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Classic FM Live with Viking 2022: a celebration of music for royalty at the Royal Albert Hall
14 March 2022, 10:18 | Updated: 30 March 2022, 10:34
Join us at London’s Royal Albert Hall for a world-class concert, featuring the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Band of the Royal Air Force Regiment, and star trumpeter Alison Balsom.
Classic FM Live with Viking will return to the Royal Albert Hall on Monday 11 April 2022, in the year of Classic FM’s 30th birthday and the Platinum Jubilee.
The concert, hosted by Classic FM presenters Alan Titchmarsh and Margherita Taylor, will be a celebration of music composed for royalty, performed by artists with historic ties to the British royal family.
Trumpet virtuoso Alison Balsom will perform the world premiere of a new piece by Classic FM’s Composer in Residence, Debbie Wiseman, commissioned by Classic FM to commemorate Her Majesty the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, as well as Hummel’s Trumpet Concerto in E flat.
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Royal Choral Society will perform Walton’s Crown Imperial; Parry’s I Was Glad and Jerusalem; Elgar’s Pomp & Circumstance March No.1 (‘Land of Hope and Glory’) and Handel’s rousing Zadok the Priest, the first piece of music played on Classic FM when the station launched on 7 September 1992.
Soprano Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha will sing music by Holst and Handel, and rising star violinist Esther Abrami will perform The Lark Ascending by Vaughan Williams, a Classic FM Hall of Fame favourite.
Buy Classic FM Live tickets here >
Introducing the Baroque Trumpet with Alison Balsom | Classic FM
In the second half, the Band of the Royal Air Force Regiment and a Contingent of the RAF Pipes and Drums will join the evening’s orchestra and chorus, all performing under the baton of esteemed British conductor Barry Wordsworth.
With over 200 performers on stage, and an unmissable lights-and-fireworks finale to the stirring music of Edward Elgar, this promises to be a truly special night of music.
Classic FM’s managing editor, Philip Noyce, said: “In 1992, Classic FM launched on-air with the mission to present classical music in a modern and relevant way. Almost 30 years on, we’ve introduced millions of people to the greatest classical works and our live concerts have helped us do it. It’s very special to be back at the Royal Albert Hall during a big year for the station and a few weeks ahead of Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
“With a programme packed with music for royalty, the premiere of a brand-new work by Debbie Wiseman and performances by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Choral Society and a host of star soloists including the peerless Alison Balsom – this concert is not to be missed!”
The Royal Albert Hall, which recently celebrated its 150th anniversary, has been home to Classic FM Live since April 2000. Tickets start from £14.50 plus booking fees on the RAH website.
