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Puccini’s 150th: La Bohème
Thu 23 Oct Symphony Hall
Already acclaimed the world over for his opera performances, Music Director Andris Nelsons celebrates Puccini’s 150th birthday this autumn with concert performances of the passionate love story that has become the best-loved of all the composer’s operas. Set among the penniless students of Paris’s Bohemian Quarter, this tender tale of the seamstress Mimi and aspiring poet Rodolfo is one of the great operatic tearjerkers, and inspired, among other things, the musical Rent and the movie Moulin Rouge. A terrific young cast joins the CBSO and Choruses for what will surely be one of the must-see events in Birmingham this year.
Andris Nelsons - conductor Kristine Opolais - Mimì Erin Wall - Musetta Pavel Cernoch - Rodolfo Markus Brück - Marcello Kostas Smoriginas - Schaunard City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus & Youth Chorus City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Puccini: La Bohème 105’
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CBSO - La Boheme
Thu 23 Oct Symphony Hall
Already acclaimed the world over for his opera performances, music director Andris Nelsons celebrates Puccini’s 150th birthday this autumn with the passionate Parisian love story that has become the best-loved of all the composer’s operas. A terrific young cast joins the CBSO and Choruses for what will surely be one of the must-see events in Birmingham this year. £9.50, £13.50, £17, £20.50, £23.50, £28, £32, £37, £39.50
*Distinguished Cast* *City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra* *City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus & Youth Chorus* *Andris Nelsons* Conductor
*Puccini* La Bohème 105’
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Centre Stage Elspeth Dutch (horn) and CBSO colleagues
Fri 24 Oct Book through our ticket office for CBSO Centre
Elspeth Dutch (horn) and CBSO colleagues Beethoven: Sextet for two horns and strings Ireland: Sextet for horn, clarinet and strings
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Puccini’s 150th: La Bohème
Sat 25 Oct Symphony Hall
Already acclaimed the world over for his opera performances, Music Director Andris Nelsons celebrates Puccini’s 150th birthday this autumn with concert performances of the passionate love story that has become the best-loved of all the composer’s operas. Set among the penniless students of Paris’s Bohemian Quarter, this tender tale of the seamstress Mimi and aspiring poet Rodolfo is one of the great operatic tearjerkers, and inspired, among other things, the musical Rent and the movie Moulin Rouge. A terrific young cast joins the CBSO and Choruses for what will surely be one of the must-see events in Birmingham this year.
Andris Nelsons - conductor Kristine Opolais - Mimì Erin Wall - Musetta Pavel Cernoch - Rodolfo Markus Brück - Marcello Kostas Smoriginas - Schaunard City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus & Youth Chorus City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Puccini: La Bohème 105’
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CBSO - La Boheme
Sat 25 Oct Symphony Hall
Already acclaimed the world over for his opera performances, music director Andris Nelsons celebrates Puccini’s 150th birthday this autumn with the passionate Parisian love story that has become the best-loved of all the composer’s operas. A terrific young cast joins the CBSO and Choruses for what will surely be one of the must-see events in Birmingham this year. £9.50, £13.50, £17, £20.50, £23.50, £28, £32, £37, £39.50
*Distinguished Cast* *City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra* *City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus & Youth Chorus* *Andris Nelsons* Conductor
*Puccini* La Bohème 105’
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Sing Live West Midlands presents Sing Swing
Sat 25 Oct Town Hall
From the Fabulous Forties to the present day revival, Sing Live West Midlands will have you on your feet dancing to the sound of the National Festival Orchestra Big Band and 150 singers from your area. You will instantly recognise the unmistakable Glenn Miller Sound, with the show-stopping Chattanooga Choo-choo, and also our tribute to Ol’ Blue Eyes himself, the Chairman of the Board, Frank Sinatra. Something for everyone as the Sing Live Wall of Sound grabs you and takes you into the era of Swing. £15, £17.50 Under 16s £9 Tickets available from Sing Live Booking office on 01609 780315 or Town Hall and Symphony Hall Box Office. Please note the 3.30pm show has now been cancelled
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Sunday Morning Coffee Concert - Di Xiao
Sun 26 Oct Town Hall
This brilliant Chinese pianist is already well known in Birmingham’s music circles as a result of being chosen to represent Town Hall and Symphony Hall in the ECHO Rising Stars series. Today’s concert launches a tour that will take her to play at eleven of Europe’s most prestigious concert halls during 2008/9. Come and hear her play sonatas by Mozart and Beethoven and a selection of miscellaneous pieces, and wish her bon voyage. £7.50 (unreserved), Under 16s £3.50 Ticket includes a cup of tea or coffee, a soft drink or a glass of sherry.
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The Shaolin Wheel of Life
Sun 26 Oct Symphony Hall
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Lunchtime Organ Concert - Darius Battiwalla
Mon 27 Oct Town Hall
Darius Battiwalla performs a glorious programme that includes Mendelssohn’sFirst Sonata, Vierne’s Claire de Lune and Rimsky-Korsakov’s Flight of the Bumblebee. Admission from 12.30pm. Programme lasts approximately one hour.
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Nitin Sawhney: London Undersound
Tue 28 Oct Town Hall
From bizarre justifications for war to issues of race, nationality, religion and cultural identity, we are saturated with information and second-hand opinion. Since the bombings of 7/7 and the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes, Nitin Sawhney feels that London’s heartbeat - that collective consciousness, the uniting hum of disparate voices - has changed. London Undersound, the tour of the album due for October release, captures the zeitgeist and reflects the common humanity that pervades superficial divides in a city of immense diversity, imagination and beliefs. All seats £17.50 By arrangement with Primary Talent International Ltd Supported by Sampad and Shaanti
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Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto
Wed 29 Oct Symphony Hall
Bruckner’s majestic, spiritually uplifting symphonies are perfectly suited to the grand open spaces of Symphony Hall’s world-famous acoustics, and there are few symphonies grander than Bruckner’s Sixth, premiered by none other than Gustav Mahler. Mendelssohn’s effervescent concerto is on a far more modest scale, but its soaring melodies have assured it a firm place in the repertoire for more than a century and a half. It’s played tonight by the 2002 BBC Young Musician of the Year. 6.15pm Pre-concert talk - Bruckner’s Sixth Stephen Johnson, broadcaster and author of Bruckner Remembered talks about this great late-Romantic symphony.
James Gaffigan - conductor Jennifer Pike - violin City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Mozart: The Marriage of Figaro - Overture 4’ Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto 27’ Bruckner: Symphony No. 6 54’
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The RAF in Concert 2008
Thu 30 Oct Symphony Hall
Join us for an irresistible musical journey to celebrate the 90th Anniversary of the Royal Air Force. A nostalgic and uplifting evening is guaranteed thanks to a wonderful blend of light classics, jazz, big band and music from the shows, performed by the critically-acclaimed musicians of the Royal Air Force. With a triumphant finale, reminiscent of the Last Night of the Proms, this rousing night out is an ideal gift or family outing. Conductor: Wing Commander Stuart Stirling Seat Prices: £13.50, £16.50, £19.50 10% discount for Groups of 10 or more Concert in Support of the Royal Air Force Charitable Trust.
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Celebrity Piano Recital: Paul Lewis
Thu 30 Oct Town Hall
Few other pianists have identified themselves so closely with the great Viennese classics as Paul Lewis. A protégé of the legendary Alfred Brendel, his award-winning recordings of the Schubert Sonatas have been highly acclaimed. Tonight he combines Schubert’s majestic G major Sonata with two of Mozart’s most profound piano works and Ligeti’s scintillating _Musica ricercata_, parts of which were used in Stanley Kubrick’s film _Eyes Wide Shut_. This is a chance to hear at first hand one of today’s most celebrated young pianists. 6.15 Pre-concert talk: Paul Lewis in conversation Tickets £5-£20
*Mozart* Fantasia in C minor, K475 12’ *Ligeti* Musica ricercata-11 Pieces for Piano 27’ *Mozart* Rondo in A minor, K511 9’ *Schubert* Sonata in G major, D894 30’
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CBSO Youth Orchestra
Fri 31 Oct Symphony Hall
Even by Mahler’s own standards, his Seventh Symphony is extraordinary. He called it a “song of the night”, though it ends in roof-raising jubilation. But first comes a fantastic journey through a world of dreams, nightmares, moonlit lovesongs and romance. It’s a whole new musical world - so who better to play it than our renowned Youth Orchestra, under the brilliant Dutch maestro Jac van Steen? If you heard the CBSO Youth Orchestra’s stunning performances of Nielsen and Bartók last season, you’ll know to expect an unforgettable evening as our superb young players tackle their most challenging programme yet. bq.These committed and gifted youngsters produced performances which would put many professional bodies to shame, with crisp articulation, impressively accurate intonation, but, above all, a depth of tone and confidence of phrasing which really denotes an ensemble of the highest class.bq. Musical Opinion
Jac van Steen - conductor
Mahler: Symphony No. 7 80’
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Halloween Silent Movie Special: Nosferatu
Fri 31 Oct Town Hall
*Certificate 12* *Nigel Ogden* Spine-tingling improvised organ accompaniment One of the earliest film adaptations of Dracula, this 1922 creepy cult classic spawned a legion of horror movies. The flesh-crawling Count Orlok, played by Max Schreck, is the stuff of nightmares! Duration approximately 88 minutes with no interval.
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Family Event: Pied Piper Workshop & Concert
Sat 1 Nov Town Hall
Atarah and the Fizzy Flute Band invite children aged 3 • 10 to bring ANY instrument, even home-made ones and toys, to join them in rehearsing and then performing the story in music of the Pied Piper of Hamelin. A hands-on workshop/concert that will keep even the family fidget busy, tapping rhythms, booing the Wicked Mayor, cheering the Piper and squeaking with the Rats, while children play simple tunes and sound effects as the story progresses. No preparation necessary. Adults £5, 60 plus £4.50, Under 16s £2.50 Family Ticket (minimum 1 adult) £12 The concert lasts approximately one hour and then, after an interval, Atarah will be in the foyer to meet and greet audience members.
Devised and presented by Atarah Ben-Tovim MBE
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Ralph McTell and The Dylan Project
Sat 1 Nov Town Hall
This gala double bill features Ralph McTell, one of Britain's best-loved singersongwriters. Ralph will perform a solo set from his self-penned repertoire of great songs and this will be his only Midlands concert in 2008. The Dylan Project stars Birmingham's very own Steve Gibbons with PJ Wright, Phil Bond, and Fairport Convention's Dave Pegg and Gerry Conway.
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Midlands Festival of Rememberance
Sun 2 Nov Town Hall
The annual gathering to pay tribute to those who have given their lives in the service of their country. This year, the Festival marks the centenary of the Territorial Army. £5, £10, £15 Please send ticket applications to Frank Manning, 22 Lambeth Road, Birmingham, B44 9NS or francism@globalnet.co.uk; after 10 September. Tickets are also available from the Town Hall and Symphony Hall Box Office.
*Royal Artillery Band* *Alcester Male Voice Choir*
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Lunchtime Organ Concert - Thomas Trotter (3rd Nov)
Mon 3 Nov Symphony Hall
The City Organist plays Tomkins’ Worster Brawls, Susato’s Saltarelle and more before concluding with Rossini’s stirring William Tell Overture. Admission from 12.30pm. Programme lasts approximately one hour. Thomas Trotter is a Town Hall Associate Artist.
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Elgar’s Cello Concerto
Tue 4 Nov Symphony Hall
Composed during the blitz and premiered at the 1943 Proms, Vaughan Williams’ serene Fifth Symphony seems like a retreat from the real world to an imagined paradise. Elgar’s equally lyrical Cello Concerto, composed in 1919, also feels like a reaction against the horrors of wartime. Vernon Handley, such a tireless champion of English music, precedes these two masterpieces with a musical fairytale by Granville Bantock, who did so much for Birmingham’s musical life and was instrumental in the founding of the CBSO in 1920. 6.15pm Pre-concert talk - Vaughan Williams’ Fifth Baz Chapman - Programme Director of Sing Up - shares his enthusiasm for Vaughan Williams’ great wartime symphony.
Vernon Handley - conductor Anne Gastinel - cello City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Bantock: The Witch of Atlas 15’ Elgar: Cello Concerto 26’ Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 5 42’
