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The Fron Male Voice Choir
Fri 16 May Symphony Hall
*Voices of the Valley Encore* The Fron Male Voice Choir follow the release of their second album _Encore_ with a UK tour. The Choir’s debut, _Voices of the Valley_, became the best-selling classical album of 2006. Fron’s follow-up presents another carefully selected musical mix. Such indestructible popular classics as _Bridge Over Troubled Water_ and Paul McCartney’s _Yesterday_ nestle alongside _How Great Thou Art_, _Amazing Grace_ and _Guide Me O Thou Great Redeemer_. There’s something for everybody, but always sprinkled with that indefinable Welsh mystique! £20, £27.50
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Lunchtime Organ Concert Thomas Trotter
Mon 19 May Town Hall
*Parry* Toccata & Fugue, _The Wanderer_ *J.S.Bach* Trio Sonata No. 1 *Saint-Saëns* Fantasie in D flat Danse Macabre *Litaize* Prélude et Danse Fuguée
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Lunchtime Organ Concert Henry Fairs
Mon 2 Jun 2008 Symphony Hall
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Lunchtime Organ Concert Thomas Trotter
Mon 9 Jun Town Hall
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Lunchtime Organ Concert Thomas Trotter Summer Request Concert
Mon 16 Jun 2008 Town Hall
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Celebrating Messiaen
Fri 20 Jun Town Hall
The Conservatoire’s end of year concert celebrates the centenary of the birth of Olivier Messiaen in tremendous style, while marking the end of the New Generation Arts Festival and the start of Messiaen 2008, a weekend of concerts and a major international conference devoted to the composer, hosted by Birmingham Conservatoire. Ranging from his first published orchestral work, the remarkable Les Offrandes oubliées, written when he was just twenty-one years old, to the musical souvenirs of Japan of Sept Haïkaï, the evening provides a glimpse of the diversity of Messiaen’s music. £10, 60 plus/Under 16’s/Unwaged £8, Students £2.50
*Birmingham Conservatoire Symphony Orchestra* *Lionel Friend* conductor *Rebeca Omordia* piano *Colin Scott* piano
Messiaen Les Offrandes oubliées Messiaen Sept Haïkaï Debussy Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune Messiaen L’Ascension Messiaen Oiseaux exotiques
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The Final of the Robert William & Florence May Brant International Pianoforte Competition 2008
Sat 12 Jul Town Hall
With an illustrious list of former winners, including Mark Bebbington and Roger Owens, and a first prize of £3000, this prestigious international piano competition provides young pianists with the opportunity to further their careers and perform in world-class venues. In tonight’s concert three finalists, selected at the end of the semi-final stage, will each perform a varied programme of no more than 40 minutes’ duration consisting of their own choice of works by three different composers. £10, 60 plus/full-time students/under 16s/ unwaged £7.50 (unreserved seating) Entry details and more information can be found at www.thsh.co.uk/brantcompetition.
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The National Children's Orchestra
Sat 23 Aug Town Hall
If you are looking to see something outstanding and inspiring this summer period then the National Children's Orchestra is the performance to see. The quality of sound produced by such a young orchestra is outstanding. Each year NCO auditions hundreds of talented children to take up the 500 highly sought after places. The sheer passion and enthusiasm of the children adds to the experience making it perfect, for you and your friends and family alike. You have to see it to believe it! £10, £14, £17, Under 16's £5 60 plus/full-time students/unwaged/ disabled patrons £8, £12, £15
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Mahler's Third Symphony
Tue 7 Oct Symphony Hall
From its opening primeval theme, thundered out by eight horns, to its exultant earth-shattering close, this is a journey of discovery like no other. Mahler’s Third Symphony is one of the most extravagant all-embracing symphonies ever written, with an impact that will fill every corner of Symphony Hall. Mahler himself spoke of it as being “of such magnitude that it mirrors the whole world”. It is performed by Iván Fischer and the Budapest Festival Orchestra, whose recent performances of Mahler have had the critics reaching for superlatives. £5-£37.50 Choir not available. Please note there is no interval.
*Budapest Festival Orchestra* *Iván Fischer* conductor *Birgit Remmert* mezzo-soprano *The Ladies of the City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus* *City of Birmingham Symphony Youth Chorus - Seniors*
*Mahler* Symphony No 3 99’
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Tchaikovsky From St Petersburg
Tue 14 Oct Symphony Hall
The St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra is Russia’s oldest and most legendary orchestra, conducted by Tchaikovsky himself for the first performance of his tragic Pathétique Symphony. In tonight’s concert, this most emotional of all Russian works is heard next to the autumnal melancholy of Elgar’s cello concerto, in the hands of the wonderful Dutch cellist Quirine Viersen. *Classic FM's Anne-Marie Minhall says of tonight's recommended concert:* _I was lucky enough to see the St Petersburg Philharmonic and Yuri Temirkanov perform live in their home city a couple of years back. They’re an absolutely stunning orchestra to see (and hear) in action. Included in tonight’s programme is a short piece by the St Petersburg-born composer, Anatoli Liadov. Poor old Liadov was the composer who, unwittingly, changed the course of musical history by not writing something. It was he who was first approached by the maestro, Sergei Diaghilev, to write the score for a new ballet called The Firebird. Unfortunately for Liadov, he couldn’t get the score done in time and so the job went to one Igor Stravinsky instead._ "Classic FM":http://www.classicfm.co.uk 6.15pm pre-concert talk £5-£37.50
*St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra* *Yuri Temirkanov* conductor *Quirine Viersen* cello
*Liadov* Kikimora 6’ *Elgar* Cello Concerto 28’ *Tchaikovsky* Symphony no 6, Pathetique 46’
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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. 6.15pm pre-concert talk 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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Celebrity Recital: John Williams
Thu 6 Nov Symphony Hall
One of today’s greatest guitarists, John Williams’s restless questing spirit has led him to work in virtually every genre, from classical to cross-over, jazz to rock, Bach to Beatles. A legend in his own lifetime, he has attracted admiration and controversy but never indifference. His recital at Symphony hall will be keenly anticipated - book now. Tickets £5-£20
*Programme to be announced*
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Strauss's Four Last Songs
Fri 14 Nov Symphony Hall
Three great masterpieces: the autumnal sweetness of Strauss’s final songs, the gentle Idyll that Wagner presented to his wife on Christmas Day, and Beethoven’s _Eroica_ - a work that changed the course of Western music for ever. The Orchester der KlangVerwaltung Munich is made up of musicians from leading german orchestras including the Berlin and Munich Philharmonics. it was founded in 1997 with the aim of realising the unique musical vision of conductor Enoch zu Guttenberg, who has gained a cult following for radical performances of fierce integrity and depth. *BBC music magazine’s editor, Oliver Condy, explains why he has recommended tonight’s concert:* _"The Four Last Songs are Richard Strauss’s emotional farewell to the world. With Wagner’s exquisite Siegfried Idyll and Beethoven’s groundbreaking Third Symphony, this concert features three of the finest works to have emerged during the last 200 years.”_ "BBC Music Magazine":http://www.bbcmusicmagazine.com Tickets £5-£37.50
*Orchester der KlangVerwaltung Munich* *Enoch zu Guttenberg* conductor *Solveig Kringelborn* soprano
*Wagner* Siegfried Idyll 18’ *Strauss* Four Last Songs 20’ *Beethoven* Symphony no 3, Eroica 50’
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Brodsky Quartet
Sun 16 Nov Town Hall
Without a doubt, the Brodsky is Britain’s best-known string quartet. With a repertoire stretching from the classics to collaborations with pop artists, this remarkable ensemble is at the very top of its game. The players visit the intimate space of Town Hall with four outright classics of the string quartet repertoire - a masterpiece from Beethoven’s fiery youth, Shostakovich’s most intense and best-known Quartet, Stravinsky’s three ground-breaking miniatures, and the quiet melancholy of Tchaikovsky’s Third and last Quartet. Tickets £5-£20
*Beethoven* Quartet in D Major, op 18, no 3 25’ *Shostakovich* Quartet No 8 in C Minor, op 110 20’ *Stravinsky* Three Pieces for String Quartet 8’ *Tchaikovsky* Quartet No 3 in E Flat Minor, op 30 38’
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Uchida Plays Mozart
Sun 23 Nov Symphony Hall
Few pianists today command the respect and awe accorded to Mitsuko Uchida. “One of today’s great pianists,” wrote The Times, while The Independent summed her up as simply “sublime”. In this concert she directs two of Mozart’s greatest concertos from the keyboard-the serenity and poise of the A major Concerto contrasting with the tragedy of the C minor. Uchida’s lucid Mozart playing is ideally suited to the perfect acoustic of Symphony Hall, uniting performer and audience in an experience of crystal-clear intensity. *Classic FM’s Anne-Marie Minhall says of tonight’s recommended concert:* _Tonight the pianist Mitsuko Uchida joins forces with the orchestra formed in in 1981 and made up of fifty players from fifteen countries-The Chamber Orchestra of Europe. A chance for you to enjoy two of Mozart’s Piano Concertos written at the same time, but in very distinct moods. Mitsuko Uchida gained her international reputation by playing and recording the music of Mozart-there’s nothing she doesn’t know about the composer’s best-loved works for keyboard._ "Classic FM":http://www.classicfm.co.uk Tickets £5-£37.50
*Chamber Orchestra of Europe* *Mitsuko Uchida* piano/director
*Stravinsky* Apollon Musagète 30’ *Mozart* Piano Concerto No 23 in A Major, K488 24’ *Mozart* Piano Concerto No 24 in C minor, K491 30’
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Quartet for the End of Time
Tue 9 Dec Town Hall
Four world-class soloists come together to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of one of France’s greatest composers - Olivier Messiaen. His visionary _Quartet for the End of Time_ is an uplifting and spiritual work, and will be accompanied by specially commissioned visuals from artist Kathy Hinde. It is preceded by Ravel’s Piano Trio - tinged with serene disquiet and written as the world descended into the carnage of the First World War. *BBC music magazine’s editor, Oliver Condy, explains why he has recommended tonight’s concert:* _"Messiaen premiered his Book of Revelation-inspired Quartet at a Polish prisoner of war camp in 1941 in front of 5,000 fellow prisoners. Widely seen as his finest work, it’s the perfect introduction to a composer who brought French music kicking and screaming into the 20th Century.”_ "BBC Music Magazine":http://www.bbcmusicmagazine.com 6.15pm pre-concert talk Tickets £5-£20
*Steven Osborne* piano *Alban Gerhardt* cello *Viviane Hagner* violin *Kari Kriikku* clarinet *Kathy Hinde Messiaen* visuals
*Ravel* Piano Trio in A Minor 20’ *Messiaen* Quartet for the End of Time 50’
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Ultimate Romantics 1: Mahler and Wagner
Wed 10 Dec Symphony Hall
In two concerts this winter, some of the most extravagant and passionate music of the late romantic era comes to Symphony Hall. The second act of Wagner’s Tristan contains one of music’s greatest love scenes. The adagio from mahler’s unfinished tenth Symphony is similarly in love with life, but it is the heartfelt last testament of a man about to be torn from the world. Few young conductors have received the plaudits that have been awarded to Vladimir Jurowski, new Principal Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra and music Director of Glyndebourne Opera, who conducts the first concert in this series. 6.15pm pre-concert talk Tickets £5-£37.50
*London Philharmonic Orchestra* *Vladimir Jurowski* conductor *Anja Kampe* Isolde *Robert Dean Smith* Tristan *Sarah Connolly* Brangaene *Laszlo Polgar* Marke *Stephen Gadd* Melot/Kurnewal
*Mahler* Adagio from Symphony No 10 22’ *Wagner* Act II from Tristan and Isolde 75’
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Celebrity Piano Recital: Murray Perahia
Sat 31 Jan 2009 Symphony Hall
Murray Perahia is simply one of the greatest living pianists. “The soul of a poet, the mind of a thinker, the hands of a virtuoso; no wonder the audiences love this guy,” wrote one critic recently. As a young man Perahia played chamber music with Rudolf Serkin and Pablo Casals, was befriended by the legendary Vladimir Horowitz, and was Peter Pears’ accompanist. His music-making is marked not only by its depth and maturity but also by its sheer _joie de vivre_ - don’t miss this recital. Tickets £5-£30
*Programme to be announced*
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Nash Ensemble
Tue 10 Feb 2009 Town Hall
Rarely has a composer produced a work of such effortless genius as the sixteen-year-old Mendelssohn’s _Octet_ - a miraculous stream of wonderful melody. The Nash Ensemble marks the 200th anniversary of Mendelssohn’s birth (February 1809) with a performance of this masterpiece in the hall in which the composer once played and conducted. It is heard next to the delicious Sextet from Strauss’s _Capriccio_ and the dark tragedy of Mozart’s great G minor String Quintet. 6.15pm pre-concert talk Tickets £5-£20
*Strauss* Sextet (_Capriccio_) 6’ *Mozart* Quintet in G Minor, K516 33’ *Mendelssohn* Octet 38’
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Ultimate Romantics 2: Gurrelieder
Fri 27 Feb 2009 Symphony Hall
In the second of our ‘Ultimate Romantics’ concerts, the high-voltage combination of Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Philharmonia Orchestra unleash one of the ultimate and most gorgeous of all romantic experiences. Schoenberg’s lavish _Gurrelieder_ is the epic and upernatural tale of King Waldemar and his love for Tove, resident of castle Gurre. From the sumptuous love music of the opening to the fantastical Wild Hunt of spectres, this thrilling, kaleidoscopic score never lets the listener go. This is the only performance of this unmissable event outside london: we promise that you will love it! *BBC Music magazine’s Editor, Oliver Condy, explains why he has recommended tonight’s concert:* _"Before Schoenberg experimented with the atonal composing system that has given him a certain reputation among audiences, he wrote several highly romantic, lush works including Gurrelieder. Think Wagner, Mahler and a hint of Bruckner and you get the idea. It’s one of the most OTT works of the 20th century - and wonderful for it!”_ "BBC Music Magazine":http://www.bbcmusicmagazine.com *6.15pm pre-concert talk* Tickets £5-£37.50
*Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus* *Philharmonia Voices* *Esa-Pekka Salonen* conductor *Stig Andersen* _Waldemar_ *Anthony Dean Griffey* _Klaus-Narr_ *Soile Isokosk* _Tove_ *Monica Groop* _Waldtaube_ *Barbara Sukowa* speaker
*Schoenberg* Gurrelieder 100’
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