On Tour in Cologne
Sir Antonio Pappano and Lisa Batiashvili
Kölner Philharmonie, Germany
Sunday 1 June 2025 • 8pm
Book TicketsThe Concert
Hector Berlioz
Overture: Le corsaire
Karol Szymanowski
Violin Concerto No 1
Interval
Hector Berlioz
Symphonie fantastique
Sir Antonio Pappano conductor
Lisa Batiashvili violin
London Symphony Orchestra
Tickets
Tickets €30–€126
Available from Kölner Philharmonie from 6 February 2025
The Concert
Dreams and fantasies from enigmatic Szymanowski to Berlioz’s most rock’n’roll work, the Symphonie fantastique.
The Music
Berlioz was always in thrall to one craze or other. His Le corsaire overture was inspired by a love of Byron, an attraction to piracy, and a failed affair. The result is a suitably colourful experience.
Composed in 1916, Szymanowski’s Violin Concerto is haunting, enigmatic and inspired by an ecstatic poem about a ‘rapturous conflagration’. And Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique is a wild ride through a drug-fuelled hallucination, triggered by thwarted love and full of astonishing orchestral effects.
The Performers
Lisa Batiashvili, known for her exquisite sound, is perfect for Szymanowski’s Concerto, the second instalment of her Artist Portrait series with the LSO. To open and close the concert, the LSO and Pappano enjoy a riotous adventure through Berlioz’s imagination.
