Romantics and Englishmen

British music and raw emotion make odd companions – or so we’re told. Ignore all that, because the Ritual Dances from Tippett’s The Midsummer Marriage are a lush, soaring outpouring of colour, passion and rising sap from an unconventional visionary. And behind that Edwardian moustache, Elgar positively burned with poetry, imagination and tenderness: all the ingredients of the enchanting musical portraits that make up his ‘Enigma’ Variations. It’s not just about Nimrod, which is why Edward Gardner has invited the dazzling Seong-Jin Cho to join him in the fantasy and fireworks of Liszt’s outrageous Second Piano Concerto. After all, nothing succeeds like excess.