THE 2015 Leeds International Piano Competition winner, Anna Tsybuleva, performs with The Hallé under conductor Sir Mark Elder on Saturday (January 13) at Leeds Town Hall. Exciting and colourful pieces by Delius, Ravel and Elgar are programmed in the first concert of 2018 from Leeds International Concert Season.

The concert opens with Paris – ‘The Song of a Great City’ by Delius. The piece is full of colour and captures many of the composer’s own memories of living in the French capital city. Anna Tsybuleva takes to the stage to perform Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G. The jazz-influenced three-movement work is full of rhythmically exciting passages, beautiful melodies and energising, dissonant harmonies. The Hallé then performs Fantasia and Fugue in C minor by Bach, orchestrated by Elgar. It was orchestrated by Elgar as a way to help him through the grief of losing his wife. Elgar uses instruments to allude to the magnificent sound of the organ. Elgar’s Enigma Variations closes the concert. The enigma continues to tease musicians today, whilst the fourteen musical pictures characterise the composer’s wife, friends and even himself in music.

Described by pianist Peter Donohoe as ‘one of the very finest young musicians of her generation’, Anna Tsybuleva is the second female winner of the prestigious Leeds International Piano Competition. As a child, her mother taught her piano and she went on to win her first competition, the Russian National Piano Competition, aged eleven. She has won many other competitions such as the International Piano Competition at Ibla, Italy. Anna has performed concertos with orchestras such as The Hallé, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, and recently made a successful debut in Singapore with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra.

Sir Mark Elder has been the Musical Director of The Hallé since 1999, and is currently the President of the London Philharmonic Choir. He has conducted many orchestras such as the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the London Mozart Players and in 1991, he won an Olivier Award for his outstanding work as the Musical Director of the English National Opera. Sir Mark Elder was knighted in 2008, was awarded the CBE in 1989 and in 2017 was created a Companion of Honour in the Queen’s Birthday Honours. Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra is among his favourites to conduct.

Amongst the world’s top symphonic ensembles, The Hallé makes a welcome return to the Leeds International Concert Season. You can also hear the orchestra on Saturday, February 24 at Leeds Town Hall with Leeds Piano Competition 2006 winner, Sunwook Kim.

Tickets for The Hallé are priced at £37.10 - £10.60 and are available from the City Centre Box Office on 0113 376 0318 or online at www.leedsconcertseason.co.uk.