Ashley Solomon and David Owen Norris with students from the Royal College of Music

Official inauguration of the 1920 Steinway Model ‘O’ piano which belonged to Ralph Vaughan Williams, presented to him by his wife, Ursula, at Christmas 1953. Students from the Royal College of Music perform works first tried out at the instrument – the Christmas Eve aria ‘The Oxen’ from the cantata Hodie, and Four Last Songs (with words by Ursula) along with two of Vaughan Williams’s most celebrated pieces: Linden Lea and The Lark Ascending.

David Owen Norris will introduce the music, which will also include Stele for John Lambert by Jeremy Dale Roberts (1934-2017), to whom Ursula gave the piano after RVW’s death.

Champagne and canapés, served on arrival, are included in the ticket price.