Make sure you get your tickets nice and early to see a memorable performance, under the baton of Music Director Mark Prescott, at Nottingham's splendid Albert Hall on Saturday, 22nd November, starting at 7.30pm. The concert - and the season - will be launched by a fine orchestral showpiece,Verdi's Force Of Destiny Overture, always popular with audiences and players alike, from its attention-grabbing opening bars, through one of the composer's most lyrical melodies, to a rousing conclusion. One of the greatest works by one of this country's leading composers will give NSO's talented string section a chance to shine:Fantasia On A Theme by Thomas Tallis, by Ralph Vaughan Williams.One of two breakthrough works premiered within a month of each other in the Autumn of 1910 - the other being A Sea Symphony - the Tallis Fantasia is a wonderful showcase, dividing the section into a string quartet plus two different string orchestras to achieve a richness of sound that the composer was particularly pleased with. Spinning musical gold from the basis of the Thomas Tallis hymn tune Why Fumeth In Sight, a performance of this piece is not to be missed. Mahler fanswill be delighted by the news that NSO will not only be playing the composer's spectacular First Symphony but also the short tone poem Blumine, which was originally the second movement of the symphony in its first three performances. After its removal, the music was lost for many years before its discovery prompted a reappraisal of this lovely work. Don't miss a rare opportunity to hear Blumine and the First Symphony being played in the same concert!