Archive for category: News

Live in the heart of Mayfair:
Two masterpieces… 
One unforgettable night… 

 Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No.1
 Rachmaninoff: Symphony No.2

This is so much more than a normal concert. It’s a night of intensity, beauty, and unforgettable music-making by one of London’s most exciting orchestras, a world class conductor, and top rank pianist.

The iconic opening of Tchaikovsky’s first piano concerto is instantly recognisable as one of the most powerful moments in all music: bold, sweeping and unforgettable.

And alongside, what could be more romantic that the lush lyricism of Rachmaninoff’s second symphony. Unfolding in wave after wave of rich, romantic sound, this is a piece which has captivated audiences for over a century.

Experience it live at St George’s Hanover Square as the soloist and artistic director of London Firebird Orchestra, Marc Corbett-Weaver takes centre stage alongside conductor George Jackson for a rare moment of conductor and soloist brilliance against the lush orchestral sounds of the Firebird Orchestra.

With just less than two weeks to go before this sensational season finale, don’t miss the opportunity to experience it live on 9 June in this beautiful venue in the heart of Mayfair.

Tickets are limited – so don’t miss out by leaving it until the last minute. 

Tchaikovsky’s First Concerto

With Marc Corbett-Weaver

St George’s Hanover Square
Tuesday 9 June 2026, 7.30pm

London Firebird Orchestra
Conductor George Jackson
Piano Marc Corbett-Weaver

For Firebird’s next concert on Tuesday 9th June we head back to Russia’s golden age with two of the most popular works of all time by Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff…

Described by Seen & Heard International as “full of fire and brimstone” and “as full-blooded as possible,” Firebird’s Artistic Director Marc Corbett-Weaver joins the Orchestra as soloist in Tchaikovsky’s eternally popular Piano Concerto No.1.

Famously declared unplayable by Rubenstein, Tchaikovsky’s famous first concerto dates from 1875 and opens with a romantic theme inspired by folk musicians in Kiev market. 

Rachmaninoff’s second symphony – one of his most popular and best known compositions – earned the composer a Glinka Award after a rapturous premiere.

Tchaikovsky’s First Concerto with Marc Corbett-Weaver

St George’s Hanover Square | Tuesday 9 June 2026, 7.30pm
London Firebird Orchestra
Conductor George Jackson | Piano Marc Corbett-Weaver

Tchaikovsky
Piano Concerto no. 1 in B flat minor, Op. 23

Rachmaninoff
Symphony no. 2 in E minor, Op. 27

In this post we discover the connection between Mozart’s 3rd Violin Concerto and ‘Strassburg’…

Firstly, lets clear up one little confusion. The UNESCO world heritage city of Strasbourg in the Alsace region of northern France is not the same as Straßburg, the historic town in Austria, or indeed Strasburg (or Straceburch) in north-eastern Germany.

So which one of these gave its name to Mozart’s third violin concerto – and why?

We are talking about the first of these: Strasbourg – the home of the European Parliament and the Council of Europe – which was also referred to as Strassburg.

Back in 1778, the 22 year-old Mozart had been having a difficult time in Paris. His father, Leopold, was urging him to return home to Salzburg as fast as possible.

Instead Mozart decided to break his journey and visit Strassburg for a month. He gave three concerts but with disappointingly small audiences and making only a tiny amount of money, although he did make a few useful contacts.

When he was about to leave, he wrote to his father putting a positive spin on things saying:

‘Strasbourg can scarcely do without me. You cannot think how much I am esteemed and beloved here… Everyone knows me.’

So did he name his Strassburg concerto after this visit?

Actually, no! Mozart had already written – and named – this concerto three years earlier in 1775 at the age of just 19 when he was serving as concertmaster of the Archbishop’s court orchestra in Salzburg. 

It seems that the answer to this puzzle lies in the concerto’s third movement.In another letter to his father, the composer referred to its jig-like folk-style melody known as a Strassburger Dance. 

This may in turn have take the name from the so-called ‘dancing plague’ of 1518. By the 18th century it had become a traditional rustic peasant dance with folksy fiddling and droning double-stops often used played in late Viennese imperial ballrooms.

You can hear this fabulous concerto performed by the Firebird Orchestra and soloist Yury Revich on 28 April.

Mozart’s Strassburg

St George’s Hanover Square | Tuesday 28 April 2026, 7.30pm
Conductor Michael Thrift | Violin Yury Revich

Mozart Violin Concerto no. 3 in G, K. 216 (‘Strassburg‘)
Saint-Saëns Introduction & Rondo Capriccioso, Op. 28

Credits:
Photo of Yury Revich by Ursula Vavrik
Strassburg by By Jonathan M (Public Domain, Wikimedia)
European Parliament by By Diliff (Public Domain, Wikimedia)
Strassburger Dance by By Pieter Brueghel the Elder (Public Domain, Wikimedia

The soloist in Firebird’s concert next Sunday starting at 6pm is award-winning pianist Ariel Lanyi who was named a Classic FM ‘Rising Star’.

Performing Beethoven’s Piano Concerto no. 4 in G next Sunday, Ariel was honored to receive the 2023 Prix Serdang, a Swiss prize awarded by the distinguished Austrian pianist Rudolf Buchbinder.

Visit YouTube to watch Ariel play Beethoven Sonata in E Minor, Op 90 recorded in Dukes Hall, at the Royal Academy of Music in London.

Ariel gained notoriety when he won third prize at the finals of the 2021 Leeds International Piano Competition performing Brahms Concerto No. 2 with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.

In that year he was also named a prize winner in the inaugural Young Classical Artists Trust (London) and Concert Artists Guild (New York) International Auditions.

An avid chamber musician, Ariel has collaborated with leading members of the Berliner Philharmoniker and the Concertgebouw Amsterdam. Meanwhile, on the concerto platform he has appeared with orchestras around the world including the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.

“…Ariel Lanyi put on a brilliant performance at the master concert in Homburg … the young star’s virtuosity and sheer orchestral sonority is unbelievable…”

Saarlander Zeitung / Homburg / March 2022

Upcoming highlights include his debut with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra at the Grafenegg Festival, and a residency at the Sanguine Estate Music Festival in Australia. 

Mendelssohn Overture to a Midsummer Night’s Dream, Op. 21
Beethoven Piano Concerto no. 4 in G, Op. 58
Puccini I Crisantemi ‘Chrysanthemums’
Haydn Symphony no. 96 in D, Hob. 1:96 The Miracle

St John’s Waterloo | Sunday 8 March 2026, 6pm
Conductor George Jackson | Piano Ariel Lanyi

With kind support from:

Photo credit: Kaupo Kikkas

The soloist in London Firebird’s concert on Tuesday 10 February is cellist Aleksei Kiseliov performing Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations.  Find out more about this celebrated musician…

Praised for his warm sound and lyrical expressivity, Aleksei is currently Solo Cellist with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and teaches at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm whilst performing as a soloist around the world.

Aleksei has performed as soloist with orchestras including the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, the State Symphony and Chamber Orchestras of Belarus, the St. Petersburg State Academic Capella Symphony, and the Orpheus Sinfonia in London. 

From 2011 to 2022, Aleksei served as Principal Cellist of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, regularly performing as soloist and in chamber ensembles.

As Guest Principal he has appeared with several orchestras including the Oslo Philharmonic, Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra and English National Opera.

“Aleksei Kiseliov’s performance was just sublime.”

Dame Judi Dench, Patron of London Firebird Orchestra

Also performing will be soprano Elizabeth Karani fresh from the stages of the Royal Opera House, Grange Park, English Touring Opera and Opera Holland Park. Elizabeth is singing Fiordiligi’s fabulous aria from Cosi fan Tutte.

Prokofiev Classical Symphony, Op. 25
Tchaikovsky Variations on a Rococo Theme, Op. 33
Mozart Come Scoglio: Fiordiligi’s Aria from Così fan Tutte
Mozart Symphony no. 39 in E flat, K. 543

St George’s Hanover Square | Tuesday 10 February 2026

London Firebird Orchestra | Conductor George Jackson
Cello Aleksei Kiseliov | Soprano Elizabeth Karani