Maxim Emelyanychev conductor Timothy Ridout viola We launch our 2026/27 Season with a dazzling homage to Berlioz, the ultimate musical trailblazer. At the helm is our electrifying Principal Conductor, Maxim Emelyanychev, whose flair and imagination promise an unforgettable evening of drama and musical colour. Our journey begins with Harold in Italy, Berlioz’s poetic response to Byron’s wanderer. Here, the viola becomes the voice of a restless soul, and Timothy Ridout, one of today’s most compelling violists, guides us through landscapes steeped in Italian light and lyricism. Then, brace yourself for the full force of Symphonie fantastique, Berlioz’s revolutionary masterpiece. From its tender dreams to its hallucinatory visions of passion and the macabre, this is music that changed everything – a fevered confession in sound, brought vividly to life by Maxim and the SCO. Kindly supported by Donald and Louise MacDonald

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