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BBC National Orchestra of Wales, St David's Hall, Cardiff

Centaurs with brains as well as brawn attract Simon Holt in new concerto

by Stephen WalshFriday, 12 November 2010

Piero di Cosimo: 'The Fight Between the Lapiths and the Centaurs'National Gallery

How much do you know about centaurs? Probably you know they are horses below the withers, human above. But did you know they were heavy drinkers who once got out of hand at the wedding of the King of the Lapiths, tried to rape the bride and got beaten up for their pains?

The core of the work is the centaurs’ double nature, which is perhaps why Holt has written it as a double concerto

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