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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’
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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
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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
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David Garrett and his band
Sat 11 Oct Town Hall
Part genius, part maverick, total virtuoso•this violin sensation plays his own personal musical blend of the traditional and contemporary. Fresh from this year’s Classical Brits, BBC’s Proms in Park and the much-loved Classical Spectacular, his natural talent is “world class” (The Independent). From the haunting melodies of Ennio Morricone, Bizet’s fiery and passionate Carmen, Paganini’s masterpiece Rhapsody and Vivaldi’s Four Seasons to the inspired arrangement of Metallica’s Nothing Else Matters. Discover this international star for yourself. "....already the stuff of legend" BBC Music Magazine
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Orchestra of the Swan: Italian Sunshine
Sun 12 Oct Town Hall
Mozart meets Mediterranean sunshine for an autumn Sunday matinee. Orchestra of the Swan are renowned for the vivacity of their excellent playing and the sunny informality of their presentation. They're joined this afternoon by the outstanding Jennifer Pike, 2002 BBC Young Musician of the Year and 2008 winner of the South Bank Show/The Times Breakthrough Award. Top-class playing and fantastic value for money. -"It's just how music should be."_ *Birmingham Post* 1.30pm free pre-concert talk and Post-concert Conversation Club in the CircleBar 15 mins after the end of the performance. £8.50, £12.50, £16.50, £19.50 Choir benches £6.50 60 plus £7.50, £11.50, £15, £17.50 Orchestra of the Swan is a Town Hall Associate Artist.
Orchestra of the Swan David Curtis _conductor_ Jennifer Pike _violin_
*Rossini* Overture, _An Italian Girl in Algiers'_ *Mozart* Violin Concerto No. 3 in G *Mendelssohn* Italian Symphony
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Orchestra of the Swan Season 2008/09
Town Hall
A series of friendly and informal afternoon concerts hosted by conductor David Curtis. Orchestra of the Swan - an Explorchestra! Making music - breaking barriers '...a gutsy and versatile group...' The Guardian Orchestra of the Swan gives performances of the highest professional standard, sharing our passion and conveying the spirit with all our audiences. '...a clear, warm-toned performance...a radiant lyrical splendour...' The Independent Supported by Arts Council England "www.orchestraoftheswan.org":http://www.orchestraoftheswan.org
Conductor David Curtis
Pre-concert talk taking place in the auditorium at 1.30pm Post-concert Conversation Club taking place in the Circle Bar 15 minutes after the end of the performance. Entrance free to concert ticket holders
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Lunchtime Organ Concert: Thomas Trotter
Mon 13 Oct Town Hall
Thomas Trotter performs Mendelssohn’s Third Sonata, Wesley’s Holsworthy Church Bells, Benedict’s Marche des Templiers and more. Admission from 12.30pm. Programme lasts approximately 1 hour. Thomas Trotter is a Town Hall Associate Artist.
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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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BBC Radio 3 Lunchtime Concert: Veronika Eberle & Oliver Schnyder
Thu 16 Oct Town Hall
This friendly lunchtime concert offers you the chance to hear the 19-year-old Veronika Eberle, one of the most promising young violinists to emerge from Germany in recent years, in two exuberantly youthful works.
*Veronika Eberle* Violin *Oliver Schnyder* Piano *Beethoven* Sonata for violin & piano 26’ *Strauss* Violin Sonata 28’
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Mendelssohn’s Elijah
Sat 18 Oct Town Hall
Mendelssohn’s Elijah is one of the mightiest of all choral works, with an heroic grandeur that sweeps all before it. The work runs in Birmingham’s blood since it was commissioned for the 1846 Birmingham Music Festival and premiered at Town Hall. Tonight, to inaugurate Mendelssohn’s bicentenary year of 2009, Elijah is performed by the critically acclaimed Ex Cathedra, in a new edition specially prepared for the occasion. The marriage of hall, history, outstanding singers and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment make this an unmissable concert. *BBC Music magazine’s Editor, Oliver Condy, explains why he has recommended tonight’s concert:* _Beloved by choral societies up and down the country, Mendelssohn’s Elijah is one of the great oratorios, crammed to the brim with superb tunes. And where else to see Elijah than in Birmingham’s newly restored Town Hall? An unbeatable roster of performers should make for an unbeatable evening._ "BBC Music Magazine":http://www.bbcmusicmagazine.com
*Ex Cathedra XL Anniversary Choir* *Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment* *Jeffrey Skidmore* conductor *Julia Doyle* soprano *Diana Moore* mezzo-soprano *Mark Padmore* tenor *Nicolas Mulroy* tenor *James Rutherford* bass
*Mendelssohn* Elijah (1846)
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Puccini’s 150th: La Bohème
Thu 23 Oct Symphony Hall
Already acclaimed the world over for his opera performances, Music Director Andris Nelsons celebrates Puccini’s 150th birthday this autumn with concert performances of the passionate love story that has become the best-loved of all the composer’s operas. Set among the penniless students of Paris’s Bohemian Quarter, this tender tale of the seamstress Mimi and aspiring poet Rodolfo is one of the great operatic tearjerkers, and inspired, among other things, the musical Rent and the movie Moulin Rouge. A terrific young cast joins the CBSO and Choruses for what will surely be one of the must-see events in Birmingham this year.
Andris Nelsons - conductor Kristine Opolais - Mimì Erin Wall - Musetta Pavel Cernoch - Rodolfo Markus Brück - Marcello Kostas Smoriginas - Schaunard City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus & Youth Chorus City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Puccini: La Bohème 105’
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CBSO - La Boheme
Thu 23 Oct Symphony Hall
Already acclaimed the world over for his opera performances, music director Andris Nelsons celebrates Puccini’s 150th birthday this autumn with the passionate Parisian love story that has become the best-loved of all the composer’s operas. A terrific young cast joins the CBSO and Choruses for what will surely be one of the must-see events in Birmingham this year. £9.50, £13.50, £17, £20.50, £23.50, £28, £32, £37, £39.50
*Distinguished Cast* *City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra* *City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus & Youth Chorus* *Andris Nelsons* Conductor
*Puccini* La Bohème 105’
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Centre Stage Elspeth Dutch (horn) and CBSO colleagues
Fri 24 Oct Book through our ticket office for CBSO Centre
Elspeth Dutch (horn) and CBSO colleagues Beethoven: Sextet for two horns and strings Ireland: Sextet for horn, clarinet and strings
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Puccini’s 150th: La Bohème
Sat 25 Oct Symphony Hall
Already acclaimed the world over for his opera performances, Music Director Andris Nelsons celebrates Puccini’s 150th birthday this autumn with concert performances of the passionate love story that has become the best-loved of all the composer’s operas. Set among the penniless students of Paris’s Bohemian Quarter, this tender tale of the seamstress Mimi and aspiring poet Rodolfo is one of the great operatic tearjerkers, and inspired, among other things, the musical Rent and the movie Moulin Rouge. A terrific young cast joins the CBSO and Choruses for what will surely be one of the must-see events in Birmingham this year.
Andris Nelsons - conductor Kristine Opolais - Mimì Erin Wall - Musetta Pavel Cernoch - Rodolfo Markus Brück - Marcello Kostas Smoriginas - Schaunard City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus & Youth Chorus City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Puccini: La Bohème 105’
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CBSO - La Boheme
Sat 25 Oct Symphony Hall
Already acclaimed the world over for his opera performances, music director Andris Nelsons celebrates Puccini’s 150th birthday this autumn with the passionate Parisian love story that has become the best-loved of all the composer’s operas. A terrific young cast joins the CBSO and Choruses for what will surely be one of the must-see events in Birmingham this year. £9.50, £13.50, £17, £20.50, £23.50, £28, £32, £37, £39.50
*Distinguished Cast* *City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra* *City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus & Youth Chorus* *Andris Nelsons* Conductor
*Puccini* La Bohème 105’
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Sunday Morning Coffee Concert - Di Xiao
Sun 26 Oct Town Hall
This brilliant Chinese pianist is already well known in Birmingham’s music circles as a result of being chosen to represent Town Hall and Symphony Hall in the ECHO Rising Stars series. Today’s concert launches a tour that will take her to play at eleven of Europe’s most prestigious concert halls during 2008/9. Come and hear her play sonatas by Mozart and Beethoven and a selection of miscellaneous pieces, and wish her bon voyage. £7.50 (unreserved), Under 16s £3.50 Ticket includes a cup of tea or coffee, a soft drink or a glass of sherry.
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Lunchtime Organ Concert - Darius Battiwalla
Mon 27 Oct Town Hall
Darius Battiwalla performs a glorious programme that includes Mendelssohn’sFirst Sonata, Vierne’s Claire de Lune and Rimsky-Korsakov’s Flight of the Bumblebee. Admission from 12.30pm. Programme lasts approximately one hour.
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Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto
Wed 29 Oct Symphony Hall
Bruckner’s majestic, spiritually uplifting symphonies are perfectly suited to the grand open spaces of Symphony Hall’s world-famous acoustics, and there are few symphonies grander than Bruckner’s Sixth, premiered by none other than Gustav Mahler. Mendelssohn’s effervescent concerto is on a far more modest scale, but its soaring melodies have assured it a firm place in the repertoire for more than a century and a half. It’s played tonight by the 2002 BBC Young Musician of the Year. 6.15pm Pre-concert talk - Bruckner’s Sixth Stephen Johnson, broadcaster and author of Bruckner Remembered talks about this great late-Romantic symphony.
James Gaffigan - conductor Jennifer Pike - violin City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Mozart: The Marriage of Figaro - Overture 4’ Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto 27’ Bruckner: Symphony No. 6 54’
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Celebrity Piano Recital: Paul Lewis
Thu 30 Oct Town Hall
Few other pianists have identified themselves so closely with the great Viennese classics as Paul Lewis. A protégé of the legendary Alfred Brendel, his award-winning recordings of the Schubert Sonatas have been highly acclaimed. Tonight he combines Schubert’s majestic G major Sonata with two of Mozart’s most profound piano works and Ligeti’s scintillating _Musica ricercata_, parts of which were used in Stanley Kubrick’s film _Eyes Wide Shut_. This is a chance to hear at first hand one of today’s most celebrated young pianists. 6.15 Pre-concert talk: Paul Lewis in conversation Tickets £5-£20
*Mozart* Fantasia in C minor, K475 12’ *Ligeti* Musica ricercata-11 Pieces for Piano 27’ *Mozart* Rondo in A minor, K511 9’ *Schubert* Sonata in G major, D894 30’
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CBSO Youth Orchestra
Fri 31 Oct Symphony Hall
Even by Mahler’s own standards, his Seventh Symphony is extraordinary. He called it a “song of the night”, though it ends in roof-raising jubilation. But first comes a fantastic journey through a world of dreams, nightmares, moonlit lovesongs and romance. It’s a whole new musical world - so who better to play it than our renowned Youth Orchestra, under the brilliant Dutch maestro Jac van Steen? If you heard the CBSO Youth Orchestra’s stunning performances of Nielsen and Bartók last season, you’ll know to expect an unforgettable evening as our superb young players tackle their most challenging programme yet. bq.These committed and gifted youngsters produced performances which would put many professional bodies to shame, with crisp articulation, impressively accurate intonation, but, above all, a depth of tone and confidence of phrasing which really denotes an ensemble of the highest class.bq. Musical Opinion
Jac van Steen - conductor
Mahler: Symphony No. 7 80’
