Name: Classics Reloaded
Start: 2026-11-22T19:00:00
Location: Smith Square Hall

Alexey Botvinov

Burhan Öçal

Sinfonia Smith Square

First, taking you on a journey with Bridge’s award-winning Phantasie filled with flowing and melodic declarations and playful interjections, all in a single movement. This is juxtaposed by Shostakovich’s Piano Trio No.2, which was finished in 1944, during the devastation of war and the loss of his beloved friend Ivan Sollertinsky. It begins by setting a desolate and eerie atmosphere with a fugue, where one instrument enters and is joined by another like echoes. This first movement soon turns more anxious and desperate as the pace quickens but unravels as it closes. The momentum is carried forth and accelerated by an electrifying and scherzo-like second movement charged with discordance and frenzy. The third movement takes after the passacaglia as the piano loops a sombre series of six chords beneath aching and agonising outcries in the violin and cello. The movement dissipates straight into the final movement known as the “Dance of Death”. It ties the themes of previous movements with a Jewish folk-like melody. Draws a finish by reminiscing the first movement perhaps to incite the foreseen destitute of hope.

Azuri Trio

Smith Square Hall

Ryan began playing at the age of four and has since performed internationally in recital and with orchestra. In 2026, he won First Prize at the Hastings International Piano Competition, also receiving the Orchestra Prize and Audience Prize. He was a semifinalist at the 2024 Leeds International Piano Competition, where he received the G. Henle Verlag Prize, and later advanced to the semifinals of the Hamamatsu International Piano Competition.

Ryan Zhu, Piano

Join the London Rhymes team for this song explosion of a show, presenting highly original, eclectic and interactive songs that have been co-written with families since 2015. Bringing together the talents of five incredible musicians (voice, flute, trombone, guitar and percussion), the show will take the whole family on an exciting musical adventure, meeting instruments, sounds, songs, colours and a few animals along the way…

Rhymes LIVE!

For Marco Arcieri, Chopin is not merely repertoire but a lifelong artistic home. Deeply connected to the composer’s music from an early age, Arcieri has always felt in Chopin a voice that speaks directly to his inner world. After twenty-two years balancing his musical vocation with a successful career in engineering, Arcieri made the life-changing decision to leave his studio behind and devote himself entirely to the music he feels called to serve: the music of Chopin. In this all-Chopin recital, Arcieri offers not virtuosity for its own sake, but a deeply personal return to the composer’s authentic voice, one grounded in simplicity. Rejecting excess and affectation, he seeks to restore a style of playing in Chopin in which every phrase breathes naturally and every note is given space to resonate and speak. This recital is both a tribute and a mission: to share Chopin not as spectacle, but as intimate truth.

My Chopin

Composed in 1941 during his time in America, Britten’s An American Overture was intended for the Cleveland Orchestra, but was never performed during the composer’s lifetime, receiving its premiere in Birmingham in 1983. Barber’s much-loved Violin Concerto, composed two years earlier, features soloist Charlie Lovell-Jones.

The American Dream

Written at Villa Senar, the composer’s home on Lake Lucerne in Switzerland, this compact late work – premièred in Philadelphia in 1936 – features romantic melodies, references to the Dies irae and a thunderously triumphant conclusion.

Rachmaninov’s Symphony No.3

Taking centre stage is internationally acclaimed violinist Hyeyoon Park, praised for her ‘exhilarating musicianship’ (The Times) and ‘huge palette of tone’ (The Guardian).

Bruch and Beethoven

Enjoy the fusion of wine and music as you’re served a selection of canapés and 5 quality wines which have been thoughtfully paired with string quartets. Whether you’re a connoisseur or a newcomer, you’ll be made to feel welcome as our wine and music experts guide you through the evening with friendly and informative spoken introductions to enhance your tasting experience.

Tasting Notes: South Africa

Introducing Sanctuary, an experience where listening becomes a shared act of reflection and gathering. Step into our Hall, listen deeply, let your imagination wander, or simply rest and restore.

A Turning Leaf

Back by popular demand, the London Opera Company revives its critically acclaimed production of Wagner’s romantic tragedy, Tristan und Isolde. Featuring a full orchestra of professionals and the crème de la crème of London’s music graduates, alongside a stellar cast of singers with world-renowned expertise in Wagner, this promises to be an unmissable event for Wagner fans.

Tristan und Isolde

Over more than a decade in government, he has held some of the most senior offices of state – including Education Secretary, Justice Secretary and Secretary of State for Levelling Up, shaping policy across domestic reform, economic strategy and the future of the Union.

The Intelligence Squared Economic Outlook, with Michael Gove

The four works in the programme reveal Bach’s most charming and outgoing side, uniting splendor and elegant dances in a string of movements that include some of his most beloved music.

Bach Orchestral Suites

Classics Reloaded is a concert experience that reimagines three centuries of keyboard music through the encounter of two instruments and two traditions. Ukrainian pianist Alexey Botvinov — People’s Artist of Ukraine, Deutsche Grammophon recording artist, and the only pianist alive to have performed Bach’s Goldberg Variations over 300 times on stage — joins Burhan Öçal, the Turkish-Swiss master of the darbuka whose collaborations with Sting, Joe Zawinul, Fazıl Say and the Kronos Quartet have made him one of the most celebrated percussionists of our time.