CBSO Season 2008-09

DISCOUNTS FOR CBSO CONCERTS

Please note that only one discount can be applied to any ticket. Special offers, discounts and concessions cannot be combined. Concerts which are not promoted by the CBSO may have different discounting policies please check with the Ticket Office at time of booking.

CONCERT PACKAGES
Buy tickets for 3 or more CBSO concerts at Symphony Hall/Town Hall to start saving and receiving package benefits.

GROUP BOOKERS
are entitled to a 20% discount for parties of 11 or more and receive one FREE ticket for the group organiser. Groups also benefit from a reservation facility – please call the Group Booking Department on Freephone 0800 358 7070. There is also the opportunity to meet CBSO musicians at concerts; please call Amy Poyser at the CBSO on 0121 616 6513.

FAMILY TICKETS (for Symphony Hall & Town Hall)
To qualify for a family ticket, one or two adults must be accompanied by one or more children aged 16 and under, up to a maximum group of six people. Family tickets are available in all areas, and will be allocated subject to availability. Adult family ticket: £17; child family ticket: £8.50.

STUDENTS & YOUNG PEOPLE
From 1pm on the day of each evening performance and from 10am for matinée concerts, anyone in fulltime education and young people aged 25 and under can purchase remaining tickets at the discounted price of £4. Proof of eligibility may be required. Please note: the CBSO reserves the right to allocate these tickets in certain areas of the hall.

Under our ‘Audiences for Tomorrow’ scheme, the CBSO offers a limited number of tickets at special prices for secondary school groups, subject to availability. Teachers should call Katy Russell on 0121 616 6530 for information.

STANDBY TICKETS
Available from 1pm on the day of each evening performance and from 10am for matinée concerts (Symphony Hall & Town Hall concerts), and from CBSO Centre one hour before CBSO Cntre performances. Please come early to avoid queues. All standby tickets are issued subject to availability and on production of valid and suitable identification. Please note the CBSO reserves the right to allocate standby tickets in certain areas of the hall.

Patrons aged 60+ (Symphony Hall & Town Hall only) receive 10% discount. Patrons who are benefit recipients can purchase tickets for £4 at all venues (qualifying benefits: Income Support, Pension Tax Credit, Job Seekers Allowance and Disability Tax Credit). Holders of ‘Passport to Leisure’ cards can purchase Circle tickets for £21, and seats on all other levels for £13.50 at Symphony Hall and Town Hall (one ticket per Passport holder), and receive £1 off a full-price ticket at CBSO Centre.

DISABLED PATRONS
If you have a disability you are entitled to receive 50% discount off full price seats. Should you need the service of a companion, their ticket is also half price. Proof of eligibility may be required.

N.B. Disabled patrons can combine their 50% discount with the additional Concert Package discounts. For further information on facilities for patrons with disabilities, including the infra-red system for the hearing impaired, please contact Symphony Hall on 0121 780 4949. Receivers are available from the Performance Manager at the concert. Guide dogs welcome.

WHEELCHAIR POSITIONS Spaces for patrons who need to remain in their wheelchair during the performance are located on the stalls and upper circle levels of Symphony Hall, stalls & circle levels of Town Hall and are available at CBSO Centre. Please book in advance for Symphony Hall & Town Hall by calling 0121 780 4949 during opening hours.

CAR PARKING
Limited space is available for Blue Badge holders driving their own vehicles. To reserve free parking, please contact the Ticket Office on 0121 780 3333. You will be asked for your Blue Badge number, vehicle registration, concert date and contact details when booking a space. Please put requests for more than three dates in writing to Performances Birmingham Ticket Office, Symphony Hall, Broad Street, Birmingham B1 2EA.

For concerts at Town Hall, wheelchair users may be dropped off outside the building by Paradise Circus. Blue badge parking bays in the vicinity of Town Hall can be found on Margaret Street, Edmund Street and Pinfold Street.

This brochure is available free of charge on audio-cassette. Please call 0121 616 6513.

RETURNS & RESALES
Tickets are accepted at the discretion of the Ticket Office but all CBSO sales take priority. There is a service charge of 10% of the face value and money resulting from a resale will be forwarded by cheque. NB only cash or cheques will be accepted in payment for returns.

LOST TICKETS
Please note there is a £2 charge for printing duplicate tickets.

• Fantastic Symphony  

  Wed 17 Sep Symphony Hall

  A new conductor, a new era - three youthful orchestral showpieces launch Andris Nelsons’ first concert as music director of the CBSO. And they couldn’t be more appropriate. Like Andris Nelsons himself, Berlioz was still in his twenties when he wrote his outrageous symphony, and the young Wagner actually wrote his Rienzi overture in Nelsons’ home city of Riga! Bartók’s thrilling ballet score comes from the composer’s mid-thirties. The CBSO’s new music director has already won widespread praise for his exciting performances with the Orchestra, and tonight’s programme has plenty to set pulses racing so make sure you don’t miss the start of something really special! The concert on 17 September is sponsored by Mitchells and Butlers 6.15pm Pre-concert talk - Welcome to the Season Meet Andris Nelsons, as he prepares to conduct his first concerts as music director of the CBSO. In conversation with Stephen Maddock.
  Andris Nelsons - conductor City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  Wagner: Overture, Rienzi 13’ Bartók: Miraculous Mandarin Suite 21’ Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique 55’
  

• Symphonic Spectacular!  

  Fri 19 Sep Symphony Hall

  This concert is for secondary schools, and is designed for and by students in Key Stages 3 & 4. Forget keyboards and samplers - the full symphony orchestra is the biggest, most powerful machine ever devised for making music! Get up close and see how it works in this special concert. Tommy Pearson takes the orchestra to pieces, while the CBSO’s brilliant new conductor Andris Nelsons steers the full CBSO through a showcase performance of Berlioz’ thrilling Fantastic Symphony.
  Andris Nelsons - conductor Tommy Pearson - presenter City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  
  

• Fantastic Symphony  

  Sat 20 Sep Symphony Hall

  A new conductor, a new era - three youthful orchestral showpieces launch Andris Nelsons’ first concert as music director of the CBSO. And they couldn’t be more appropriate. Like Andris Nelsons himself, Berlioz was still in his twenties when he wrote his outrageous symphony, and the young Wagner actually wrote his Rienzi overture in Nelsons’ home city of Riga! Bartók’s thrilling ballet score comes from the composer’s mid-thirties. The CBSO’s new music director has already won widespread praise for his exciting performances with the Orchestra, and tonight’s programme has plenty to set pulses racing so make sure you don’t miss the start of something really special! The concert on 17 September is sponsored by Mitchells and Butlers 6.15pm Pre-concert talk - Welcome to the Season Meet Andris Nelsons, as he prepares to conduct his first concerts as music director of the CBSO. In conversation with Stephen Maddock.
  Andris Nelsons - conductor City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  Wagner: Overture, Rienzi 13’ Bartók: Miraculous Mandarin Suite 21’ Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique 55’
  

• Rachmaninov’s Second  

  Tue 23 Sep Symphony Hall

  For his second programme as music director, Andris Nelsons has chosen another grand romantic symphony - Rachmaninov’s sweeping, passionate second, which the composer premiered exactly a century ago in 1908. In the first half, the brilliant young Macedonian pianist Simon Trpceski will join the Orchestra for Saint-Saëns’ most popular concerto, and the concert begins with another French favourite, Debussy’s sensuous miniature ballet. Pre concert talk 6.15pm - The Players’ Perspective - Rachmaninov’s Second Violinist David Gregory and fellow CBSO musicians present an insider’s angle on Rachmaninov’s best-loved symphony.
  Andris Nelsons - conductor Simon Trpceski - piano City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  Debussy: Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune 10’ Saint-Saëns: Piano Concerto No. 2 23’ Rachmaninov: Symphony No. 2 55’
  

• Rachmaninov’s Second  

  Wed 24 Sep Symphony Hall

  For his second programme as music director, Andris Nelsons has chosen another grand romantic symphony - Rachmaninov’s sweeping, passionate second, which the composer premiered exactly a century ago in 1908. In the first half, the brilliant young Macedonian pianist Simon Trpceski will join the Orchestra for Saint-Saëns’ most popular concerto, and the concert begins with another French favourite, Debussy’s sensuous miniature ballet. The concert on 24 September is followed by a Members’ Afternoon Tea with Andris Nelsons as guest speaker, in conversation with Christopher Morley of The Birmingham Post. Find out how you can support the CBSO through membership by contacting Gill Powell on 0121 616 6514, or email gpowell@cbso.co.uk Pre concert talk 1.15pm - The Players’ Perspective - Rachmaninov’s Second Violinist David Gregory and fellow CBSO musicians present an insider’s angle on Rachmaninov’s best-loved symphony. bq.'PASSION from Birmingham’ is the motto for the CBSO’s current season. And Andris Nelsons, here making his first official appearance before becoming music director in the autumn, is the living incarnation of these words.bq. David Fanning, Daily Telegraph 7 March 2008
  Andris Nelsons - conductor Simon Trpceski - piano City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  Debussy: Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune 10’ Saint-Saëns: Piano Concerto No. 2 23’ Rachmaninov: Symphony No. 2 55’
  

• The Organ Symphony  

  Thu 2 Oct Symphony Hall

  There are few more thrilling sounds in all music than the 6,000 pipes of Symphony Hall’s magnificent Klais organ pitted against a full-strength CBSO, and Saint-Saëns’ ever-popular symphony is just the piece to show off this dynamic combination. The elegant classicism of Mozart’s serene concerto and Ravel’s fairy-tale miniatures should provide the perfect upbeat. The New York Philharmonic’s Associate Conductor Xian Zhang returns for her third visit to Birmingham.
  Xian Zhang - conductor David Saint - organ Michael Collins - clarinet City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  Ravel: Mother Goose Suite 18’ Mozart: Clarinet Concerto 28’ Saint-Saëns: Symphony No. 3 (Organ) 36’
  

• Schumann & Shostakovich with Schiff  

  Wed 8 Oct Symphony Hall

  High romance and biting sarcasm - the superb Austrian cellist and conductor Heinrich Schiff makes a welcome return to the CBSO with a programme of extremes. Kurt Weill’s Threepenny Opera Suite is the ultimate in musical irony, irresistibly sarcastic, shamelessly sleazy and unforgettably tuneful. In Shostakovich’s First Cello Concerto, though, the satire has teeth - it’s a punchy political drama driven by profound emotion. Schiff himself performs the solo part, before taking the podium to conduct Schumann’s noblest symphony - a world of romantic dreams and classical beauty, a million miles from the 20th century.
  Heinrich Schiff - conductor / cello City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No. 1 28’ Weill: Threepenny Opera - Suite 20’ Schumann: Symphony No. 2 36’
  

• Friday Night Classics: John Williams Blockbusters  

  Fri 10 Oct Symphony Hall

  No-one writes a big film theme like John Williams - no wonder he’s the world’s most popular living classical composer. And if you think his music is thrilling on the big screen, just wait until you hear it live at Symphony Hall - as the CBSO plays a blockbuster concert of John Williams’ very greatest themes from his signature edition scores.
  Michael Seal - conductor Tommy Pearson - presenter City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  Including music from: Star Wars Schindler’s List Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone Superman Close Encounters of the Third Kind E.T. Raiders of the Lost Ark Olympic Fanfare and Theme JFK Munich Saving Private Ryan Jaws
  

• Birmingham’s Brightest  

  Sat 11 Oct Symphony Hall

  Everyone knows that Birmingham has the brightest and most vibrant youth music scene in the UK; hear why in this jam-packed gala concert! Feel the sheer visceral thrill of the famous Birmingham Schools’ Azaad Dhol Ensemble, before the acclaimed CBSO Youth Orchestra Academy makes its Symphony Hall debut in Ligeti’s flamboyant Concert Romanesc. Two show-stopping young choirs raise the roof before the CBSO proper takes the stage alongside one of Britain’s best-loved young soloists • teenager clarinettist Julian Bliss • in Malcolm Arnold’s irresistibly jazzy concerto. Throw in a couple of John Williams’ blockbuster movie soundtracks including music from Star Wars, with the CBSO, and you’ve got a concert that celebrates both the young - and the young at heart! This concert coincides with the National Association of Music Educators Conference at the ICC.
  Michael Seal - conductor Julian Bliss - clarinet CBSO Youth Orchestra Academy City of Birmingham Young Voices Birmingham Schools’ Azaad Dhol Ensemble Sing For All Massed Choir
  
  

• 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’
  

• 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’
  

• 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’
  

• 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’
  

• 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’
  

• 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’
  

• 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’
  

• Elgar’s Cello Concerto  

  Wed 5 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. 1.15pm 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’
  

• Family Concert: Steps in Time  

  Sun 9 Nov Symphony Hall

  Time travelling across the musical universe is the theme for today’s family concert! Our own real-life Doctor Who, in the form of popular presenter Alasdair Malloy, will keep the CBSO stepping in time with a selection of dances from across the ages. So forget about two left feet and get with the beat in an afternoon packed with numbers conjuring up twinkling toes for waltzes, courtly dances, marches and sambas, including music by Walton, Mozart, Arnold, Dvorák and Piazzolla. Why not come along dressed as your favourite kind of dancer? FREE CREATIVE WORKSHOPS AND MUSIC in the foyers from 1.30pm
  David Danzmayr - conductor Alasdair Malloy - presenter City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  
  

• Romeo and Juliet  

  Thu 13 Nov Symphony Hall

  Popular CBSO guest Andrew Litton returns with a colourful programme featuring two brilliant musical responses to Shakespeare: Walton’s score for Laurence Olivier’s 1944 film of Henry V, together with highlights from Prokofiev’s ever-popular ballet (currently featured as the music for the BBC series _The Apprentice_) premiered six years earlier. Barber’s gloriously lyrical Violin Concerto, composed between these two works, receives its first-ever CBSO performance, played by a dazzling American soloist.
  Andrew Litton - conductor Anne Akiko Meyers - violin City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  Walton: Henry V - Suite 15’ Barber: Violin Concerto 25’ Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet (highlights) 50’
  

• CBSO Romeo and Juliet  

  Thu 13 Nov Symphony Hall

  *Walton* Henry V • Suite 15’ *Barber* Violin Concerto 25’ *Prokofiev* Romeo and Juliet (highlights) 50’ Popular CBSO guest Andrew Litton returns with a colourful programme featuring two brilliant musical responses to Shakespeare: Walton’s score for Laurence Olivier’s 1944 film of Henry V, together with highlights from Prokofiev’s ever-popular ballet. Barber’s gloriously lyrical violin concerto receives its first ever CBSO performance, played by a dazzling American soloist. £9.50, £13.50, £17, £20.50, £23.50, £28, £32, £37, £39.50
  City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra *Andrew Litton* Conductor *Anne Akiko Meyers* Violin
  
  

• Beethoven's Missa Solemnis  

  Sat 15 Nov Symphony Hall

  There is no genuine choral possibility undeveloped in the Mass. Beethoven imagines everything humanly possible - and then adds more! Join us as we scale the majestic heights of Beethoven’s late, great dramatic Mass in a glorious musical tour de force bursting with exuberance and exhilaration. “Adrian Lucas draws fine responses from the Choir with impressive dynamic contrasts, refined inner tuning and impeccable blending of parts resulting in a greatly satisfying performance”. £10, £12.50, £16, £21.50, £26.50, £31.50, £35.50. Discounts available.
  *City of Birmingham Choir* *Bristol Choral Society* *City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra* *Adrian Lucas* Conductor *Lee Bissett* Soprano *Hannah Pedley* Mezzo soprano *Ben Segal* Tenor *David Soar* Bass
  
  

• Viennese Classics  

  Wed 19 Nov Symphony Hall

  Schubert and Brahms: their music epitomises all that was best in the Viennese tradition between the death of Beethoven and the arrival of Mahler. Olari Elts has chosen to couple one of Schubert’s sunniest symphonies with Brahms’ supremely dramatic violin concerto, played by an exceptional Norwegian soloist making his first appearance in Birmingham. Shorter works show a different side to both composers' amazingly varied talents.
  Olari Elts - conductor Henning Kraggerud - violin City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  Brahms: Variations on a theme by Haydn 19’ Brahms: Violin Concerto 36’ Schubert (orch. Webern): German Dances 8’ Schubert: Symphony No. 5 26’
  

• Friday Night Classics: Best of Bond  

  Fri 21 Nov Symphony Hall

  Never mind if you didn’t get invited to the red-carpet premiere of Quantum of Solace - because the CBSO is always licensed to thrill. Whether your favourite Bond is Craig or Connery, Brosnan or Moore, this will be an allaction celebration with the best of 40 years of Bond themes. Featuring such all-time greats as From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, Diamonds Are Forever, Live And Let Die, The Spy Who Loved Me, For Your Eyes Only, Licensed to Kill and Dr No, as well as modern Bond classics including GoldenEye and Casino Royale, this is music guaranteed to leave you both shaken - and stirred.
  Carl Davis - conductor Mary Carewe - vocalist City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  
  

• Totally Tchaikovsky!  

  Wed 26 Nov Symphony Hall

  Tchaikovsky’s struggles with his personal demons left a mark on many of his works, and the dramatic Fifth Symphony of 1888 is one of the pieces in which positive forces ultimately seem to triumph over the darkness. Composed during the same year, the fantasy overture Hamlet is one of his three works based on Shakespeare plays. Andris Nelsons is also joined by his compatriot Baiba Skride for the tuneful concerto that represents the lighter side of Tchaikovsky’s art, and which they recorded together with the CBSO in Birmingham last year.
  Andris Nelsons - conductor Baiba Skride - violin City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  Tchaikovsky: Hamlet - Overture 19’ Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto 34’ Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 47’
  

• A Taste of France  

  Tue 2 Dec Symphony Hall

  Widely acknowledged as an expert conductor of 20thcentury music, Ilan Volkov includes three French masterpieces in a programme full of orchestral colour. Debussy’s famous portrait of the sea in all its various moods finds a more exotic counterpart in the 1912 ballet by Paul Dukas (of Sorcerer’s Apprentice fame) which tells of a Persian man’s quest for the Flower of Immortality. We are also joined by the Nazareth-born pianist, who scored a success here in Beethoven two years ago, for two contrasting concertos: Ravel’s jazzy Left Hand Concerto and a new work by Jordanian composer Saed Haddad. 6.15pm Pre-concert talk - Premiere! - Saed Haddad’s Piano Concerto Conductor Ilan Volkov and soloist Saleem Abboud Ashkar talk to Stephen Maddock about tonight’s UK premiere.
  *Ilan Volkov* conductor *Saleem Abboud Ashkar* piano
  *Dukas* La Péri 19’ *Ravel* Piano Concerto for the left hand 20’ *Haddad* "Alternative World-versions" for Piano & Orchestra (UK premiere) 11' *Debussy* La Mer 25’
  

• Century!  

  Thu 11 Dec Symphony Hall

  Today the musical world salutes the centenary of the birth of the great American composer Elliott Carter, the only major composer ever to reach his 100th year and still be creating new work. His new horn concerto is a perfect example of his art, and is played here by the CBSO’s own Elspeth Dutch. Tonight’s concert is actually a triple celebration of December 1908: the great French composer Olivier Messiaen was born just a day before Carter, and Elgar’s magnificent First Symphony had been premiered just a week before that. 6.15pm Pre-concert talk - Premiere! - Elliott Carter’s Horn Concerto Anthony Burton introduces the music of this great American survivor.
  Sakari Oramo - conductor Elspeth Dutch - horn City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  Messiaen: L’Ascension 19’ Carter: Horn Concerto (UK premiere) 11’ Elgar: Symphony No. 1 52’
  

• Great Romantics  

  Sat 13 Dec Symphony Hall

  Last Christmas Sakari Oramo brought us all some seasonal cheer with highlights from The Nutcracker; this year it’s the turn of another of Tchaikovsky’s great ballets. It shares the first half with possibly the most popular of all piano concertos, played by the Russian pianist with whom the CBSO has made an acclaimed series of Rachmaninov recordings. Elgar said that his First Symphony expressed ‘a wide experience of human life with a great charity (love) and a massive hope in the future’ how better to celebrate the festive season?
  Sakari Oramo - conductor Nikolai Lugansky - piano City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  Tchaikovsky: Sleeping Beauty (highlights) 10’ Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 2 32’ Elgar: Symphony No. 1 52’
  

• A London Symphony  

  Wed 17 Dec Symphony Hall

  For our final tribute to Vaughan Williams in this 50th anniversary year of his death, we are joined by one of his leading interpreters for a rare hearing of the original 1913 version of his ‘London’ Symphony. This extraordinary work was subsequently dedicated to his friend George Butterworth, who unlike Vaughan Wiliams never returned from the trenches of World War I - as a result we only have a few pieces, of which tonight’s is the best known, to remember him by. The dazzling 1920s concerto by Vaughan Williams’ teacher Ravel completes the programme. 6.15pm Pre-concert talk - “A Symphony by a Londoner” English music specialist Michael Foster explores the genesis of Vaughan Williams’ colourful symphony.
  Richard Hickox - conductor Kirill Gerstein - piano City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  Butterworth: Banks of Green Willow 6’ Ravel: Piano Concerto in G major 21’ Vaughan Williams: A London Symphony (original version) 61’
  

• A Christmas Carol  

  Sat 20 Dec Symphony Hall

  It simply wouldn’t be Christmas without the CBSO’s celebrations, hosted this year by presenter Carol Smillie and featuring the CBSO and its massed choirs. Packed with festive music and your favourite carols, plus stories, readings and plenty of audience participation, these concerts are the perfect way to kick-start your Christmas holidays and put you in the festive spirit.
  Simon Halsey - conductor Carol Smillie - presenter City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus & Youth Chorus City of Birmingham Young Voices City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  
  

• A Christmas Carol  

  Sun 21 Dec Symphony Hall

  It simply wouldn’t be Christmas without the CBSO’s celebrations, hosted this year by presenter Carol Smillie and featuring the CBSO and its massed choirs. Packed with festive music and your favourite carols, plus stories, readings and plenty of audience participation, these concerts are the perfect way to kick-start your Christmas holidays and put you in the festive spirit.
  Simon Halsey - conductor Carol Smillie - presenter City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus & Youth Chorus City of Birmingham Young Voices City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  
  

• A Christmas Carol  

  Sun 21 Dec Symphony Hall

  It simply wouldn’t be Christmas without the CBSO’s celebrations, hosted this year by presenter Carol Smillie and featuring the CBSO and its massed choirs. Packed with festive music and your favourite carols, plus stories, readings and plenty of audience participation, these concerts are the perfect way to kick-start your Christmas holidays and put you in the festive spirit.
  Simon Halsey - conductor Carol Smillie - presenter City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus & Youth Chorus City of Birmingham Young Voices
  
  

• A Christmas Carol  

  Mon 22 Dec Symphony Hall

  It simply wouldn’t be Christmas without the CBSO’s celebrations, hosted this year by presenter Carol Smillie and featuring the CBSO and its massed choirs. Packed with festive music and your favourite carols, plus stories, readings and plenty of audience participation, these concerts are the perfect way to kick-start your Christmas holidays and put you in the festive spirit.
  Simon Halsey - conductor Carol Smillie - presenter City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus & Youth Chorus City of Birmingham Young Voices City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  
  

• A Christmas Carol  

  Mon 22 Dec Symphony Hall

  It simply wouldn’t be Christmas without the CBSO’s celebrations, hosted this year by presenter Carol Smillie and featuring the CBSO and its massed choirs. Packed with festive music and your favourite carols, plus stories, readings and plenty of audience participation, these concerts are the perfect way to kick-start your Christmas holidays and put you in the festive spirit.
  Simon Halsey - conductor Carol Smillie - presenter City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus & Youth Chorus City of Birmingham Young Voices City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  
  

• Viennese New Year  

  Sat 3 Jan Symphony Hall

  Tap your toes into 2009 with the CBSO’s traditional Viennese concerts. With jubilant works by Mozart, and much-loved waltzes, polkas and arias by members of the Strauss family, let the CBSO whisk you off your feet to a world of dashing dancers and swirling ballgowns.
  Carlos Kalmar - conductor Sarah Tynan - soprano City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  Mozart: La Clemenza di Tito - Overture Strauss: Acceleration Waltz Mozart: Exsultate Jubilate Strauss: Dragonfly Polka Strauss: Furioso Polka Suppé: Poet and Peasant Mozart: Idomeneo - Ballet Music Strauss: Village Swallows from Austria Strauss: Im Krapfenwaldl Strauss: Plappermäulchen! Strauss: Operetta Arias Strauss: Anvil Polka Strauss: Blue Danube Waltz
  

• Viennese New Year  

  Sat 3 Jan Symphony Hall

  Tap your toes into 2009 with the CBSO’s traditional Viennese concerts. With jubilant works by Mozart, and much-loved waltzes, polkas and arias by members of the Strauss family, let the CBSO whisk you off your feet to a world of dashing dancers and swirling ballgowns.
  Carlos Kalmar - conductor Sarah Tynan - soprano City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  Mozart: La Clemenza di Tito - Overture Strauss: Acceleration Waltz Mozart: Exsultate Jubilate Strauss: Dragonfly Polka Strauss: Furioso Polka Suppé: Poet and Peasant Mozart: Idomeneo - Ballet Music Strauss: Village Swallows from Austria Strauss: Im Krapfenwaldl Strauss: Plappermäulchen! Strauss: Operetta Arias Strauss: Anvil Polka Strauss: Blue Danube Waltz
  

• Celebrating Nielsen: The Inextinguishable  

  Wed 7 Jan Symphony Hall

  After last season’s acclaimed cycle of Sibelius symphonies, this season we feature the equally impressive cycle by his exact contemporary Carl Nielsen. His varied output holds the same central place in Danish music as Sibelius does in Finland, and his six symphonies are full of struggle, reflection and strong emotion - just like real life. Principal guest conductor Sakari Oramo begins this series with a charming picture-postcard overture and the composer’s best-known work. Written at the height of the First World War, this symphony is a volcanic musical struggle between the forces of destruction and the energy of life itself, culminating in one of the most uplifting - and thrilling - endings in all music. 6.15pm Pre-concert talk - Nielsen: The Inextinguishable An introduction to the CBSO and the Hallé’s joint Nielsen Cycle and tonight’s concert.
  Sakari Oramo - conductor Nikolai Lugansky - piano City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  Nielsen: A Fantasy Trip to the Faroes 12’ Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 2 32’ Nielsen: Symphony No. 4 (The Inextinguishable) 36’
  

• Celebrating Nielsen: The Four Temperaments  

  Sat 10 Jan Symphony Hall

  For Nielsen, music was all about exploring what it means to be human. And this second concert in the CBSO and the Hallé’s joint Nielsen Symphony Cycle does exactly that. Nielsen’s extraordinary Second Symphony, “The Four Temperaments”, is a musical attempt to paint an entire personality in wonderfully colourful music; his deceptively tuneful Sixth is a musical self-portrait as haunting and unforgettable as anything by Mahler. To these masterpieces Oramo adds Nielsen’s picturesque tribute to the sun, and Prokofiev’s equally warm-hearted violin concerto played by an outstanding soloist. 5.45pm Pre-concert talk - Nielsen: The Four Temperaments Find out more about tonight’s symphonies and overture by this great Dane.
  Sakari Oramo - conductor Akiko Suwanai - violin City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  Nielsen: Helios Overture 12’ Nielsen: Symphony No. 6 (Semplice) 31’ Prokofiev: Violin Concerto No. 1 22’ Nielsen: Symphony No. 2 (The Four Temperaments) 35’
  

• Handel’s Jephtha  

  Thu 15 Jan Town Hall

  250 years since Handel’s death, we return to the hall where so many of his works have been heard, not least as the cornerstone of the Birmingham Triennial Festivals. Jephtha, his last oratorio, is one of his very finest works in English, and tells the story of the great military captain who finds himself in conflict with God’s law as a result of a rash promise. Featuring a host of glorious arias and dramatic choruses, and with a leading cast conducted by Handel specialist Nicholas McGegan, this is a must for Handel fans. There will be one interval after Act One. 6.15pm Pre-concert talk - Handel’s Jephtha Conductor Nicholas McGegan • in conversation with CBSO Events Officer Richard Bratby.
  Nicholas McGegan - conductor Paul Nilon - Jephtha Dominique Labelle - Isis Dianna Moore - Storge Daniel Taylor - Hamor City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra Andrew Foster-Williams - Zebul City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus
  Handel: Jephtha 150’
  

• Celebrating Nielsen: Pride & Power  

  Sat 17 Jan Symphony Hall

  We have invited the Hallé to give the second half of our Nielsen cycle with its music director Mark Elder. Nielsen might have written his First Symphony while he was working as a second violinist, but there’s nothing bashful about it - he even marked the score “Proudly”! It bursts with energy and freshness. His mighty Fifth Symphony is even more powerful - a gripping musical battle between order and chaos, triggered by one of the all-time great drum solos. It’s one of the greatest symphonies of the 20th century, so it’s only fitting that our guests are playing it alongside two dramatic masterpieces by Nielsen’s hero - Ludwig van Beethoven. 5.45pm Pre concert talk - Nielsen: Pride and Power An introduction to tonight’s pieces by these two musical power-houses.
  Hallé Mark Elder - conductor Anja Kampe - soprano
  Beethoven: Overture, Egmont 8’ Nielsen: Symphony No. 1 27’ Beethoven: Ah, Perfido! Scene and Aria 15’ Nielsen: Symphony No. 5 35’
  

• Pure Gold  

  Tue 20 Jan Symphony Hall

  Unfairly derided by snootier critics as ‘more corn than gold’ on account of the composer’s successful Hollywood career, the lush music of Erich Wolfgang Korngold has won a huge audience in recent years. His 1945 violin concerto, which draws on three of his film scores, has become a particular favourite with violinists, while his music for a 1920 Vienna production of Shakespeare’s comedy also contains music of great charm and wit. Korngold’s father Julius was an important supporter of Brahms in Vienna, and his majestic First Symphony concludes a warmly romantic programme. 6.15pm Pre concert talk - Pure Gold Critic, biographer and blogger Jessica Duchen introduces the music of E.W. Korngold.
  Michael Seal - conductor Anthony Marwood - violin City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  Korngold: Much Ado About Nothing - Suite 15’ Korngold: Violin Concerto 23’ Brahms: Symphony No. 1 45’
  

• Friday Night Classics: The Gershwins in Hollywood  

  Fri 23 Jan Symphony Hall

  No-one wrote a hit-tune like George and Ira Gershwin. And when the brothers left Manhattan for the bright lights of Hollywood, the results were bound to be showstopping! Conductor John Wilson loves the great movie musicals of the 1930s; join him and star West End vocalists Kim Criswell and Gary Williams for an evening of pure jazz-age glamour. Featuring I Got Rhythm, ’Swonderful, The Man I Love, An American in Paris, Strike Up The Band, Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off, They All Laughed and many more, it’s just hit after hit after hit!
  John Wilson - conductor Kim Criswell - vocalist Gary Williams - vocalist City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  
  

• Wagner: Passion Beyond Reason  

  Wed 28 Jan Symphony Hall

  Andris Nelsons has already won great acclaim for his interpretations of Wagner’s operas in Riga, and next year he makes his debut at the Bayreuth Festival. For his first CBSO Wagner outing, he has chosen contrasting extended sequences from three of the composer’s greatest operas, culminating in the apocalyptic climax of the entire Ring cycle. Acclaimed Swedish soprano Iréne Theorin takes the roles of Isolde and Brünnhilde - two of the very greatest operatic heroines, both driven by a love more powerful than life itself.
  Andris Nelsons - conductor Iréne Theorin - soprano City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  Wagner: Tannhäuser - Overture and Venusberg Music 24’ Wagner: Tristan und Isolde - Prelude and Liebestod 17’ Wagner: Götterdämmerung - Siegfried’s Rhine Journey, Siegfried’s Funeral March & Brünnhilde’s Immolation
  

• Wagner: Passion Beyond Reason  

  Thu 29 Jan Symphony Hall

  Andris Nelsons has already won great acclaim for his interpretations of Wagner’s operas in Riga, and next year he makes his debut at the Bayreuth Festival. For his first CBSO Wagner outing, he has chosen contrasting extended sequences from three of the composer’s greatest operas, culminating in the apocalyptic climax of the entire Ring cycle. Acclaimed Swedish soprano Iréne Theorin takes the roles of Isolde and Brünnhilde - two of the very greatest operatic heroines, both driven by a love more powerful than life itself.
  Andris Nelsons - conductor Iréne Theorin - soprano City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  Wagner: Tannhäuser - Overture and Venusberg Music 24’ Wagner: Tristan und Isolde - Prelude and Liebestod 17’ Wagner: Götterdämmerung - Siegfried’s Rhine Journey, Siegfried’s Funeral March & Brünnhilde’s Immolation
  

• Family Concert: All Aboard!  

  Sun 1 Feb Symphony Hall

  Hop on board as we launch into gear and jet off around the world for an incredible musical journey on planes,trains, automobiles and much more besides. This funpacked afternoon will have you going round the bend and looping the loop, as we thrill and swerve with fast rides and whacky races, and sail on the ocean blue. Be transported by music including Adams’ Short Ride in a Fast Machine, Villa-Lobos’ Little Train of the Caipira, Honegger’s Pacific 231 and more. Don’t miss the boat- buy your return ticket now, and join the CBSO as we go full steam ahead! FREE CREATIVE WORKSHOPS AND MUSIC in the foyers from 1.30pm. Why not come in fancy dress?
  Andris Nelsons -conductor Michael Collie - presenter City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  
  

• Celebrating Nielsen: Sinfonia Espansiva  

  Tue 3 Feb Symphony Hall

  Nielsen’s music is so fresh and clear that it’s not hard to hear it as musical landscape painting - inspired by the countryside and folklore of his native Denmark. He dubbed his Third Symphony “Expansive”, and it’s easy to hear why; this is simply some of the most radiant music of modern times with an ecstatic slow movement featuring wordless parts for singers. In this final instalment of the CBSO and the Hallé’s joint Nielsen Symphony Cycle, conductor Mark Elder and the Hallé return to pair the Symphony with two more great Scandinavian landscapes - the fire and ice of Sibelius’ Violin Concerto and Grieg’s much loved Peer Gynt suite; just four of the most irresistible tunes ever written!
  Hallé Mark Elder - conductor Nadine Livingston - soprano Matthew Brook - baritone Alina Pogostkina - violin
  Grieg: Peer Gynt - Suite No. 1 13’ Sibelius: Violin Concerto 31’ Nielsen: Symphony No. 3 (Espansiva) 38’
  

• Dvorák’s New World  

  Thu 5 Feb Symphony Hall

  Was there ever a more evocative, nostalgic work than the New World Symphony? Right from the opening bars it is clear that the composer’s thoughts were more of his beloved Bohemia than of the exciting city of New York in which he found himself. Rachmaninov also had his moments of homesickness after he moved to the USA, but the bubbly brilliance of his ever-popular Paganini Rhapsody makes it one of his most extrovert works. Sometimes musicians simply choose to ignore their surroundings: Prokofiev’s equally brilliant first symphony was composed, amazingly, against the stormy background of the Russian Revolution!
  Michal Dworzynski - conductor Alexander Kobrin - piano City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  Prokofiev: Symphony No. 1 (Classical) 15’ Rachmaninov: Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini 25’ Dvorák: Symphony No. 9 (From the New World) 40’
  

• Friday Night Classics: A Night at the Oscars  

  Fri 6 Feb Symphony Hall

  Put the champagne on ice and roll out the red carpet as silver-screen showman Carl Davis hosts this evening of Oscar-winning movie soundtracks. With themes that include The Lord of the Rings, Dr Zhivago, Lawrence of Arabia, Dances with Wolves, Titanic, Robin Hood, The Godfather and much more, join us for a night that celebrates the soundtrack to all our lives.
  
  Carl Davis- conductor City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  

• Dvorák’s New World  

  Sat 7 Feb Symphony Hall

  Was there ever a more evocative, nostalgic work than the New World Symphony? Right from the opening bars it is clear that the composer’s thoughts were more of his beloved Bohemia than of the exciting city of New York in which he found himself. Rachmaninov also had his moments of homesickness after he moved to the USA, but the bubbly brilliance of his ever-popular Paganini Rhapsody makes it one of his most extrovert works. Sometimes musicians simply choose to ignore their surroundings: Prokofiev’s equally brilliant first symphony was composed, amazingly, against the stormy background of the Russian Revolution!
  Michal Dworzynski - conductor Alexander Kobrin - piano City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  Prokofiev: Symphony No. 1 (Classical) 15’ Rachmaninov: Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini 25’ Dvorák: Symphony No. 9 (From the New World) 40’
  

• Bruch's Violin Concerto  

  Wed 11 Feb Symphony Hall

  The latest in a long line of outstanding young conductors to emerge from Finland, Pietari Inkinen makes his Birmingham debut with the youthful First Symphony by his compatriot Sibelius. The passionate sweep of this music ends a programme full of romantic ardour for the week of Valentine’s Day: Bruch’s timeless concerto is played by the CBSO’s leader, and a selection of Mendelssohn’s music for Shakespeare’s beloved romantic comedy provides a perfect companion.
  Pietari Inkinen - conductor Laurence Jackson - violin City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night’s Dream - Overture, Scherzo and Wedding March 20’ Bruch: Violin Concerto No. 1 26’ Sibelius: Symphony No. 1 38’
  

• Schools Concert: New World Symphony 11.30am and 1.30pm 

  Fri 13 Feb Symphony Hall

  Set sail for America with the CBSO, to hear the New World as the Czech Antonín Dvorˇák experienced it in 1893 - full of promise and new sounds. The slow movement of this most popular of symphonies is renowned for featuring on the Hovis advertisement, and today’s performances - devised especially for Key Stage 2 children (years 5 & 6) - make this a perfect introduction to the sights and sounds of symphony orchestra. “I might be able to play as good as you, if I keep practising.” Child at The Planets Schools Concert, February 2008 Special prices apply: £4 per ticket for children and teachers, and home-schooling* children and parents. To book please call Group Bookings on 0800 358 7070. For information on pre-concert support packages and other opportunities available for schools with the CBSO, please contact the CBSO’s Education Department by email (education@cbso.co.uk) or telephone (0121 616 6530). *proof of eligibility, eg registration with your Local Authority, will be required.
  Michael Seal - conductor Tommy Pearson - presenter City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  
  

• Transfigured Night  

  Thu 19 Feb Symphony Hall

  The idea of transfiguration loomed large for late romantic artists, and these two masterpieces by Strauss and Schoenberg • although the product of composers who were just 25 years old • seem to sum up a whole lifetime’s experience in music that is among the most luscious ever composed. Schoenberg’s masterpiece for strings tells of a transfigured night in which a couple fall in love all over again. Messiaen’s more explicitly religious world-view provides the perfect complement: in his powerful piece for wind, brass and percussion he expresses his own deeply-held beliefs on the resurrection of the dead. And the concert climaxes with a chance to hear the CBSO and Andris Nelsons • already so admired in Strauss’s music • play the magnificent tone poem Death and Transfiguration.
  City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  Schoenberg: Verklärte Nacht 32’ Messiaen: Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum 26’ Strauss: Tod und Verklärung 24’
  

• CBSO Youth Orchestra  

  Sun 22 Feb Symphony Hall

  Andris Nelsons demonstrates his commitment to Birmingham’s young musicians in this, his debut appearance with the CBSO’s acclaimed Youth Orchestra. And it’s all about colour. Whether in the gorgeous oriental fantasies of Ravel’s impressionist song-cycle Shéhérazade, the brilliant sunrise that opens his Daphnis and Chloé suite or the glittering Russian jewel-box of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, this is a programme to dazzle the ears. Expect our superb young players to give it their all, as Andris Nelsons celebrates the start of what we hope will be a very special relationship.
  Andris Nelsons - conductor Christine Rice - mezzo-soprano
  Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé - Suite No. 2 16’ Ravel: Shéhérazade 19’ Mussorgsky (orch. Ravel): Pictures at an Exhibition 30’
  

• Made in America  

  Tue 24 Feb Symphony Hall

  Many composers have left Europe to find a new home in the USA, and both in Bartók’s wartime Concerto for Orchestra • composed for the virtuosi of the Boston Symphony Orchestra • and Dvorˇák’s most popular concerto, composed in New York, you can hear elements of each composer’s old world as well as the new. John Adams’ riotous orchestral showpiece seems more authentically American, though it was a by-product of his celebrated opera Nixon in China, and imagines Madam Mao reliving her music-hall past.
  Andris Nelsons - conductor Alban Gerhardt - cello City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  Adams: The Chairman Dances (24 Feb) 12’ Dvorák: Cello Concerto in B minor 40’ Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra 35’
  

• Made in America  

  Wed 25 Feb Symphony Hall

  Many composers have left Europe to find a new home in the USA, and both in Bartók’s wartime Concerto for Orchestra • composed for the virtuosi of the Boston Symphony Orchestra • and Dvorˇák’s most popular concerto, composed in New York, you can hear elements of each composer’s old world as well as the new. John Adams’ riotous orchestral showpiece seems more authentically American, though it was a by-product of his celebrated opera Nixon in China, and imagines Madam Mao reliving her music-hall past.
  Andris Nelsons - conductor Alban Gerhardt - cello City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  Brahms: Three Hungarian Dances 12’ Dvorák: Cello Concerto in B minor 40’ Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra 35’
  

• Viennese Masters with Mackerras  

  Wed 4 Mar Symphony Hall

  Still leading a vigorous musical life well into his eighties, Sir Charles Mackerras is a living legend, and in tonight’s programme he brings his wealth of experience to three of his favourite composers. Our first contribution to the Haydn bicentenary celebrations comes in the smiling form of one of the composer’s ‘Paris’ symphonies, while a distinguished pianist joins Sir Charles for one of Mozart’s most delectable piano concertos. Beethoven’s energetic Seventh completes a splendidly cheerful programme.
  Sir Charles Mackerras- conductor Imogen Cooper - piano City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  Haydn: Symphony No. 85 (La Reine) 21’ Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 22 K.482 33’ Beethoven: Symphony No. 7 36’
  

• Viennese Masters with Mackerras  

  Sat 7 Mar Symphony Hall

  Still leading a vigorous musical life well into his eighties, Sir Charles Mackerras is a living legend, and in tonight’s programme he brings his wealth of experience to three of his favourite composers. Our first contribution to the Haydn bicentenary celebrations comes in the smiling form of one of the composer’s ‘Paris’ symphonies, while a distinguished pianist joins Sir Charles for one of Mozart’s most delectable piano concertos. Beethoven’s energetic Seventh completes a splendidly cheerful programme.
  Sir Charles Mackerras- conductor Imogen Cooper - piano City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  Haydn: Symphony No. 85 (La Reine) 21’ Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 22 K.482 33’ Beethoven: Symphony No. 7 36’
  

• Schubert’s Great  

  Tue 17 Mar Symphony Hall

  Glinka: Ruslan and Ludmila - Overture Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 schubert: Symphony No. 9 (The Great) Always a favourite with CBSO audiences and players, the distinguished conductor Walter Weller returns for one of the greatest musical masterworks from his native Vienna, Schubert’s last completed symphony. Though never performed in the composer’s lifetime, it has since become one of his most frequently-performed works;Tchaikovsky’s equally well-known concerto also nearly never saw the light of day, its dedicatee denouncing it as ‘poorly composed and unplayable’. Well, pianists and audiences since 1874 have tended to disagree!
  Walter Weller -conductor Sergey Kuznetsov -piano City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  Glinka: Ruslan and Ludmila - Overture Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 Schubert: Symphony No. 9 (The Great)
  

• Haydn’s Surprise  

  Sat 28 Mar Town Hall

  Following an electrifying CBSO debut last season, Manze celebrates two of this year’s anniversary composers, in the Town Hall where so much of their music was heard in the Triennial Festivals and which Mendelssohn famously visited on a number of occasions. His Reformation Symphony combines Protestant and Catholic themes in a superbly fresh manner, while Haydn’s music is always full of surprises! We are joined by a well loved pianist for major works by both composers.
  Andrew Manze -conductor Angela Hewitt - piano City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  Haydn: Symphony No. 94 (Surprise) 20' Mendelssohn: Piano Concerto No. 1 20' Haydn: Piano Sonata No. 52 in E flat 17' Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 5 (Reformation) 33'
  

• British Classics  

  Wed 1 Apr Symphony Hall

  Springtime in England; and what better way to celebrate it than with this delightfully tuneful programme? Some of these pieces are classics, others are the kind of melodies you’re always humming but can’t put a name to; either way, they’ll come up fresh as a daisy under John Wilson’s sparkling baton. A fine British string player joins him for an afternoon of pure melodious pleasure. 1.15pm- Pre Concert Talk- John Wilson’s Light Programme Conductor John Wilson talks to Christopher Morley of The Birmingham Post about this concert of tuneful British rarities.
  John Wilson - conductor Lawrence Power - viola City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  Holst: The Perfect Fool - ballet music 13’ Delius: On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring 4’ Walton: Viola Concerto 25’ Sullivan: Overture di Ballo 11’ German: Romeo and Juliet - Nocturne 5’ Farnon: Westminster Waltz 3’ Ketèlbey: Sanctuary of the Heart 4’ Elgar: Chanson de nuit 4’ Coates: The Three Men Suite 15’
  

• Friday Night Classics: Chaplin’s Circus  

  Fri 3 Apr Symphony Hall

  Conductor, composer and entertainer Carl Davis is world famous 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 City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  Davis: The Cure 23’ Chaplin: The Circus 72’
  

• Singalong with the CBSO: Mozart's Requiem  

  Sun 5 Apr 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 City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  Please Note: Tickets for this event cannot be purchased online. Please contact the venue Box Office to purchase tickets.
  

• Family Concert: Carnival of the Animals  

  Sun 19 Apr 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 City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  
  

• Inspired by Bach  

  Wed 22 Apr 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 City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  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’
  

• IgorFest: Orpheus  

  Thu 30 Apr 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 CBSO 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’
  

• IgorFest: Biblical Works  

  Wed 6 May 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’
  

• IgorFest: The Fireworks Finale  

  Sat 9 May 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 City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  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’
  

• A Pastoral Symphony  

  Tue 12 May 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 City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  Sibelius: Tapiola 20’ Canteloube: Songs of the Auvergne 25’ Beethoven: Symphony No. 6 (Pastoral) 42’
  

• Symphony Ballroom!  

  Fri 15 May 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 Camilla Dallerup - dancer Ian Waite - dancer City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  
  

• Symphony Ballroom!  

  Sat 16 May 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 Camilla Dallerup - dancer Ian Waite - dancer
  
  

• The Emperor Concerto  

  Wed 20 May 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 City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5 (Emperor) 38’ Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 4 (Italian) 26’ Tchaikovsky: Francesca da Rimini 24’
  

• The Emperor Concerto  

  Thu 21 May 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 City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5 (Emperor) 38’ Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 4 (Italian) 26’ Tchaikovsky: Francesca da Rimini 24’
  

• Mahler’s Resurrection  

  Wed 27 May 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 City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  Widmann: Antiphon (UK premiere) 15’ Mahler: Symphony No. 2 (Resurrection) 77’
  

• Mahler’s Resurrection  

  Sun 31 May 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 City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  Mahler: Symphony No. 2 (Resurrection) 77’
  

• Shostakovich’s Fifth  

  Sat 6 Jun 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 City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  Mahler: Symphonic Prelude 10’ Britten: Les Illuminations 23’ Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5 47’
  

• Tchaikovsky’s Little Russian  

  Wed 17 Jun Symphony Hall

  After Hamlet in November, Andris Nelsons offers us another of Tchaikovsky’s responses to Shakespeare, a passionate fantasy overture based on the kind of story of doomed love to which the composer was naturally drawn. But Tchaikovsky is not always doom and gloom, and his Second Symphony uses folk music to create a tuneful work of great charm. Britten, a more openly gay composer than Tchaikovsky, nevertheless suffered his own share of inner torment - but in his Serenade we hear his acutely sympathetic response to great English poems from across the ages. This concert is followed by a Members’ Afternoon Tea with Elspeth Dutch, in conversation with Christopher Morley of The Birmingham Post. 1.15pm Pre-concert talk - The Little Russian Roderic Dunnett of The Independent gives a user’s guide to Tchaikovsky’s Second Symphony
  Andris Nelsons - conductor Elspeth Dutch - horn Toby Spence - tenor City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  Tchaikovsky: Romeo and Juliet 21’ Britten: Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings 26’ Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 2 (Little Russian) 33’
  

• Schools Concert: Romeo and Juliet  

  Fri 19 Jun Symphony Hall

  Shakespeare’s tragic love-story inspired many composers as well as young imaginations! Today’s concert specially devised for Key Stage 2 children (Years 3 & 4) features two pieces written in Russia and the USA almost a century apart. Tchaikovsky’s fantasy overture retains Shakespeare’s characters, while Bernstein’s musical West Side Story updates Romeo and Juliet to modern times and the streets of New York.
  Andris Nelsons - conductor Tommy Pearson - presenter City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  
  

• A Hero’s Life  

  Wed 24 Jun Symphony Hall

  To close his first season, Andris Nelsons returns to his love of Richard Strauss, with the epic, semi-autobiographical tone poem in which the composer charts his marriage, his battles with his critics and his own earlier artistic creations. Haydn’s most famous mass - named for a great hero - also incorporates the sounds of war, and like Strauss, the composer pleads for a peace - Dona Nobis Pacem - that eventually arrives.
  Andris Nelsons - conductor Claire Booth - soprano Hilary Summers - mezzo-soprano Andrew Kennedy - tenor Graeme Broadbent - bass City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  Haydn: Nelson Mass 43’ Strauss: Ein Heldenleben 46’
  

• A Hero’s Life  

  Sat 27 Jun Symphony Hall

  To close his first season, Andris Nelsons returns to his love of Richard Strauss, with the epic, semi-autobiographical tone poem in which the composer charts his marriage, his battles with his critics and his own earlier artistic creations. Haydn’s most famous mass - named for a great hero - also incorporates the sounds of war, and like Strauss, the composer pleads for a peace - Dona Nobis Pacem - that eventually arrives. c.9.15pm Post-concert conversation With Andris Nelsons and Stephen Maddock.
  Andris Nelsons - conductor Claire Booth - soprano Hilary Summers - mezzo-soprano Andrew Kennedy - tenor Graeme Broadbent - bass City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  Haydn: Nelson Mass 43’ Strauss: Ein Heldenleben 46’
  

• No Place Like Home  

  Tue 30 Jun Symphony Hall

  The brilliant young Danish conductor Thomas Søndergård, making his second visit to the CBSO, brings with him the charming Flute Concerto by his compatriot Carl Nielsen, for which he will be joined by the CBSO’s outstanding flute section leader. The light-hearted side of the Danish character which Nielsen portrays here finds a good match in a tuneful suite by his contemporary Sibelius, drawn from the same patriotic pageant that also produced Finlandia. Dvorák was just as concerned as these two composers with reflecting national character through music, and his stirring Seventh Symphony is reckoned by many to be his finest orchestral work. 6.15pm Pre-concert talk - The Player’s Perspective • Dvorák’s Seventh Introduced by David Gregory - CBSO violinist.
  Thomas Søndergård - conductor Marie-Christine Zupancic - flute City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  Sibelius: Scènes historiques - Suite No. 1 20’ Nielsen: Flute Concerto 20’ Dvorák: Symphony No. 7 38’
  

• Friday Night Classics: Bernstein on Broadway  

  Fri 3 Jul Symphony Hall

  Showman, maestro, composer and party animal, Leonard Bernstein was the ultimate musical all-rounder - and he just happened to write some of the best tunes of the 20th century. Carl Davis brings his own brand of Broadway pizzazz to this all-singing, all-dancing salute to Bernstein - from the anarchic comedy of Candide to the urban drama and sheer passion of West Side Story. With a line-up that includes Tonight, America, Overture to Candide - and, of course, New York, New York - it’s just one great tune after another. And with Lennie, Carl and the CBSO, it’s a helluva sound!
  Carl Davis - conductor Mary Carewe - vocalist Sarah Eyden - vocalist City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  
  

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