Williams Fantasia on Welsh Nursery Rhymes
Rachmaninoff Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 1 (Winter Daydreams)

Holly Mathieson conductor
Martin James Bartlett piano

‘Captivating from start to finish’ declared one critic when Martin James Bartlett won BBC Young Musician of the Year in 2014. Time flies: since that incredible night Bartlett has established himself as one of the most imaginative (and brilliant) pianists of his generation. He’s perfect, in other words for the fantasy, the humour and the pure, heart-on-sleeve romance of Rachmaninoff’s hugely popular Rhapsody.

Conductor Holly Mathieson stays in Russia for Tchaikovsky’s fairytale First Symphony, and she rediscovers a forgotten British classic from the 1940s – the delightful Fantasia on Welsh Nursery Tunes by Grace Williams. Britten was a fan: we think you’ll hear why.