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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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Uchida Plays Mozart
Sun 23 Nov Symphony Hall
Few pianists today command the respect and awe accorded to Mitsuko Uchida. “One of today’s great pianists,” wrote The Times, while The Independent summed her up as simply “sublime”. In this concert she directs two of Mozart’s greatest concertos from the keyboard-the serenity and poise of the A major Concerto contrasting with the tragedy of the C minor. Uchida’s lucid Mozart playing is ideally suited to the perfect acoustic of Symphony Hall, uniting performer and audience in an experience of crystal-clear intensity. *Classic FM’s Anne-Marie Minhall says of tonight’s recommended concert:* _Tonight the pianist Mitsuko Uchida joins forces with the orchestra formed in in 1981 and made up of fifty players from fifteen countries-The Chamber Orchestra of Europe. A chance for you to enjoy two of Mozart’s Piano Concertos written at the same time, but in very distinct moods. Mitsuko Uchida gained her international reputation by playing and recording the music of Mozart-there’s nothing she doesn’t know about the composer’s best-loved works for keyboard._ "Classic FM":http://www.classicfm.co.uk Tickets £5-£37.50
*Chamber Orchestra of Europe* *Mitsuko Uchida* piano/director
*Stravinsky* Apollon Musagète 30’ *Mozart* Piano Concerto No 23 in A Major, K488 24’ *Mozart* Piano Concerto No 24 in C minor, K491 30’
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Rattle Conducts Schumann
Fri 19 Dec Symphony Hall
Earlier this year, Sir Simon Rattle picked music by Schumann as one of his eight choices on Desert Island Discs. Now he turns his attention to two of the composer’s most popular works: the fresh and vibrant _Spring Symphony_ and the _Rhenish Symphony_ - a joyous celebration of the Rhineland, the awe-inspiring gothic architecture of Cologne Cathedral and, of course, the river itself. *Classic FM’s Anne-Marie Minhall says of tonight’s recommended concert:* _Fresh from his role as one of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra’s Artists Laureate 2008 for the European Capital of Culture, Sir Simon Rattle returns to his former stomping ground here in Birmingham. This evening he’ll be conducting the OAE, an orchestra he’s been closely associated with for many years now. Rattle is one of just six conductors who’ve been key in the development of this self-governing orchestra established more than twenty years ago. It was he who took the OAE to Glyndebourne for the first time in 1989 with Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro; the orchestra is now a regular visitor to the East Sussex festival._ "Classic FM":http://www.classicfm.co.uk Tickets £5-£45
*Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment* *Sir Simon Rattle* conductor
*Berlioz* King Lear overture 15’ *Schumann* Symphony No 1, Spring 32’ *Schumann* Symphony No 3, Rhenish 33’
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King's College Choir at Christmas
Sat 20 Dec Town Hall
What could be more evocative of Christmas than the magical sound of the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge? This world-famous choir visits Town Hall with a concert of Christmas music ranging from majestic baroque masterworks by Praetorius and Schütz through to quintessential favourites from the Nine Lessons and Carols, including Darke’s _In the Bleak Midwinter_ and Joubert’s _There is no Rose_. *Classic FM’s Anne-Marie Minhall says of tonight’s recommended concert:* _It’s thanks to Henry VI that the Choir of King’s College Cambridge exist. The last king of the Lancastrian dynasty envisaged daily singing in his splendid chapel and to this day that remains the main purpose of the Choir. Tonight a musical festive fayre is promised including Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on Christmas Carols, a work based on traditional carols. Other seasonal favourites on the menu include Harold Darke’s beautiful In The Bleak Midwinter and John Joubert’s There Is No Rose._ "Classic FM":http://www.classicfm.co.uk Tickets £5-30
*Choir of King’s College Cambridge* *Stephen Cleobury* director
Programme includes works by *Praetorius*, *Schütz*, *Poulenc*, *Rachmaninov*, *Vaughan Williams*, *Joubert* and *Howells*, with organ solos.
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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’
