VIOLINIST Daniel Hope is launching his new album Spheres with a concert at World Museum Liverpool at 2.30pm on February 5.

Spheres is an anthology of music composed around the scientific concept of Musica Universalis - the idea of planetary movement creating sound. The album features canonical classical composers, such as JS Bach, alongside more popular composers including Ludovico Einaudi and Arvo Pärt.

As the concert is being held in a museum it will also include educational elements and will be followed by a Q&A.

THE Royal Liverpool Philharmonic has been awarded a £7.5m Arts Council England proposed investment towards the redevelopment of its Hope Street concert hall.

To confirm the funding, the organisation must now submit plans at a detailed stage of design and development, which will be assessed against ACE's Stage Two funding criteria.

In Spring 2012, ACE awarded seed funding of £634,000 to enable Liverpool Philharmonic to appoint architects Caruso St. John to lead a design team in the first steps towards a major refurbishment of the Grade II*-listed 1939 venue.

ACE has proposed investment of up to £7.5 million towards the refurbishment - the largest amongst the successful Stage Two applicants announced by ACE today. The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic has set an ambition for the refurbishment project of up to £12m.

I WAS flicking through the Liverpool Daily Post's 100 anniversary supplement that was published in 1955 and found this advert for the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra's Proms season at the now demolished Liverpool Stadium.

Seemed appropriate to post it here along with this Storify list of reactions to the Phil's Proms concert, which took place at the Royal Albert Hall last week, and which I reviewed in yesterday's Post.

THIS week's Post Culture supplement, inside the Liverpool Post from today, includes 50 unmissable cultural highlights - from this weekend's Music on the Waterfront concerts to a Rolf Harris-themed workshop at the Walker Art Gallery.

Columnist Jamie Bowman remembers the heady days of Stock Aitken and Waterman, I ask how true to life on Broadway is the NBC series Smash and Peter Spaull takes a look at the RLPO's Summer Pops season.

In the meantime, why not check out some of these features from last week's edition of Post Culture:

INTERVIEW: Arlene Phillips on choreographing Starlight Express for a new generation at the Liverpool Empire

INTERVIEW: Conductor Stephen Bell on bringing the Hallé to Tatton Park Picnic Concerts

INTERVIEW: Curator Ine Gevers on the DaDaFest exhibition Niet Normaal at The Bluecoat

INTERVIEW: The Alif Ensemble's Khyam Allami on his Philharmonic Hall concert

LAURA DAVIS: Who wants to reopen Garston's Empire Theatre?

JAMIE BOWMAN: Post music columnist picks over the nation's favourite number ones

THIS week's Post Culture supplement, inside the Liverpool Post, has interviews with Arlene Phillips on Starlight Express, curator Inge Gevers on Niet Normaal at The Bluecoat, The Alif Ensemble on their Philharmonic Hall concert and Halle conductor Stephen Bell.

There's also a competition for a Post reader to get to conduct the Halle at the Tatton Park Picnic Concerts and a two-for-one offer on tickets for Starlight Express at the Liverpool Empire.

In the meantime, why not check out some of these features from last week's edition of Post Culture:

INTERVIEW: Liverpool artist Anthony Brown on creating Living Art, a live studio at Mann Island

INTERVIEW: Paul Heaton makes nightmare an inspiration for new soul opera The 8th

INTERVIEW: Jordanian actor Nadim Sawalha on his play Rest Upon the Wind at Liverpool's Unity Theatre

THEATRE REVIEW: Chicago, Liverpool Empire

THEATRE REVIEW: Reds and Blues, Royal Court

EXHIBITION REVIEW: The Humble Market, FACT

GREAT news - the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra is playing at the Proms again this year. I went along two years ago and it remains one of my favourite experiences in my job of arts editor.

Details. . .

The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Chief Conductor, Vasily Petrenko will perform at the BBC Proms on Thursday, 23 August 2012.

A BONANZA post today to mark the start of the new season...

 AS I mentioned in my previous blog post, I spent the weekend in Cyprus at an opera festival. There is no Liverpool connection whatsoever - yes I know, even though Scousers get everywhere - but as Pafos is so popular with British holidaymakers there's a chance some of you might be tempted to go out there next year.

No hang on, there is a slight link - Pafos is currently bidding to be Capital of Culture and it's Aphrodite Festival is a strong part of its bid. It's the 13th year of the opera festival and each time they build an outdoor auditorium next to the medieval castle in the harbour for just three performances.

LAST week, I had the honour of meeting some of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra's patrons for a feature in today's Daily Post. With funding cuts to the arts the Phil is having to rely more and more on the financial support of ordinary people. It was interesting to discover that those ordinary people also rely on the Phil. I noticed they used the word "we" a lot when describing the orchestra, which sums up how close to the organisation they feel.

You can find out more about becoming a patron here.

IT'S been a big week for the visual arts in Liverpool with two exhibitions opening at Tate Liverpool and another at the Walker Art Gallery. You can read my features on Magritte: The Pleasure Principle, Art In Revolution: Liverpool 1911 and Robert Therrien: Smoke Signals by clicking on the links.

I spent yesterday between both galleries gorging myself on beautiful art works, including Paul Gauguin's Sister of Charity, Vincent Van Gogh's Hayricks and Paul Sérusier's Breton Women in the Rain. But it was in front of Liverpool artist James Hamilton Hay's Falling Star that I, for a moment or two, considered a Thomas Crowne Affair style heist. My favourite Magritte's included The Night Owl, which I later found out inspired the poster for film The Exorcist, and The Key To The Fields - a broken window where the shattered panes of glass have retained the image that would have been behind it when it was whole.

I WAS lucky enough to go Paris with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra last weekend - they're on tour in Europe at the moment playing seven concerts in seven different cities over seven days. I've written a feature about their tour here if you want to find out more.

Their performance of Tchaikovsky's Manfred was astounding - I sat bolt upright despite my 4am start as they played it at the Theatre de Champs Elysees. It's being repeated at the Philharmonic Hall on Sunday and is on this recording if you can't make it to the concert but would still like to listen.