English Idylls

Vaughan Williams’ delightfully English The Wasps: Overture opens the evening with zest and charm. Delius’ Piano Concerto, a piece that blends red-blooded Romanticism with pastoral-like gentleness, a tradition emulated in Butterworth’s The Banks of the Green Willow, a gorgeous exploration of a traditional folk theme.

A timeless bastion of English Romanticism, Elgar’s ‘Enigma’ Variations is regarded as one of the greatest pieces of music originating in the British Isles. A set of musical dedications to his friends, the mysterious main theme, the ‘Enigma’, remains unstated throughout, leaving the intrigue of this magnificent work a mystery up to this day.

This concert is kindly supported by the Delius Trust.

DELIUS Piano Concerto

BUTTERWORTH The Banks of the Green Willow

ELGAR ‘Enigma’ Variations

Christoph Altstaedt Conductor
Mark Bebbington Piano
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra