Sir Stephen Hough begins a two-weeks tour with Hallé and Sir Mark Elder to perform across the UK in May. In the first week, Hough plays Brahms’ Piano Concerto No.1 and the rest of the programme includes Butterworth’s A Shropshire Lad and Elgar’s Enigma Variations. The concert takes the place on 8 May at Bristol Beacon, followed by performances on 9 May at The Anvil (Basingstoke), and on 10 May at Coventry Warwick Arts Centre. 

In the second week, Hough unveils his own Piano Concerto The World Of Yesterday with the orchestra. The concerto is a 20-minute piece based on two motives. Sir Stephen explains that the title ​“is borrowed from Stefan Zweig’s eponymous memoir with its celebration of Viennese culture before the First World War: the world as it used to be; nostalgia as both literal and legend. But this title became a tag for me, representing the history of the piano concerto form itself: invented to be a touring piece for composers who were also pianists, a visiting card on the road. From Mozart, its most prolific exponent, to Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Chopin, right through to the mid-20^th century’s virtuosos, Rachmaninov, Prokofiev, and Bartók, to be a pianist was to write a piano concerto. A world of yesterday indeed.”

Audiences have the exclusive opportunity to experience the European premiere on 15, 16 and 19 May at Bridgewater Hall, and 18 May at Sheffield City Hall, showcasing Sir Stephen’s prowess as both an exceptional concert pianist and accomplished composer.