The Silent Planet

Award-winning BBC Radio 3 Presenter, Delia Stevens and three-time BBC Radio 2 Folk Musician of the Year nominee, Will Pound, present an unprecedented collaboration with the youth-led global climate non-profit organisation, Force of Nature. Alongside members of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and the Royal Northern College of Music, they première their new double percussion and harmonica/melodeon concerto, Silent Planet Suite.

To mark Holst’s 150th anniversary in 2024, Stevens and Pound reimagine his iconic Planets suite – adding movement which Holst chose to silence as ‘astrologically insignificant’ – Earth. The piece platforms young climate activists from the international youth organisation Force of Nature giving key-note speeches accompanied by orchestral improvised soundscapes based on Holst’s planetary characters such as Bringer of War or Bringer of Peace.

The additional movement Earth – co-written with Force of Nature – stresses the urgency of listening to our planet and amplifying unheard voices in the conversation around the climate.

Silent Planet Suite (première)
Holst’s Planets re-imagined Delia Stevens & Will Pound / orch Ian Gardiner
Mars, the Bringer of War
Mercury, the Winged Messenger *
Venus, the Bringer of Peace ^
Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity
Earth – new work by Stevens & Pound and Force of Nature / orch Gardiner

Clark Rundell, Matteo Dal Maso *, Andreas Asiikkis ^ conductors
Will Pound harmonica
Delia Stevens percussion
Phoebe Hanson speaker, Force of Nature
Musicians from the RNCM and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra