Let's get classical

Posted on Mon 22 Sep

BBC PHILHARMONIC: BRUCH'S VIOLIN CONCERTO

Residing at the Corporation’s Manchester home of Media City, the BBC Philharmonic visits the Potteries this month in the company of Noa Wildschut, who will be performing Max Bruch’s violin concerto.

The programme also features Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suite and Sibelius’ second symphony, a work which has been described as a sweeping portrait of nature awakening to freedom. Gemma New (pictured) is the conductor.

Victoria Hall, Stoke-on-Trent, Fri 10 October

CARDUCCI STRING QUARTET WITH RODERICK WILLIAMS

Performing more than 90 international concerts each year, Carducci are one of the most successful string quartets in the business, garnering lavish praise wherever they play... This latest Shropshire Music Trust concert sees them teaming up with baritone Roderick Williams to present an evening of music dedicated to Schubert.

St Alkmunds Church, Shrewsbury, Fri 10 October

MARMEN QUARTET

Weighed down by their fair share of highly coveted silverware (including the Bordeaux International String Quartet Grand Prize and first prize in the Banff International String Quartet Competition), the Marmen Quartet this month make a welcome return to Leamington.

Their programme features: Haydn’s String Quartet, Op 50 No5 in F major ‘Dream’; Bartók’s String Quartet No2; and Debussy’s String Quartet in G minor, Op10.

Holy Trinity Church, Leamington Spa, Fri 10 October

THE SEKINE QUARTET: VIVALDI'S FOUR SEASONS

Four talented former Royal Birmingham Conservatoire students here get to grips with Antonio Vivaldi’s most famous composition. As is the case with many of the all-female Sekine’s performances, the concert will take place by the gentle glow of flickering candlelight.

St Paul’s Church, Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham, Sat 11 October

BIRMINGHAM PHILHARMONIC: FROM ITALY WITH LOVE

One of the region’s best known and most admired non-professional orchestras, the Birmingham Philharmonic here takes its audience on a musical tour around late 19th/early 20th century Italy, kickstarting proceedings with two works by Giacomo Puccini: Capriccio Sinfonico and Intermezzo from Manon Lescaut.

The two-hour concert also features the famous Easter Sunday scene from Pietro Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana, Tchaikovsky’s Francesca da Rimini, and two compositions by Ottorino Respighi: Fountains Of Rome and Pines Of Rome. Jason Thornton conducts.

Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, Sun 12 October

BROMPTON STRING QUARTET

The award-winning Brompton String Quartet perform a wide variety of works, from Baroque-era compositions to more contemporary music.

Their Worcester concert opens with a madrigal by Barbara Strozzi, followed by ground-breaking quartets from Ludwig van Beethoven and Joseph Haydn. The programme is then completed with a performance of Dmitri Shostakovich’s first string quartet.

Huntingdon Hall, Worcester, Sun 12 October

BRNO PHILHARMONIC WITH FREDDY KEMPF

Internationally acclaimed pianist Freddy Kempf will be injecting plenty of pizzazz into proceedings when he shares a concert programme with the Brno Philharmonic at Symphony Hall in the middle of the month.

Freddy brings his talent to bear on two works that blur the lines between jazz and classical - Dave Brubeck’s Brandenburg Gate and George Gershwin’s I Got Rhythm Variations.

The pieces are neatly sandwiched between works by two composers with whom the Brno Philharmonic are closely associated:

Leoš Janáček’s Lachian Dances provides a stirring opening to what should be a memorable evening of musicmaking, while Antonín Dvořák’s Symphony No7 brings the concert to a suitably compelling conclusion.

Symphony Hall, Birmingham, Wed 15 October

ARMONICO CONSORT: CHACONNE

Founded 24 years ago by organist and conductor Christopher Monks, Armonico Consort use authentic period instruments and regularly perform with some of the best solo musicians in the world.

These latest concerts see the ensemble celebrating the ‘ground bass’ musical form of the chaconne.

The programme features works by Johann Pachelbel, Barbara Strozzi, Henry Purcell, Claudio Monteverdi, Jean Baptiste Lully and Johann Sebastian Bach.

Malvern Theatres, Sat 18 October; The Courthouse, Warwick, Tues 21 October

EX CATHEDRA: DURUFLÉ REQUIEM

James Burton is the guest conductor for this latest concert by Birmingham’s long-established early music & choral ensemble Ex Cathedra.

Alongside a composition of his own - in which St Cuthbert encounters two otters - James will also be guiding the choir through Britten’s Rejoice In The Lamb and Vaughan Williams’ A Vision Of Aeroplanes, Prayer To The Father Of Heaven. The concert is brought to a close with Duruflé’s Requiem, a work which the composer himself described as “often dramatic, or filled with resignation, or hope or terror”.

Birmingham Town Hall, Sun 19 October

CBSO: KAZUKI & THE JUSSEN BROTHERS

“It is like driving a pair of BMWs,” declared conductor Michael Schønwandt after helming a concert featuring siblings Lucas and Arthur Jussen.

The Dutch brothers have been playing piano together since childhood, and their shared ‘sound ideal’ and familiarity with one another’s style is greatly in evidence in their critically acclaimed performances.

Here teaming up with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and its music director, Kazuki Yamada, they will play their part in a mouthwatering programme that features Poulenc’s Concerto For Two Pianos, Prokofiev’s First Symphony and Schubert’s ninth.

Turkish composer Fazıl Say’s Night - a fast, funky and furious work especially written for the Jussen Brothers - also features.

Symphony Hall, Birmingham, Thurs 23 October

RBC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Michael Seal is the conductor for this latest RBC Symphony Orchestra performance, a 90-minute concert that brings together Copland’s Fanfare For The Common Man and Joan Tower’s Fanfare For The Uncommon Woman. Torke’s Mojave and Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances complete the programme.

Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, Fri 24 October

RUSSELL WATSON

Classical-crossover star Russell Watson has sold more than seven million albums worldwide and been described by the New York Times as a man who sings like Pavarotti and entertains like Frank Sinatra.

Often referred to as ‘the people’s tenor’, he released his debut album, The Voice, in 2001, making history by becoming the first British artist to hold both the US and UK classical number-one slots.

Russell is visiting the Potteries this month with The Evolution Tour.

Victoria Hall, Hanley, Fri 24 October

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