London Calling

A courtly swirl, an exuberant flourish, and Haydn’s 30th Symphony is on its elegant but delightfully unpredictable way. Here in London, we’ve loved Haydn’s music for over two centuries, and today he raises the curtain on two other composers with connections to the capital. Mendelssohn’s sparkling First Symphony was so popular here that he actually dedicated it to London’s Philharmonic Society. Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, meanwhile, was born in Holborn, though his father came from Sierra Leone. He went on to become one of the best-loved composers of the Edwardian era – and when you experience his music conducted by the young British conductor Ben Gernon, you’ll hear why.