The Hallé in Sheffield: March 2022

A programme of music with America at its core, conducted by Rodolfo Barráez, who makes his first visit to the Hallé since excelling in the inaugural Siemens-Hallé International Conductors Competition in 2020. Gershwin’s portrait of an American enjoying the sights and sounds of Paris, complete with car horns, is followed by the Violin Concerto of Austrian émigré Korngold, incorporating melodies from his lush scores for Hollywood movies. It’s played by Ning Feng, International Tutor at the Royal Northern College of Music and winner of the 2006 Paganini Competition. Jennifer Higdon’s City Scape is her evocation of Atlanta: here, in the slow movement, its creeks and parks. Bernstein’s dynamic symphonic dances were expanded from his music-theatre classic, in which Shakespeare’s ‘star-crossed lovers’ are relocated to New York.