Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO), Cantamus Girls Choir, Mark Bebbington

Barry Wordsworth - conductor
Mark Bebbington - piano
Cantamus Girls Choir

Programme
Elgar - Overture: Cockaigne
Ireland - Piano Concerto
Holst - The Planets

This all-English programme brings together two specialists in music from these shores to perform a pair of timeless classics and a concerto from a composer worthy of rediscovery. John Ireland’s infatuation with his pupil and protégée, Helen Perkin, was the driving force behind his 1930 Piano Concerto.

There’s no better advocate of its charms than British pianist Mark Bebbington, whose devotion to Ireland’s music has earned him consistent acclaim. Bookending Ireland’s concerto are Elgar’s evocative portrait of Edwardian London, with romancing lovers and rousing brass bands, and Holst’s spectacular suite, The Planets.

Taking his cue from astrology, Holst gives life to seven deities, from the brutal momentum of Mars, to the ethereal atmosphere of Neptune, the Mystic, featuring Nottinghamshire’s Cantamus Girls Choir.