BBC Concert Orchestra. Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham, 10 November 2025, 5☆☆☆☆☆. Review: William Ruff.

Photo Credit: Johanna Berghorn

BBC Concert Orchestra. Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham, 10 November 2025,

5☆☆☆☆☆. Review: William Ruff.

“A concert that was about so much more than the music.”

When BBC Radio 3 producers scheduled a recording of the popular Friday Night is Music Night series at Nottingham’s Royal Concert Hall they weren’t equipped with a crystal ball.  If they had been able to look into the future, into the dark, damp days of November 2025 in Nottingham, they would have had a shock.  Nottingham has a national reputation as a city which cherishes its music.  So when Nottingham University issues a statement which says that it is suspending its undergraduate Music course the news comes as a bombshell not only to students and academics but to the wider city as well, especially as the suspension could so easily become permanent.

This concert contained some powerful ingredients, quite apart from fine music-making.  The BBC Concert Orchestra is currently enjoying an extremely fruitful partnership with students from the city’s two universities.  Monday night’s concert featured music by members of Nottingham University’s Music department who spoke about their compositions whilst urging people to help them fight the decision by signing the online petition.  And Jeneba Kanneh-Mason was the piano soloist, from a family that passionately campaigns for greater music provision in our educational establishments.  Add to this the protestors who had gathered in front of the Royal Concert Hall beforehand, holding banners, distributing handouts – and (most importantly) playing music to welcome concert-goers.  It was the most courteous, most thoughtful, most foot-tapping protest you’re ever likely to witness.  It all amounted to a heady mix – so bear that in mind if you listen to the broadcast on Friday 28 November. 

All this gave something of an edge to the music that followed, although I should say that there were no disruptions, no orange paint, nothing to spoil the audience’s enjoyment of a varied programme (much of it curated by the young people of Nottingham) and fine playing from the BBC Concert Orchestra. 

Classical music was represented by Rimsky-Korsakov’s buzzing bumble bee, Grieg’s ferocious Mountain King and Saint-Saens’ spooky Danse Macabre – as well as a complete performance of Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G by Jeneba Kanneh-Mason.  This is a work of extremes, the outer movements blithe and bubbly but containing much mystery and tenderness too.  Jeneba’s playing of the central Adagio was exquisite, capturing its sweet melancholy and making listeners wonder whether there’s a more gorgeous slow movement in the whole classical repertoire.  Conductor Edwin Outwater coaxed a suitably sophisticated sound from the BBC Concert Orchestra.  Jeneba dedicated her encore to the University’s Music Department.

There was plenty of high-octane film music as well (La La Land, My Neighbour Totoro, How to Train Your Dragon) and some heart-melting songs from Alice Fearn.  Her performance of Let You Break My Heart Again and the Wicked show-stopper ‘Defying Gravity’ brought thunderous applause from the audience.

In the spring Nottingham hosted the Soundstage Festival, one of whose highlights was the collaboration of student animators and composers with the BBC Concert Orchestra.  Three scores from that memorable occasion featured in this concert, the student composers reminding us that this sort of student creativity, culminating in performance at one of the country’s leading concert venues depends on the sort of Arts education which has flourished at Nottingham University but which is now threatened.  The eloquence and talent of the young people involved in this BBC concert were truly impressive.  It was certainly a joyous occasion – but it was equally apparent that the smiles shone through tears.

Friday Night is Music Night.  BBC Concert Orchestra, Edwin Outwater (conductor), Jeneba Kanneh-Mason (piano), Alice Fearn (singer).  Concert to be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on Friday 28 November 2025.