Marin Alsop Conducts Bernstein & Piazzolla
The UK’s Argentine tango dance champions join the Philharmonia Orchestra for the finale of this concert, a journey through the seductive sounds of Latin America.
Your starting point is Havana, where George Gershwin was inspired by the rhythms of the rumba to compose his Cuban Overture.
Then it’s on to New York, the setting for Leonard Bernstein’s gangland love story, West Side Story. Bernstein captures the simmering energy and passion of adolescence in memorable numbers including ‘Somewhere’ and ‘Mambo’.
Brazil is next – hold on to your hats as the orchestra flies through Edu Lobo’s irrepressible Pé de Vento.
After the interval, you’ll reach your final destination: Buenos Aires, Argentina, birthplace of tango.
Ksenija Sidorova, undisputed queen of the classical accordion, is the soloist in Astor Piazzolla’s Aconcagua Concerto. Piazzolla’s publisher named the piece after South America’s highest mountain, because it represented ‘the peak of Astor’s oeuvre’.
Last but certainly not least, UK, European and Middle East Argentine tango champions Iro Davlanti-Lo and Adrien Bariki-Alaoui join the party for two contrasting tangos – the tender and wistful Tanti anni prima (Many Years Ago), and to send you home humming, the most famous of them all: Libertango.
Performers
Philharmonia Orchestra
Marin Alsop conductor
Ksenija Sidorova accordion
Adrien Bariki-Alaoui tango dancer
Iro Davlanti-Lo tango dancer
Repertoire
Gershwin: Cuban Overture
Bernstein: Symphonic Dances from West Side Story
Edu Lobo: Pé de vento from Suite Popular Brasileira arr. Nelson Ayres
Interval
Piazzolla: Concerto for bandoneon, string orchestra & percussion (Aconcagua); Tanti Anni Prima (Ave Maria); Libertango arr. John Lenehan
Need to know
Royal Festival Hall auditorium at 6pm: pre-concert Insights Talk. Conductor Marin Alsop discusses this evening’s programme with Teddy Prout, the Philharmonia’s Director of Learning & Engagement. Admission free.
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.