Nicholas returns once again to conduct The Hallé in three performances this week at The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester. The concerts will open with two ambient tone poems, Lemminkäinen’s Return and Swan of Tuonela from Sibelius Lemminkäinen Suite, influenced by the music of Wagner and Kalevala, the Finnish epic. Nicholas will then conduct Garrick Ohlsson in a performance of Rachmaninov Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini.
The concert will finish with Pétrouchka by Stravinsky, commissioned by the impresario, Serge Diaghilev after the success of The Firebird. Set in the Shrovetide (pre-Lenten) fair in St. Petersburg, the piece depicts puppets transforming into humans, amusements and drunken crowds. The concerts will take place on 22, 23 and 26 January.