You’d have to have a heart of stone not to enjoy Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto. It’s chock-full of gorgeous song-like melodies for the solo violin, and the orchestra gets some seriously punchy tunes too. This is music that’s full of energy, not afraid to wear its heart on its sleeve. Tchaikovsky’s countryman Shostakovich isn’t renowned for writing ‘fun’ music, but his Symphony No. 9 is as close as he gets – the music veering from sassy slapstick to dancelike. Shostakovich is letting his hair down – or is it just a show, a smile for the authorities, masking something darker underneath?

Inspired by…fireflies!

Imagine a night under the stars, perhaps around the campfire and being utterly entranced by the fireflies dancing around you. This all too rare sight is brought to life in the concert hall by composer Kristine Tjøgersen.

Fireflies are fascinating creatures, with each species (in the UK we have glowworms) having their own distinct patterns and rhythms of blinking, the purpose of which is both to deter predators and attract a mate.

For her piece Bioluminescence Kristine translated firefly data behaviour and transformed it into an orchestra piece, with the rhythmic patterns of light and movement providing both melody and rhythm of her piece, The origins of the music are highlighted in performance with the orchestra being accompanied by 20 LED lights, the light levels gradually increasing throughout, underscoring one of the greatest threats to these amazing creatures – light pollution.