SOLEM QUARTET

Hailed for their immaculate precision and cultured tone, the Solem Quartet take an innovative and adventurous approach to their music and focus great attention on showcasing the work of contemporary composers.

The quartet’s lunchtime Barber Concert sees them performing a programme that features compositions by Meredith Monk and Nick Martin, presented alongside the premiere of a new work by University of Birmingham composition lecturer Ryan Latimer.

Elgar Concert Hall, Bramall Music Building, University of Birmingham, Fri 31 October

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CBSO & CBSO YOUTH ORCHESTRA: SIDE BY SIDE

City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) musicians have the chance to check out the up-and-coming talent waiting in the wings early this month, when they perform alongside the CBSO Youth Orchestra. 
The programme they’re presenting features two works by Dmitri Shostakovich: his Festive Overture and his seventh symphony. The latter work, a colossal composition widely known as the Leningrad Symphony and written during the 1941 Nazi assault on the city (now St Petersburg), has come to be regarded as a powerful symbol of defiance and resilience in the face of tyranny.  

Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry, Sunday 2 November

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THE YORK WAITS

Cornett, saggbut and curtal, flutes, recorders, crumhorns, bagpipes and hurdy-gurdies are just some of the instruments played by the super-talented York Waits. The long-established music group not only take their name from the ancient city band of York - the earliest evidence for which can be found in 14th-century records - but also dress like them and perform in their style. 
This latest concert, titled Fortune My Foe, sees the ensemble providing ‘a soundtrack and narrative to the origins and aftermath of the Gunpowder Plot of 1605’.

St Mary’s Church, Warwick, Tuesday 4 November

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ALEXANDER GAVRYLYUK PIANO CONCERT

Ukrainian-born Australian pianist Alexander Gavrylyuk here makes his second Piano Masters Series appearance of 2025, presenting a programme comprising works by Mozart, Chopin, Liszt and Mussorgsky. Performing concerts for more than 30 years -  having made his debut at the tender age of nine - Alexander has developed an enviable international reputation for excellence, picking up numerous coveted awards in the process. 

Stoke-on-Trent Repertory Theatre, Thursday 6 November

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ROYAL LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC

The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic - the UK’s oldest professional symphony orchestra - has been at the heart of the city’s cultural life since 1840.
The orchestra’s visit to the Potteries early this month sees them performing under the baton of Richard Balcombe, presenting a concert programme that includes compositions by, among others, Bizet, Ravel, Handel, Mozart, Smetana, Grieg, Tchaikovsky and Elgar.

Victoria Hall, Stoke-on-Trent, Friday 7 November

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EX CATHEDRA: A GOODNIGHT

Eamonn Dougan (pictured) picks up the baton to conduct Ex Cathedra in a programme of ‘contemplation and comfort’ for Remembrance weekend. 
Featured works include Richard Rodney Bennett’s A Good-Night - a memorial to Linda McCartney - and James MacMillan’s When You See Millions Of The Mouthless Dead, a setting of the poetry of Charles Hamilton Sorley, a young Scottish soldier killed in World War One. 

All Saints Church, Kings Heath, Birmingham, Saturday 8 November

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SIR SIMON RATTLE & THE BAVARIAN RADIO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Sir Simon Rattle makes a much-heralded and very welcome return to the second city, 27 years after he brought to a close his 18-year tenure as music director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. 
Since bidding a fond farewell to Brum, the 70-year-old conductor has brought his immense talent to bear on the output of the Berlin Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra, and now (since 2023), the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, a world-leading ensemble which last visited Birmingham some 20 years ago. 
The programme for this mouthwatering concert features Schumann’s second symphony and the complete ballet score of Stravinsky’s The Firebird. The latter was the composition which Sir Simon chose for the first concert in Symphony Hall way back in 1991.     

Symphony Hall, Birmingham, Tuesday 11 November

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FIBONACCI QUARTET

Bright young stars on the classical music scene, the Fibonacci Quartet look set to spend almost as much time polishing their richly deserved silverware as they do playing their instruments, with plenty of glittering prizes having already fallen into their incredibly talented hands... They here present a programme featuring: Haydn’s String Quartet, Op33, No4; Fergus Hall’s Three Hours After High Water; and Bartók’s String Quartet No4.

Bradshaw Hall, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, Tuesday 11 November

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ENGLISH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

The English Symphony Orchestra’s (ESO) latest Malvern appearance sees them getting to grips with a programme of music celebrating the adventurous spirit of the Roaring 1920s. 
Among other works, the concert features Erwin Schulhoff’s Suite For Chamber Orchestra, a piece taking listeners on a guided tour of 20s dance crazes, from the shimmy to the tango... The ESO are joined for the occasion by soprano April Frederick, who last year memorably performed Samuel Barber’s Knoxville 1915 with the orchestra in Malvern.

Malvern Theatres, Wednesday 12 November

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ARMONICO CONSORT: KARL JENKINS THE ARMED MAN

Armonico Consort here celebrate the 25th anniversary of Karl Jenkins’ monumental choral work The Armed Man - an anti-war mass dedicated to the victims of the Kosovo conflict. A composition performed more than 3,000 times during the last quarter-century, the piece this year took second place in Classic FM’s Hall of Fame, behind Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No2... For this month’s two cathedral performances, Armonico are joined by hundreds of children from their Academy choirs, as well as The Choristers of Coventry Cathedral Choir, Wells Cathedral School Chamber Choir and King’s School Worcester Chamber Choir. 

Coventry Cathedral, Wednesday 12 November; Worcester Cathedral, Thursday 27 November

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MELIORA COLLECTIVE

Five wind and five string players combine to make up the Meliora Collective, a recently formed, highly versatile and chamber-music-loving ensemble who specialise in performing concert favourites alongside less familiar repertoire. Appearing in Shrewsbury mid-month as part of the Shropshire Music Trust season, the Collective will be presenting a programme featuring compositions by Maurice Ravel, Jean Françaix and Johannes Brahms.

United Reformed Church, Shrewsbury, Friday 14 November

 

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GILDAS QUARTET

Former first-prize winners in the ‘audience engagement’ category of the prestigious International Franz Schubert & Modern Music Competition, the Gildas Quartet boast a bold and explorative approach to performance. 
Their mid-month Leamington Music concert sees them presenting a programme of three works: Jessie Montgomery’s Strum, William Alwyn’s String Quartet No1 in D minor, and Beethoven’s String Quartet No9 in C major, Op59 No3 ‘Razumovsky’.

Holy Trinity Church, Leamington Spa, Friday 14 November

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BIRMINGHAM FESTIVAL CHORAL SOCIETY: FRENCH CHORAL SPLENDOUR

Specialising in a wide variety of choral music from the 16th to the 21st century, Birmingham Festival Choral Society performs three main concerts a year, usually in churches or concert halls in central Birmingham. Out-of-city performances in recent times have taken place in, among other venues, Malvern Priory, Tewkesbury Abbey and St Laurence’s Church in Ludlow. 
The society here presents a concert featuring music by four French composers: Maurice Duruflé (Requiem), Louis Vierne (Messe Solennelle), Jean Dattas (Kyrie and Agnus Dei), and Gabriel Fauré (Cantique de Jean Racine). 

St George’s Church, Westbourne Crescent, Birmingham, Saturday 15 November

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LONDON CONCERTANTE: VIVALDI'S FOUR SEASONS

While it’s a given that they take the business of musicmaking extremely seriously, there’s certainly nothing stuffy about London Concertante. 
Indeed, 50 percent of people who attend a performance by this 34-year-old chamber orchestra are first-time classical music concert-goers. It’s a statistic which speaks volumes for the ensemble’s commitment to remaining at all times light-of-touch and refreshingly accessible. 
The Concertante here present a candlelit performance of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and Ralph Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending. Mozart’s Marriage Of Figaro Overture also features on the programme.

Birmingham Cathedral, Saturday 15 November

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​CITY OF BIRMINGHAM CHOIR

The City of Birmingham Choir make a welcome return to the limelight, this time to present Intimations Of Immortality, a concert featuring choral work by Michael Hurd and Gerald Finzi, interspersed by a serenade for small orchestra by Richard Rodney Bennett. John Wilbye’s Draw On, Sweet Night also features. Adrian Lucas conducts.

Bradshaw Hall, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, Sunday 16 November

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EUGENE TZIKINDELEAN PLAYS MOZART

Fancy a relaxing Sunday afternoon spent revelling in the magic of Mozart?
If so, then this is the concert for you. 
The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra’s award-winning violinist, Eugene Tzikindelean, leads and takes the solo role in a programme of music which is kickstarted by the composer’s Adagio in E major for violin... 
Then comes Mozart’s fifth violin concerto - which he wrote at the still-tender age of 19. The afternoon of musicmaking is brought to an energetic close with Jupiter, his 41st and final symphony.     

Birmingham Town Hall, Sunday 16 November

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LONDON CHAMBER ENSEMBLE QUARTET

The well-established London Chamber Ensemble are here presenting the first of two concerts during the 2025/26 season; the second takes place next March and features a Trio. 
This month’s performance brings together concert-hall favourites with neglected works by British composers. The programme features Joseph Haydn’s Quartet in C major, Charles Wood’s Quartet No2, Michael Berkeley’s Quartet Study and Alexander Borodin's second quartet.

Ludlow Assembly Rooms, South Shropshire, Thursday 20 November

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WOMBOURNE & DISTRICT CHORAL SOCIETY

Boasting a varied repertoire of full-scale classical works, madrigals and part-songs, Wombourne & District Choral Society this month turn their attention to the fast-approaching festive season, presenting a performance of Bob Chilcott’s critically acclaimed Christmas Oratorio.

St Paul’s Church, Wolverhampton, Saturday 22 November

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BIRMINGHAM BACH CHOIR: LET THERE BE LIGHT

One of the city’s oldest and most distinguished musical groups, Birmingham Bach Choir here present a programme that features two works by Sir John Rutter: his Requiem and the lesser-known Hymn To The Creator Of Light... An unusual work for choir and organ - Laudes Organ, by the Hungarian composer Zoltan Kodaly - provides a dramatically colourful contrast to the two Rutter compositions.

St Francis Church, Bournville, Birmingham, Saturday 22 November

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SPIRES PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

“We are acoustic adventurers,” explain Spires Philharmonic Orchestra & Chorus, a community of ambitious musicmakers from Coventry. “We seek out unheard gems and then programme them alongside classics we know and love, crafting concerts that are not only outstanding to listen to but that we love to perform, too.”
The choir and pro/am orchestra’s latest outing sees them performing Bruckner’s Mass no1 in D and Schubert's ‘Unfinished’ Symphony.  

The Hub, Coventry University, Saturday 22 November

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WORCESTER FESTIVAL CHORAL SOCIETY

In this season-opening concert, Worcester Festival Choral Society’s 140 voices join the Meridian Sinfonia orchestra in taking on the challenge of Maurice Duruflé’s Requiem, Edward Elgar’s Enigma Variations, Joseph Haydn’s Insanae et Vanae Curae, and Lili Boulanger’s Vieille Prière Bouddhique (Old Buddhist Prayer). 
Worcester Cathedral’s director of music, Samuel Hudson, is the conductor.  

Worcester Cathedral, Saturday 22 November

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SHREWSBURY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

One of the oldest amateur orchestras in the country here takes on the challenge of performing works by two distinguished 19th-century composers. 
Kickstarting proceedings with Wagner's Prelude & Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde, they then get their teeth into Gustav Mahler's best known and most frequently performed composition; his fifth symphony.  

Market Hall, Whitchurch, North Shropshire, Wednesday 19 November; Allington Hall, Shrewsbury School, Sunday 23 November

DAME SARAH CONNOLLY AND JOSEPH 

Mezzo-soprano opera star Dame Sarah Connolly here teams up with acclaimed pianist Joseph Middleton to present an evening of art song and lieder. The evening’s programme features works by Brahms, Mahler, Debussy, Errollyn Wallen and Kurt Weill. 

Elgar Concert Hall, Bramall, University of Birmingham, Wednesday 26 November

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ORCHESTRA OF THE SWAN: WINTERTIDE

The Warwick-based Orchestra of the Swan are promising ‘an exquisite weave of atmospheric, seasonal music’ combined with ‘winter words by Dylan Thomas, Laurie Lee, Charles Dickens and more’ when they pay a visit to Stratford’s Holy Trinity Church - Shakespeare’s final resting place - at the end of the month. 
The programme for the concert features, among other compositions, Holst’s Midwinter, Corelli’s Christmas Concerto and Vivaldi’s iconic ‘Winter’ from The Four Seasons. The seasonal poetry and prose is narrated by Sunny Ormonde, best known for her role in BBC Radio Four soap The Archers.

Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon, Saturday 29 November