RPO Revealed: a new concert format unlocking stories behind the music

What can audiences expect from a Revealed concert that’s different from a traditional symphonic performance? 

Instead of just playing the piece, Dr. Leah Broad, our musicians, and our extraordinary conductors – including our Music Director, Vasily Petrenko, and our 2026–27 Conductor-in-Residence, Adam Hickox – will be talking directly to the audience. They’ll play short excerpts to demonstrate a point, isolate specific instruments or sections, and explain the drama and architecture of the piece before we finally put it all back together and perform it straight through in all its thrilling glory. 

Can you tell us what inspired the creation of the Revealed concert series, and how they fit into the RPO’s wider 2026–27 season?

The inspiration for Revealed comes directly from a core RPO belief: great orchestral music is truly for everybody. Our latest research shows a remarkable surge in public curiosity, with 35% of UK adults – and a rapidly growing number of younger people – explicitly wanting to discover and learn more about orchestral music. That’s a huge leap from just 11% in 2021! My job is to figure out how to help these curious listeners take the plunge and experience a live orchestral concert with the RPO. We know the traditional concert format can sometimes feel somewhat intimidating to newcomers, which is exactly why we created Revealed. 

But crucially, this isn't just about opening doors for new audiences; it's about enriching the experience for the most devoted music lover. By taking a single masterpiece apart and exploring its inner workings in an entertaining yet deeply informative way, we are stripping away barriers for new listeners while offering our core audience a fresh, fascinating perspective on the music they already love. It creates a welcoming gateway into our wider 2026–27 season for everyone. 

The initial Revealed concerts focus on composers like Mozart and Tchaikovsky. How does the Revealed format help listeners hear familiar music in a new way? 

When we listen to famous pieces by the great composers, it’s very easy to become overly familiar with them. But there is so much incredible detail and sheer technical brilliance beneath the surface. We hope the Revealed concert will be like looking at a famous painting through a magnifying glass in order to be able to understand the whole in more detail. 

By deconstructing these beloved works in a fun and engaging way, we help the audience hear textures, structural genius, musical 'inside jokes' and back stories they might have missed, even if they've listened to the piece for decades. When we finally perform the piece in its entirety at the end of the concert, the audience will hear it in absolute high definition. 

If someone is curious about classical music but unsure where to start, why would Revealed be a great first concert to attend?

For a newcomer, the traditional concert hall can sometimes feel a bit intimidating –people often worry that they 'don't know enough' to enjoy it properly. Revealed strips all of that anxiety away because no prior knowledge is required; we are giving you the roadmap. It’s the perfect, welcoming first date with classical music at only one hour long there is plenty of opportunity to enjoy a dinner out afterwards or beforehand. 

However, it is equally rewarding for our regular audiences who want to dive deeper into a single piece of music. The idea is that it will be like watching your favourite film with the director’s commentary turned on. Even if you have heard Tchaikovsky a hundred times, how often do you get to hear an internationally acclaimed conductor of Vasily Petrenko's calibre explain exactly why he chose a certain tempo, or hear Adam Hickox break down the complex dialogue between sections? It promises to offer deep, informative, behind-the-scenes insights, all packaged in a highly entertaining format that is highly accessible. 

Looking ahead, how do you hope audiences will feel when they leave a Revealed concert, and what do you hope they’ll want to do next? 

I want all our audiences – whether it’s their first RPO concert or their thousandth – to leave feeling energised, stimulated, and more closely connected to our brilliantthe world-class musicians and conductors on stage. For newcomers, I hope they walk out of the hall feeling a sense of ownership over the music, realising that symphonic music isn't an exclusive club, but a deeply human, emotional language that belongs to them too. For our core audience, I hope they leave feeling intellectually stimulated and inspired by the fresh layers of the music we've uncovered, as well as (as ever) inspired by the brilliance of the RPO 

As for what’s next, my greatest hope is that they feel excited to explore the rest of our 2026–27 season. Whether they return for another Revealed event to learn more, or take their new-found listening tools into a traditional symphonic performance, I want them to feel that the RPO is their musical home.