What's On — All events
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Haydn’s Surprise
Sat 28 Mar 2009 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
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'
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Notelets Fairytales 11am
Sun 29 Mar 2009 Book through our ticket office for CBSO Centre
Fairytales - a mini concert for 3-5 year olds and their families at CBSO Centre
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Notelets Fairytales 2pm
Sun 29 Mar 2009 Book through our ticket office for CBSO Centre
Fairytales - a mini concert for 3-5 year olds and their families at the CBSO Centre.
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Tokyo Quartet with cellist David Watkin
Sun 29 Mar 2009 Town Hall
Schubert’s String Quintet is one of the jewels in the crown of the chamber music repertoire. Its warm-hearted melodies and the rare beauty of its slow movement have made it one of the most popular Desert Island Discs for countless music-lovers. The incomparable Tokyo Quartet is celebrated for its ravishing refinement of tone and ensemble. They perform Schubert’s masterpiece alongside Haydn’s much-loved Emperor Quartet and the fresh innocence of Mendelssohn’s early Quartet in A minor. Tickets £5-£20
*Haydn* String Quartet in C, Op 76, No 3, Emperor 25’ *Mendelssohn* String Quartet in A minor, Op 13 30’ *Schubert* String Quintet in C, D956 55’
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British Classics
Wed 1 Apr 2009 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
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’
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Centre Stage The Leo Quartet
Fri 3 Apr 2009 Book through our ticket office for CBSO Centre
The Leo Quartet Schubert: Quartet No. 7 in D Shostakovich: Quartet No. 2
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Friday Night Classics: Chaplin’s Circus
Fri 3 Apr 2009 Symphony Hall
Conductor, composer and entertainer Carl Davis is worldfamous for his new scores for classic silent movies; tonight he presents two of Charlie Chaplin’s greatest silent comedies, accompanied live by the CBSO with music that mirrors every action, gesture and emotion on the screen. The Circus was the most successful silent film of all time, and finds Chaplin’s Little Tramp stumbling into a hilarious new profession. And as for The Cure - well, one critic wrote that “in terms of sheer belly-laughs, it may well be the funniest movie Chaplin ever made”. Decide for yourself as Symphony Hall transforms into a giant cinema. One thing’s for sure though - silent movies have never sounded better!
Carl Davis - conductor
Davis: The Cure 23’ Chaplin: The Circus 72’
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Singalong with the CBSO: Mozart's Requiem
Sun 5 Apr 2009 Symphony Hall
Join the CBSO with its world-renowned chorus director, Simon Halsey, and young professional soloists to sing Mozart’s Requiem, which he was famously still working upon at his untimely death. If you enjoy singing, the unique experience of performing such a powerful work in Birmingham’s magnificent Symphony Hall, with over 1000 singers, is surely not to be missed.
Simon Halsey - conductor
Please Note: Tickets for this event cannot be purchased online. Please contact the venue Box Office to purchase tickets.
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Evening Organ Concert - Thierry Escaich
Tue 7 Apr 2009 Symphony Hall
*Dupre* Le Monde dans l'attente du Sauveur *Brahms* Herzlich tut mir erfreuen *Brahms* Herzliebster Jesu *Brahms* Prélude et fugue en sol mineur *Mendelssohn* Récitatif et final de la Sonate n°1 en fa mineur *Mendelssohn* Prélude et fugue improvisé en style romantique sur un thème donné *Franck* Pièce héroïque *Escaich* III Poèmes pour orgue 1) Eaux natales 2) le Masque 3) vers l'espérance *Alain* Litanies *Alain* Improvisation libre sur un thème donné
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Good Friday St Matthew Passion
Fri 10 Apr 2009 Symphony Hall
Ex Cathedra’s trailblazing performances and critically acclaimed recordings have put them at the forefront of the international early music movement. So we can expect them to bring searching new insights to this season’s traditional Good Friday performance of Bach’s St Matthew Passion. It is the largest, most elaborate and most affecting of all Bach’s works, telling the story of the last days of Christ in music of great dignity and emotional intensity. Tickets £5-£37.50
*Ex Cathedra Soloists, Choir & Baroque Orchestra* *Jeffrey Skidmore* conductor *Nicholas Mulroy* _Evangelist_ *Eamonn Dougan* _Christus_
*J S Bach* St matthew Passion 180’
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Orchestra of the Swan: The English Romantic
Wed 15 Apr 2009 Town Hall
£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. Please note that the choir area is bench seating, the benches are behind the stage area, and there is limited legroom and no back support. The view of the stage from this area is limited. Book 3 or more OOTS concerts in one transaction and receive a 10% reduction. Book all 6 in transaction and receive a 20% reduction. Please call the Box Office direct on 0121 780 3333 to take advantage of these offer
*Mark Bebbington* Piano
*Vaughan Williams* The Wasps *John Ireland* Piano concerto No 1 *Brahms* Symphony No 2
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Purcell's Dido & Aeneas
Sat 18 Apr 2009 Town Hall
Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas is an emotionally charged drama of love, death, fate and the supernatural. Tonight’s fully-staged performance celebrates the 350th anniversary of Purcell’s birth in 1659. It reveals the hopeless love of Dido, Queen of Carthage, like you’ve never heard it before: a stunning reconstruction of the 1700 Lincoln’s Inn Theatre revival of the opera, which reconstructs additional scenes and longlost music and is accompanied by a large and colourful orchestra of period instruments. *BBC music magazine’s editor, Oliver Condy, explains why he has recommended tonight’s concert:* _"Before Elgar came along, Purcell was seen as England’s greatest composer. For many he still is - and Dido and Aeneas is his masterwork. Bringing it to sparkling life is the heady combination of one of the great authentic performance ensembles around today, a legendary director and some a brilliant cast of singers.”_ "BBC Music Magazine":http://www.bbcmusicmagazine.com *6.15pm pre-concert talk* Tickets £5-£30
*New London Consort* *Philip Pickett* conductor *Jonathan Miller* director *Sue Lefton* choreography, movement *Eskandar* costumes *Julia Gooding* _Dido_ *Michael George* _Aeneas_ *Joanne Lunn* _Belinda_
*Purcell* Dido and Aeneas (1700) 100’
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Family Concert: Carnival of the Animals
Sun 19 Apr 2009 Symphony Hall
Gallop, hop or slither your way to Symphony Hall, as today’s concert is full of music inspired by the animal kingdom. Join the CBSO as it travels through jungles, oceans, farmyards and forests, including Saint-Saëns’ The Carnival of the Animals with two- and four-legged friends from cuckoos to kangaroos, and Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake. Roll up, roll up, and hear the elephants trumpet and roar in Stravinsky’s Circus Polka, but you had better beware of Rossini’s Thieving Magpie and Elgar’s Wild Bears! Why not come dressed up as your favourite animal? FREE CREATIVE WORKSHOPS AND MUSIC in the foyers from 1.30pm
Michael Seal - conductor Tommy Pearson - presenter City of Birmingham Young Voices
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A Night At The Theatre With Asia
Tue 21 Apr 2009 Town Hall
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Inspired by Bach
Wed 22 Apr 2009 Symphony Hall
More composers have been inspired by Bach than by any other composer. Tonight Andris Nelsons takes us to Brahms’ final symphony with its finale based on music from a Bach cantata by way of Berg’s highly expressive violin concerto which quotes a Bach chorale at its emotional climax and the tiny trumpet concerto in which Arvo Pärt incorporates the great man’s name. Elgar’s sumptuous arrangement of some genuine Bach sets the evening off in splendid style. 6.15pm- Pre Concert Talk- Inspired by Bach Stephen Johnson, presenter of BBC Radio 3’s Discovering Music, explores the hidden connections behind tonight’s programme.
Andris Nelsons - conductor Isabelle van Keulen - violin Jonathan Holland - trumpet
Bach (orch. Elgar): Fantasia and Fugue in C minor 8’ Berg: Violin Concerto 25’ Pärt: Concerto Piccolo on B-A-C-H 8’ Brahms: Symphony No. 4 42’
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Centre Stage
Thu 23 Apr 2009 Book through our ticket office for CBSO Centre
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Celebrity Recital: Christian Tetzlaff & Lars Vogt
Fri 24 Apr 2009 Town Hall
This partnership between two of today’s finest soloists is one of the great musical success stories of recent years. Each is a formidable artist in his own right, and as a duo they combine superb virtuosity and engaging musicianship. They are playing three of the most popular sonatas for violin and piano: a musical journey from the grave beauty of Bach’s F minor Sonata to the full-blooded romantic sweep of Cesar Franck, via the serenity of the much-loved a major Sonata by Brahms. Tickets £5-£20
*Christian Tetzlaff* violin *Lars Vogt* piano
*Bach* Sonata in F minor, BWV 1018 18’ *Brahms* Sonata in A major, Op 100 20’ *Franck* Sonata in A major 30’
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Sunday Morning Coffee Concert - 26/04/09
Sun 26 Apr 2009 Town 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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Centre Stage Mozart: Oboe Quartet
Fri 1 May 2009 Book through our ticket office for CBSO Centre
Mozart: Oboe Quartet J. C. Bach: Oboe Quartet Beethoven: Serenade in D, Op. 8

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