This concert marks the first London appearance of Vasily Petrenko with the RPO since the Orchestra’s announcement to appoint him as Music Director from 2021–2022. Described by the Chicago Classical Review as “one of the most technically equipped pianists of our time”, virtuosic pianist Denis Kozhukhin performs Brahms’ dramatic Piano Concerto No.1, a piece which encompasses music of brooding power and romantic tenderness.

Renowned for his epic tone poems, Richard Strauss’ Ein Heldenlebenis one of his signature masterpieces. Under the baton of Vasily Petrenko, this colossal orchestral work depicts the story of a hero grappling with life’s adversities and provides a thrilling finale which rounds off the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’s 2018–2019 series on stage at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall.