BBC NOW 2025-26 Season Enigma

Although written during her years in London, it is a longing for the seaside of her hometown of Barry that inspires tonight’s concert opener, Grace Williams’ Sea Sketches. Violinist Akiko Suwanai returns to perform Saint-Saëns elegantly dramatic, songfully melodious and deeply contrasting Third Violin Concerto, before we turn to Elgar’s iconic Enigma Variations, all under the baton of our Principal Guest Conductor, Jaime Martín.

Striking a balance between the light-hearted and the noble, Elgar’s Variations are an ingenious collection of musical sketches of his friends plus an astute self-portrait; an enigma hidden within the score as each variation is tagged with the initials of the friends’ nicknames.