RIPON International Festival will present the Royal Northern Sinfonia at Ripon Cathedral on Saturday, May 2.

Conducted by the festival’s artistic director, Janusz Piotrowicz, the orchestra will perform Mozart’s Overture Cosi fan tutte, Clarinet Concerto and Symphony no 38 (Prague).

Powerful, intensely moving, with elaborate scoring and delectable writing for winds, the “Prague” is a masterpiece of invention and beauty.

The soloist in the Clarinet Concerto is Michael Whight, one of the world’s finest musicians, who has performed with the Philharmonia, Royal Philharmonic, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, l’Orchestre du Monde, the Lindsay, Schidlof and Medici quartets, and recorded for Hyperion, Teldec and the BBC, receiving the highest international acclaim.

Piotrowicz is a visionary musician of compelling insight whose performances are renowned for clarity and intensity, unique depth of sound and melting tenderness.

His conducting (without the score) of the monumental Rachmaninov 2nd Symphony with the Hallé in a packed Royal Hall at last year’s festival was a thrilling experience, a prodigious feat of memory, and a milestone in the region’s musical life.

More excitement is in store from September 5-19th when the 18th Ripon International Festival takes place. Highlights will be posted on the website soon. Tickets for the spring concert are £12-£28 from the box office on 01765 605508 and 603994 or online at riponinternationalfestival.com.