The music of the spheres radiates with awe-inspiring power at the Barbican Hall in Holst’s symphonic masterwork.
The mystic, the magician and the messenger - a parade of heavenly bodies demonstrate their powers as conductor Robert Ziegler leads the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in an adventure through space and time with Holst’s mighty symphonic suite, The Planets. Beforehand, Manu Martin’s Cosmic Rhapsody inspires child-like wonder in nature and science, and pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet plays Gershwin irresistible I Got Rhythm Variations.
Little music can stir the heart like Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity, set the pulse racing like Mars, the Bringer of War, or enchant your senses like Neptune, the Mystic. Holst’s The Planets draws from the astrological meanings ascribed to the planets of the solar system, and its sheer imaginative power has entranced audiences for more than a hundred years.
The legendary French pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet brings out the rhythms and vitality of the Jazz Age as Gershwin’s classic I Got Rhythm is given a glorious orchestral treatment in this arrangement by the composer.
“[Thibaudet] blends supple elegance and unbridled bravura so naturally and effortlessly.” Chicago Classical Review
“[Thibaudet] combines classical precision and cabaret flair.” Financial Times