Soho Theatre Walthamstow: Tchaikovsky, Grieg & Beethoven

Programme

We return to Soho Theatre Walthamstow with a programme full of dazzling drama: it’s as theatrical as orchestral music can get.

Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is one of the most heartbreakingly famous love stories to have ever been written. And who could better compose equally, achingly beautiful music to the story than Tchaikovsky? From the melancholic opening to the outpouring of passion in the climactic melody, Tchaikovsky’s rip-roaring Fantasy Overture is musical drama at its best.

Next comes Grieg’s Piano Concerto. From its opening timpani roll and crashing chords to its anthemic final moments, it’s brimful of passion and remains one of the most popular pieces in the orchestral repertoire. Tonight, we hear it in the hands of Alim Beisembayev, winner of the prestigious Leeds International Piano Competition in 2021.

Closing the concert is Beethoven’s mighty Fifth Symphony. The electrifying opening of the piece is one of the most iconic and instantly recognisable moments in orchestral music, but there’s so much more to the piece than that stop-you-in-your-tracks opening. Whether you’ve heard a dozen different recordings, or never listened to it all the way through, it’s well worth experiencing it live.