Imogen Cooper and Britten Sinfonia Winds, Guildhall School of Music & Drama

Despite being on Valentine’s Day, this concert isn’t giving in to slushy romantic music. In this respect, it is a good performance to go to with a partner or with friends if you don’t want romance unsubtly forced upon you.

One of the interesting things about the award-winning chamber orchestra ensemble, Britten Sinfonia , is that it doesn’t have a musical director or principal conductor. Instead, its ethos is to collaborate with guest artists. This means that each concert has a different mind behind it, resulting in a unique experience every time.

This time, it’s the turn of the celebrated pianist Imogen Cooper . Awarded a CBE in 2007, she is considered one of the finest interpreters of the classical era repertoire – Mozart and Beethoven, in particular. She is a frequent performer and supporter of new music, but also an ambassador for chamber music.  She will be performing and directing three works: Beethoven’s Quintet in E flat for piano and winds Op. 16 , Mozart’s Serenade No. 10 for winds in Bb major , K361 Gran Partita , and, finally, a new piece from the young composer Mark Simpson . 

Simpson is the current BBC Young Musician of the Year and has been commissioned to write a new work for the same instruments as Mozart’s Gran Partita which will be performed just before Simpson’s premiere. It will be written for two oboes, two clarinets, two basset horns, two bassoons, four horns and a double bass. It doesn’t have a name yet, but this will be part of its world premiere tour. Be the first to hear it in London at Milton Court , the state-of-the-art Guildhall School venue, where the Britten Sinfonia has taken a residency.

Tickets: £10-£30

Address & Map: Guildhall School of Music & Drama,  Silk Street,  Barbican,  London EC2Y 8DT

Nearest Tube: Barbican, Moorgate