Marin Alsop conducts Star Wars - Philharmonia Orchestra (UK)
TO THE STARS AND BACK: MARIN ALSOP CONDUCTS PHILHARMONIA ORCHESTRA IN SPACE-THEMED CONCERT FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY
Philharmonia Orchestra presents
Marin Alsop conducts Star Wars and The Planets
Sunday 8 February 2026, 3pm
Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre
Buckle up for lift-off as three of the most popular works in the orchestral repertoire come together in a dazzling space-themed concert for all the family on Sunday 8 February, conducted by the trailblazing maestro Marin Alsop.
No cinematic universe has gripped the world quite like Star Wars, and no composer has shaped it more powerfully than John Williams - a titan with 26 Grammys and five Oscars to his name. Williams’ Star Wars Suite brings the saga roaring to life, from the iconic, adrenaline-surging main theme to the darkly magnetic pull of Darth Vader’s infamous ‘Imperial March’.
Performed in the same concert is one of Williams’ greatest inspirations, Holst’s The Planets, which catapults the audience through a sonic solar system. The thunderous ‘Mars, the Bringer of War’ and the radiant joy of ‘Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity’ (perhaps recognisable to rugby fans as the World Cup’s ‘World in Union’), sit alongside the otherworldly shimmer of ‘Neptune, the Mystic’ in a stunning showcase of Holst’s orchestral wizardry.
In sun-drenched contrast, global guitar sensation Sean Shibe joins the Philharmonia Orchestra for Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez. This jewel of the classical guitar repertoire transports audiences to the gardens of a Spanish royal palace, perfumed, in the composer’s own words, with “melancholic emotion…the perfume of magnolias, the singing of birds and the gushing of fountains.”
Sunday 8 February at the Royal Festival Hall will be an unforgettable afternoon of cosmic and cinematic drama, with a touch of Mediterranean magic.
ENDS
Marin Alsop conducts Star Wars and The Planets
Royal Festival Hall
Sunday 8 February 2026, 3pm
Tickets: £22 – £92
The concert is part of the Philharmonia Orchestra Classical Season - Autumn/Winter 2025/26
Programme:
Williams: Star Wars Suite
Rodrigo: Guitar Concerto, 'Concierto de Aranjuez'
Holst: The Planets
Artists:
Marin Alsop - Conductor
Sean Shibe - Guitar
Running time
1 hr 45 mins, including an interval
Recommended age
From 7+
Credits
The Philharmonia is proud to be supported using public funding by Arts Council England.
As a registered charity, the Orchestra relies on the support of our family of Friends, donors and corporate partners to deliver its programme.
Credit: ABovill