TV newsreader and classic FM presenter John Suchet will help launch the ESO's 25th anniversary season.

He will introduce a concert featuring Beethoven's fifth and sixth symphonies at Malvern Theatres on Friday, October 7, at 7.30pm.

The ESO will be performing the complete cycle of symphonies by the composer during its silver jubilee season.

Earlier in the day, Suchet, a self-confessed Beethoven fanatic, will be signing books on the composer at Beacon Books on Belle Vue Terrace, from 4pm to 5pm.

The concert will be preceded, at 6.30pm, by the launch of the orchestra's new Alive & Kicking programme, a series of performances of British contemporary music.

It features a performance of Harrison Birtwistle's Abades and Nocturnes from The Io Passion. This pre-concert performance is free to all ticket holders for the main concert.

The evening will be conducted by the ESO's artistic director, William Boughton, who said he was excited by new developments incorporated in this cycle of Beethoven symphonies.

"We will be playing from the latest edition of these symphonies which has cleaned the canvas," he said.

Tickets for the performance are £8 to £28 on 01684 892277.