Feeling grand: Pianist Freddy Kempf & Northern Chamber Orchestra at The Stoller Hall

Back at The Stoller Hall at Chets, the Northern Chamber Orchestra gets its second season at the new venue off to a dramatic start with some Mendelssohn and Beethoven led by internationally acclaimed, prolific pianist Freddy Kempf. Easing the audience in with Mendelssohn’s famous Fingal’s Cave overture The Hebrides, Op. 26, the music rolls along like the waves at the sea cave on the uninhabited Scottish island of Staffa that inspired it. Things get a little more stormy with Beethoven’s great C minor Piano Concerto, which reflects the composer’s take on the world as his deafness began to creep upon him. The second half of the programme gives the Northern Chamber Orchestra the chance to take on the mighty ‘Eroica’ Symphony, also written by Beethoven during the time of his realisation – and stoic rejection – of his impending disability, and rounding the concert off nicely with an exciting and triumphant finale. See Freddy playing and chatting about his work below.

Fri 28 Sep, The Stoller Hall, Hunts Bank, Manchester, M3 1DA, Tel: 0333 130 0967, 7.30pm, £5.45-27.25, www.ncorch.co.uk