News and Press

Yesterday evening (Sunday 17 August 2014), seventeen Every Child a Musician (EcAM) participants from the London Borough of Newham were given the chance of a lifetime as they performed their very own creative composition alongside the RPO at Newham’s annual Under the Stars concert.

The piece was written over four days of creative workshops with RPO musicians, during which participants learned about Elgar’s 'Enigma' Variations before trying their own hands at writing themes and variations about friends, family and people in their community.

Cristian Mandeal conducts the first concert of the Orchestra’s 2014-15 season at Cadogan Hall next month. Hannah Nepil speaks to him.

When Cristian Mandeal guides the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra through Franck’s Symphony in D minor this September, he will aim to steer a path between two cultures. ‘This symphony sits on the boundary between a French and German mood,’ he says. ‘There is a flexibility to it, which is more appropriate to French music than German – but it’s not French in the same way as Debussy or Ravel or Berlioz. It is a mood which is very specific to Franck.’