A vibrant celebration of British music unfolded at a recently held Prom concert, where the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic demonstrated that the magic of live performance can captivate London audiences regardless of where the musicians come from. Principal guest conductor Andrew Manze led the concert with a program that spanned the career of composer Ralph Vaughan Williams, opening and closing with his works. The evening also featured a world premiere by Carmel Smickersgill and a powerful performance of Benjamin Britten’s Violin Concerto by Simone Lamsma. Smickersgill’s new composition, A Brick Thrown With Love, explores the concept of protest from three distinct viewpoints: the idea of protest itself, the community affected, and the individual who throws the brick. The piece opened with a playful clarinet melody that was later twisted and reimagined by the orchestra in a subversive way. In the second movement, a delicate chime of bells built up to a triumphant climax, while the final section was driven by syncopated brass, leading to a cathartic finish. While some sections felt overly complex, the creativity and originality of the piece were undeniable. Simone Lamsma, who won the Britten International Violin Competition in 2004, delivered a deeply personal performance of Britten’s Violin Concerto, a piece known for its emotional intensity and technical demands. Her playing was both lyrical and fiery, with Manze, a violinist himself, expertly balancing her solo contributions with the orchestra. Lamsma’s interpretation was marked by a commanding presence, particularly in the dramatic scherzo section, where her cadenza evoked a sense of eerie magic. The concerto’s final movement, full of emotional shifts, was performed with precision and depth. Manze’s understanding of Vaughan Williams was clearly evident, especially in his conducting of the Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis, a piece that showcases the composer’s mastery of harmony and texture. However, the performance could have benefited from a more distinct separation of the antiphonal string sections, as intended by the composer. In contrast, his interpretation of Vaughan Williams’ Ninth Symphony was praised for its coherence and vision, bringing out the work’s dark, atmospheric qualities and its emotional depth. The use of flugelhorn, cor anglais, and a saxophone trio added a haunting quality to the performance, highlighting the symphony’s connection to other orchestral works by the composer.