Manchester's Hallé orchestra and conductor Kahchun Wong marked 30 years of the Bridgewater Hall with a concert celebrating both the venue and the broader strength of British concert halls. The centrepiece was the premiere of James MacMillan's sixth symphony, a major new commission that represents a fresh chapter in the composer's symphonic cycle following his 2019 choral fifth.

MacMillan's sixth symphony is an intricate, forward-looking work blending references to Elgar and Britten with innovative orchestration featuring pastoral flute passages, shimmering brass, percussion effects and a Debussyean harp-piano duet. The concert also included rare performances of Liszt's Les Préludes and Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5 "Emperor" with pianist Stephen Hough, whose robust interpretation and energetic interaction with Wong's orchestra complemented the programme's thematic exploration of struggle and triumph.