Holst’s The Planets
Holst’s The Planets
The London Philharmonic Orchestra takes you on the ultimate cosmic journey.
Under the baton of principal conductor Edward Gardner, the London Philharmonic Orchestra returns to the Festival for the first time in a decade with a stunning programme.
The concert commences with Judith Weir’s Forest, an enchanting work with a fairytale character. Then, the prodigiously gifted pianist Beatrice Rana performs Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, a dazzling reimagining of Niccolò Paganini’s Caprice No. 24 for piano and orchestra.
Ending with a big bang, Gustav Holst’s The Planets takes you on the ultimate cosmic journey to explore our place in the universe. Inspired by his love of astrology, Holst transformed each planet into a mythological character – from the fierce god of war, Mars, to the serene goddess of love, Venus.
Listen on Soundcloud or Spotify.
Supported by Dunard Fund and Edinburgh Napier University,
with additional support from the Consulate General of Italy and the Italian Institute of Culture in Edinburgh.
Programme
A keepsake freesheet is available at the venue for this performance.
Full programme
Judith Weir Forest
13minsRachmaninoff Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op.43
25minsIntroduction. Allegro vivace
Variation I (Precedente)
Theme. L'istesso tempo
Variation II. L'istesso tempo
Variation III. L'istesso tempo
Variation IV. Più vivo
Variation V. Tempo precedente
Variation VI. L'istesso tempo
Variation VII. Meno mosso, a tempo moderato
Variation VIII. Tempo I
Variation IX. L'istesso tempo
Variation X. L'istesso tempo
Variation XI. Moderato
Variation XII. Tempo di minuetto
Variation XIII. Allegro
Variation XIV. L'istesso tempo
Variation XV. Più vivo scherzando
Variation XVI. Allegretto
Variation XVII. Allegretto
Variation XVIII. Andante cantabile
Variation XIX. A tempo vivace
Variation XX. Un poco più vivo
Variation XXI. Un poco più vivo
Variation XXII. Un poco più vivo (Alla breve)
Variation XXIII. L'istesso tempo
Variation XXIV. A tempo un poco meno mosso
Holst The Planets, Op.32
54minsI. Mars, the Bringer of War
II. Venus, the Bringer of Peace
III. Mercury, the Winged Messenger
IV. Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity
V. Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age
VI. Uranus, the Magician
VII. Neptune, the Mystic
Elgar Sospiri Op. 70
ENCORE
Performers
CloseOpen
- London Philharmonic Orchestra
- Edward GardnerConductor
- Beatrice RanaPiano
- Christopher BellArtistic Director
- Mark EvansAssociate Chorus Director
London Philharmonic OrchestraCloseOpen
- Principal ConductorEdward Gardner
- Chief ExecutiveDavid Burke
- First ViolinPieter Schoeman (leader)
Vesselin Gellev (sub-leader)
Kate Oswin
Lasma Taimina
Minn Majoe
Thomas Eisner
Katalin Varnagy
Martin Höhmann
Sylvain Vasseur
Ricky Gore
Alice Apreda Howell
Jamie Hutchinson
Ronald Long
Camille Buitenhuis - Second ViolinTania Mazzetti (principal)
Emma Oldfield (co-principal)
Claudia Tarrant-Matthews
Nancy Elan
Fiona Higham
Nynke Hijlkema
Marie-Anne Mairesse
Joseph Maher
Sophie Phillips
Ashley Stevens
Vera Beumer
Lyrit Milgram - ViolaFiona Winning (guest principal)
Lourenço Macedo Sampaio
Katharine Leek
Martin Wray
Kate De Campos
Jisu Song
Jenny Poyser
Mark Gibbs
Jill Valentine
Toby Warr - CelloHenry Shapard (principal)
David Lale
Francis Bucknall
Miguel Ángel Villeda Cerón
Daniel Hammersley
Sue Sutherley
Tom Roff
Sibylle Hentschel - Double BassSebastian Pennar (principal)
Hugh Kluger
George Peniston
Tom Walley
Laura Murphy
Adam Wynter - FluteAnna Wolstenholme (guest principal)
Ellie Blamires
Stewart McIlwham
Katherine Bicknell - PiccoloStewart McIlwham (principal)
Katherine Bicknell - Alto FluteStewart McIlwham
- OboeJohn Roberts (guest principal)
Hannah Condliffe
Jack Tostevin-Hall - Cor AnglaisBen Marshall
- Bass OboeAdrian Rowlands
- ClarinetBenjamin Mellefont (principal)
Thomas Watmough
James Maltby - Bass ClarinetPaul Richards (principal)
- BassoonJonathan Davies (principal)
Helen Storey
Ruby Collins - ContrabassoonSimon Estell (principal)
- HornJohn Ryan (principal)
Mark Vines (co-principal)
Jonathan Quaintrell-Evans
Oliver Johnson
Duncan Fuller
Elise Campbell
Amadea Dazeley-Gaist - TrumpetPaul Beniston (principal)
Tom Nielsen (principal)
Anne McAneney
David Hilton
Joe Skypala - TromboneMark Templeton (principal)
Jamie Tweed - Bass TromboneLyndon Meredith (principal)
- EuphoniumDavid Whitehouse
- TubaLee Tsarmaklis (principal)
- TimpaniSimon Carrington (principal)
Bill Lockhart - PercussionKaren Hutt (principal)
Oliver Yates
Jeremy Cornes
Feargus Brennan - HarpTamara Young (guest principal)
Tomos Xerri - CelesteClíodna Shanahan
- OrganIan Tindale
National Youth Choir of ScotlandCloseOpen
- SopranoSophie Allan
Stephanie Bell
Amanda Blackwell
Amelia Buchan
Rei Camilleri
Jaimee Cheung
Emma Fairbairn
Eleanor Gaskell
Florence Gill
Brigitte Harrigan Lees
Shauna Healy
Mhairi Hendry
Helen King
Lorelei Law
Emily MacDonald
Miriam MacDonald
Emily MacFarlane
Sophia Mashwani
Olivia Massimo
Niamh McLean
Iris O'Connell
Rachel Quinn
Ruth Sodden
Amy Spearing
Beth Taylor
Susannah Thomasson
Noemi Thompson
Elinor Weir
Caitlyn Yule - AltoMaisie Arbuckle
May Bruce
Mia Cookson
Elena Devlin
Lucy Ellis
Joanna Farrow
Penelope Fish
Nicola Forgues-Puccio
Ruby Ginoris
Katy Hardie
Emily Henderson
Caragh Hird
Ellen MacDougall
Abigail Mackay
Clara Marks Lewin
Lucie McBean
Morven McIntyre
Juliet McKenzie
Katie McKinstry
Niamh Paddon
Kieran Penman
Emily Phillips
Iona Pirie
Elina Purina
Isabelle Quemby
Mollie Quigley
Natalie Rengger
Anna Scott Brown
Eva Smeddle
Poppy Strachan
Eva Tarsia
Dive Deeper
Listen to The Warm Up: your audio introduction to the performance.
The enormity of the universe revealed by science cannot readily be grasped by the human brain, but the music of The Planets enables the mind to acquire some comprehension of the vastness of space where rational understanding failsGustav Holst