LPO and Nicola Benedetti, Royal Festival Hall

When Vladmir Juroswki decided to extend his contract with the London Philharmonic Orchestra to 2018, you could here the exhalations of breath throughout the Southbank. Since his 2006 appointment, the lightning rod Russian conductor has pushed the orchestra to a stunningly fine forms, harking back to its 70s and 80s glory days under Haitink and Solti. He opens their 2016/17 with a typically intelligent program.

Scottish violinist Nicola Benedetti, one of the few British musicians who can justly be called a national treasure, will join the orchestra. Rather than being defined by her 2004 BBC Musician of the Year win, she has continued widening her repertoire and strengthening her virtuosity with every year.

For her appearance with Jurowski and the LPO, Benedetti will take the lead in Karol Szymanowski’s two violin concerti. The first, composed in 1916, is a pioneering work of musical modernism that fuses eroticism and ecstasy. The second, which dates from 1932-33, is both calmer and brighter, a lyrical gem. They will be prefaced by Debussy’s Prelude a l’apres-midi d’un faune (1894), which stretches the boundaries of romantic music to breaking point, and followed by Bartok’s fantastical ballet Miraculous Mandarin (1918-24).

Ticket sales for the Southbank Centre’s 2016-17 season open on 9 Feb to members and 23 Feb to the general public