The BBC Philharmonic - with Strings Attached

John Storgards, the BBC Philharmonic's chief guest conductor, joins the orchestra for a programme which begins with a Haydn rarity; the overture to his puppet opera, Philemon und Baucis written for entertainment at Esterhazy. Britten's Nocturne - one of the treasured song-cycles he wrote for his partner, Peter Pears - explores a rich world of night-time images and dreams, drawing on an anthology of poems including words by Shakespeare, Tennyson and Keats. The soloist this evening is leading British tenor and former BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist Allan Clayton. The spotlight falls on the strings of the BBC Philharmonic for Tchaikovsky's jewelled Serenade for Strings and another short gem by Tchaikovsky, the Entr'acte from his incidental music to 'Hamlet' in which the King and Queen express bewilderment at their son's descent into madness.

Presented by Tom McKinney from MediaCityUK, Salford

Haydn: Overture, Philemon und Baucis
Britten: Nocturne
Tchaikovsky: Hamlet - Entr'acte (Act IV)
Tchaikovsky Serenade for Strings

Allan Clayton (tenor)
BBC Philharmonic
John Storgards (conductor)