English Symphony Orchestra with Peter Donohoe (Piano)

English Symphony Orchestra conducted by Kenneth Woods
With Peter Donohoe (Piano)

Nielsen Helios Overture

Grieg Piano Concerto in A minor

Sibelius Symphony No. 6

The ESO makes a welcome return to Malvern Theatres in a programme that includes Grieg’s celebrated piano concerto and Sibelius’s 6th Symphony, the composer’s evocative portrait of a Scandinavian spring. The concert opens with a rare opportunity to hear Nielsen’s orchestrally opulent Helios overture.

Since his success as joint winner of the 1982 International Tchaikovsky Competition, Peter Donohoe has gained international renown as one of the foremost pianists of our time, for his musicianship, stylistic versatility and commanding technique. Born in Manchester in 1953, Peter studied at Chetham’s School of Music for seven years, graduated in music at Leeds University, and went on to study at the Royal Northern College of Music with Derek Wyndham and then in Paris with Olivier Messiaen and Yvonne Loriod. Peter has worked with many of the world’s greatest conductors: Christoph Eschenbach, Neeme Jarvi, Lorin Maazel, Kurt Masur, Andrew Davis and Yevgeny Svetlanov. More recently he has appeared as soloist with the next generation of excellent conductors: Gustavo Dudamel, Robin Ticciati and Daniel Harding. He is an honorary doctor of music at seven UK universities, and was awarded a CBE for services to classical music in the 2010 New Year’s Honours List.