Event Categories: Classical

On sale to subscribers – Friday 27 June, 10am
General sale – Friday 4 July, 10am

Nil Venditti – Conductor
Andrew Byun – Cello

Rossini – Barber of Seville: Overture
Dvořák – Cello Concerto
Rachmaninov – Symphony No.1

A young, heartbroken Rachmaninov poured all of his emotion into the epic score of his First Symphony. For many years it was lost, but conductor Nil Venditti, along with the full might of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, gives this youthful tour-de-force its due.

In contrast, Dvořák’s Cello Concerto in B minor was the last solo concerto written before his death; its rich textures and lyrical melodies performed here by award-winning soloist Andrew Byun. The famous ‘Rossini crescendo’ sets a dramatic tone for the evening with the Overture to his highly popular comic opera The Barber of Seville.

“Venditti’s facility for phrasing and for highlighting detail was to the fore, teasing from the orchestra a warm sound and a bright demeanour.” Bachtrack, August 2024

On sale to subscribers – Friday 27 June, 10am
General sale – Friday 4 July, 10am

Serving more ‘Oh là là!’ than the Eiffel Tour wearing a beret, this concert brings together the greats of French classical music.

Starting with Berlioz’s mercurial ‘Carnival Romain’, the Hull Philharmonic will then lead the audience through the romance of Delibes’s ‘Ballet Suite’ from Sylvia and Ravel’s beguilingly melodic ‘Bolero’, winding up to the explosive crescendo of Saint-Saëns’ mighty ‘Organ Symphony’.

On sale to subscribers – Friday 27 June, 10am
General sale – Friday 4 July, 10am

Vasily Petrenko – Conductor
John Roberts – Oboe

Berlioz – Béatrice et Bénédict: Overture
Mozart – Oboe Concerto
Sibelius – Symphony No.2

Berlioz’s whimsical comic opera Béatrice et Bénédict was inspired by Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, so it’s no surprise that this playful, energetic orchestral opening is just as witty and light-hearted in style.

It’s followed by Mozart’s equally operatic Oboe Concerto – a delightful, three-movement piece that showcases his writing for oboe, with it’s technical passagework and bold tonal leaps in the excellent hands of Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Principal Oboe John Roberts. The programme ends on a more emotional note beneath the Northern Lights of Finland, as Sibelius’ mighty Second Symphony grows from tranquil beginnings to a sweeping, soaring hymn of triumph, all conducted by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’s Music Director Vasily Petrenko.

“The RPO’s Music Director Vasily Petrenko leads an orchestra who play with palpable hunger for him.” – The Times, May 2025

The world-famous Brighouse & Rastrick Band makes a welcome return to Hull. As perhaps the foremost brass band in the world, Brighouse brings their special brand of entertainment to the concert stage in a spectacular show that is not to be missed.

They will be supported by the City Of Hull Band in ‘A Brass Band Spectacular’.

On sale to subscribers – Friday 27 June, 10am
General sale – Friday 4 July, 10am

The Hull Philharmonic join forces with singers from East Riding County Choir and Hull Choral Union for an unforgettable afternoon of rousing operatic choruses.

From Bizet’s triumphant ‘March of the Toreador’ (Carmen) to Verdi’s poignant ‘Va Pensiero’ (Nabucco) to Puccini’s mesmerising ‘Humming Chorus’ (Madame Butterfly), this is a concert that has something everyone and is certainly not to be missed!

On sale to subscribers – Friday 27 June, 10am
General sale – Friday 4 July, 10am

Chloe Rooke – Conductor
Tobias Feldman – Violin

Beethoven – Egmont Overture
Mendelssohn – Violin Concerto
Schubert – Symphony No.9 ‘Great’

The BBC National Orchestra of Wales makes their debut at Hull City Hall with renowned violinist Tobias Feldman and British conductor Chloe Rooke at the helm. Schubert’s monumental Symphony No.9 was nicknamed ‘The Great’ not just because of it’s grand, lyrical scale, but to distinguish it from his sixth Symphony, also composed in C Major (and often referred to as ‘Little C’). With its majestic character and rich use of the brass section, it more than lives up to it’s name.

Virtuoso violinist Tobias Feldman brings his ‘ravishing, unspotted lyricism’ and ‘musical eloquence’ to Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto. One of the foremost violin pieces of the Romantic era, it took Mendelssohn over 6 years to complete and was the last concerto he composed before his untimely death at the age of 38. The evening opens with Beethoven’s dramatic Egmont Overture. Composed between 1809 -10 in Vienna, it’s brooding introduction and triumphant finale reflect the themes of struggle and victory in Goethe’s play of the same name.

“(The performance) calls for virtuosity and lyricism from Feldmann. He certainly has both, without in any way showing off. He’s a concentrated figure on the stage, only occasionally allowing himself a smile when he accomplishes a particularly difficult passage.” – The Edinburgh Music Review, 2021

On sale to subscribers – Friday 27 June, 10am
General sale – Friday 4 July, 10am

Nicolò Umberto Foron – Conductor
Elizabeth Watts – Soprano

Join the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, lead by award-winning conductor Nicolò Umberto Foron, for an evening of orchestral masterworks at Hull City Hall.

Experience the greats from Tchaikovsky’s elegant Sleeping Beauty Waltz to Elga’’s majestic Pomp and Circumstance and Strauss’ immortal Overture from Der Fledermaus. With favourites from composers including Sibelius, Dvořák, Offenbach, William Walton and Ethel Smyth, as well as an exciting array of iconic vocal works, this jam packed programme promises to be a night to remember.

A concert featuring over 400 pupils from schools that form the St Cuthbert’s Roman Academy Trust. Expect a first half showcasing the instrumental prowess of the pupils, with Rock & Pop bands, folk string ensembles and orchestral showstoppers.

The second half will feature mass choir items and vocal soloists, with repertoire selected from movie favourites and popular culture!