Royal Philharmonic launches 2022/23 season at Hull City Hall

‘MAGICAL’: The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra performing at the Royal Festival Hall in London. Picture by Ben Wright

The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra launches its 2022/23 season in Hull next week with a concert at the City Hall.

The concert, on Thursday, September 29, will feature a celebration of some of the greatest film scores ever written, including the soundtracks to ET and the Harry Potter films. There will also be talks by academics from the University of Hull, and a chance to meet the performers.

The Hull City Hall event is the first of four special performances by the Royal Philharmonic, including performances of Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1 (with soloist Jenifer Pike), Beethoven’s Symphony No.5, and Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition.

They are part of a concert series which includes the Hull Philharmonic Orchestra, Hallé Orchestra, and Swedish Philharmonia.

The season opens as new research commissioned by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra suggests people in Yorkshire and the Humber’s engagement with orchestral music during the lockdowns and restrictions of the past three years has increased, with more people now open to going to an orchestral concert, and more listening to orchestral music as part of their daily lives, than they were pre-pandemic.

The poll showed that in 2018, 74 per cent of people in Yorkshire and the Humber said they would be interested in attending an orchestral concert – from traditional Classical repertoire to concerts featuring music from the musicals, soundtracks, and crossover concerts. By 2022, this proportion had increased to 77 per cent.

Similarly, the proportion of people who said they listened to orchestral music as a part of their daily lives increased from 57 per cent in 2018 to 59 per cent overall, with the role of music changing as people adapted to remote and hybrid working.

James Williams, managing director of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, said: “We are hugely excited to open our 2022/23 season in Hull, and thrilled to be bringing some of today’s finest solo artists to perform with the world-renowned musicians of the orchestra in the magnificent surroundings of Hull’s City Hall.

“The programme over the course of the season has something for all kinds of orchestral music lovers – from the soundtracks to ET and Harry Potter in the opening concert to large-scale symphonies and rarely performed gems. Each of our concerts features talks from academics at the University of Hull as well as opportunities to meet the artists.”

He added: “While the world has largely moved on from Covid, the damage that it has caused the arts was considerable and will take some time from which to recover. The one silver lining has been audiences’ engagement with orchestral music, which our research shows has increased, with more people in the region listening as part of their ‘new normal’ daily lives.

“Of course, nothing beats the real thing – the sheer power of a live orchestral concert is second to none – a magical, life-affirming experience. I hope you can make it.”

For tickets and more information about the concert series click here.