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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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Elgar’s Cello Concerto
Tue 4 Nov Symphony Hall
Composed during the blitz and premiered at the 1943 Proms, Vaughan Williams’ serene Fifth Symphony seems like a retreat from the real world to an imagined paradise. Elgar’s equally lyrical Cello Concerto, composed in 1919, also feels like a reaction against the horrors of wartime. Vernon Handley, such a tireless champion of English music, precedes these two masterpieces with a musical fairytale by Granville Bantock, who did so much for Birmingham’s musical life and was instrumental in the founding of the CBSO in 1920. 6.15pm Pre-concert talk - Vaughan Williams’ Fifth Baz Chapman - Programme Director of Sing Up - shares his enthusiasm for Vaughan Williams’ great wartime symphony.
Vernon Handley - conductor Anne Gastinel - cello City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Bantock: The Witch of Atlas 15’ Elgar: Cello Concerto 26’ Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 5 42’
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Elgar’s Cello Concerto
Wed 5 Nov Symphony Hall
Composed during the blitz and premiered at the 1943 Proms, Vaughan Williams’ serene Fifth Symphony seems like a retreat from the real world to an imagined paradise. Elgar’s equally lyrical Cello Concerto, composed in 1919, also feels like a reaction against the horrors of wartime. Vernon Handley, such a tireless champion of English music, precedes these two masterpieces with a musical fairytale by Granville Bantock, who did so much for Birmingham’s musical life and was instrumental in the founding of the CBSO in 1920. 1.15pm Pre-concert talk - Vaughan Williams’ Fifth Baz Chapman - Programme Director of Sing Up - shares his enthusiasm for Vaughan Williams’ great wartime symphony.
Vernon Handley - conductor Anne Gastinel - cello City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Bantock: The Witch of Atlas 15’ Elgar: Cello Concerto 26’ Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 5 42’
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Century!
Thu 11 Dec Symphony Hall
Today the musical world salutes the centenary of the birth of the great American composer Elliott Carter, the only major composer ever to reach his 100th year and still be creating new work. His new horn concerto is a perfect example of his art, and is played here by the CBSO’s own Elspeth Dutch. Tonight’s concert is actually a triple celebration of December 1908: the great French composer Olivier Messiaen was born just a day before Carter, and Elgar’s magnificent First Symphony had been premiered just a week before that. 6.15pm Pre-concert talk - Premiere! - Elliott Carter’s Horn Concerto Anthony Burton introduces the music of this great American survivor.
Sakari Oramo - conductor Elspeth Dutch - horn City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Messiaen: L’Ascension 19’ Carter: Horn Concerto (UK premiere) 11’ Elgar: Symphony No. 1 52’
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Great Romantics
Sat 13 Dec Symphony Hall
Last Christmas Sakari Oramo brought us all some seasonal cheer with highlights from The Nutcracker; this year it’s the turn of another of Tchaikovsky’s great ballets. It shares the first half with possibly the most popular of all piano concertos, played by the Russian pianist with whom the CBSO has made an acclaimed series of Rachmaninov recordings. Elgar said that his First Symphony expressed ‘a wide experience of human life with a great charity (love) and a massive hope in the future’ how better to celebrate the festive season?
Sakari Oramo - conductor Nikolai Lugansky - piano City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Tchaikovsky: Sleeping Beauty (highlights) 10’ Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 2 32’ Elgar: Symphony No. 1 52’
