London Philharmonic Orchestra, Marios Papadopoulos, Alison Balsom

The LPO returns to The Bridgewater Hall with Classic FM Award Winner Alison Balsom for an evening of American-influenced music. Alison performs British composer Bramwell Tovey’s evocative 'Songs of the Paradise Saloon' for trumpet and orchestra. Adapted from Tovey’s opera 'The Inventor' about a real-life 19th-century con-artist, this unusual piece evokes the atmosphere and characters found in a turn-of-the-century American dive bar with its languid, jazz-infused music.

Closing the evening is Dvorák’s much-loved 'Symphony No. 9 (From the New World)', his touching symphonic hymn to the slave songs and spirituals of America, which includes the famous Largo melody.

Composer of West Side Story Leonard Bernstein's Overture to his operetta 'Candide' opens the concert in suitably exhilarating fashion.