City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra

Cheerful, brilliant, ‘in the spirit of Mozart’ and with a literal bang: Maurice Ravel's Piano Concerto in G major is hard to beat in terms of vibrancy. Stupendous virtuosity and iridescent rhythms, but also emotionality with a brooding, gloomy gloom are all part of this colourful work, which moves gracefully between periods and stylistic levels. It is a central star in Fazıl Say's concert repertoire. Like Ravel himself, the pianist is a traveller between musical worlds and a mediator between musical cultures. Under the baton of its new chief conductor Kazuki Yamada, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra embeds Ravel's concerto in a programme that pays homage to rhythm and lets the orchestral colours dance.