Luxembourg, May 2018   Stefano Bollani, Gustavo Gimeno, Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg

Inspiring children to love classical music as much as I do is one of the most fulfilling yet sometimes challenging parts of my job. So I was thrilled when Pascal Sticklies, head of Education at the Luxembourg Philharmonie, asked me to write and present a children´s concert all about the wonderful American composer George Gershwin. It will be easy, I thought, Gershwin´s music is so popular! Well, it was anything but easy, but I loved every moment, especially choreographing the Towel Dance and then trying it out on various godchildren and friends…

I loved my time in Luxembourg – the Philharmonie is a fantastic concert hall and the orchestra was welcoming and wonderful. And Stefano Bollani is a dream to do such a project with! I adore him.

A child came up to me after the concert, hugged me around the knees and says “I loved it!” – these are the moments in my job which make everything worthwhile. Enjoy `Hello Mr Gershwin´and please join in the dance at the end!

Thank you to Alfonso Salgueiro for the great photos!