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Friday Night Classics: Chaplin’s Circus
Fri 3 Apr 2009 Symphony Hall
Conductor, composer and entertainer Carl Davis is worldfamous for his new scores for classic silent movies; tonight he presents two of Charlie Chaplin’s greatest silent comedies, accompanied live by the CBSO with music that mirrors every action, gesture and emotion on the screen. The Circus was the most successful silent film of all time, and finds Chaplin’s Little Tramp stumbling into a hilarious new profession. And as for The Cure - well, one critic wrote that “in terms of sheer belly-laughs, it may well be the funniest movie Chaplin ever made”. Decide for yourself as Symphony Hall transforms into a giant cinema. One thing’s for sure though - silent movies have never sounded better!
Carl Davis - conductor
Davis: The Cure 23’ Chaplin: The Circus 72’
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Singalong with the CBSO: Mozart's Requiem
Sun 5 Apr 2009 Symphony Hall
Join the CBSO with its world-renowned chorus director, Simon Halsey, and young professional soloists to sing Mozart’s Requiem, which he was famously still working upon at his untimely death. If you enjoy singing, the unique experience of performing such a powerful work in Birmingham’s magnificent Symphony Hall, with over 1000 singers, is surely not to be missed.
Simon Halsey - conductor
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Good Friday St Matthew Passion
Fri 10 Apr 2009 Symphony Hall
Ex Cathedra’s trailblazing performances and critically acclaimed recordings have put them at the forefront of the international early music movement. So we can expect them to bring searching new insights to this season’s traditional Good Friday performance of Bach’s St Matthew Passion. It is the largest, most elaborate and most affecting of all Bach’s works, telling the story of the last days of Christ in music of great dignity and emotional intensity. Tickets £5-£37.50
*Ex Cathedra Soloists, Choir & Baroque Orchestra* *Jeffrey Skidmore* conductor *Nicholas Mulroy* _Evangelist_ *Eamonn Dougan* _Christus_
*J S Bach* St matthew Passion 180’
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Family Concert: Carnival of the Animals
Sun 19 Apr 2009 Symphony Hall
Gallop, hop or slither your way to Symphony Hall, as today’s concert is full of music inspired by the animal kingdom. Join the CBSO as it travels through jungles, oceans, farmyards and forests, including Saint-Saëns’ The Carnival of the Animals with two- and four-legged friends from cuckoos to kangaroos, and Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake. Roll up, roll up, and hear the elephants trumpet and roar in Stravinsky’s Circus Polka, but you had better beware of Rossini’s Thieving Magpie and Elgar’s Wild Bears! Why not come dressed up as your favourite animal? FREE CREATIVE WORKSHOPS AND MUSIC in the foyers from 1.30pm
Michael Seal - conductor Tommy Pearson - presenter City of Birmingham Young Voices
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Inspired by Bach
Wed 22 Apr 2009 Symphony Hall
More composers have been inspired by Bach than by any other composer. Tonight Andris Nelsons takes us to Brahms’ final symphony with its finale based on music from a Bach cantata by way of Berg’s highly expressive violin concerto which quotes a Bach chorale at its emotional climax and the tiny trumpet concerto in which Arvo Pärt incorporates the great man’s name. Elgar’s sumptuous arrangement of some genuine Bach sets the evening off in splendid style. 6.15pm- Pre Concert Talk- Inspired by Bach Stephen Johnson, presenter of BBC Radio 3’s Discovering Music, explores the hidden connections behind tonight’s programme.
Andris Nelsons - conductor Isabelle van Keulen - violin Jonathan Holland - trumpet
Bach (orch. Elgar): Fantasia and Fugue in C minor 8’ Berg: Violin Concerto 25’ Pärt: Concerto Piccolo on B-A-C-H 8’ Brahms: Symphony No. 4 42’
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IgorFest: Orpheus
Thu 30 Apr 2009 Symphony Hall
We enter the final leg of our ground-breaking four-year Stravinsky cycle with a programme featuring two largescale orchestral works: the 1947 ballet Orpheus and the energetic, neo-classical Symphony in C. These frame a pair of religious works: what he called his ‘pocket requiem’, Requiem Canticles, and his exuberant arrangement of the music of J. S. Bach in Vom Himmel Hoch. Two of his many tributes to great contemporaries - in this case the writers T. S. Eliot and Aldous Huxley complete the programme. 6.15pm- Pre Concert Talk- The three final instalments of the CBSO’s epic journey through the complete works of Stravinsky • introduced by BBC Radio 3’s Anthony Burton
Jac van Steen - conductor Ex Cathedra
Stravinsky: Orpheus 31’ Stravinsky: Introitus - T. S. Eliot in memoriam 4’ Stravinsky: Requiem Canticles 15’ Stravinsky: Chorale Variations on ‘Vom Himmel Hoch’ 11’ Stravinsky: Variations: Aldous Huxley in memoriam 5’ Stravinsky: Symphony in C 28’
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IgorFest: Biblical Works
Wed 6 May 2009 Symphony Hall
Though he was never especially strict in his Church attendance or attitudes, religion played an increasingly important part in Stravinsky’s output, and his later works based on Biblical texts are among his most profound and original. Tonight Sakari Oramo offers up four varied pieces based on Old Testament stories, culminating in Threni, Stravinsky’s extraordinary setting of the Lamentations of Jeremiah. There is also a New Testament counterpart in A Sermon, a Narrative and a Prayer. 6.15pm Pre-concert talk - Biblical Works
Sakari Oramo - conductor Roderick Williams -baritone
Stravinsky: Babel 5’ Stravinsky: Abraham and Isaac 10’ Stravinsky: The Flood 24’ Stravinsky: A Sermon, a Narrative and a Prayer 15’ Stravinsky: Threni 30’
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Dvorák’s New World Symphony
Fri 8 May 2009 Symphony Hall
Libor Pešek is one of a long line of Czech conductors who have the music of Dvorák firmly in their blood. He visits Symphony Hall with the Prague Symphony Orchestra in two of Dvorák’s best-loved works: the Cello Concerto, packed with superb melodies that tug at the heart-strings, and the evocative New World Symphony, one of the most enduringly popular of all symphonies. *Classic FM’s Anne-Marie Minhall says of tonight’s recommended concert:* _I interviewed the cellist Steven Isserlis for The Guest List on Classic FM before he was due to give a series of performances of Dvorak’s Cello Concerto and he had this insight into the work: “I think recordings distort it because actually although the cello is of course the most important instrument, it's really like a big symphony in that there are so many important parts in the orchestra as well. The solo flute part is very, very important, (as is) the solo clarinet part, and there's lots of duets and there's lots of bits where the cello is accompanying the orchestra, so I like to think of it as chamber music on a huge scale." Tonight Nina Kotova is the soloist for the Concerto written by a love-struck and homesick Dvorak._ "Classic FM":http://www.classicfm.co.uk Tickets £5-£37.50
*Prague Symphony Orchestra* *Libor Pešek* conductor *Nina Kotova* cello
*Dvorák* Prague Waltzes 9’ *Dvorák* Cello Concerto 40’ *Dvorák* Symphony No 9, From the New World 40’
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IgorFest: The Fireworks Finale
Sat 9 May 2009 Symphony Hall
For the grand finale of our Stravinsky project, we return to the composer’s Russian roots with some musical fireworks. His 1922 comic opera Mavra - dedicated to Tchaikovsky - is a wickedly witty setting of a Pushkin tale set in a Russian village. In his glittering early Fireworks we can hear the influence of his teacher Rimsky-Korsakov, while his strange, visionary 1912 cantata The King of the Stars (composed at the same time as The Rite of Spring) sounds like nothing else on this earth. And there could be no other way to end this amazing journey than with the Rite - still, nearly a century after its scandalous Paris premiere, a piece which astounds with every performance. 6.15pm Pre-concert talk - The Fireworks Finale
Sakari Oramo - conductor Anita Watson - Parasha Liora Grodnikaite - The Neighbour Elizabeth Sikora - The Mother Robert Gardiner - The Hussar City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus
Stravinsky: Fireworks 4’ Stravinsky: Four Russian Peasant Songs 4’ Stravinsky: Mavra 27’ Stravinsky: The King of the Stars 5’ Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring 35’
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A Pastoral Symphony
Tue 12 May 2009 Symphony Hall
Like so many city dwellers then and now, Beethoven took great pleasure in escaping to the countryside, and captured these feelings in his Pastoral Symphony, premiered 200 years ago in the same concert as his fiery Fifth. Acclaimed Scottish conductor Douglas Boyd also takes us to the French countryside for a selection of Canteloube’s glorious French folk-songs, including the haunting Baïlèro, sung by one of our greatest sopranos. The imposing northern forests of Sibelius’ Tapiola offer a darker view of the natural world.
Douglas Boyd - conductor Joan Rodgers - soprano
Sibelius: Tapiola 20’ Canteloube: Songs of the Auvergne 25’ Beethoven: Symphony No. 6 (Pastoral) 42’
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Symphony Ballroom!
Fri 15 May 2009 Symphony Hall
Dust off those sequins, put on your dancing shoes... after last year’s sell-out performances, Symphony Ballroom is back! The CBSO’s symphonic big band, together with inspirational arranger/conductor John Wilson, will once again be joined by dancers from BBC1’s Strictly Come Dancing for a show that combines great music, great dancing and is bound to get your toes tapping.
John Wilson - conductor Dancers to be announced
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Symphony Ballroom!
Sat 16 May 2009 Symphony Hall
Dust off those sequins, put on your dancing shoes... after last year’s sell-out performances, Symphony Ballroom is back! The CBSO’s symphonic big band, together with inspirational arranger/conductor John Wilson, will once again be joined by dancers from BBC1’s Strictly Come Dancing for a show that combines great music, great dancing and is bound to get your toes tapping.
John Wilson - conductor Dancers to be announced
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The Emperor Concerto
Wed 20 May 2009 Symphony Hall
Premiered 200 years ago in 1809, Beethoven’s last and grandest concerto is a work on a truly epic scale, its torrents of notes providing the soloist with both a great challenge and a fantastic opportunity to shine, a task to which Birmingham favourite Freddy Kempf is well equal. 1809 was also the year of Mendelssohn’s birth, and we continue our bicentenary celebrations with his most popular and tuneful symphony. Finally, we stay in Italy for another of Tchaikovsky’s passionate tales of doomed love - this time, the lovers out of Dante’s Inferno.
Vassily Sinaisky - conductor Freddy Kempf - piano
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5 (Emperor) 38’ Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 4 (Italian) 26’ Tchaikovsky: Francesca da Rimini 24’
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Rodrigo's Guitar Concerto
Wed 20 May 2009 Symphony Hall
An evening of dazzling Spanish orchestral showpieces played in truly authentic style by the orquesta Nacional de España. Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez is the most famous of all guitar concertos, suffused with the atmosphere of hot Spanish nights and the animated rhythms of Spanish dance. No less evocative is Ravel’s Rapsodie Espagnole, one of the most captivating musical portraits ever painted of Spain. Ravel’s slow-burning Boléro brings this enjoyable concert to a climactic conclusion. Classic FM’s Anne-Marie Minhall says of tonight’s recommended concert: _The players of the National Orchestra of Spain are fine ambassadors of Spanish music and culture and tonight, together with guitarist Jose Maria Gallardo Del Ray, they’ll be performing the much-loved Rodrigo Concerto. Since its premiere nearly seventy years ago in Madrid, the Concerto De Aranjuez has become a firm favourite. The composer dedicated his most-famous work to the Spanish classical guitarist, Regino Sainz de la Maza, who also gave the first public performance of the work._ "Classic FM":http://www.classicfm.co.uk Tickets £5-£37.50
*Orquesta Nacional de España* *Josep Pons* conductor *José María Gallardo* guitar
*Turina* Danzas Fantásticas 17’ *Rodrigo* Concierto de Aranjuez 21’ *Ravel* Alborada del Gracioso 9’ *Ravel* Rapsodie Espagnole 15’ *Ravel* Boléro 13’
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The Emperor Concerto
Thu 21 May 2009 Symphony Hall
Premiered 200 years ago in 1809, Beethoven’s last and grandest concerto is a work on a truly epic scale, its torrents of notes providing the soloist with both a great challenge and a fantastic opportunity to shine, a task to which Birmingham favourite Freddy Kempf is well equal. 1809 was also the year of Mendelssohn’s birth, and we continue our bicentenary celebrations with his most popular and tuneful symphony. Finally, we stay in Italy for another of Tchaikovsky’s passionate tales of doomed love - this time, the lovers out of Dante’s Inferno.
Vassily Sinaisky - conductor Freddy Kempf - piano
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5 (Emperor) 38’ Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 4 (Italian) 26’ Tchaikovsky: Francesca da Rimini 24’
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Mahler’s Resurrection
Wed 27 May 2009 Symphony Hall
Andris Nelsons is the latest CBSO music director to bring us his interpretation of Mahler’s huge, all-embracing Resurrection symphony, long a CBSO speciality. Featuring a gigantic orchestra - on and offstage - as well as vocalists and chorus, this is one of the biggest statements in late-romantic art. Mahler’s emotional intensity, his echoing trumpet calls and his way of dividing the orchestra into different groups all find a contemporary echo in a recent work by leading German composer Jörg Widmann. 6.15pm Pre-concert talk - Premiere! - Jorg Widmann Eminent German composer Jörg Widmann talks to Stephen Maddock about his Antiphon - which receives its UK premiere tonight.
Andris Nelsons - conductor Sarah Fox - soprano Mihoko Fujimura - mezzo-soprano City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus
Widmann: Antiphon (UK premiere) 15’ Mahler: Symphony No. 2 (Resurrection) 77’
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Thomas Trotter plays Bach’s Trio Sonatas
Fri 29 May 2009 Symphony Hall
It is said that Bach wrote these six miniature masterpieces as training studies for his son Wilhelm Friedmann. Written in three parts (one for each hand and one for the feet!), they are still amongst the most taxing pieces in all organ music, requiring physical dexterity and superb artistry to realise their vitality and charm. *BBC Music magazine’s Editor, Oliver Condy, explains why he has recommended tonight’s concert:* _The master of organ performance tackles Bach’s fiendish, extraordinary Trio Sonatas. Few organists would dare play all six in performance, but then Trotter has a reputation for being pretty fearless at the keyboard. If you want to be astounded by technique and musical beauty, this is the concert for you. The Symphony Hall Klais organ is perfect for this repertoire too._ "BBC Music Magazine":http://www.bbcmusicmagazine.com *6.15pm Pre-concert talk* £5-£20 The concert will finish at approx. 9.30pm.
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Bach Discovery Day
Sat 30 May 2009 Symphony Hall
A day-long series of talks by guest speakers, with discussions and live music, that will give us a deeper insight into Bach’s beautiful mind, as well as the man behind the music. £15 60plus & students £10
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Mahler’s Resurrection
Sun 31 May 2009 Symphony Hall
Andris Nelsons is the latest CBSO music director to bring us his interpretation of Mahler’s huge, all-embracing Resurrection symphony, long a CBSO speciality. Featuring a gigantic orchestra - on and offstage - as well as vocalists and chorus, this is one of the biggest statements in late-romantic art. Mahler’s emotional intensity, his echoing trumpet calls and his way of dividing the orchestra into different groups all find a contemporary echo in a recent work by leading German composer Jörg Widmann.
Andris Nelsons - conductor Sarah Fox - soprano Mihoko Fujimura - mezzo-soprano City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus
Mahler: Symphony No. 2 (Resurrection) 77’
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Shostakovich’s Fifth
Sat 6 Jun 2009 Symphony Hall
Three composers on a learning curve. Shostakovich’s epic Symphony is a powerful music portrait of a great artist learning the hard way about tyranny. Composed at the height of Stalin’s terror, its triumphant finish is either a bitterly ironic comment on its times, or an heroic victory for freedom. Decide for yourself - either way, it’s a gripping journey. Britten’s ravishing song-cycle finds him at the start of a lifelong love-affair with the human voice - but it’s no less magical for it. And Mahler’s teenage Symphonic Prelude is a real find, packed with all its composer’s trademark drama and angst.
John Storgårds - conductor Barbara Hannigan - soprano
Mahler: Symphonic Prelude 10’ Britten: Les Illuminations 23’ Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5 47’
