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A Boy Was Born Britten at Christmas
Sun 7 Dec Town Hall
Britten is widely regarded as the leading British composer of the 20th century. Ex Cathedra begins its festive celebrations with a performance of his best-loved Christmas repertoire - A Boy Was Born, St Nicolas and A Ceremony of Carols - in collaboration with Ex Cathedra's fellow Town Hall Associate Artist, the Orchestra of the Swan. The concert also features Ex Cathedra's Academy of Vocal Music. £30 (£27.50), £23.50 (£21), £15 (£13), £8.50 (£7) _“Textures glittered throughout”_ *The Birmingham Post* Visit Ex Cathedra's website by clicking "here":http://www.ex-cathedra.org/
*Ex Cathedra Choir* *Orchestra of the Swan* *Conductor* Jeffrey Skidmore *Tenor* Benjamin Hulett
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Britten's War Requiem
Sat 21 Mar 2009 Symphony Hall
The War requiem is one of Britten’s most powerful works, born out of his fiercely held pacifism. Composed at the height of the Cold War, it spoke directly to a nation living under the threat of nuclear war. The work mixes powerful settings of the poems of Wilfred Owen, describing the horrors of war, with the words of the Requiem mass, and ultimately offers the hope of reconciliation. No tenor is more associated with Britten’s music at the moment than Ian Bostridge, heard here alongside the warm baritone of Simon Keenlyside and leading young soprano Emma Bell. *BBC music magazine’s editor, Oliver Condy, explains why he has recommended tonight’s concert:* _"This unsettling work is a powerful anti-war oratorio, written for the re-consecration of nearby Coventry Cathedral in 1962. Bringing this searing piece to life are three of the most gifted British singers alive today accompanied by Covent Garden’s orchestra - an ensemble currently at the height of its powers. This will be a highly emotional, haunting concert - full of drama and pathos.”_ "BBC Music Magazine":http://www.bbcmusicmagazine.com *5.45pm pre-concert talk* Tickets £5-£50
*The Royal Opera Chorus* *The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House* *Antonio Pappano* conductor *Emma Bell* soprano *Ian Bostridge* tenor *Simon Keenlyside* baritone *Tiffin Boys’ Choir*
*Britten* War Requiem 90’
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Shostakovich’s Fifth
Sat 6 Jun 2009 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’
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Tchaikovsky’s Little Russian
Wed 17 Jun 2009 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’
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Tchaikovsky’s Little Russian
Thu 18 Jun 2009 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. 6.15pm 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’
