From Mirga with Love

December 6th 2023 at 19:30 – 21:30

Tonight, Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla takes us on a very personal tour of Eastern Europe, from Georgia to the Baltic. There will be gripping new discoveries from her personal favourite Mieczyslaw Weinberg and Čiurlionis, the “Lithuanian Elgar”, takes us on a walk through the forests. We’ll also see a whole host of CBSO musicians step into the spotlight, such as Principal Clarinettist Oliver Janes Mieczysław Weinberg’s Clarinet Concerto, and Section Leader , Marie-Christine Zupancic for Weinberg’s 12 Miniatures for Flute, before Mirga’s sister joins the orchestra on stage. The results will be simply gorgeous…

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Nash Ensemble – ‘From My Homeland’ – Music from the Czech Lands with works by Brahms

December 9th 2023 at 17:30 – 18:30

This lively programme explores Czech music of the 1920s: Erwin Schulhoff’s wind Divertissement and Martinů’s sunny Sextet are infused with edgy jazz harmonies and dance rhythms. Janáček, four decades their senior, looks back to his own childhood in Mládí.

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Beethoven 5

January 24th 2023 at 19:30 – 21:30

An afternoon less ordinary with the most famous four notes in orchestral music.

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Beethoven 5

January 25th 2023 at 19:30 – 21:30

An afternoon less ordinary with the most famous four notes in orchestral music.

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Mozart’s Birthday Celebration

January 27th 2023 at 19:30 – 21:00

It’s Mozart’s birthday and we’re celebrating with some of the most beautiful music ever written. Two of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra’s very own star players – Cormac Henry and Elizabeth McNulty – step forward in Mozart’s enchanting Flute and Harp Concerto, while Nil Venditti conducts the majestic ‘Jupiter’ symphony and the playful Symphony No.29. Everyone’s invited as we say: happy 267th, Wolfgang Amadeus!

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Jess Gillam Plays Williams & Villa-Lobos

January 31st 2024 at 19:30 – 21:30

Fantastic tales and classical sax in this fun-filled concert with Jess Gillam and Eduardo Strausser.

Saxophonist, presenter and all-round force of nature, Jess Gillam makes everything she touches light up. Tonight, she travels to Brazil with Villa-Lobos and to Hollywood with John Williams: the fun-filled heart of a concert packed with enchantment, whether the glittering fairytales of The Firebird or an unmistakably Italian take on the story of Cinderella. Well, it is Panto season, after all.

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Musical Puzzles – Mozart, Vasks, Shostakovich

January 31st 2023 at 19:30 – 21:30

Conceived whilst ill and in hospital, Shostakovich’s final symphony is among his most enigmatic works; an intimate and moving orchestral statement that poses many questions but reveals few answers. We hear medical equipment, electric shock treatment, vulgarity and satire, and a procession of musical quotes – Rossini’s William Tell, Mahler’s Fourth Symphony, Wagner’s Ring Cycle – which drift in and out of consciousness like voices in your head whist delirious. Distant Light begins very quietly on the solo violin which leads to a winding lyrical line with a shimmering accompaniment. Its soulful, melancholic passion remains key to Vasks’ desire to re-connect with nature, beliefs and ideals that he sees being lost. Mozart’s Serenade for wind octet is one of his most puzzling and mysterious works. Orchestrated for an ensemble that is traditionally employed for light entertainment, it is defiantly dark in its character.

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Berlioz, Mozart and Ravel with Francois Leleux and Carolyn Sampson

January 31st 2024 at 19:30 – 21:15

François Leleux is one of the most passionate musicians performing today, and his much-loved concerts leading the SCO are sophisticated, intense and gloriously exuberant.

He’s joined by celebrated British soprano Carolyn Sampson for Berlioz’s vivid but rarely heard Crusades cantata Herminie – in which the composer first tried out the Symphonie fantastique’s most famous melody. Leleux translates singing into playing in his own witty oboe arrangements of arias from Mozart’s best-loved comic opera, alongside the gripping drama of the same composer’s Symphony No. 25 and exquisite fairytale evocations from Ravel.

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Cristina Gómez Godoy plays Mozart

February 1st 2024 at 18:30 – 20:00

She is principal oboist with the Staatskapelle Berlin and has caused a sensation as soloist with Daniel Barenboim’s West-Eastern Divan, among others. Now the young Spanish oboist Cristina Gómez Godoy makes her debut with the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich with Mozart’s Oboe Concerto, for which she always comes up with imaginative ornamentation. And something else begins this evening: Paavo Järvi starts his great Mahler cycle with Symphony No. 5. It is one of the most popular symphonies ever; the “Adagietto” from it even made a film career in Luchino Visconti’s cult film “Death in Venice”.

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Berlioz, Mozart and Ravel with Francois Leleux and Carolyn Sampson

February 1st 2024 at 14:00 – 15:15

François Leleux is one of the most passionate musicians performing today, and his much-loved concerts leading the SCO are sophisticated, intense and gloriously exuberant.

He’s joined by celebrated British soprano Carolyn Sampson for Berlioz’s vivid but rarely heard Crusades cantata Herminie – in which the composer first tried out the Symphonie fantastique’s most famous melody. Leleux translates singing into playing in his own witty oboe arrangements of arias from Mozart’s best-loved comic opera, alongside the gripping drama of the same composer’s Symphony No. 25 and exquisite fairytale evocations from Ravel.

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Berlioz, Mozart and Ravel with Francois Leleux and Carolyn Sampson

February 2nd 2024 at 14:00 – 15:15

François Leleux is one of the most passionate musicians performing today, and his much-loved concerts leading the SCO are sophisticated, intense and gloriously exuberant.

He’s joined by celebrated British soprano Carolyn Sampson for Berlioz’s vivid but rarely heard Crusades cantata Herminie – in which the composer first tried out the Symphonie fantastique’s most famous melody. Leleux translates singing into playing in his own witty oboe arrangements of arias from Mozart’s best-loved comic opera, alongside the gripping drama of the same composer’s Symphony No. 25 and exquisite fairytale evocations from Ravel.

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Cristina Gómez Godoy plays Mozart

February 4th 2024 at 18:30 – 20:00

She is principal oboist with the Staatskapelle Berlin and has caused a sensation as soloist with Daniel Barenboim’s West-Eastern Divan, among others. Now the young Spanish oboist Cristina Gómez Godoy makes her debut with the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich with Mozart’s Oboe Concerto, for which she always comes up with imaginative ornamentation. And something else begins this evening: Paavo Järvi starts his great Mahler cycle with Symphony No. 5. It is one of the most popular symphonies ever; the “Adagietto” from it even made a film career in Luchino Visconti’s cult film “Death in Venice”.

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Mediterranean Sunshine

February 5th 2023 at 19:30 – 21:30 BST

Nil Venditti conducts music of sunlight and celebration by Mendelssohn, Mozart and Tchaikovsky.
When the young Felix Mendelssohn saw Italy for the first time, his heart leaped for joy. In his Italian Symphony, you can hear it doing exactly that: because from spirited opening to whirling folk-dance finish, this is a picture-postcard come to exuberant, sunshiny life. It is as much fun to play as it is to hear and, under charismatic guest conductor Nil Venditti, it will make a joyful ending to a concert that sparkles with melody and warmth. Martucci basks in a fragrant Mediterranean night, Tchaikovsky pays tuneful homage to his idol Mozart, and Amadeus himself turns the humble bassoon into an operatic hero, as RPO Principal Bassoon Richard Ion takes centre stage in a concerto that’s equal parts elegance, romance and sheer unbuttoned fun.

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Chamber Series: Hallé Wind Ensemble

February 17th 2023 at 13:00 – 14:30

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Royal Northern Sinfonia at The Fire Station – Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto

February 25th 2024 at 15:00 – 16:15

Fresh, optimistic and full of joy, Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto is the centrepiece of this concert, with celebrated clarinettist Julian Bliss in the spotlight for the solo.

On one side is Prokofiev’s lively, witty Classical Symphony – a 20th-century take on the 18th century sounds of Mozart and Haydn – and on the other is Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 (‘Eroica’, meaning ‘heroic’). Bigger, longer and very, very different to anything that had gone before, it was a game-changer that challenged its audience and changed musical history, and sounds as fresh as ever today.

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Café de Paris with Maxim and Friends

February 25th 2023 at 15:00 – 16:15

Join Maxim Emelyanychev at the keyboard for a sophisticated afternoon of Gallic wit with some of the SCO’s world-renowned wind soloists, in music much-loved and lesser-known.

Principal Flautist André Cebrián delivers the ancient incantations of Jolivet’s dazzling flute showpiece Chant de Linos, while Principal Clarinettist Maximiliano Martín is soloist in the sensual harmonies of Debussy’s dreamy First Rhapsodie.

Françaix sends up high-class restaurant music in his deliciously sardonic L’heure du berger, while Poulenc offers plenty of musical high-jinks to close in his perky Sextet.

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St David’s Day Stravaganza

March 1st 2024 at 19:30 – 21:00

What better way to celebrate St David’s Day than with music by iconic Welsh composers, performed by the National Orchestra of Wales?

We celebrate 90 years since William Mathias’ birth with his Holiday Overture, written in 1971 specially for BBC NOW. We then move on to Karl Jenkins and the UK Premiere of his saxophone concerto, Stravaganza, written for tonight’s soloist, the sensational Jess Gillam. It wouldn’t be St David’s Day without any singing, so BBC National Chorus of Wales and the National Youth Choir of Wales take centre stage in Jenkins’ Dewi Sant, and a medley of your favourite Welsh tunes.

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Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Orchestras

March 10th 2024 at 14:30 – 16:00

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra oboist and former member of the Merseyside Youth Orchestra, Ruth Davies, takes to the stage as soloist for Cimarosa’s Oboe Concerto alongside the Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Orchestra. In the second half, Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Orchestra and Youth Academy Orchestra perform side-by-side in a specially arranged version of Dvořák’s Symphony No.9.

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Liverpool Wind Collective

March 11th 2023 at 20:00 – 21:30

A wind quintet is like a sonic paintbox. Today the Liverpool Wind Collective explores the impressionist colours of France, celebrates the sounds of 20th century America, and takes a trip to the world’s most improbable zoo!

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Sibelius Symphony No.1

March 20th 2024 at 14:15 – 15:50

Estonian Kristiina Poska begins her second visit to the Hallé with Britten’s atmospheric Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes. Also returning is superstar saxophonist Jess Gillam, who’s been described by composer John Harle as a ‘young virtuoso with huge energy, a soaring sound, and an unforgettable presence.’

She plays his concerto Briggflatts, conceived for her artistry, the title referring to Basil Bunting’s poem steeped in Gilliam’s native Cumbria. Its finale, ‘RANT!’, is an exhilarating romp of toe-tapping Cumbrian folk-tunes guaranteed to bring the house down. As Poska has been called ‘One of the most distinctive and interesting Sibelius interpreters I’ve heard for some time’ (Gramophone), the prospect of her conducting the composer’s First Symphony is tantalising. Virile in spirit and imbued with melodic freshness, the work announced the arrival of one of the all-time great symphonists.

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Sibelius Symphony No.1

March 21st 2024 at 19:30 – 21:05

Estonian Kristiina Poska begins her second visit to the Hallé with Britten’s atmospheric Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes. Also returning is superstar saxophonist Jess Gillam, who’s been described by composer John Harle as a ‘young virtuoso with huge energy, a soaring sound, and an unforgettable presence.’

She plays his concerto Briggflatts, conceived for her artistry, the title referring to Basil Bunting’s poem steeped in Gilliam’s native Cumbria. Its finale, ‘RANT!’, is an exhilarating romp of toe-tapping Cumbrian folk-tunes guaranteed to bring the house down. As Poska has been called ‘One of the most distinctive and interesting Sibelius interpreters I’ve heard for some time’ (Gramophone), the prospect of her conducting the composer’s First Symphony is tantalising. Virile in spirit and imbued with melodic freshness, the work announced the arrival of one of the all-time great symphonists.

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Marvellous Maestros

March 22nd 2024 at 19:00 – 21:00

In a concerto, a star soloist steps into the limelight, accompanied by an orchestra. Classical composers wrote flashy solo parts for their friends, pupils, or — if they really wanted to show off — themselves.

Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto was written for his frenemy Anton Stadler, who was a brilliant clarinettist but liked to borrow money from the already cash-strapped Mozart. The clarinet was still being invented at this time, and this concerto is technically written for a bespoke version of the instrument. Stadler, who invented this special clarinet, was virtually the only person who could or did play it at the time.

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Sibelius Symphony No.1

March 24th 2024 at 16:00 – 17:35

Estonian Kristiina Poska begins her second visit to the Hallé with Britten’s atmospheric Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes. Also returning is superstar saxophonist Jess Gillam, who’s been described by composer John Harle as a ‘young virtuoso with huge energy, a soaring sound, and an unforgettable presence.’

She plays his concerto Briggflatts, conceived for her artistry, the title referring to Basil Bunting’s poem steeped in Gilliam’s native Cumbria. Its finale, ‘RANT!’, is an exhilarating romp of toe-tapping Cumbrian folk-tunes guaranteed to bring the house down. As Poska has been called ‘One of the most distinctive and interesting Sibelius interpreters I’ve heard for some time’ (Gramophone), the prospect of her conducting the composer’s First Symphony is tantalising. Virile in spirit and imbued with melodic freshness, the work announced the arrival of one of the all-time great symphonists.

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Northern Lights with Joseph Swensen

April 18th 2024 at 14:00 – 15:15

Look north for luminous music from Orkney, Denmark and Finland, brought together by SCO Conductor Emeritus Joseph Swensen.

Maxwell Davies imagined the hard-fought arrival of an Orcadian spring in one of his final works, written in 2013 for the SCO, while Sibelius offers an atmospheric portrait of the underworld of Finnish mythology, whose guardian swan is sung by SCO cor anglais player Katherine Bryer.

SCO Principal Flute André Cebrián is the soloist in Neilsen’s brilliant Concerto, while Swensen offers his own rich orchestral reimagining of the same composer’s youthful First String Quartet.

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Northern Lights with Joseph Swensen

April 19th 2024 at 14:00 – 15:15

Look north for luminous music from Orkney, Denmark and Finland, brought together by SCO Conductor Emeritus Joseph Swensen.

Maxwell Davies imagined the hard-fought arrival of an Orcadian spring in one of his final works, written in 2013 for the SCO, while Sibelius offers an atmospheric portrait of the underworld of Finnish mythology, whose guardian swan is sung by SCO cor anglais player Katherine Bryer.

SCO Principal Flute André Cebrián is the soloist in Neilsen’s brilliant Concerto, while Swensen offers his own rich orchestral reimagining of the same composer’s youthful First String Quartet.

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Sibelius Symphony No.1

April 27th 2024 at 15:00 – 17:00

Join us for the epic conclusion to the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra’s golden jubilee season. Throughout its 50 year history, the TSYO has taught young musicians to be the best versions of themselves, both inside and outside the concert hall. TSYO musicians have seen their share of trials and tribulations, but they have always emerged triumphant, just like the featured piece in this milestone concert—Mahler’s First Symphony.

Simon Rivard, conductor
Trevor Wilson, RBC Resident Conductor
Cian Bryson, bassoon (2022/23 TSYO Concerto Competition winner)

Shostakovich: Festive Overture
Kalevi Aho: Bassoon Concerto
Mahler: Symphony No. 1

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Alexander Glazunov – Saxophone Concerto

May 9th 2024 at 19:00 – 21:10

Pounding timpani, inexorably rising violins and musical tension ratcheting up with unyielding momentum: the opening of Brahms’ first symphony must have been quite the shock for the audience attending its 1876 premiere. Drama is everywhere in this powerful piece that provides emotional stress and release right through to the galloping energy of its exhilarating, visionary, conclusion.

Earlier, superstar Saxophonist Jess Gillam solos in Glazunov’s concerto, a piece that’s full of twists and turns and which showcases the gentle and soulful side of the instrument. Elfrida Andrée’s majestic overture starts the concert.

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Alexander Glazunov – Saxophone Concerto

May 9th 2024 at 19:30 – 21:40

Pounding timpani, inexorably rising violins and musical tension ratcheting up with unyielding momentum: the opening of Brahms’ first symphony must have been quite the shock for the audience attending its 1876 premiere. Drama is everywhere in this powerful piece that provides emotional stress and release right through to the galloping energy of its exhilarating, visionary, conclusion.

Earlier, superstar Saxophonist Jess Gillam solos in Glazunov’s concerto, a piece that’s full of twists and turns and which showcases the gentle and soulful side of the instrument. Elfrida Andrée’s majestic overture starts the concert.

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Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto

May 23rd 2024 at 19:30 – 21:15

Fresh, optimistic and convivial, Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto is the centrepiece of this concert, which closes with Beethoven’s graceful yet high-voltage Symphony No. 1. Along the way experience the rhythmic energy of Stravinsky’s spiky Danses Concertantes and Fazil Say’s Chamber Symphony, inspired by the music of Turkey.

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Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto

May 24th 2024 at 19:30 – 21:15

Fresh, optimistic and convivial, Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto is the centrepiece of this concert, which closes with Beethoven’s graceful yet high-voltage Symphony No. 1. Along the way experience the rhythmic energy of Stravinsky’s spiky Danses Concertantes and Fazil Say’s Chamber Symphony, inspired by the music of Turkey.

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Darkness to Light: Manfred & Mahler 5

June 7th 2024 at 20:00 – 22:00

The program begins with the sounds of New York’s “frenetic energy and multicultural aural palette” in Jessie Montgomery’s Coincident Dances. Principal Oboe, Cynthia Koledo DeAlmeida, and Principal Horn, William Caballero, then join to premiere a double concerto by Michael Daugherty.

The night ends with Mahler’s epic 5th Symphony. Written at the beginning of his relationship with his wife, Alma, this work is seen as a love letter to her, as it begins with a funeral march and culminates in celebration.

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Darkness to Light: Manfred & Mahler 5

June 8th 2024 at 19:30 – 21:30

The program begins with the sounds of New York’s “frenetic energy and multicultural aural palette” in Jessie Montgomery’s Coincident Dances. Principal Oboe, Cynthia Koledo DeAlmeida, and Principal Horn, William Caballero, then join to premiere a double concerto by Michael Daugherty.

The night ends with Mahler’s epic 5th Symphony. Written at the beginning of his relationship with his wife, Alma, this work is seen as a love letter to her, as it begins with a funeral march and culminates in celebration.

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Darkness to Light: Manfred & Mahler 5

June 9th 2024 at 14:30 – 16:30

The program begins with the sounds of New York’s “frenetic energy and multicultural aural palette” in Jessie Montgomery’s Coincident Dances. Principal Oboe, Cynthia Koledo DeAlmeida, and Principal Horn, William Caballero, then join to premiere a double concerto by Michael Daugherty.

The night ends with Mahler’s epic 5th Symphony. Written at the beginning of his relationship with his wife, Alma, this work is seen as a love letter to her, as it begins with a funeral march and culminates in celebration.

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Close-up: Tutti in threes

June 16th 2024 at 14:15 – 16:35

The Close-up series is the best way to experience the Concertgebouw Orchestra’s musicians as individuals! Tonight wind players form the orchestra will come to the foreground, playing music by Beethoven, Reicha, Glinka and Poulenc, with the number 3 as the unifying theme.

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Woodwind Forward!

June 16th 2024 at 11:00 – 13:00

Already in the first half of the 20th century, French composers and orchestras used to put the woodwinds in the foreground. It should define their style and the special French sound. Francis Poulenc was one of the most important representatives of this tradition, and his music focuses on multicolor and sensitive poetry.

“”After all the impressionistic mists, will not this simple and clear art [of Poulenc], so reminiscent of Scarlatti and Mozart, be the next phase of our music?”” of wind music prove true in any case. With his few wind works, he set standards that still have an impact today.

Poulenc’s compositional spheres are complemented by the music of Henri Tomasis, Jean Françaix and Charles Koechlin. Behind the seemingly naïve title of Tomasi’s rural concerto »Concert champêtre« lies a knowledgeable allusion to French rococo music mixed with the Corsican flair of Tomasi’s homeland.

Charles Koechlin’s Bassoon Sonata takes us back to the sounds of Impressionism. In the France of his time, Koechlin was considered an outsider and yet created an exceptional work that shows how delicate and at the same time wild and intoxicating the bassoon is. And how many magnificent nuances of sound the instrument, which usually stands in the background, carries within itself.

Jean Françaix’s trio in four movements shows the 82-year-old composer still at the height of his creative power: melodic invention, rhythmic wit, harmonic elasticity and an elegant instrumental writing form a particularly fortunate combination.

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Beethoven, Beamish & Prokofiev

June 20th 2024 at 19:00 – 20:40

Sally Beamish’s concerto begins with two soloists calling to each other across a distance, and explores connection and longing. This delicately nuanced interpretation of the Seventh Symphony forms part of Gianandrea Noseda’s thrilling Prokofiev cycle with the LSO. Distans was written for Janine Jansen and Martin Fröst, designed to make the most of their astonishing abilities.

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