Ondřej Adámek and Mendelssohn

The evening

An enticing, wintry new violin concerto contrasts with the glorious warmth of Mendelssohn’s uplifting choral symphony.

Mendelssohn’s Symphony No 2 is one of the most glorious and uplifting of all 19th-century orchestral works. The ‘Lobgesang’ or ‘Hymn of Praise’, a ‘symphony cantata’ featuring a lyrical and beautiful Sinfonia, dreamy arias and rousing choruses, was first performed in 1840 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Gutenburg’s printing press.

There’s a unique chance, too, to hear the UK premiere of Ondřej Adámek’s violin concerto Thin Ice, a fiercely imaginative and virtuosic work of unremitting energy and imagination.

Violinist Christian Tetzlaff, who premiered Thin Ice in 2025, brings this spectacular work to London, while the London Symphony Chorus is sure to exude radiance in Mendelssohn.

Thin Ice commissioned by the London Symphony Orchestra, Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, Musikkollegium Winterthur and L’Orchestre National de France.