What's On — Classical events

• Britten Sinfonia at Lunch - March 2009  

  Thu 12 Mar 2009 Town Hall

  
  
  
  

• Schubert’s Great  

  Tue 17 Mar 2009 Symphony Hall

  Glinka: Ruslan and Ludmila - Overture Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 schubert: Symphony No. 9 (The Great) Always a favourite with CBSO audiences and players, the distinguished conductor Walter Weller returns for one of the greatest musical masterworks from his native Vienna, Schubert’s last completed symphony. Though never performed in the composer’s lifetime, it has since become one of his most frequently-performed works;Tchaikovsky’s equally well-known concerto also nearly never saw the light of day, its dedicatee denouncing it as ‘poorly composed and unplayable’. Well, pianists and audiences since 1874 have tended to disagree!
  Walter Weller -conductor Sergey Kuznetsov -piano City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  Glinka: Ruslan and Ludmila - Overture Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 Schubert: Symphony No. 9 (The Great)
  

• Centre Stage CBSO Players 

  Wed 18 Mar 2009 Book through our ticket office for CBSO Centre

  CBSO Players Mozart: String Quintet in C, K.515
  
  
  

• Verdi's Requiem  

  Fri 20 Mar 2009 Symphony Hall

  The Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House take up residence at Symphony Hall for two nights, with a glittering line-up of soloists and their Music Director, Antonio Pappano. _“ Everything Pappano conducts has highoctane energy, and that quality radiates off the podium as strongly as it does on it”_ *Daily Telegraph* Verdi’s Requiem is one of the greatest choral masterpieces of all time, and often described as an opera in all but name. Charged with passion, terrifying force, tenderness and consolation, this music comes straight from the composer’s heart. His sumptuous and dramatic choral writing gives us the chance to hear one of the world’s great opera choruses in full voice, in what promises to be a searing performance of this great score. *Classic FM’s Anne-Marie Minhall says of tonight’s recommended concert:* _The first of two performances in Symphony Hall for the Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House under Antonio Pappano. It’s seven years since the London-born Italian-American conductor became the music director at Covent Garden. Then 42, he was also the youngest to hold the post and since taking over the musical reins, he’s been acclaimed both by the public and critics alike. Pappano even had a premonition he’d be in the top job at Covent Garden as he read the former music director Sir Georg Solti’s autobiography._ *6.15pm pre-concert talk* Tickets £5-£50 _please note there is no interval_
  *The Royal Opera Chorus* *The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House* *Antonio Pappano* conductor *Barbara Frittoli* soprano *Olga Borodina* mezzo-soprano *Piotr Beczala* tenor *Ildar Abdrazakov* bass
  *Verdi* Requiem 90’
  

• 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’
  

• Orchestra of the Swan: Essential Mahler  

  Wed 25 Mar 2009 Town Hall

  
  
  *Debussy* _arr Schoenberg_ L'aprés midi d'un faune *Berlioz* _arr Mathews_ Nuit d’été *Mahler* _arr Stein_ Symphony No 4
  

• 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 City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  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'
  

• 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’
  

• 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 City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  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’
  

• 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
  
  
  

• Friday Night Classics: Chaplin’s Circus  

  Fri 3 Apr 2009 Symphony Hall

  Conductor, composer and entertainer Carl Davis is world famous 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 City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  Davis: The Cure 23’ Chaplin: The Circus 72’
  

• 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 City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  Please Note: Tickets for this event cannot be purchased online. Please contact the venue Box Office to purchase tickets.
  

• 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
  

• 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’
  

• Birmingham Choral Union: Handel Messiah  

  Sat 11 Apr 2009 Town Hall

  
  
  
  

• 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
  

• 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 City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  
  

• 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 City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  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’
  

• Centre Stage  

  Thu 23 Apr 2009 Book through our ticket office for CBSO Centre

  
  
  
  

• 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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