Valentina Lisitsa and the Russian State Philharmonic Orchestra at Usher Hall

Valentina Lisitsa is not only the first YouTube star of classical music; more importantly, she is the first classical artist to have converted her online success into a global concert career. Since posting her first video ten years ago she has amassed a staggering 138 million video views on her channel whilst at the same time wowing audiences in person with her exceptional interpretations of the piano repertoire.

Lisitsa joins the mighty forces of the Russian State Philharmonic Orchestra for Rachmaninov’s third piano concerto, the most technically challenging of the composer’s four piano concertos. In 1996 ‘Rach 3’ played a starring role in the Oscar-winning film Shine ensuring that the work was introduced to a whole new audience, reaching an even higher level of popularity.

The Orchestra and conductor Valery Polyansky will also pay homage to the Great Russian composer Tchaikovsky through two of his standout works. Sleeping Beauty Suite, composed for the iconic 1890 ballet, will see the ensemble explore the ballet’s themes of light and dark, good and evil.

To complete this Russian programme we have a second Tchaikovsky piece, the intensely emotional Fourth Symphony. Written as the composer emerged from an overwhelming period of depression, the work circles between moments of poignancy to those of passion, expressing the composer’s fluctuating state of mind.

Having started in 1957 as The Symphony Orchestra of the Capella, conductor Valery Polyansky took over in 1992 and new opportunities were created following a merger with a choir. As a result, the repertoire of the orchestra is rich and includes both contemporary and traditional orchestral and choral works. The orchestra of Valery Polyansky ranks among the finest Russian symphonic collectives and frequently performs around the world as well as throughout Russia.

Listings Information
Door time: 2:00pm, Concert 3:00pm, Sunday 4 March 2018
Tchaikovsky - Sleeping Beauty Suite
Rachmaninov - Piano Concerto No.3
Tchaikovsky - Symphony No.4
Valery Polyansky Conductor
Valentina Lisitsa Piano
Prices
Tickets £34, £28, £23, £17 and £12.50