Born in Arkansas in 1887, Florence Price (née Smith) was the first African-American woman to be recognised as a symphonic composer and have a composition played by a major orchestra.
On Saturday 14 June, musicians from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra joined students from Brent Music Service’s Junior Musician of the Year competition for a day of masterclasses focused on solo performance technique, in conjunction with the Orchestra's Community and Education team, RPO Resound.
Ahead of our performance of Victoria Borisova-Ollas' Open Ground at Cadogan Hall on Wednesday 11 June, we spoke to the composer about the story behind the piece and how she approaches writing music.
On Tuesday 20 May and Sunday 25 May our 2025 series, Lights in the Dark, continued at the Royal Albert Hall, conducted by Music Director Vasily Petrenko. Global superstar pianist Yunchan Lim performed Chopin's Piano Concerto No.2 to a sold-out auditorium before the Orchestra performed Strauss' vast Alpine Symphony, and Maxim Vengerov played Sibelius' Violin Concerto in a programme that included Stravinsky's ballet The Firebird.
Read on to see photos and reviews.
All photos © Andy Paradise
