City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra light up Royal Albert Hall
As views go, this isn’t a bad one – even if it brings the pressure of 5,500 pairs of eyes looking at you.
The Royal Albert Hall is the dream venue for musicians and one of the UK’s most treasured and distinctive buildings.
And for members of the the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra it was a pleasure and delight to play.
The musicians are used to the pressure of playing in front of large crowds.
But there is something special about playing at the iconic venue made famous by the Proms series of concerts.
The orchestra is usually based at Birmingham’s Symphony Hall and is renowned as one of the most accomplished in Europe.
It performed at this week’s Classic FM Live’s Hall of Fame 2019.
That meant a night to remember for musicians as they looked out at a capacity crowd at the venue on the edge of London’s Hyde Park.
Classic FM presenters Margherita Taylor and John Suchet led guests through various professional performances throughout the evening.
They included esteemed soloists Martin James Bartlett and Jennifer Pike – as well as The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and its conductor Michael Seal.
The special night was celebrating the station’s Hall of Fame 2019, including the chart’s new number one The Lark Ascending and Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2.
The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra tackled one of Wagner’s scores, the epic Ride of the Valkyries that’s at No. 122 in the Classic FM Hall of Fame 2019.
The evening overall was sold out completely, and finished with a grand finale of celebratory fireworks.
The Royal Albert Hall Proms start on July 19, ending after a series of 75 concerts with the Last Night on September 14.
