform core orchestral repertoire under the baton of esteemed conductors, helping us hugely as early-career musicians.

For me, one benefit that stands out more than anything else: playing with an incredible woodwind section. This wonderful group of musicians has given us the opportunity to really bond as a section, learn about each others strengths and weaknesses and work out a way to perform to the highest standard. As a woodwind player, this is a dream and something for which I am extremely grateful to Firebird.

4. What are your future musical projects and ambitions?

I’m very lucky to have a varied freelance career, combining performances with a whole mix of orchestras and ensembles with some private and small group teaching. A future ambition is definitely to try and land a full time job in one of the UK orchestras; however these are extremely hard to come by! On average, one to two full time jobs come up for oboists a year, with an average of 150 people applying for each position. Nevertheless, I am extremely happy with my current career path and I will continue to develop as a well-rounded freelance musician.

5. What is your current favourite piece of music and why?

This may come as a surprise, but my current favourite piece of music is the ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ soundtrack. I recently watched the film for the first time and got completely taken in by the music, mesmerised by the effect it was having on me. I now understand what all the fuss is about!

6. What do you enjoy doing away from your musical commitments?

My big hobby alongside music is football. I’m an avid Chelsea FC fan (apologies if I offend anyone with this!), following their matches every week and catching up on Match of the Day if I miss them. I also watch any England match whenever they come along, hoping that one day, it really is ‘coming home’!

Coming up soon…

SJE Arts Oxford with Yury Revich

Yury Revich at SJE Arts

Sunday 9 March 2025, 6pm
St John the Evangelist Church, 109A Iffley Road, Oxford OX4 1EH

Mozart Overture to Die Zauberflöte, K. 620
Bruch Violin Concerto no. 1 in G minor, Op. 26
Beethoven Symphony no. 5 in C minor, Op. 67

London Firebird Orchestra
Yury Revich Violin
Michael Thrift Principal Guest Conductor 

This concert is generously sponsored by the Morris-Venables Charitable Foundation 

Vivaldi with Yury Revich

Yury Revich

Tuesday 29 April 2025, 7.30pm
St George’s Hanover Square, 2A Mill Street, Mayfair, London W1S 1FX

Vivaldi Le Quattro Staggioni
Piazzola Estaciones Porteñas

London Firebird Orchestra
Yury Revich Violin
Michael Thrift Principal Guest Conductor 

Yury Revich plays with FIRE(bird)

Yes! Yury Revich is back for two fabulous Firebird concerts in Oxford and London with concertos by Vivaldi and Bruch…

The internationally-celebrated and multi-prize-winning violin star Yury Revich returns to Firebird for the sixth and seventh times with two concerts displaying his virtuosic talents as part of Firebird’s 2025 programme of classical greats. 

On Sunday 9 March in Oxford, Yury will perform Bruch’s celebrated first Violin Concerto – one of the best-loved violin concertos of all time – framed by a terrific overture by Mozart and one of the most beloved symphonies of all time by Beethoven, at a concert generously sponsored by the Morris-Venables Charitable Foundation.

Yury Revich

Austrian violinist and composer Yury Revich won the ECHO Klassik Award, the International Classical Music Award, and his recording of Saint- Georges double concertos was listed on the US TOP 100 Billboard classical charts in 2021. 

At 18, he had his Carnegie Hall début alongside Daniil Trifonov and later débuted with Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto in Milan. Since then he has performed at prestigious venues across Europe.

And on Tuesday 29 April in London, Yury will perform a virtuosic programme of violin delights with Firebird with Vivaldi’s timeless classic, The Four Seasons. This will be paired with Piazzolla’s tangos, the Four Seasons of Buenos Aires.

‘Full-blooded authority, fleet-fingered dexterity, innate musicality, and substantial accuracy…’ The Strad

Yury is also a successful composer with recent premieres with the Staatsphilharmonie Zagreb Soloists and the World Expo in Dubai in 2021. In 2023 his album of music by Chevalier St. Georges was included in the official soundtrack of Netflix series Bridgerton.

Yury Revich at SJE Arts

SJE Arts with Yury Revich

Sunday 9 March 6pm
SJE Arts, St John the Evangelist, Oxford OX4 1EH

Mozart Overture to Die Zauberflöte, K. 620
Bruch Violin Concerto no. 1 in G minor, Op. 26
Beethoven Symphony no. 5 in C minor, Op. 67

London Firebird Orchestra
Yury Revich violin
Michael Thrift conductor

This concert is generously sponsored by the Morris-Venables Charitable Foundation

Yury Revich

Vivaldi with Yury Revich

Tuesday 29 April 7.30pm
St George’s Hanover Square, Mayfair, London W1S 1FX

Vivaldi Le Quattro Staggioni
Piazzola Estaciones Porteñas

London Firebird Orchestra
Principal Guest Conductor Michael Thrift
Violin Yury Revich

Download your free programme for Trio Concept…

Download your FREE programme  for this fantastic concert with Trio Concept on Thursday 30 January

Part of our Chamber Music Platform series, this prize-winning trio will perform music by Haydn, Ravel and Mendelssohn – some of the best music ever written for this beautiful combination of violin, cello and piano.

Firebird Chamber Platform: Trio Concept

Thursday 30 January 2025, 7.30pm
St George’s Hanover Square, London

Haydn 
Piano Trio No. 43 in C major, Hob.XV.27
Ravel 
Piano Trio in A minor (1914)
Felix Mendelssohn 
Trio op. 49 in D minor

Trio Concept

Firebird Chamber Platform:Trio Concept

Featuring three highlights of the Piano Trio repertoire by Haydn, Ravel and Mendelssohn, our next concert on 30 January will be given by the fabulous Trio Concept.

Here is taster of these terrific rising stars performing the second movement of Schubert’s exquisite Trio op. 99…

Formed in 2013 by three musicians from Turin: Edoardo Grieco(violin), Francesco Massimino (cello), and Lorenzo Nguyen (piano), the trio changed their name in 2024 from Trio Chagall to Trio Concept. Inspired by the words of Michelangelo Buonarroti, this new name reflects the trio’s artistic commitment: to seek out and present the beauty inherent in every work, which comes to life through performance, just as the sculptor reveals the perfect form within a block of marble.

‘The finest Artist has no concept that a single block of marble does not already contain within itself’

Michelangelo Buonarroti

First Prize winners at the Schoenfeld International String Competition of Harbin in China, YCAT international auditions at Wigmore Hall in London and an ‘ECHO Rising Star’ for 2025/26, the trio will now be embarking on a prestigious European tour.

Join us for a wonderful programme featuring Haydn’s lively C major Trio, Ravel’s colourful A minor and the famous D minor Trio, a masterpiece by Mendelssohn.

Trio Concept

Trio Concept

Thursday 30 January 2025, 7.30pm
St George’s Hanover Square, Mayfair, London W1S 1FX

Haydn Piano Trio No. 43 in C major, Hob.XV.27
Ravel Piano Trio in A minor (1914)
Felix Mendelssohn Trio op. 49 in D minor

Firebird Classics for 2025

Here’s a heads up of what’s in LFO’s diary for the first half of 2025 featuring some fabulous chamber and orchestral concerts with a great line up of acclaimed soloists…


Trio Concept (formerly Trio Chagall)
Thursday 30 January

Trio Chagall

This season’s Firebird Chamber Platform concert features these prize-winning performers in a programme with three highlights from the Piano Trio repertoire – Haydn’s lively C major Trio, Ravel’s colourful A minor and the famous D minor Trio, a masterpiece by Mendelssohn.


SJE Arts with Yury Revich
Sunday 9 March

Yury Revich at SJE Arts

More great classical greats – this time in Oxford – with Yury Revich performing Bruch’s celebrated first Violin Concerto framed by a terrific Overture by Mozart and probably the most famous symphony of all time by Beethoven. This concert is generously sponsored by the Morris-Venables Charitable Foundation

Tickets on sale soon.


Vivaldi with Yury Revich
Tuesday 29 April

Internationally-celebrated and multi-prize-winning violin star Yury Revich returns with a programme of virtuosic delights: Vivaldi’s timeless classic, The Four Seasons, paired with Piazzolla’s tangos, the Four Seasons of Buenos Aires.


Rachmaninoff with Marc Corbett-Weaver
Tuesday 10 June

We head to Russia for two of the most popular works of all time. Marc Corbett-Weaver performs one of the most beloved classics: 
* Rachmaninoff’s adored Piano Concerto no. 2
* Tchaikovsky’s fifth Symphony – filled with heroic optimism and always a great favourite.

Download your free programme 

Download your FREE programme for Tuesday’s fantastic London Firebird Orchestra
concert at St George’s Hanover Square, Mayfair, London.

Grieg with Amiri Harewood

Tuesday 19 November 2024, 7.30pm
St George’s Hanover Square

Amiri Harewood

Grieg
Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op.16
Sibelius
Symphony No.5 in E flat, Op.82

London Firebird Orchestra
Guest Conductor Thomas Payne
Piano Amiri Harewood

Grieg with Amiri Harewood

Same Fabulous Concerto… Fresh New Face

Due to a scheduling change outside of his control, Martin James Bartlett is unable to perform the Grieg with us on 19 November, but he will be returning during the 2025/26 season.

But we are thrilled to welcome the multi-award-winning pianist Amiri Harewood in his place. Listen to what he has to say about the upcoming concert…

London based pianist Amiri Harewood currently studies at the Royal College of Music under the tutelage of Danny Driver. He holds of the Ann Driver Trust Scholarship, and is supported by the Victor Dandaleh Foundation.

Amiri Harewood

Amiri is a Grand Prize winner of the Young Classical Artist Trust (UK) and Concert Artists Guild (US) International Auditions 2024, and is a regular performer throughout the UK and abroad, having already debuted at the Royal Festival Hall, Royal Albert Hall, St Martin-in-the-Fields and at the Venice Conservatorio.

Be inspired by this programme of great romance as we head to Scandinavia for an evening of artic wonder.

After Grieg’s ever-popular Piano Concerto – described by Rachmaninoff as ‘the greatest piano concerto ever written’, we head to the lakes and open expanses of Finland for Jean Sibelius’ sublime Fifth Symphony –  a work filled with passion and beauty. 

Amiri Harewood

Grieg with Amiri Harewood

Tuesday 19 November 2024
St George’s Hanover Square
2A Mill Street, Mayfair, London W1S 1FX

Grieg Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16
Sibelius Symphony No. 5 in E flat, Op. 82

London Firebird Orchestra
Guest Conductor George Jackson
Piano Amiri Harewood