The Planets remains by far Holst’s most popular work; one of the 20th century’s great colouristic showpieces. Its conception has a boldness, excitement and epic sweep that remain immediately impressive after a hundred hearings. Vaughan Williams once said that the work was “the perfect equilibrium” of Holst’s nature – the melodic, precise and structured, combined with the mystic and unexplainable. Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No.3 came straight from the heart of its creator and was a showcase for his own amazing pianistic talents. Revolutionary in its scale, drama and intensity, it is a masterful partnership between soloist and orchestra, opening with an unprecedented sense of power, purpose and potential. Vaughan Williams’ symphonic impression is a beautifully written masterpiece. Like the fenland landscape, the music doesn’t impose itself, evoking the wide-open skies over the flat countryside, dark clouds pierced by shafts of sunlight.
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