Clarinettist Emma Johnson to take to the stage with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

They will be joined by guest conductor Michael Seal for their next performance. Emma will be taking centre-stage for a stunning performance of Mozart’s lyrical Clarinet Concerto.

As one of the most recognisable pieces of classical music today, the piece regularly appears in the Top 10 in Classic FM’s Hall of Fame, the broadcaster’s annual poll of the world’s favourite classical music.

Completed in 1791, the year of Mozart’s death, the piece was originally intended for the basset clarinet, similar to a soprano clarinet but with an extended lower range.

The piece showcases both the virtuosity of the instrument and the soloist, with its leaps and bounds in the solo melody demonstrating the instrument’s versatility and the full range of its tone.

Together with Mozart’s earlier Clarinet Quintet of 1789, the Concerto was written for virtuoso clarinettist, Anton Stadler, and the first performance of the work took place in Prague in October 1791, with Stadler as soloist.

With more than half a million albums internationally sold, Emma Johnson is one of the UK’s best-selling classical artists, and has several captivating recordings with leading musicians such as Sir Yehudi Menuhin, Dame Cleo Laine, Julian Lloyd Webber and other appreciated artists to her name.

At age 17, Emma Johnson won BBC Young Musician of the Year closely followed by another win at Young Concert Artists Auditions in New York. She has been named by The Times as “Britain’s favourite clarinettist” and is one of few to have established a busy career as a solo performer.

The programme will open with Beethoven’s Egmont Overture. Sibelius’ Symphony No.2 will bring the programme to a close, a bold and unconventional work which the composer labelled as a “confession of the soul.”

The concert will be presented by Classic FM’s John Brunning, also a successful composer and musician.

It begins at 7pm on March 25. Contact the box office for tickets.