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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 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’
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Russell Watson
Thu 23 Apr 2009 Symphony Hall
Russell’s music career moved to the next level in 1999, when he was invited to Old Trafford to sing the world cup anthem ‘Nessun Dorma’ before United’s Premiership winning game. He received a standing ovation and this incredible exposure led Russell to be signed by the Decca Music Group for a six-album deal. A factory worker born in Salford in North West England, Russell went from performing on the pub and club circuit in his spare time, to selling over 7 million albums globally, and to be dubbed ‘The Peoples Tenor’ taking opera and classical music to a new audience world wide. Russell has performed around the world in front of many audiences - from Independence Day celebrations in Washington DC; the Beckham’s pre-World Cup party; to more intimate performances for the President of the United States, the UK Prime Minister and the Pope; as well as duets with artists as diverse as Cliff Richard, Lulu, Lionel Ritchie, Mel C (of Spice Girls fame) and Meatloaf. He has broken a succession of records, being the first British male to simultaneously occupy a No.1 spot in the UK and American classical charts, as well as being the first artist to have a classical album at the No.1 spot in the UK classical charts for an entire year. With 5 albums each album going gold, platinum, or double platinum and 4 Classic BRIT Awards under his belt, Russell is recognized world-wide as the UK’s biggest selling classical artist of the 21st century. Following a successful recovery after suffering from a second Brain Tumor in 2007, Russell's 5th studio has been released reaching Number 4 in the charts and 2008 has seen Russell perform a sell out 17 date UK tour and he now looks to establish his long term future internationally, and is enjoying the creative freedom his success has granted him. Russell has recently finished as the head judge on the BBC 1 Saturday night hit show 'Last Choir Standing' where he helped select the UK's favorite choir, with the final show being viewed by over 7 Million people. Russell’s 6th studio album _People Get Ready_ is due for release on the 17th November 2008.
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Rob Brydon plus support
Wed 29 Apr 2009 Symphony Hall
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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 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’
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Chris de Burgh
Sat 2 May 2009 Symphony Hall
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Chris de Burgh
Sun 3 May 2009 Symphony Hall
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Only Men Aloud! plus special guests
Mon 4 May 2009 Symphony Hall
In 2008 Only Men Aloud! entered what was to be the UK's biggest choir competition to date, with UK choirs battling to become voted the best choir in the UK on BBC 1 hit Saturday night show Last Choir Standing. After battling through the rounds, OMA! gave some incredible performances and after an all Welsh Final, were crowned the winners and the nation’s favourite choir. After selling out 2 shows at the Wales Millennium Centre in December, Only Men Aloud! are embarking on a 12 date spring 2009 UK tour.
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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 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’
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Lunchtime Organ Concert - Thomas Trotter
Mon 11 May 2009 Symphony Hall
More details to follow
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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 City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Sibelius: Tapiola 20’ Canteloube: Songs of the Auvergne 25’ Beethoven: Symphony No. 6 (Pastoral) 42’
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Nick Lowe plus support
Thu 14 May 2009 Symphony Hall
Somewhere in London a musician lives who carries the keys to the musical kingdom. In his Technicolor sonic scope are all kinds of sounds, from rock to country to soul to pop. Nothing is off limits, as long as it has a groove and goodness based in reality. The musician has been performing for 40 years, but is as fresh today as the first time he stepped on stage. There are no tricks or short cuts here. Far from it. His songs are as solid as the earth, yet carry no lingering hype or heaviness. The musician is Nick Lowe, the headmaster of British rock, and his new album, At My Age, is such a cause for certain celebration that fans and neophytes alike should mark its release as a date to remember.
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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 Camilla Dallerup - dancer Ian Waite - dancer City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
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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 Camilla Dallerup - dancer Ian Waite - dancer
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John Barrowman plus special guests
Mon 18 May 2009 Symphony Hall
John Barrowman, much loved actor, singer, TV and West End star returns to Symphony Hall in May 2009. The tour will feature songs from his new album- ‘Music Music Music’ including the Gary Barlow penned pop gem- ‘What About Us’- out on Epic - as well as songs from John’s multi-selling album ‘Another Side’. _"I can’t wait to get back out there again and perform songs from my new album. It’s going to be a great show • I’m really excited about it.”_
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Rhydian plus special guests
Tue 19 May 2009 Symphony Hall
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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 City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
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 City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5 (Emperor) 38’ Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 4 (Italian) 26’ Tchaikovsky: Francesca da Rimini 24’
