Star Wars and The Planets
Philharmonia
Conductor: Marin Alsop
Guitar: Sean Shibe
Royal Festival Hall, 08 February 2026
It’s great fun to hear John Williams’s Star Wars music live. Structured as a suite, it’s effectively a symphony. Alsop gave us lots of loud drama although it took a few bars for the tempo to settle at the start. There was excellent wind and horn work in the second movement and admirable cello lyricism in the third. And John Williams is very good at fanfares which begin conventionally and then stride off into alien territory – all adeptly delivered by the Philharmonia in fine form. I was also struck by how well Williams knows his Elgar. Alsop gave us just the right level of cheesiness in the final movement’s Big Tune.
Then came a complete contrast with the Philharmonia pared down to chamber proportions for Roderigo’s delightful guitar concerto. It is, of course, a very familiar piece. It frequently crops up both on both our leading classical music radio stations and we’ve all got recordings. I don’t think, however, that I’ve ever before heard a live performance. Sean Shibe played the opening Allegro con spirito with delightful percussive delicacy while Alsop coaxed filigree accompaniment from the orchestra in support of the intricacy of the guitar. Shibe played the cadenza with lots of vibrato, evocative warmth and freedom. The nicely controlled transition into the Allegro gentile was a good moment in an enjoyable performance in which the chemistry between soloist and conductor was palpable.
And so to the magnificence of The Planets. For some reason best known to itself (I think there was a mix up with my press booking) the PR department had put me in Box 1, Green Side rather than in the stalls where I am usually positioned. It meant I had a quasi-celestial view above the orchestra which was perfect for Holst’s greatest work. Thus, I saw and heard things from this vantage point that I have never noticed before despite a lifetime of listening to this work and attending performances although first and second violins seemed a long way away.
Alsop packed Mars with pulsating power from the relentless menace of the 5/4 rhythm to the col legno string work and the brooding threat of the lower strings. Other highlights included the grandiloquence of the horns in Venus and the way Alsop simply stood back and reverently allowed the orchestra to take charge of Jupiter’s famous melody – emotional magic. I also admired the uneasiness and climactic tension she found in Uranus (oh those tubular bells!) and her attaca approach to Neptune – thank goodness. I really don’t like the cohesion of this seven-part work being fractured by facile applause and I got the feeling Alsop doesn’t either
The celeste work in Neptune was suitably poignant but the choir (Philharmonic Chorus) was disappointing. They were positioned beyond the stage right entrance and I could see them quite clearly from Box 1. Acoustically it wasn’t great because it didn’t resonate enough and the intonation was faulty at the start. It was a good idea, though, to reinforce the fade-out into outer space by slowly closing the door.
A very pleasing concert in almost every respect although, personally I could have done without the introductory chat from Robert Looman (flute/piccolo), witty as it was.
