What's On — Classical events
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Christmas Festival at THSH
Thu 18 Dec Symphony Hall
A fantastic selection of fesitve events to get you in the Christmas spirit and bring in the New Year.
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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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A Christmas Carol
Sat 20 Dec Symphony Hall
It simply wouldn’t be Christmas without the CBSO’s celebrations, hosted this year by presenter Carol Smillie and featuring the CBSO and its massed choirs. Packed with festive music and your favourite carols, plus stories, readings and plenty of audience participation, these concerts are the perfect way to kick-start your Christmas holidays and put you in the festive spirit.
Simon Halsey - conductor Carol Smillie - presenter City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus & Youth Chorus City of Birmingham Young Voices City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
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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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A Christmas Carol
Sun 21 Dec Symphony Hall
It simply wouldn’t be Christmas without the CBSO’s celebrations, hosted this year by presenter Carol Smillie and featuring the CBSO and its massed choirs. Packed with festive music and your favourite carols, plus stories, readings and plenty of audience participation, these concerts are the perfect way to kick-start your Christmas holidays and put you in the festive spirit.
Simon Halsey - conductor Carol Smillie - presenter City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus & Youth Chorus City of Birmingham Young Voices City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
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A Christmas Carol
Sun 21 Dec Symphony Hall
It simply wouldn’t be Christmas without the CBSO’s celebrations, hosted this year by presenter Carol Smillie and featuring the CBSO and its massed choirs. Packed with festive music and your favourite carols, plus stories, readings and plenty of audience participation, these concerts are the perfect way to kick-start your Christmas holidays and put you in the festive spirit.
Simon Halsey - conductor Carol Smillie - presenter City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus & Youth Chorus City of Birmingham Young Voices
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Centre Stage A Palm Court Christmas Party!
Mon 22 Dec Book through our ticket office for CBSO Centre
A Palm Court Christmas Party! Berkley Salon Ensemble City of Birmingham Symphony Youth Chorus (Seniors)
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A Christmas Carol
Mon 22 Dec Symphony Hall
It simply wouldn’t be Christmas without the CBSO’s celebrations, hosted this year by presenter Carol Smillie and featuring the CBSO and its massed choirs. Packed with festive music and your favourite carols, plus stories, readings and plenty of audience participation, these concerts are the perfect way to kick-start your Christmas holidays and put you in the festive spirit.
Simon Halsey - conductor Carol Smillie - presenter City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus & Youth Chorus City of Birmingham Young Voices City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
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A Christmas Carol
Mon 22 Dec Symphony Hall
It simply wouldn’t be Christmas without the CBSO’s celebrations, hosted this year by presenter Carol Smillie and featuring the CBSO and its massed choirs. Packed with festive music and your favourite carols, plus stories, readings and plenty of audience participation, these concerts are the perfect way to kick-start your Christmas holidays and put you in the festive spirit.
Simon Halsey - conductor Carol Smillie - presenter City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus & Youth Chorus City of Birmingham Young Voices City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
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Russian Spectacular
Sat 27 Dec Symphony Hall
The passion, warmth and romance of Russia is vividly brought to life in this programme of timeless classics with the fiery 1812 Overture as a stunning finale. *1812 OVERTURE - A TRULY EXPLOSIVE FINALE*
Alexander Sitkovetsky _violin_ Stephen Bell _conductor_ London Concert Orchestra The Guards of the Moscow Militia
*Glinka* Ruslan and Ludmilla Overture *Borodin* Polovtsian Dances from Prince Igor *Tchaikovsky* Polonaise and Waltz from Eugene Onegin *Khachaturian* Adagio from Spartacus *Mussorgsky* Great Gate of Kiev *Tchaikovsky* Violin Concerto
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Christmas Festival Proms
Sun 28 Dec Symphony Hall
_Classic…after Classic…after Classic_
Wynne Evans _tenor_ Camilla Roberts _soprano_ John Pryce-Jones _conductor_ London Concert Orchestra
*Rossini* The Thieving Magpie Overture *Sousa* Semper Fidelis *Khatchaturian* Masquerade Waltz *Grieg* Morning and In The Hall Of The Mountain King *Mussorgsky* Great Gate of Kiev *Suppé* Light Cavalry Overture *Strauss* Radetzky March *Elgar* Chanson de Matin *Puccini* O soave fanciulla *and all your proms favourites* _Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines_ _Hornpipe_ _Land of Hope and Glory_ _Nessun Dorma_ _Rule, Britannia_
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New Year's Eve Concert
Wed 31 Dec Town Hall
A musical feast in the heart of Birmingham. Start your New Year’s celebrations early with this rousing concert of Proms favourites in the distinctive setting of Birmingham’s Town Hall. *CELEBRATE THE NEW YEAR!*
_And all your Proms favourites_ *Fantasia on Greensleeves* *Rule, Britannia!* *Nessun dorma* *Land of Hope and Glory* John Hudson _tenor_ Richard Morrison _baritone_ Anthony Inglis _conductor_ London Concert Orchestra
*Rossini* Galop from William Tell *Sousa* Liberty Bell March *Mussorgsky* Great Gate of Kiev *Waldteufel* The Skaters’ Waltz *Mendelssohn* The Hebrides Overture *Bizet* The Pearl Fishers Duet *Walton* Crown Imperial *Di Capua* O sole Mio *Suppé* Light Cavalry Overture *Rossini* Largo al factotum *Strauss* Radetzky March
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Strictly Strauss
CancelledWed 31 Dec Symphony Hall
Please note this event has now been cancelled. Please contact the Box Office for ticket returns. The same event will still take place on 1 January 2009, "click here":http://www.thsh.co.uk/view/strictly-strauss-09
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New Year's Eve Gala
Wed 31 Dec Symphony Hall
*SEE IN THE HOUR OF MIDNIGHT* Wiuth light-hearted fun from Special Guests *STRINGFEVER*
John Hudson _tenor_ Richard Morrison _baritone_ Anthony Inglis _conductor_ London Concert Orchestra
Symphony Hall’s annual celebration to greet the New Year with a burst of opera and an irresistible assortment of popular classics including: *Mendelssohn* The Hebrides Overture *Sousa* Liberty Bell March *Delibes* Prelude and Mazurka from Coppelia *Bizet* The Pearl Fishers Duet *Rossini* Largo al factotum *Walton* Crown Imperial *Vaughan Williams* Fantasia from Greensleeves *Di Capua* O sole Mio *Strauss* Thunder and Lightning Polka *Puccini* Nessun dorma *Elgar* Land of Hope and Glory *Arne* Rule, Britannia!
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Strictly Strauss
Thu 1 Jan 2009 Symphony Hall
Superb music, enchanting dance and delightful songs from the Strauss family and friends will transport you back in time to the magnificent Viennese ballrooms of the 19th Century.
JOHANN STRAUSS ORCHESTRA directed from the violin in the traditional Viennese manner by *Daniel Rowland* with beautiful soprano *Elena Xanthoudakis* *JOHANN STRAUSS DANCERS* _in wonderful costumes of the period_ Choreography Christopher Hampson
_A host of great Strauss favourites from the original JOHANN STRAUSS GALA includes_ * Voices of Spring, Emperor Waltz, Radetzky March, Roses From The South, Anvil Polka, The Laughing Song from Die Fledermaus, Tritsch Tratsch Polka and the glorious Blue Danube Waltz*
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Viennese New Year
Sat 3 Jan 2009 Symphony Hall
Tap your toes into 2009 with the CBSO’s traditional Viennese concerts. With jubilant works by Mozart, and much-loved waltzes, polkas and arias by members of the Strauss family, let the CBSO whisk you off your feet to a world of dashing dancers and swirling ballgowns.
Carlos Kalmar - conductor Sarah Tynan - soprano City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Mozart: La Clemenza di Tito - Overture Strauss: Acceleration Waltz Mozart: Exsultate Jubilate Strauss: Dragonfly Polka Strauss: Furioso Polka Suppé: Poet and Peasant Mozart: Idomeneo - Ballet Music Strauss: Village Swallows from Austria Strauss: Im Krapfenwaldl Strauss: Plappermäulchen! Strauss: Operetta Arias Strauss: Anvil Polka Strauss: Blue Danube Waltz
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Viennese New Year
Sat 3 Jan 2009 Symphony Hall
Tap your toes into 2009 with the CBSO’s traditional Viennese concerts. With jubilant works by Mozart, and much-loved waltzes, polkas and arias by members of the Strauss family, let the CBSO whisk you off your feet to a world of dashing dancers and swirling ballgowns.
Carlos Kalmar - conductor Sarah Tynan - soprano City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Mozart: La Clemenza di Tito - Overture Strauss: Acceleration Waltz Mozart: Exsultate Jubilate Strauss: Dragonfly Polka Strauss: Furioso Polka Suppé: Poet and Peasant Mozart: Idomeneo - Ballet Music Strauss: Village Swallows from Austria Strauss: Im Krapfenwaldl Strauss: Plappermäulchen! Strauss: Operetta Arias Strauss: Anvil Polka Strauss: Blue Danube Waltz
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National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain
Tue 6 Jan 2009 Symphony Hall
There is nothing quite like the excitement of an orchestra of young musicians - and when they’re as talented as the National Youth Orchestra, we can expect extraordinary results. Many of these young performers are having their first encounters with great orchestral music, experiencing it onstage at Symphony Hall with a freshness and passion never to be recaptured - it’s like being in love for the first time! Tickets £5-£37.50
*Programme to be announced*
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Celebrating Nielsen: The Inextinguishable
Wed 7 Jan 2009 Symphony Hall
After last season’s acclaimed cycle of Sibelius symphonies, this season we feature the equally impressive cycle by his exact contemporary Carl Nielsen. His varied output holds the same central place in Danish music as Sibelius does in Finland, and his six symphonies are full of struggle, reflection and strong emotion - just like real life. Principal guest conductor Sakari Oramo begins this series with a charming picture-postcard overture and the composer’s best-known work. Written at the height of the First World War, this symphony is a volcanic musical struggle between the forces of destruction and the energy of life itself, culminating in one of the most uplifting - and thrilling - endings in all music. 6.15pm Pre-concert talk - Nielsen: The Inextinguishable An introduction to the CBSO and the Hallé’s joint Nielsen Cycle and tonight’s concert.
Sakari Oramo - conductor Nikolai Lugansky - piano City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Nielsen: A Fantasy Trip to the Faroes 12’ Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 2 32’ Nielsen: Symphony No. 4 (The Inextinguishable) 36’
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Celebrating Nielsen: The Four Temperaments
Sat 10 Jan 2009 Symphony Hall
For Nielsen, music was all about exploring what it means to be human. And this second concert in the CBSO and the Hallé’s joint Nielsen Symphony Cycle does exactly that. Nielsen’s extraordinary Second Symphony, “The Four Temperaments”, is a musical attempt to paint an entire personality in wonderfully colourful music; his deceptively tuneful Sixth is a musical self-portrait as haunting and unforgettable as anything by Mahler. To these masterpieces Oramo adds Nielsen’s picturesque tribute to the sun, and Prokofiev’s equally warm-hearted violin concerto played by an outstanding soloist. 5.45pm Pre-concert talk - Nielsen: The Four Temperaments Find out more about tonight’s symphonies and overture by this great Dane.
Sakari Oramo - conductor Akiko Suwanai - violin City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Nielsen: Helios Overture 12’ Nielsen: Symphony No. 6 (Semplice) 31’ Prokofiev: Violin Concerto No. 1 22’ Nielsen: Symphony No. 2 (The Four Temperaments) 35’

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