NYPhil Rehearsal Britten's Piano Concerto Op 13 Pianist Leif Andsnes Conductor Antonio Pappano

Two British composers, Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) & Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) were featured on today's program.  Williams is one of Britain's most renowned composers.  He's written for chamber music, ballets, operas and was a prolific composer for orchestra.  "Fantasia on a Theme" (1910) was a very exuberant and impassioned piece.  It's an orchestration for strings only  which I found interesting & surprisingly tonal.  Williams' compositions vary greatly in mood from dark & macabre to the fantastical & romantic.  "Fantasia on a Theme" was written in 1910 prior to WWI in which Williams served.  The war marked a turning point in his compositions from joyous to more sombre & contemplative.  "Fantasia..." was beautiful and thrilling.  Conductor Pappano (b UK 1959 to Italian parents) allowed the orchestra to play the piece in its entirety and made only a few corrections afterwards.  Britten's Piano Concerto Op. 13 (1938) is a fascinating symphonic work in 4 very different and jarring movements combined into a captivating & striking work: Toccata (allegro malt e can brio) Waltz (Allegretto) {my favorite} "Impromptu (Andante lento) {surprising} and March (Allegro moderato - semipro all marcia) {woke up the seniors snoring}.  Pappano has been the Music Dir. of the Royal Opera House since '02.  He has been made a Knight of the British Empire and is a Recipient of the Royal Philharmonic Society Gold Medal. The pianist was Leif Ove Andsnes (b Norway 1970).  Andsnes has received the distinguished honor of Commander of the Royal Norwegian Order.   He is also an honorary doctorate of Juilliard.  Andsnes referred to his sheet music and made numerous notations after conferring with Maestro Pappano.  It's not often I've seen a soloist rehearse with musical sheets.   I enjoyed the robust composition very much & was very intrigued observing the collaborative process between pianist Andsnes and Conductor Pappano.