Marin Alsop & Alisa Weilerstein
A whirlwind trip with the Philharmonia Orchestra takes us from Mexico’s underground caves, in a new work by Gabriela Ortiz, to Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade.
Marin Alsop conducts ‘Mexico’s second national anthem’ and an exciting new cello concerto by the Philharmonia’s Featured Composer Gabriela Ortiz.
Ortiz’s concerto, written for tonight’s soloist Alisa Weilerstein, is inspired by the caves and underground rivers (‘dzonot’ in Mayan and ‘cenotes’ in Spanish) of the Yucatán peninsula.
Its four movements, ‘Vertical Light’, ‘Eye of the Jaguar’, ‘Jade’ and ‘The Toh Bird’, pay homage to this remarkable and threatened ecosystem.
Arturo Márquez is the son and grandson of Mexican mariachi musicians, and one of the country’s most admired composers. He describes the danzón, a favourite in the dance parlours and salons of Cuba and Mexico, as ‘music full of sensuality, which old Mexican people continue to dance with a touch of nostalgia’.
His Danzón No.2 is often referred to as ‘Mexico’s second national anthem’.
To top off this concert full of colour, Marin Alsop conducts Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade, an enduring favourite with audiences and musicians alike.
A beguiling solo violin melody represents the clever bride who spins captivating tales of sailors and shipwrecks, princes and princesses, to keep her husband the Sultan under her spell for 1001 nights.
Performers
Philharmonia Orchestra
Marin Alsop conductor
Alisa Weilerstein cello
Repertoire
Arturo Márquez: Danzón No.2
Gabriela Ortiz: Cello Concerto (Dzonot) (London premiere)
Interval
Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade
Need to know
For your visit
This event is held at the Royal Festival Hall Southbank Centre
The Royal Festival Hall is open six days a week.
Tuesday – Sunday, 10am – 11pm
Monday, closed.
Plan your visit
The Royal Festival Hall is home to our largest auditorium as well as The Clore Ballroom, National Poetry Library, Members’ Lounge, Festival Bar & Kitchen, Ballroom Cafe and Skylon restaurant.
Getting here
Our address is Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London, SE1 8XX.
The nearest tube stations to us are Waterloo and Embankment; Waterloo is also the nearest train station. And more than 20 different London bus routes pass within 500 metres of our venues. More information on getting here by rail, road or river is available on our Getting here page.
We’re cash-free
Please note that we’re unable to accept cash payments across our venues.
Access
We’re working hard to remove barriers, so that our facilities and events can be accessible to as many people as possible.
All help points, toilets, performance and exhibition spaces at the Southbank Centre are accessible to all, as are the cafes, bars and restaurants. We also have excellent public transport links with step-free access.
All information about booking wheelchair spaces, step-free access, blue badge parking, access maps and guides and other help available whilst you’re here, including details about our Access Scheme, can be found on our Access page.
Food & drink
On Level 2 of our Royal Festival Hall you can grab a slice of life by the Thames with drinks and freshly made pizza at our Festival Bar & Kitchen which opens out onto our Riverside Terrace. You can grab a coffee and a slice of freshly made cake from our Ballroom Cafe. Or alternatively enjoy destination dining in the restaurant at Skylon.
From coffee to cocktails, filling favourites to fine dining, plus some of London’s best street food – it’s all here at the Southbank Centre.