Thursday 19 January 2012 at 7.30pm

Symphony Hall, Birmingham +44 (0)121-780 3333

 City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra

Karl-Heinz Steffens conductor
Sol Gabetta cello

Mozart: Symphony No. 36 (Linz) 30′
Saint-Saëns: Cello Concerto No. 1 19′
Dvořák: Silent Woods for Cello and Orchestra 5′ Listen on Spotify
Dvořák: Symphony No. 8 36′

“Play me some village music – that’s what I like.” Antonin Dvorák certainly practised what he preached. He took the sounds and emotions of the Bohemian countryside and transformed them into one of the happiest symphonies ever written (listen out for his pet pigeons!). That’s just the climax of this joyous concert, which also features Mozart’s brilliant Linz Symphony and Saint-Saëns’ passionate First Cello Concerto – played with style by the stunning young Argentinian cellist Sol Gabetta. Summer sunshine on a January day!

To listen to some of the music in this concert, and explore the rest of the season, using our Spotify playlists, click here.

Review by Christopher Morley, Birmingham Post:

Click here for full review

…     “Between the symphonies came added delight with the presence of Sol Gabetta, surely the most enchanting of cellists.

She immerses herself totally in the music (bopping along gleefully with the orchestra when not herself playing), and naturally creating a warm empathy with her orchestral colleagues.

To Saint-Saens’ First Concerto she brought both mercurial bowing and a well-burnished tone from her fabulous Guadagnini instrument, fleet and accurate in a bravura display in which songfulness was never far away.

And in the neatly-programmed encore, Dvorak’sSilent Woods, she created an atmosphere of quiet, serene concentration.”

January Sale is now on!

 See here for details

Get 25% off CBSO tickets, for one week only, from Saturday 14 to Sunday 22 January (inclusive; terms and conditions apply).

In other news Anthony Hopkins’ CD, recorded with the CBSO is released today.

See here for more info!

Symphony Hall, Birmingham +44 (0)121-780 3333

City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra

Andris Nelsons  conductor
Stephen Hough  piano

Strauss: Tod und Verklärung 24′ 
Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 1 26′ 
Strauss: Also sprach Zarathustra 32′ Listen on Spotify 

 Stephen Hough’s Encore – Strauss: Traümerei

“I mean to convey in music an idea of the whole evolution of the human race.” Richard Strauss never did anything by halves, and when you hear the stupendous opening fanfare of Also sprach Zarathustra, it’ll blow you sideways. In this blockbuster concert, Andris Nelsons takes his love affair with Strauss to the next level, beginning with Strauss’s visionary Death and Transfiguration, and featuring a guest appearance from the man who might just be the most brilliant piano virtuoso on the planet: the incomparable Stephen Hough.

Find out what our musicians love about this music – watch music director Andris Nelsons and CBSO cello section leader Ulrich Heinen discussing Strauss’s Also sprach Zarathustra.

To listen to some of the music in this concert, and explore the rest of the season, using our Spotify playlists, click here.

www.cbso.co.uk

Review by Fiona Maddocks, The Observer:

Click here for full review

“Double basses quiver and swirl on a note so murky it is hard to hear the pitch. A lone trumpet ascends in a three-note sunrise through an octave, followed by a cataclysm of thundering drumbeats. Add to that the evolution of the human race, man, superman, illness, death, transfiguration, a levitating Latvian maestro and a flying baton dropped somewhere amid the cellos and this was Symphony Hall, Birmingham last Thursday night, the CBSO’s first major concert of the year – broadcast live on Radio 3 and repeated last night. When that baton’s owner isAndris Nelsons, always excitedly athletic on the podium, players are no doubt used to ducking these identified flying objects.” …

Review by Rian Evans, ClassicalSource:

Click here for full review

…     “Expectation was rewarded with stunning opening to Tod und Verklärung: the death-bed scene was evoked with reverence yet tinged with a mysterious aura of the great unknown; woodwind phrases hovered gently in the air, the quality of the CBSO string-playing simply breathtaking. Nelsons then launched headlong into the Allegro molto agitato, where life pits itself against death, with blazing ferocity. The players responded with precision and the brass excelled in the transfiguration theme bringing an elegant legato upward sweep and transcendent glow. The placing and internal balance of Strauss’s evocative harmonies was also impeccably controlled by Nelsons, drawing the listener deep into the heart of the music.”    …

Review by Christopher Morley, Birmingham Post:

Click here for full review

…     “But Nelsons was able to put all thoughts of new life behind him, summoning tautly-strung delicacy for the opening deathbed scene, drawing eloquent woodwind and violin solos, and in the febrile textures of the ensuing tortured struggle urging the strings to ride high over menacing brass.
The climax was heart-stopping – we feared literally so, given the energy Nelsons was burning here; but he then found quiet affirmation at last from the brass as he opened the Pearly Gates.”     …

Wagner Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg

This concert has a running time of c. 5 hours 45 minutes including two intervals.

Royal Opera Chorus
Renato Balsadonna Chorus Director
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Sergey Levitin Co-concert Master

Sir Antonio Pappano conductor
Wolfgang Koch Hans Sachs
Emma Bell Eva
Simon O’Neill Walther
Toby Spence David
Peter Coleman-Wright Sixtus Beckmesser
Sir John Tomlinson Veit Pogner
Heather Shipp Magdalene
Pablo Bemsch Augustin Moser
Nicholas Folwell Konrad Nachtigall
Martyn Hill Balthazar Zorn
Colin Judson Kunz Vogelgesang
Jihoon Kim Hermann Ortel
Robert Lloyd Nightwatchman
Donald Maxwell Fritz Kothner
Andrew Rees Ulrich Eisslinger
Jeremy White Hans Foltz
Richard Wiegold Hans Schwarz

Symphony Hall’s 21st Anniversary Festival opens with an unmissable event: The Royal Opera makes its much-anticipated return to Birmingham to launch a sequence of Wagner’s four greatest music dramas. Hear an outstanding cast in Wagner’s epic comedy about the power and glory of song, under the inspired baton of Sir Antonio Pappano.

BBC Music magazine’s Editor, Oliver Condy, recommends tonight’s concert:

Here’s a chance to catch the composer at his more light-hearted, performed by a world-class bunch of musicians. Wagner’s greatest tunes coupled with a touching storyline will ensure the time will fly by.

Bryn Terfel has regrettably had to withdraw from the role of Hans Sachs due to a chest infection. We are pleased to be able to announce that the role will be taken by German bass-baritone Wolfgang Koch, who has been delivering outstanding performances as Sachs in the current staged production at the Royal Opera House. Koch has previously triumphed as Hans Sachs at the Vienna Staatsoper, and his highly praised Wagnerian roles also include Alberich (Das Rheingold, Siegfried) and Amfortas (Parsifal). All other casting remains as before.

If you are a ticket holder for this performance and you have any queries, please contact the Box Office on 0121 345 0600.

Concert performance sung in German with English surtitles. Please note surtitles may not be visible from every seat. Please check when booking.

One of a series of Wagner’s greatest operas, performed in the space of 6 months as part of Symphony Hall’s 21st Anniversary Festival.
Tristan und Isolde – Saturday 3 March
Good Friday: Gergiev conducts Parsifal – Friday 6 April
Wagner’s Ring: Die Walküre – Saturday 30 June

www.thsh.co.uk

Review by Christopher Morley, Birmingham Post:

Click here for full review

...     “The principals were uniformly magnificent, headed by Wolfgang Koch as Hans Sachs: the indisposed Bryn Terfel was not missed here, Koch displaying all the intricacies of Sachs’ maverick yet wise character, and with a huge range of emotion in evidence.

Simon O’Neill was a sturdy, ringing Walther von Stolzing, rising superbly to Wagner’s cruel Prize Song challenge at the end of a long sing; John Tomlinson brought an endearing sense of bewilderment to Veit Pogner, wondering if he’s done the right thing in offering his daughter’s hand to the Prize Songwinner; that daughter, Eva, was sung and acted by Emma Bell with more personality than we sometimes see in the role, and her companion Magdalena was portrayed again far more roundly than usual by Heather Shipp.

And everyone’s hearts were captured by the David of Toby Spence, open-voiced and despatching his apprentice duties so appealingly.”

Review by Rohan Shotton, Bachtrack:

Click here for full review

…     “The soloists were largely superb in both voice and character, none more so than Sir John Tomlinson, whose Pogner exuded a glorious mix of power and grace: he was not the stale, daughter-selling fool he could be, but noble and commanding, and hinting at wistfulness in announcing the gift of his daughter. His presence filled the hall from the moment of his entry to his bow (greeted by the largest cheer of the evening), and he sang faultlessly with a magnificently full tone. His dialogue with Emma Bell as Eva early in Act II was touchingly gentle from both parties. Bell sang beautifully, mustering broad, lengthy lines with barely an effort. She switched from haughtiness with Sachs to radiant glow at the sight of Walther with fine command of both moods, and her vocal control was very impressive.”     …

Review by Geoff Read, SeenandHeard:

Click here for full review

…     “The star of Scene 2, and indeed the singer who throughout was the perfect fit for his role, was Toby Spence as David. Both his interaction with the other apprentices (twelve on this instance and constituting the front row of the centre choir stalls) and his instruction of Walther in the ways of the Nürnberg singing contest were exemplary. Seeing David later taking up his indentures from Sachs, made me wonder how long it might be before Spence himself plays the noble cobbler. His Der Meister Tone und Weisen was full of beautiful tone and melody, loud notes and soft, short ones and long, a contrasting range of colour, a diversity of flora and animal sounds; David knew the endless list of rules and Spence delivered them all.”     …

Comment by SCO Helen at the Guardian:

Link here

“Your reviewers have missed a treat – Birmingham Symphony Hall last night was the place to be! The concert performance of the Royal Opera House’s production of Die Meistersinger von Nurnburg was absolutely wonderful. Although Bryn Terfel was ill and could not take the role of Hans Sachs, he was admirably replaced by Wolfgang Koch, who played the role at the ROH. This meant that we were seeing the whole ROH cast, and they were very relaxed and natural with each other, acting far more than in usual in concert performances and thus giving us a very near approximation of the staged production. This was complemented by excellent surtitles, so that the dialogue was easy to follow. It was admirably and clearly sung in every case, with Sir John Tomlinson outstanding as Pogner and Toby Spence radiant as David.
The acoustics of Symphony Hall made the effect of the orchestral highlights and, particularly, of the chorus ‘Wach Auf’ in the final act absolutely overwhelming. And – a delight for a Guardian reader – Hans Sachs was reading yesterday’s copy of The Guardian onstage in Act 3 !

I should also have mentioned the magnificent orchestra under Antonio Pappano, who clearly has many Birmingham fans – he was greeted with cheers as soon as he walked onstage. Die Meistersinger is an incredible marathon for the orchestra and conductor – almost 5 hours of playing, with the final act lasting two hours without a break. They were superb throughout.”

The play runs at the Aldwych Theatre, London, WC2B 4DF

until 14 January 2012.

Check out website links at http://www.aroundheeledwoman.com/ to book tickets  or click here. Also worth checking LastMinute.com for great deals on tickets for this fabulous, heart-warming, funny, poignant play. Sharon Gless is superb! The supporting cast are great too.

Cast

Sharon Gless – Jane Juska

Barry McCarthy – Jonah, Sidney, and others

Beth Cordingly – Nathalie, Miss MacKenzie, and others

Gwyneth Strong – Celia, Jane’s mother, and others

Michael Thomson – Graham, Andy, and others

Neil McCaul – Eddie, Robert, John, and others

(and about time the whole lot of Cagney and Lacey were on DVD – fill this in - http://www.cagneyandlacey.com/dvd-availability-survey  )

Blog review by Alison:

Click here for full blog post

…     “Sharon Gless was outstanding in the role. I have to admit I only really knew of her as Christine Cagney and wasn’t aware of what a varied and accomplished career she has had to date. Her character is the central focus of the play and is on stage the whole time. She’s got great comic timing, but that’s only one aspect of a complex role. She gave a very ‘real’ performance which was in turns funny, touching and heart-breaking, and which had the audience completely taken along on Jane’s journey, particularly as they were regularly addressed which lead to a very intimate feel to the play.”     …

Blog review by “TheatreandMe”:

Click here for full blog post

…     “Now onto Sharon Gless. I love her. She’s marvellous. She owns the stage. (and she’s never off it for two hours!) Every wink, every innuendo is perfectly placed, enhances the text of the play, makes you laugh at all too crass descriptions. She is a wonderful actress who is a master of the tricks of the trade.”     …

Friday 23 December 2011 at 7.30pm

Symphony Hall, Birmingham +44 (0)121-780 3333

City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra

Simon Halsey conductor
Sue Perkins presenter
CBSO Choruses

We’d like to welcome you to join us for Christmas festivities with the whole CBSO family – a joyful celebration of seasonal music with the Orchestra and over 250 singers of the CBSO Choruses. Expect festive music a-plenty, from well-known favourites to some unusual treats, plus a generous helping of your favourite carols for all to sing. TV personality, panel-show regular – and winner of the BBC’s conducting series Maestro – Sue Perkins adds a dash of her trademark humour to proceedings, with her favourite Christmas stories and readings.

Download the CBSO charity Christmas card and share your Christmas wishes with your friends and family. Whilst doing this, you can help to support the CBSO by donating on JustGiving. It’s quick, easy and safe and all amounts will be gratefully received. Your donation will help to continue the fantastic work of our world-class orchestra on the concert platform and in our community.  http://www.cbso.co.uk

Review by Maggie Cotton, (same concert, different night) Birmingham Post:

http://www.birminghampost.net/life-leisure-birmingham-guide/birmingham-culture/music-in-birmingham/2011/12/23/review-cbso-s-choral-christmas-at-symphony-hall-65233-29990258/

…     “TV personality Sue Perkins presented the evening with wit and imaginative readings, adding greatly to the relaxed atmosphere. Her big moment came when, with baton in hand, she obviously enjoyed conducting the all-time favourite Sleigh Ride fronted by smiling instrumentalists dressed in every kind of festive head-gear, proving that the orchestra can also join in the fun!”     …

Friday 16 December, 7:30pm

Symphony Hall

Beethoven Symphony No 1 26’
Symphony No 9, Choral 67’

Sir John Eliot Gardiner and the London Symphony Orchestra ignite the exhilarating drama of Beethoven’s Choral Symphony, crowned with the luminous voices of The Monteverdi Choir for the concluding Ode to Joy. The towering majesty of Beethoven’s great masterpiece is cast alongside the composer’s first youthful adventure in symphonic form.

Wednesday 14 December 2011 at 7.30pm

Symphony Hall, Birmingham +44 (0)121-780 3333

City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra

Michael Seal conductor
Peter Donohoe piano

Shostakovich: Festive Overture Op 96 6′
Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 3 44′
Sibelius: Symphony No. 2 44′

Unfortunately, Andris Nelsons has withdrawn from this performance due to the imminent arrival of his first child. We are grateful to CBSO associate conductor Michael Seal who has kindly agreed to take his place at short notice. The programme remains unchanged, and we apologise for any disappointment caused.

Sibelius begins his Second Symphony deep in the forests of Finland and ends it with triumphant fanfares. It’s been a favourite with Birmingham audiences for generations, and it’s the climax of a concert that stars two more Birmingham favourites: Andris Nelsons, and keyboard lion Peter Donohoe. Together they tackle the “Everest”of romantic piano concertos, Rachmaninov’s epic Third – in grand style! A concert with a big heart, bursting with great music: and all for the CBSO Benevolent Fund*, a truly worthwhile cause.

* Registered Friendly Society 735F

Find out what our musicians love about this music – watch music director Andris Nelsons and CBSO’s flute section leader Marie-Christine Zupancic discussing Sibelius’s Symphony No.2.

www.cbso.co.uk

If you like this concert, you might also like:
Nelsons conducts Strauss, Thursday 12 & Saturday 14 January
Winter Dreams, Wednesday 25 & Thursday 26 January
Nelsons conducts Sibelius, Friday 30 March

Review by David Hart, Birmingham Post:

http://www.birminghampost.net/life-leisure-birmingham-guide/birmingham-culture/music-in-birmingham/2011/12/23/review-cbso-benevolent-fund-concert-at-symphony-hall-65233-29990242/

…     “This was a terrific evening, by an orchestra in tiptop form collaborating with a conductor and soloist risen from its own ranks – Michael Seal, who when he is not on the podium as Associate Conductor continues to play Second Violin; and world-renowned pianist Peter Donohoe, who in his younger days regularly played orchestral piano and, occasionally, even percussion in the CBSO.

 All three elements came together in a stupendous performance of Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 3, with Donohoe delivering a fully-integrated, listening interpretation (often turning during his tacets to appreciate the superb woodwind contributions) and an expressively powerful display of virtuosity.”     …   

Symphony Hall, Birmingham +44 (0)121-780 3333

City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra

Nikolaj Znaider conductor
Thomas Trotter organ

Ruders: Symphony No. 4 (Feeney Trust co-commission – UK premiere) 30′
Bruckner: Symphony No. 7 70′

Unfortunately, Andris Nelsons has withdrawn from this performance due to the imminent arrival of his first child. We are grateful to Nikolaj Znaider who has kindly agreed to take his place at short notice. The programme remains unchanged, and we apologise for any disappointment caused.

Bruckner heard the opening of his Seventh Symphony in a dream -played by an angel. And from then on, it only gets lovelier. You’ll be knocked backwards by the emotion, grandeur and sheer breathtaking beauty of this great romantic symphony: Andris Nelsons certainly thinks so. First, though, join us as we make history – and give the Symphony Hall Organ a workout into the bargain! – in the UK premiere of a stunning new symphony by the Danish master Poul Ruders.

Click here to find out more about composer Poul Ruders and his music.

Review by Christopher Morley, Birmingham Post:

http://www.birminghampost.net/life-leisure-birmingham-guide/birmingham-culture/music-in-birmingham/2011/12/08/review-thomas-trotter-cbso-at-symphony-hall-birmingham-65233-29920609/

…     “Trotter played with verve and total empathy with the orchestra, conducted authoritatively at short notice by Nikolaj Znaider, yet another brilliant violinist who also conducts.

The response from the auditorium was warm and appreciative.

Znaider also presided over an account of Bruckner’s Seventh Symphony which allowed all the orchestra’s glories to tell: effulgent strings, woodwind of almost human eloquence, and well-rounded, clearly-articulated brass.”     …

Review by Andrew Clements, Guardian:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/dec/09/cbso-znaider-review

…     “Znaider had taken over Nelsons’s programme unchanged, and so followed the very polished account of the Ruders with another symphony, Bruckner’s Seventh. That was a brisk, pliable performance, perhaps a bit too streamlined, but never overstudied or too monumental even in the great slow movement. It was superbly played: the sound world, very much Bruckner’s own for all its Wagnerian debts, was glowingly realised.”     …

Symphony Hall, Birmingham +44 (0)121-780 3333

City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra

Robert Spano conductor
Inger Dam-Jensen soprano
Jeremy Huw Williams baritone

Sibelius: Symphony No.4 32′
Grieg: Orchestral Songs 20′
Nielsen: Symphony No. 3 (Sinfonia Espansiva) 38′ Listen on Spotify

It’s the year 1911, and in Finland Jean Sibelius wrestles with his demons in his most powerful symphony. Meanwhile, in Denmark, Carl Nielsen’s imagination takes flight in his gloriously optimistic Sinfonia Espansiva. Two great composers re-invent the symphony in unmistakable style in this stirring programme from guest conductor Robert Spano; and in between we welcome another great Dane, as soprano Inger Dam-Jensen sings a selection of Grieg’s lovely orchestral songs. They’re everything you’d expect from the composer of Peer Gynt: lush, romantic and irresistibly tuneful.

To listen to some of the music in this concert, and explore the rest of the season, using our Spotify playlists, click here.

Review by Christopher Morley, Birmingham Post:

http://www.birminghampost.net/life-leisure-birmingham-guide/birmingham-culture/music-in-birmingham/2011/12/09/review-cbso-at-symphony-hall-65233-29911681/

…     “And how well Spano and the CBSO achieved this; top marks to Ulrich Heinen for the dark eloquence of his frequent cello solos, but top marks, too, for the biting strings, the portentous brass and the lamenting woodwind.

We come close to the otherworld of the Kalevala here, and it was good eventually to escape into the pastoral optimisim of Nielsen’s Third Symphony.”     …