Cosmic music and aristocratic elegance at the special English concert of the Hungarian State Opera

The symphonic concert of the Hungarian State Opera Orchestra on 2 February 2025 offers a selection from the finest English musical traditions and delights for film (music) enthusiasts. In addition to Holst’s grandiose The Planets, the programme includes Elgar’s Cello Concerto, and Britten’s Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Purcell.

The concert, part of the OPERA’s Anglophone Season, is conducted by David Coleman, who has also composed a festive overture titled Celebremus for the occasion. The soloist of the concerts is the internationally renowned cellist Santiago Cañón-Valencia.

Gustav Holst (1874–1934) composed his seven-movement, grand orchestral suite The Planets during World War I, inspired by his fascination with astrology. The nearly hour-long piece associates a variety of atmospheric portraits with the planets of the solar system, based on their astrological characteristics and the traits of their Roman deity namesakes. It journeys from Mars, the bringer of war, and Venus, the bringer of peace, to Mercury, the winged messenger, while Jupiter embodies joy, Saturn represents old age, Uranus the magician, and Neptune the mystic. This monumental work, written for a large orchestra and incorporating a women’s chorus in the final movement, has enjoyed immense popularity since its 1918 premiere.

The solemn melody in the middle of the Jupiter movement gave rise to the British patriotic hymn I Vow to Thee, My Country, which remains a favoured piece in World War I commemorations and ceremonies associated with the British royal family. The foreboding, menacing Mars movement is also notably popular, inspiring numerous adaptations across various genres of popular music and leaving its mark on many film scores, from John Williams’ Star Wars to Hans Zimmer’s Gladiator. Similarly, Jerry Goldsmith’s score for Alien shows parallels with the main theme of the Saturn movement.

Cello Concerto that is to be performed before the intermission is nearly contemporaneous with The Planets. However, the 1919 premiere of Edward Elgar‘s (1857–1934) late masterpiece was overshadowed by misfortune. It took more than four decades and the brilliance of the young cellist Jacqueline du Pré for the work to claim its rightful place as one of the pinnacles of Elgar’s oeuvre and as one of the most frequently performed cello concertos in the international classical music repertoire. Renowned artists such as Yo-Yo Ma, Steven Isserlis, István Várdai, and Sol Gabetta have recorded the nearly half-hour, four-movement piece.