Please note that this concert takes place on a Thursday.

Originally formed at the Royal Academy of Music, the Allora Ensemble has been performing together since late 2022. Their bass player had been touring with Mario Stefano Pedtrodarchi and his bandoneon ensemble, and wanted to bring some of this music to the UK where a group boasting a string quintet and accordion seemed to be a rare sight.

Allora has performed in masterclasses with Ksenija Sidorova and Martynas Levickis (both renowned accordionists), and they have also worked closely with Owen Murray, head of accordion at the Royal Academy of Music. In March 2025, they gave their debut performance at the Royal Festival Hall in London. They went on to record and film two pieces at the VOCES8 studio in London in conjunction with the Royal Academy of Music’s Young Artist Recording Scheme. They are winners of the Tunnel Trust Prize which guarantees them multiple concert bookings for 2026 and 2027. The group plans to commission new works in collaboration with the London Philharmonic Orchestra young composer scheme, and is currently creating its own arrangements across various musical genres to expand the repertoire of this unique ensemble.

The programme for this concert is:

• Gorka Hermosa: Anantango

• Franck Angelis: Fantasy on Piazzolla’s ‘Chiquilín de Bachín’

• Astor Piazzolla: Oblivion

• Sergey Akhunov: Two keys to one poem by J. Brodsky, ‘The Moon’ and ‘The River’

• Pietro Roffi: Hysteria

• Gorka Hermosa: Eika

• Richard Galliano: New York Tango

• Aliaksandr Yasinski: Peace

• Georgs Pelēcis: Flowering Jasmine

• Pietro Roffi: Nocturne, ‘A lullaby about times we have not lived yet’