Geoffrey Smith introduces a concert recorded at Liverpool's Philharmonic Hall. Dynamic young Russian Vasily Petrenko opens his second season as the RLPO's Principal Conductor with a wide-ranging programme including two world premieres. Soprano Kate Royal, winner of the 2004 Kathleen Ferrier Award, is the soloist in Ravel's ravishing Arabian Nights-inspired song-cycle, Sheherazade. Kate Royal (soprano) Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra Vasily Petrenko (conductor) Kenneth Hesketh: A Rhyme for the Season (world premiere) John McCabe: Symphony Labyrinth (world premiere; BBC commission) Ravel: Sheherazade Rachmaninov: Symphonic Dances.