View as plain text
Information for disabled patrons
RSS Feed - Mendelssohn eventsWhat's On — Mendelssohn events
-
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)
-
Lunchtime Organ Concert: David Saint
Mon 20 Oct Town Hall
An opportunity to hear Mendelssohn’s Sixth Sonata, Peeters’ Suite Modale, Bovet’s Salamanca and more. Admission from 12.30pm. Programme lasts approximately one hour.
-
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’
-
Nash Ensemble
Tue 10 Feb 2009 Town Hall
Rarely has a composer produced a work of such effortless genius as the sixteen-year-old Mendelssohn’s _Octet_ - a miraculous stream of wonderful melody. The Nash Ensemble marks the 200th anniversary of Mendelssohn’s birth (February 1809) with a performance of this masterpiece in the hall in which the composer once played and conducted. It is heard next to the delicious Sextet from Strauss’s _Capriccio_ and the dark tragedy of Mozart’s great G minor String Quintet. 6.15pm pre-concert talk Tickets £5-£20
*Strauss* Sextet (_Capriccio_) 6’ *Mozart* Quintet in G Minor, K516 33’ *Mendelssohn* Octet 38’
-
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’
-
The Emperor Concerto
Wed 20 May 2009 Symphony Hall
Premiered 200 years ago in 1809, Beethoven’s last and grandest concerto is a work on a truly epic scale, its torrents of notes providing the soloist with both a great challenge and a fantastic opportunity to shine, a task to which Birmingham favourite Freddy Kempf is well equal. 1809 was also the year of Mendelssohn’s birth, and we continue our bicentenary celebrations with his most popular and tuneful symphony. Finally, we stay in Italy for another of Tchaikovsky’s passionate tales of doomed love - this time, the lovers out of Dante’s Inferno.
Vassily Sinaisky - conductor Freddy Kempf - piano City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5 (Emperor) 38’ Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 4 (Italian) 26’ Tchaikovsky: Francesca da Rimini 24’
-
The Emperor Concerto
Thu 21 May 2009 Symphony Hall
Premiered 200 years ago in 1809, Beethoven’s last and grandest concerto is a work on a truly epic scale, its torrents of notes providing the soloist with both a great challenge and a fantastic opportunity to shine, a task to which Birmingham favourite Freddy Kempf is well equal. 1809 was also the year of Mendelssohn’s birth, and we continue our bicentenary celebrations with his most popular and tuneful symphony. Finally, we stay in Italy for another of Tchaikovsky’s passionate tales of doomed love - this time, the lovers out of Dante’s Inferno.
Vassily Sinaisky - conductor Freddy Kempf - piano City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5 (Emperor) 38’ Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 4 (Italian) 26’ Tchaikovsky: Francesca da Rimini 24’
