Events

We are most grateful to Professor Richard Jenkyns for his generous sponsorship of this concert.

Claude Debussy Ballade

Maurice Ravel Valses nobles et sentimentales

Ferenc Liszt Ballade no.2 in B minor, S.171

Ferenc Liszt Mephisto Waltz no.1, S.514

Interval

Fryderyk Chopin 4 Ballades

Stephen Hough’s programme focuses on waltzes and ballades as seen by composers of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Ravel’s suite of 8 pieces is a modernistic reimagining, a kind of fragmented memory of a dance. Liszt’s 4 Mephisto Waltzes are completely different. Strongly narrative, they are based on the Faust legend and no.1 is the wedding at the village inn, a scene of wild exuberance, dancing and sensuality.

Back in medieval times, French minstrels travelled the land singing their chanson-balladée, tales of knightly heroism, love and betrayal. The tradition went through transformations – in the Renaissance the ballade became a form of poetry – but it was Chopin’s idea to take the idea instrumental. His 4 Ballades retain drama and story-telling, but wordlessly, and they are among his greatest works. Stephen Hough has performed them around the world and recorded them to great acclaim. It will be a joy to hear him play them live for us.

Photo credit: Antonio Olmos

Watch Sir Stephen Hough performing Rachmaninov: Rhapsody on a theme by Paganini with the Philharmonia Orchestra and Gergely Madaras