CBSO Concert Season 2014-2015 by City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra

CBSO Concert Season Symphony Hall Birmingham 2014 - 2015 A world-class orchestra at home in Birmingham Box Office 0121 345 0499 Book Online www.cbso.co.uk

Supported by The CBSO receives funding from 94 years of enlightened support

Welcome

Andris ctor Nelsons – CBSO Music Directorre

The beginning of every new concert season is always exciting. But this year, I feel a certain sadness. When we perform Mahler’s Third Symphony next June, it will mark the end of one of the happiest chapters of my life, and I hope you will be with us that night. But we have a lot of wonderful music to play first - and I think that some of our greatest adventures together may still be ahead. Once again, the CBSO, our incredible Chorus and I will be taking on the mightiest challenge that any group of musicians can ever share: the nine symphonies of Ludwig van Beethoven. We will be playing more of the music dearest to my heart, great masterpieces by Shostakovich, Mahler, Bruckner and Richard Strauss. And above all, we’ll be presenting a work that I have dreamed of conducting for my entire life: Parsifal, the beautiful final opera by my beloved Wagner. We’ll be joined by some great artists and great friends, including Stephen Hough, Peter Donohoe, Baiba Skride, James Ehnes, Alban Gerhardt, Toby Spence and Principal Guest Conductor Edward Gardner. At a time like this, we often look to the past, and in our CBSO:2020 project we’ll be looking back at the music that came out of the years of the Great War, as well as remembering one of my most famous predecessors: Andrzej Panufnik. But we’ll be looking to the future too, welcoming some of the most exciting new conductors in the world today, and celebrating the 40th anniversary of our Chorus, the 20th anniversary of our Youth and Children’s Choruses, and the 10th anniversary of our Youth Orchestra with an old favourite, Holst’s The Planets and new music by James MacMillan and Mark Anthony Turnage. We’re lucky to have some of the finest musicians in the world – young and old – in Birmingham, and in my last season here, I have simply one thing to ask of you: come and hear them. You’ll realise that the future of musicmaking in this great city couldn’t be in better hands.

Contents

Cover and p3 images © Matt Cant www.mattcant.com

Season Highlights Let us Guide You Summer 2014 Concerts Concert Programme 2014–2015 Pre-concert Talks Concerts by Coach What’s on this Season Support the CBSO Welcoming Families Ways to Save Ticket Prices Accessibility Booking Information

Above: Caroline Simon, Tutti Second Violin Front cover: Graham Sibley, Principal Tuba

4 6 8 10 44 45 46 48 50 52 54 55 55

Symphonic Selection Save up to 30% when you buy 3 or more concerts See p52 for details box office 0121 345 0499 book online www.cbso.co.uk booking form page 56

Season Highlights For the CBSO, every concert is a special occasion. But here are a few of the things that we’re particularly looking forward to this season. Choral Masterworks The CBSO is more than just an orchestra, and our “unpaid professional” choruses are recognised as some of the finest in the world. They’ll be giving the UK premiere of James MacMillan’s St Luke Passion – co-commissioned to celebrate this year’s 40th anniversary of the CBSO Chorus – and then raising the roof again in Janácˇek’s uproarious, life-affirming Glagolitic Mass. Feeling inspired? Then come and have a go yourself, as our acclaimed chorus director Simon Halsey invites all comers to sing along with Mozart’s Requiem. Concerts for Families No-one forgets the first time they ever heard a live orchestra - and we’re determined to make that moment special. Our Family Concerts are specially devised for the young (and young-at-heart), with fun pre-concert activities, lively presenters, and of course, great classical music, played by the full CBSO. Our Notelets concerts, in the informal setting of CBSO Centre, bring the orchestra and the music down to a friendly size for audiences who aren’t quite big enough yet for Symphony Hall (but are getting there!). Parents, grandparents, uncles and aunties: it’s the perfect way to share your love of music with the children in your life. CBSO Youth Orchestra Want to hear the future of classical music? Our 110-piece CBSO Youth Orchestra redefines what young people can achieve with every concert it plays. “These young players are invincible,” declared one critic. “It doesn’t get much better than this,” exclaimed another. This season, it celebrates its 10th anniversary with two electrifying programmes: Edward Gardner conducts Lutoslawski’s Fourth Symphony, and Ben Gernon – the former CBSO Youth Orchestra tuba player who now conducts the Los

Angeles Philharmonic – leads a celebratory performance of Holst’s The Planets plus the UK premiere of Mark Anthony Turnage’s Passchendaele, specially written for our superb young players. Inspirational. Friday Night Classics Here at the CBSO, we love all good music - whatever the style. And Friday nights are when we get to let our hair down with a different kind of classic! Songs from the shows, big-band swing, symphonic rock and those classical tunes you’ve heard on the TV but can’t quite place - they’re all here, served up with style in the fabulous acoustic of Symphony Hall. This year we salute the songs of the ‘60s, the West End’s greatest hits and the legend of Ella Fitzgerald - and Queen! Never heard Bohemian Rhapsody played by a full symphony orchestra? You haven’t lived! Centre Stage It might just be Birmingham’s bestkept musical secret - the friendly series of lunchtime concerts that the CBSO players themselves put on in the informal surroundings of CBSO Centre on Berkley Street. The atmosphere is relaxed, light lunches are available in the bar beforehand, and there’s nothing quite like hearing a small group of musicians sharing the music they love. This season includes Schubert’s Trout Quintet, Brahms’s Clarinet Quintet, and magical discoveries by Korngold, Panufnik and Penderecki. And Baiba Skride, Nikolai Lugansky and Andrew Litton will be dropping by too! All are welcome: join us at the CBSO’s home to discover why they call chamber music “the music of friends”. Centre Stage is supported by

Beethoven Symphonies The nine symphonies of Ludwig van Beethoven are more than just music they’re landmarks of western culture, each one opening up whole new universes of sound and emotion. After Beethoven, music was changed forever - and when Andris Nelsons and the CBSO played all nine over the course of the 2012–13 season, audiences were left gasping for breath. “It was clear something remarkable had taken place,” declared The Observer. There’s no more thrilling way for Andris Nelsons to launch his final season with the CBSO - this time, performing all nine symphonies over just one week. It’ll be intense - but it’ll be unforgettable.

Everything we play in Birmingham is part of a story that stretches back nearly a century. As the CBSO approaches its 100th birthday in 2020, we’ve been exploring the music of the decade 1910–20: ten years that defined the modern world. This season we reach 1914–15, and discover the haunting music that Elgar wrote during the Great War, the spectacular Three Pieces by Alban Berg, and the ravishing, fragrant beauty that Manuel de Falla created out of a world in chaos. Not forgetting Gustav Holst’s The Planets - as powerful today as it was back when Holst first imagined it, in that fateful summer of 1914.

Let us Guide You Classical music can evoke all kinds of feelings and emotions, so whether you want to relax and soothe your soul, feel your heart pounding and shivers running down your spine, or simply share a fun night out, we’ve got the performances for you. Look out for the flags throughout the brochure, to help you find your perfect choice of concerts.

With Symphonic Blockbusters There’s no loudspeaker or set of headphones in the world that can beat hearing music the way it was meant to be heard: played live and coming from the performer straight to your ears. Our season is full of sounds you won’t believe: massive choruses singing their hearts out in Beethoven and Janácˇek, the intergalactic mystery of Holst’s The Planets, and Gustav Mahler letting rip with a full 100-piece orchestra in three blockbuster symphonies. In the stunning acoustic of Birmingham’s world-famous Symphony Hall, it’ll bowl you over!

Raise the Roof

With Amazing Music Here at the CBSO, we’re passionate about all music - and we know that some of the best things in life aren’t always the most obvious. We’ve rediscovered some classics that you might have forgotten: the glittering symphony composed by the father of film music, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, and the heartfelt music of our former principal conductor Andrzej Panufnik. And we’ve asked composers like James MacMillan and Ryan Wigglesworth to bring us something entirely new. There’s a whole universe of great music out there - let us share it with you.

Discover

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Celebrate and Share

With Family and Friends It’s all about entertainment - and if you join us on a Friday night, we’ll throw a musical party specially for you! Want to hear the biggest West End hits without leaving Birmingham? Fancy a good old Christmas singalong or a classic Viennese waltz? A night at the opera without the fuss? Or how about the music from your favourite films and TV shows? We’ve got them all, performed with style - and did we mention our symphonic tribute to Queen? You’d better believe it: we will rock you!

Pure Emotion

With the Great Romantics You can’t have music without emotion, and the great classical composers poured out their very hearts. Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony sweeps from volcanic rage to glorious triumph, Elgar’s Cello Concerto expresses the private sadness of a nation, and Rachmaninov sings some of the most passionate love-songs in all music. And Richard Strauss’s Don Quixote proves that you’re allowed to laugh, too. A concert is a time outside of everyday life - so listen to the music and let it all come out.

Relax and Revitalise

With our Classical Collection We all need to unwind from time to time and no music is as calming and refreshing as classical music. The great composers realised it too: from the country minibreak of Beethoven’s serene Pastoral Symphony to the pure mountain air of Bruckner’s Seventh. Haydn and Dvorˇák raise a smile, and Brahms’s Second Symphony brings summer sunshine to the cloudiest of days. Take a seat, let the Orchestra take the strain, and discover the music that creates your own personal corner of heaven.

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Friday 4 July, 7.30pm

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Friday Night Classics: New York, New York A Gershwin and Bernstein Gala

Saturday 12 July, 7.30pm Warwick Castle

Warwick Castle 1,100th Anniversary Summer Proms

Martin Yates - Conductor Victor Sangiorgio - Piano West End vocalists Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue • Summertime I’ll Build a Stairway to Paradise Girl Crazy: Overture • Swanee I’ve Got a Crush on You Our Love is Here to Stay Promenade (Walking the Dog) Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off The Man I Love • Fascinatin’ Rhythm Bernstein West Side Story: Mambo | Tonight | Something’s Coming | Somewhere | A Boy Like That Candide: Overture On the Town: Lonely Town | Carried Away | Times Square 1944 | I Can Cook Too | Some Other Time | New York, New York Wonderful Town: A Little Bit in Love | One Hundred Easy Ways to Lose A Man New York, New York! George Gershwin wrote the soundtrack to the Jazz Age Big Apple. Lennie Bernstein turned its mean streets into thrilling song and dance. Together, they add up to one fabulous night out on the Fourth of July in the greatest city on earth... Birmingham, of course! We’re talking songs like Summertime and Fascinatin’ Rhythm, and shows like West Side Story and On the Town, not forgetting the theme tune of Manhattan itself, Rhapsody in Blue. So let’s go - it’s a helluva town!

Jae Alexander - Conductor Janet Mooney - Soprano John Hudson - Tenor Gather your friends and family, prepare your picnic and join us for a spectacular evening of superb music and incredible fireworks as we celebrate Warwick Castle’s 1,100th birthday. Jae Alexander conducts the Orchestra in a programme of popular classics, film themes and all the flag-waving favourites of the ‘Last Night of the Proms’. Gates open at 6pm, concert starts at 7.30pm and will finish at approximately 10pm with a firework finale. Tickets available from www.warwickconcerts.com

Produced in association with West End International Ltd.

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Saturday 26 July, 7pm Town Hall, Birmingham

PURE EMOTION

Wagner and Elgar

www.AlexLipp.de

Strauss and Beethoven: CBSO Youth Orchestra Academy

“These marvellous young players are invincible” The Birmingham Post

Andris Nelsons - Conductor Klaus Florian Vogt - Tenor Wagner Parsifal - Good Friday Music 12’ Act 2 Soliloquy 7’ Act 3: Nur eine Waffe taugt 6’ Lohengrin - Prelude to Act 3 3’ Lohengrin’s Soliloquy and Grail Narration 12’ Elgar Symphony No. 2 54’

Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony blew classical music sky-high. Richard Strauss’s Metamorphosen is a cry of anguish in a world devastated by madness. This is music of extremes: ardent, eloquent, and pulsing with emotion - in other words, perfect for the 50 committed young musicians of the superb CBSO Youth Orchestra Academy. Kodály’s fiery Transylvanian dances light the touchpaper: prepare to be blown away.

“Here, time becomes space...” Wagner’s Parsifal is like no other opera, and today Andris Nelsons and the CBSO make their first journey into its enchanted world: a realm of sublime passion, transcendent grandeur and music that glows from within. This should be very special indeed, and it’s a ravishing upbeat to Elgar’s mighty Second Symphony: music of epic vision, secret sorrow and beauty that’ll break your heart.

Michael Seal - Conductor Kodály Dances of Marosszék Strauss Metamorphosen Beethoven Symphony No. 3 (Eroica)

PURE EMOTION

Monday 25 August, 7.30pm

12’ 26’ 47’

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Tuesday 16 September, 7.30pm

PURE EMOTION

Beethoven Week: The Eroica

Thursday 18 September, 2.15pm

PURE EMOTION

Beethoven Week: The Fifth Symphony © Marco Borggreve

Andris Nelsons - Conductor Beethoven Symphony No. 1 Beethoven Symphony No. 2 Beethoven Symphony No. 3 (Eroica)

25’ 34’ 47’

The symphonies of Ludwig van Beethoven are the greatest journey any conductor and orchestra can take together, and tonight, Andris Nelsons and the CBSO begin that adventure once more. The first two symphonies are the sound of a young genius stretching his wings and then, with the two mighty chords that open the Eroica, changing music forever. They’ll knock you backwards.

Andris Nelsons - Conductor Beethoven Symphony No. 4 Beethoven Symphony No. 5

32’ 36’

“Thus Fate knocks at the door!” Everyone’s heard the first four notes of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, but if that’s all you’ve heard, you’re in for a thrilling surprise, as Andris Nelsons’ Beethoven cycle arrives at the most famous symphony of all time. Prepare to be electrified - and to be delighted by the Fifth’s prettier, funnier little sister: the joyous Fourth Symphony. FREE pre-concert performance - see p44.

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Saturday 20 September, 7pm

RELAX & REVITALISE

Beethoven Week: The Pastoral

Beethoven Week: The Choral Symphony 40’ 36’

From spring-fresh opening to serene finish, there’s no experience in music more lifeaffirming than Beethoven’s lovely Pastoral Symphony. And there’s none more gloriously, exuberantly, physical than his unstoppable Seventh - the piece that made even Richard Wagner get up and dance! Andris Nelsons’ journey through Beethoven’s symphonies reaches two of the most enduringly popular masterpieces in all music. FREE pre-concert performance - see p44.

Andris Nelsons - Conductor Beethoven Symphony No. 6 (Pastoral) Beethoven Symphony No. 7

RAISE THE ROOF

Sunday 21 September, 7pm

Andris Nelsons - Conductor Annette Dasch - Soprano Lioba Braun - Mezzo-soprano Ben Johnson - Tenor Vuyani Mlinde - Bass CBSO Chorus Beethoven Symphony No. 8 Beethoven Symphony No. 9 (Choral)

27’ 67’

Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony is the summit of any Beethoven cycle - and some might say, the whole of classical music. But there’s a lifetime of experience to live through before we get to that final, transcendent Ode To Joy, and Beethoven’s explosive little Eighth Symphony launches a concert that’s sure to be one of the most talked-about events in Birmingham this year.

The complete Beethoven Week

FREE pre-concert talk - see p44.

Book all four Beethoven Week concerts and get the matinée on 18 September FREE*. Book online at www.cbso.co.uk/packages or call 0121 345 0499. * Full price tickets only; to qualify you must book the same number of tickets and will be allocated the same seats for each concert.

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Wednesday 24 September, 7.30pm

DISCOVER

Thursday 2 October, 7.30pm

RELAX & REVITALISE

Romantic Journeys

Panufnik Centenary

When Andrzej Panufnik escaped from communist Poland, Britain offered him a home - and so it was that one of Europe’s greatest post-war composers became principal conductor of the CBSO. Tonight, on what would have been his 100th birthday, we celebrate with some of the music Panufnik conducted in Birmingham, and two of his own finest works: as fresh and communicative today as when he conducted them here himself. Supported by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute as part of Polska Music programme

Michael Seal - Conductor Peter Donohoe - Piano Stravinsky Greeting Prelude 1’ Beethoven Leonore Overture No. 3 14’ Panufnik Piano Concerto 24’ Wagner Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan 18’ and Isolde Panufnik Symphony No. 2 (Sinfonia Elegiaca) 24’

Ryan Wigglesworth - Conductor/Piano Sarah Tynan - Soprano Sibelius The Oceanides

10’

Mozart Piano Concerto No. 9, K. 271 (Jeunehomme)

31’

Wigglesworth Augenlieder

16’

Debussy La mer

23’

Mozart composed, directed and performed his own music. So does the remarkable young British musician Ryan Wigglesworth, and the 21-year old Mozart’s lively piano concerto is just one of the delightful waypoints on tonight’s musical voyage of discovery: a concert that begins on Sibelius’s sunlit Mediterranean and ends in Debussy’s storm-tossed English Channel - by way of Wigglesworth’s own, glittering homage to the Romantics.

FREE pre-concert talk - see p44. FREE pre-concert talk - see p44.

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Wednesday 8 October, 7.30pm & Thursday 9 October, 2.15pm

RELAX & REVITALISE

Bruch’s Violin Concerto

Thursday 16 October, 7.30pm

DISCOVER

Bartók Uncovered © Jesper Lindgren

Vassily Sinaisky - Conductor Laurence Jackson - Violin Smetana Má vlast - Vltava • Sˇárka Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1 Dvorˇák Symphony No. 8

22’ 25’ 38’

Autumn sunshine: cellos and horns sing a quiet hymn, a bird sings cheerfully, and in a flurry of drums and trumpets, Dvorˇák’s Eighth Symphony is on its way. Symphonies simply don’t get much happier than this - and violin concertos don’t get much more popular than Bruch’s First, performed by the CBSO’s leader, Laurence Jackson. Smetana’s tuneful trip down the River Vltava starts our journey today.

Centre Stage at CBSO Centre

Edward Gardner - Conductor Paul Rissmann - Presenter An introduction to Bartók Concerto for Orchestra 45’ Brahms Three Hungarian Dances 12’ Bartók Concerto for Orchestra 35’ Exiled to America, Béla Bartók re-invented himself, and his Concerto for Orchestra is far more than just one of the most entertaining showpieces ever created for a great symphony orchestra. In this specially-devised concert, presenter Paul Rissmann uses illustrations, anecdotes and the full CBSO to unlock the puzzles, secrets and not-soprivate jokes of this 20th century landmark before Edward Gardner conducts a complete live performance.

Friday 10 October, 1.10pm CBSO Players Schubert Quintet in A (The Trout)

Friday 17 October, 1.10pm CBSO Players Schubert Quintet in A (The Trout) Relaxed performance: allowing individuals with a learning disability, Autism Spectrum Condition or sensory/communication disorders to access live music in a less formal concert setting.

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Saturday 18 October, 3pm

RAISE THE ROOF

Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra

Wednesday 22 October, 7.30pm

RELAX & REVITALISE

Mediterranean Classics

12’ 16’ 21’ 35’

Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra begins in darkness, and ends with a shout of joy. In between comes the ultimate work-out for orchestra: 40 minutes of zingy tunes, fabulous colours and raw feeling. It’s the ear-tingling climax to a concert filled with fireworks, whether Brahms’s playful dances, or a terrific young pianist dancing with the devil in Liszt’s white-hot First Concerto. FREE pre-concert talk - see p44. Evening prices apply, see p54.

Centre Stage at CBSO Centre Thursday 23 October, 1.10pm CBSO Players Beethoven String Quartet in G, Op.18 No. 2 Borodin String Quartet No. 2

Edward Gardner - Conductor Louis Schwizgebel - Piano Brahms Three Hungarian Dances Bartók Dance Suite Liszt Piano Concerto No. 1 Bartók Concerto for Orchestra

Alain Altinoglu - Conductor Renaud Capuçon - Viola Rossini An Italian Girl in Algiers - Overture Berlioz Harold in Italy Stravinsky Apollo Ravel Daphnis et Chloé - Suite No. 2

8’ 42’ 29’ 16’

Pirates of the Mediterranean, hard-drinking bandits, and Greek gods who know how to party... just another night in with the CBSO! The French conductor Alain Altinoglu caused quite a stir last season; tonight he’s devised a concert with a Mediterranean flavour, from Berlioz’s Byronic fantasy to the Olympian grace of Stravinsky’s art-deco ballet, and the sensuous, shiver-down-the-spine beauty of Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé. Pure hedonism: go on, indulge! FREE pre-concert performance - see p44.

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Friday 24 October, 7.30pm

Friday Night Classics: TV and Advert Classics

Sunday 26 October, 2.30pm

Family Concert: Cartoon Classics

Michael Seal Conductor Susana Gaspar Soprano Kitty Whately Mezzo-soprano Prokofiev Montagues and Capulets Bach Orchestral Suite No. 3 - Air

Hamlet

Sibelius Karelia Suite - Intermezzo Bellini Casta Diva

The Apprentice

This Week

Jean-Paul Gaultier

Grieg In the Hall of the Mountain King Délibes Lakmé - Flower Duet Coates The Dam Busters

Carling Black Label

Rossini William Tell - Overture Wagner Ride of the Valkyries

The Lone Ranger

British Gas

Bucalossi Grasshopper’s Dance

Milk

Khachaturian Spartacus - Adagio Arnold English Dance No. 1

The Onedin Line

What the Papers Say

Handel Rinaldo - Lascia Ch’io Pianga Offenbach Barcarolle

Ravel Boléro

Harrods

Audi

Verdi The Force of Destiny - Overture Sousa Liberty Bell

Alton Towers

British Airways

Stella Artois

Monty Python

Dancing on Ice

Ever heard something good on the telly and wondered where it came from? The answer’s probably here as Michael Seal and the CBSO present a whole evening of musical channelsurfing. And whether you know these tunes from Monty Python, The Apprentice or the Hamlet ad – or as classics by Bach, Prokofiev, Verdi and Ravel – we guarantee you one thing: they’ll sound even better in Symphony Hall!

Michael Seal - Conductor Naomi Wilkinson - Presenter What’s up, doc? You might not realise it but if you’re a fan of The Simpsons, The Incredibles or Bugs Bunny, you’ve probably heard enough classical music to fill a concert! And this is that concert: one hour full of looney tunes, silly symphonies and merry melodies for the whole family. Well-known classics including The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, William Tell Overture, Ride of the Valkyries, Blue Danube Waltz and many more are brought to life by Naomi Wilkinson of Channel 5’s Milkshake and CBBC fame and the 80 distinctly animated musicians of the CBSO! FREE workshops in the foyers from 1pm.

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Wednesday 29 October, 2.15pm & Thursday 30 October, 7.30pm

PURE EMOTION

Nelsons conducts Strauss and Brahms

Sunday 2 November, 7pm

RAISE THE ROOF

The Planets: CBSO Youth Orchestra

Strauss Don Quixote

40’

Brahms Symphony No. 1

45’

Battling windmills, flying horses and a very angry herd of sheep... Richard Strauss’s warm-hearted take on the tale of Don Quixote is one of music’s all-time comic masterpieces. Brahms’s First Symphony is made of sterner stuff - but it still tells an epic story of tragedy and hope, crowned by one of the noblest tunes ever written. Andris Nelsons will give it his all. FREE pre-concert talk on 29 October - see p44. The annual Patrons’ Reception takes place at the concert on 30 October. For information, contact Claire Watts on 0121 616 6533.

Andris Nelsons - Conductor Eduardo Vassallo - Cello Christopher Yates - Viola

Ben Gernon - Conductor John Mark Ainsley - Tenor CBSO Youth Chorus Turnage Passchendaele (CBSO co-commission - UK premiere)

10’

Vaughan Williams On Wenlock Edge

23’

Holst The Planets (including Matthews Pluto)

54’

Since 2004, the CBSO’s world-class Youth Orchestra has been pushing back the frontiers of what young musicians can achieve. Tonight, in a special 10th anniversary celebration, CBSO Youth Orchestra alumnus Ben Gernon conducts our superb young players in Holst’s spectacular The Planets, and unwraps a unique birthday present: a powerful new work, inspired by the year 1914, from one of Britain’s greatest living composers.

FREE pre-concert talk - see p44. Turnage’s Passchendaele has been commissioned with support from an anonymous donor through the New Music Fund, see p49.

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Thursday 6 November, 7.30pm

PURE EMOTION

War and Peace

Wednesday 12 November, 7.30pm & Thursday 13 November, 2.15pm

RELAX & REVITALISE

Russian Classics

6’

Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 4

34’

Prokofiev Symphony No. 5

46’

Composed in wartime Russia and premiered to the sound of gunfire, Prokofiev’s Fifth was considered by the composer to be a “symphony of the greatness of the human spirit”. But, like his opera War and Peace, it’s also a stirring chronicle of a nation’s final push to victory. They’ll make a powerful Birmingham debut for the award-winning young conductor Lahav Shani; between them, Beethoven’s Fourth Piano Concerto will be an oasis of calm.

Centre Stage at CBSO Centre Friday 7 November, 1.10pm Rainer Gibbons (oboe) and CBSO Players Crusell Divertimento in C, Op. 9 Finzi Interlude for oboe and strings, Op. 21 Bax Oboe Quintet 17

Lahav Shani - Conductor Francesco Piemontesi - Piano Prokofiev War and Peace - Overture

Gustavo Gimeno - Conductor Simon Trpcˇeski - Piano Tchaikovsky Romeo and Juliet Overture 21’ Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 3 28’ Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 2 (Little Russian) 33’ No composer puts on a show quite like Tchaikovsky - whether it’s the world’s most famous love theme in his Romeo and Juliet overture, or the high-kicking, vodka-fuelled festivities that close his shamelessly tuneful “Little Russian” Symphony. In his CBSO debut, the energetic young Spanish conductor Gustavo Gimeno should get the pulse racing - and joins Birmingham favourite Simon Trpcˇeski in Prokofiev’s best-loved piano concerto. FREE pre-concert performance on 12 November - see p44. The 13 November concert is followed by a Members’ Afternoon Tea with Gustavo Gimeno. For information, contact Claire Watts on 0121 616 6533.

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Sunday 16 November, 3pm

DISCOVER

Michael Seal - Conductor Dudley-Yamaha International Piano Competition Finalists For nearly 50 years, the Dudley-Yamaha International Piano Competition has been one of the UK’s leading piano competitions - and with past competitors including Paul Lewis, Peter Donohoe and Joanna MacGregor, it has a real knack for discovering the keyboard stars of tomorrow. Today’s concerto final pits three superb young pianists against each other in three full-scale concertos; whoever wins, this should be an afternoon of really electrifying music-making. Come and share the thrills. 2014 Jury: John Humphreys • Mark Bebbington Peter Donohoe • Mikhail Kazakevich Paul Lewis • Noriko Ogawa Siva Oke • Lucy Parham Martin Roscoe • Allan Schiller Michael Seal • Andrew Wilde

RELAX & REVITALISE

Spirit of 1945 © Benjamin Ealovega

The Final: Dudley-Yamaha International Piano Competition

Wednesday 19 November, 7.30pm

Nicholas Collon - Conductor François Leleux - Oboe Britten Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes Copland Appalachian Spring Strauss Oboe Concerto Shostakovich Symphony No. 9

16’ 24’ 26’ 27’

1945: year zero. In the USSR, Shostakovich blew a raspberry at Uncle Joe Stalin. In America, Copland conjured a magical picture of lost innocence. In Germany, Richard Strauss was also retreating from the horrors of wartime into an idealised classical past. And in Wolverhampton, Benjamin Britten rehearsed an opera that would change the face of British music. A musical portrait of an extraordinary time - conducted by one of the most dynamic young conductors of our own day. FREE pre-concert talk - see p44.

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Friday 21 November, 7.30pm

CELEBRATE & SHARE

Friday Night Classics: Songs from the Sixties

Wouldn’t you like to ride in our beautiful balloon? There’s never been a decade quite like the 60s - and tonight, the CBSO and an all-star West End cast get down and groovy with the songs that defined a generation.

RELAX & REVITALISE

Nelsons conducts Bruckner’s Seventh © Sim Canetty-Clarke

Richard Balcombe Conductor Mary Carewe Vocalist Abbie Osmon Vocalist Alison Jiear - Vocalist Graham Bickley - Vocalist Up, Up and Away • Happy Together Monday Monday/California Dreamin’ Music to Watch the Girls Go By • At Last Downtown • You’re My World I Only Want To Be With You • MacArthur Park Everlasting Love • Something Stupid Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In • Alfie 60s TV Themes (from Thunderbirds / Avengers / Mission Impossible / Star Trek / Aqua Marina) The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life? Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps • I Close My Eyes

Thursday 27 November, 2.15pm & Saturday 29 November, 7pm

Andris Nelsons - Conductor Stephen Hough - Piano Schumann Piano Concerto Bruckner Symphony No. 7

31’ 64’

Imagine a symphony played by an angel. That’s how Anton Bruckner first dreamed of the blissful opening melody of his Seventh Symphony - and when you hear it, you’ll understand why: this is music that scales sublime heights and heartrending depths. For Andris Nelsons, it’s a labour of love; so he begins by teaming up with the incomparable Stephen Hough in Schumann’s ever-fresh love-poem of a Piano Concerto.

Presented in association with GRB Concerts.

FREE pre-concert talk on 27 November - see p44.

Centre Stage at CBSO Centre Friday 21 November, 1.10pm CBSO Players Panufnik String Quartet No. 3 (Wycinanki) Mozart String Quartet in D, K.575 19

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CBSO Chorus members Allen Roberts, Beth Clay and Clare Noakes

Thursday 4 December, 7.30pm

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MacMillan’s St Luke Passion

26’ 60’

James MacMillan has been called the greatest British composer since Britten, and his music is urgent, melodious, and burning to communicate. The UK premiere of his St Luke Passion – co-commissioned for the 40th anniversary of the CBSO Chorus – is a major event, and with the composer himself conducting our famous choruses, this is a chance to experience musical history in the making. FREE pre-concert talk - see p44. This concert also forms part of the Birmingham International Concert Season. It can be booked as part of a CBSO or Birmingham International Concert Season concert package.

Notelets: Christmas Crackers © Nicole Frost

James MacMillan Conductor Toby Spence Tenor Richard Watkins Horn CBSO Chorus CBSO Youth Chorus Britten Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings MacMillan St Luke Passion (CBSO co-commission: UK premiere)

Friday 5 December, 10.30am & 1.30pm Saturday 6 December, 11am, 1.30pm & 3.30pm - CBSO Centre

CBSO Brass Ensemble Catherine Arlidge - Presenter What better Christmas gift for the youngest members of the family than this special toddler-friendly Christmas concert at CBSO Centre? Join members of the CBSO brass section for some festive musical treats bringing seasonal fun to this magical time of year. Each concert lasts 45 minutes and there will be lively presentation, lots to see, and plenty of chances for fidgety feet to dance their way through the concert. FREE craft activities take place from an hour before each concert. At the end there is also a chance to meet the musicians and see their instruments close up.

Centre Stage at CBSO Centre Thursday 4 December, 1.10pm Trio Severn (Zoë Beyers violin, David Powell cello, Robert Markham piano) Schubert Nocturne Arensky Piano Trio in D minor, Op.32 21

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Wednesday 10 December, 2.15pm & Saturday 13 December, 7pm

PURE EMOTION

Elgar’s Enigma Variations © Benjamin Ealovega

Andrew Litton - Conductor James Ehnes - Violin Britten Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge Walton Violin Concerto Elgar Enigma Variations

27’ 28’ 31’

Elgar dedicated his Enigma Variations to “my friends pictured within”, and if all you know of them is Nimrod, you’re about to meet some of the most engaging characters in British music. Guest conductor Andrew Litton begins with Britten’s playful salute to a well-loved teacher, and James Ehnes scales the gleaming heights of Walton’s dazzling Art Deco violin concerto. FREE pre-concert talk on 10 December - see p44.

Friday 19 December, 7.30pm Sunday 21 December, 3pm & 7.30pm Monday 22 December, 7.30pm

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Festive Favourites with Hugh Dennis

Simon Halsey - Conductor Hugh Dennis - Presenter CBSO Chorus, CBSO Youth Chorus CBSO Children’s Chorus, CBSO Young Voices CBSO SO Vocal Christmas is a time for the family, and as we bring together our family of musicians for favourite tunes and carols, humorous readings, and a chance to join in and sing along, we’ll get your festive season off to a really heart-warming start. Hugh Dennis, star of Outnumbered, hosts this great Birmingham Christmas tradition, but the CBSO’s famous choruses are the real stars of the show. The CBSO Youth Chorus and Children’s Chorus sing with the CBSO Chorus in the evenings, whilst our acclaimed community choirs CBSO SO Vocal and Young Voices team up with the CBSO Chorus on Sunday afternoon. Christmas prices apply, see p54.

Centre Stage at CBSO Centre

Friday 12 December, 1.10pm Andrew Litton (piano) & CBSO Players Programme to include: Brahms Horn Trio Op. 40

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Monday 22 December, 1.10pm Berkley Salon Ensemble CBSO Youth Chorus A Palm Court Christmas Party! 22

Sunday 4 January, 3pm

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The Magic of Vienna

There’s no need to go to Vienna to toast the New Year - raise a musical glass of bubbly with us right here in Birmingham. There’ll be waltzes as sweet as cream cakes, polkas that sparkle like champagne, and all the tunes you love. Sit back and let us do the dancing for you! Christmas prices apply, see p54.

PURE EMOTION

Rachmaninov’s Third Piano Concerto © Marco Borggreve / Naïve-Ambroisie

Duncan Ward - Conductor Kate Royal - Soprano Strauss The Gypsy Baron - Overture Strauss Music of the Spheres Waltz Strauss Helenen-Quadrille Délibes Sylvia - Pizzicati Mozart Arias from Così fan tutte and The Marriage of Figaro Strauss Éljen a Magyar! Polka Strauss Artist’s Life Strauss Die Fledermaus - Overture R. Strauss Capriccio - Moonlight Music Strauss Emperor Waltz Strauss Bahn Frei! Polka Strauss Tritsch-Tratsch Polka Strauss Blue Danube Waltz

Thursday 8 January, 7.30pm & Saturday 10 January, 3pm

Alexander Vedernikov - Conductor Nikolai Lugansky - Piano Rachmaninov Vocalise Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 3 Tchaikovsky Suite No. 3

6’ 44’ 41’

It’s been called the “Everest of piano concertos”, and it’s true - for difficulty, grandeur and pure heart-on-sleeve romance, Rachmaninov’s Third Concerto is hard to top. Nikolai Lugansky, an old friend here in Birmingham, takes on that challenge today, and former Bolshoi music director Alexander Vedernikov brings all his theatrical flair to Tchaikovsky’s delightful Third Suite - half ballet, half symphony: all Tchaikovsky. FREE pre-concert talk on 8 January - see p44. 10 January - evening prices apply, see p54.

Friday 9 January, 1.10pm Nikolai Lugansky (piano) & CBSO Players Programme to include: Brahms Piano Trio No. 2 in C Op. 87 23

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Wednesday 14 January, 2.15pm & Saturday 17 January, 7pm

RELAX & REVITALISE

Schubert’s Great © Felix Broede

David Afkham Conductor Brett Polegato Baritone Beethoven Overture, Coriolan (14 Jan) 8’ Webern Passacaglia, Op. 1 (17 Jan) Mahler Songs of a Wayfarer Schubert Symphony No. 9 (The Great)

Schools Concerts: The CBSO’s Guide to the Orchestra Michael Seal - Conductor Alasdair Malloy - Presenter Prokofiev Montagues and Capulets

11’ 14’ 57’

There’s nothing in all music to compare with Schubert’s monumental Ninth Symphony. Some hear it as a challenge to Beethoven, others hear it as a summer journey through a sunlit world of melody. Either way, it’s a wonderful Birmingham debut for the charismatic young German conductor David Afkham, and a magical complement to Mahler’s ever-fresh Songs of a Wayfarer. FREE pre-concert talk on 14 January - see p44.

Tuesday 20 January, 11.30am & 1.30pm & Friday 23 January, 11am & 1pm

Vivaldi The Four Seasons - Spring John Williams Harry Potter: Nimbus 2000 Mozart Symphony No. 41 (Jupiter) - excerpt Copland Fanfare for the Common Man Beethoven Symphony No. 5 - excerpt Stravinsky Infernal Dance from Firebird Suite Plus a chart topper and music from a computer game What sound does a piccolo make? Why is a double bass so huge? And do they really need quite so many violins? Join presenter Alasdair Malloy as he explores music from Mozart to Harry Potter, in a concert specially devised for Key Stage 3 students. With the help of conductor Michael Seal and the full City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, he’ll explain how it all works. CBSO Schools programme supported by

Centre Stage at CBSO Centre Thursday 15 January, 1.10pm CBSO Players R. Strauss Capriccio - prelude Korngold String Sextet

The CBSO is working with the Birmingham Music Education Partnership to enable all Year 7 children in Birmingham schools to experience the CBSO live in Symphony Hall.

Thursday 22 January, 1.10pm Kaleidoscope Ensemble Brahms Clarinet Quintet Box Office 0121 345 0499 Book Online www.cbso.co.uk

Thursday 22 January, 7.30pm

PURE EMOTION

Spanish Night

Josep Pons - Conductor Maria Toledo - Alto Javier Perianes - Piano Ravel Rapsodie espagnole Falla El amor brujo Falla Nights in the Gardens of Spain Ravel Boléro

Singalong with the CBSO: Mozart’s Requiem

15’ 40’ 24’ 15’

“Something more than festivals and dances has inspired these evocations in sound,” said Manuel de Falla, “for melancholy and mystery also have their part.” In the latest instalment of the CBSO:2020 project, two fiercely poetic scores from 1915 reveal the Spain that musical tourists never see - though in the hands of the great Spanish conductor Josep Pons, Ravel’s Boléro will never have sounded more authentic!

FREE pre-concert performance - see p44. This concert has been made possible with the generous support of the Friends of the CBSO. The annual Friends’ Reception takes place before the concert. For information contact Claire Watts on 0121 616 6533.

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Sunday 25 January, 7pm

Simon Halsey - Conductor CBSO Chorus Mozart Requiem

45’

Ever wondered what it’s like to sing live at Symphony Hall with the full CBSO? Now’s your chance to find out, in this one-off performance from scratch of Mozart’s Requiem. And whether you’re a choral society veteran or have only ever sung in the shower, you’re welcome to rehearse and perform it today, under the CBSO’s world-famous chorus director Simon Halsey. Singer information: rehearsals start at 1.30pm; details will be sent with singer tickets. Scores: we will be using the Novello edition. To hire a score with Simon Halsey’s rehearsal markings, purchase the Singer & Score Hire ticket when booking. NB If you’re not bringing your own score, pre-booking score hire is essential. Collect your pre-booked score on the day.

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Wednesday 28 January, 7.30pm

DISCOVER

American Classics with Freddy Kempf

Friday 30 January, 7.30pm

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Friday Night Classics: Best of the West End © Neda Navaee

Michael Seal - Conductor Freddy Kempf - Piano Bernstein Divertimento Gershwin Piano Concerto in F Korngold Symphony in F sharp

14’ 29’ 53’

A symphony from the New World... with a difference. Mahler declared Erich Korngold a genius, but Hitler had other ideas - and from exile in California, Korngold poured out all his hopes and sorrows in 53 minutes of grand, heartbroken passion. It’s a wonderful counterpart to Bernstein’s hilarious Divertimento and the irresistible jazz-age melodies of Gershwin’s “skyscraper concerto”, played by one of Britain’s favourite pianists.

Michael England - Conductor West End star vocalists including Jacqui Scott and Scott Davies Want to take in a show? Tonight the CBSO brings the West End’s biggest hits – and biggest stars – right here to Birmingham. With songs from The Phantom of the Opera, Les Misérables, Chicago, Mamma Mia!, Wicked and The Lion King, in the stunning sound of Birmingham’s Symphony Hall, there’s no need to go to London - because we’ve already reserved the best seats for you! Produced in association with West End International Ltd

FREE pre-concert talk - see p45.

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David Vines, Principal Bass Trombone

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Sunday 1 February, 2.30pm

Family Concert: Around the World in 80 Minutes

Thursday 5 February, 7.30pm & Saturday 7 February, 3pm

RELAX & REVITALISE

From the Danube to the Rhine © Neil Pugh

Julian Wilkins - Conductor Alasdair Malloy - Presenter CBSO Youth Chorus Birmingham has been called “the world in one city” - and here’s the music to prove it! Presenter Alasdair Malloy, maestro Julian Wilkins, the incredible CBSO Youth Chorus and the full City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra whisk you off on a whistle-stop musical world tour, in this lively afternoon concert for all ages. FREE workshops in the foyers from 1pm.

Centre Stage at CBSO Centre Thursday 5 February, 1.10pm CBSO Players Haydn Quartet in G, Op. 54 No. 1 Schubert Quartet in A minor Op.29 (Rosamunde)

Kazushi Ono - Conductor Marie-Christine Zupancic - Flute Schubert Symphony No. 5 Mozart Flute Concerto in D major Schumann Symphony No. 3 (Rhenish)

26’ 20’ 31’

Schumann’s “Rhenish” symphony opens in a blaze of glory… and ends at a beer festival! There’s never been a more enjoyable way to experience the Rhineland, and you don’t even have to leave your seat in Symphony Hall! First, though, Franz Schubert raises the curtain with a gentle smile - and the CBSO’s own MarieChristine Zupancic brings out the light and shade of Mozart’s jewel-like concerto. 7 February - evening prices apply, see p54. The annual Bequest Patrons’ Reception takes place at the concert on 5 February. For information, contact Claire Watts on 0121 616 6533.

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Wednesday 11 February, 7.30pm

DISCOVER

Shostakovich Uncovered

Andris Nelsons - Conductor Paul Rissmann - Presenter An introduction to Shostakovich Symphony No. 11 40’ Shostakovich Symphony No. 11 60’ (The Year 1905) Shostakovich’s Eleventh Symphony is an epic musical tale of tyranny and revolution - or is it? In this special concert, presenter Paul Rissmann uses illustrations, anecdotes and the full CBSO to explain Shostakovich’s hidden agenda - and unlock the story behind the music. Then Andris Nelsons conducts a full performance of this most gripping of 20th century symphonies. FREE pre-concert performance - see p45.

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Sunday 15 February, 3pm

War and Revolution

Andris Nelsons - Conductor Eleanor Dennis - Soprano Elgar Polonia, Op. 76 Elgar Sospiri, Op. 70 Elgar Une Voix dans le Désert, Op. 77: for Speaker, Soprano & Orchestra Shostakovich Symphony No. 11 (The Year 1905)

13’ 5’ 11’ 64’

War, protest, and a great nation on the brink of revolution: officially, Shostakovich based his mighty Eleventh Symphony on the events of 1905 - but this roof-raising blockbuster of a symphony is still thrillingly relevant today. Back in England, Elgar did current affairs a little differently. Andris Nelsons explores some of the deeply moving music that Britain’s greatest composer wrote in response to the First World War.

Evening prices apply, see p54.

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Thursday 19 February, 2.15pm

RELAX & REVITALISE

Schubert, Strauss & Dvorˇák

Andris Nelsons - Conductor Elspeth Dutch - Horn Schubert Symphony No. 8 (Unfinished) Strauss Horn Concerto No. 2 Dvorˇák Symphony No. 7

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Friday Night Classics: Opera Gala

22’ 20’ 38’

If you enjoy Dvorˇák’s New World Symphony, just imagine the music he wrote when he was happily at home! Dvorˇák’s Seventh is stormy, passionate and filled with the kind of tunes you just can’t stop humming. Andris Nelsons serves it up with Strauss’s bubbly second horn concerto (starring the CBSO’s own Elspeth Dutch), and Schubert’s Eighth: a symphony that couldn’t be more perfect even if he’d finished it. FREE pre-concert talk - see p45.

Friday 20 February, 7.30pm

Stephen Bell Conductor Natalya Romaniw Soprano Peter Wedd Tenor Simon Thorpe Baritone Birmingham University Singers Wagner Lohengrin - Prelude to Act 3 • In Fernem Land Dvorˇák Rusalka - Song to the Moon Rossini The Barber of Seville - Largo Al Factotum Verdi Nabucco - Va Pensiero Mozart Don Giovanni - La Ci Darem La Mano Mozart The Marriage of Figaro - Overture Puccini Madam Butterfly - One Fine Day • The Humming Chorus Verdi Il Trovatore - Anvil Chorus Tchaikovsky Eugene Onegin - Polonaise Gounod Faust - Jewel Song Puccini Manon Lescaut - Intermezzo Bizet Carmen - Flower Song and other extracts Bizet The Pearl Fishers - Duet Leoncavallo I Pagliacci - Si Puo, So Puo? Borodin Prince Igor - Polovtsian Dances Pop songs didn’t begin with the charts operatic composers have been writing them for centuries. Maestro Stephen Bell joins an all-star operatic cast for a whole evening of arias and choruses from Mozart to Puccini. Great tunes, great voices, and pure emotion: don’t forget to bring a hanky!

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Sunday 22 February, 7pm

RAISE THE ROOF

Mahler’s Sixth Symphony © Neil Pugh

Edward Gardner - Conductor Denis Kozhukhin - Piano Lutoslawski Symphony No. 4 Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 1 Mahler Symphony No. 1

20’ 16’ 56’

Mahler’s First Symphony begins by creating the world – and ends by storming Heaven itself. Well, the CBSO Youth Orchestra likes a challenge, and if you’ve heard our inspirational young players before, you’ll know that under the baton of CBSO principal guest conductor Edward Gardner we’re in for something very special indeed. Twentieth century classics by Lutoslawski and Prokofiev raise the curtain with an explosion of colour.

Centre Stage at CBSO Centre

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Mahler’s First Symphony: CBSO Youth Orchestra

Thursday 26 February, 7.30pm

Andris Nelsons - Conductor Berg Three Pieces for Orchestra Mahler Symphony No. 6

20’ 85’

Mahler’s Sixth Symphony portrays an artist crushed by three “hammer blows of fate” - and soon afterwards, three devastating blows reduced Mahler’s own life to ruins. Coincidence? What’s certain is that this is one of the most powerful, and personal, symphonies ever written. Andris Nelsons brings every bar urgently to life - and explores the atmospheric Three Pieces that Mahler’s friend Berg wrote in the second year of the Great War.

FREE pre-concert talk - see p45.

Thursday 26 February, 1.10pm CBSO players Shostakovich Piano Trio No. 1 Mendelssohn Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor 31

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Saturday 28 February, 7pm

RAISE THE ROOF

Mahler’s Sixth Symphony

Thursday 5 March, 7.30pm

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Janácˇek’s Glagolitic Mass © Peter Warren

Andris Nelsons - Conductor Mahler Symphony No. 6

85’

Careful what you wish for. Mahler’s Sixth Symphony portrays an artist destroyed by three mighty “hammer blows of fate” - and soon afterwards, three devastating blows reduced Mahler’s own life to ruins. Well, that’s the legend, anyway; what’s beyond dispute is that Mahler Sixth is one of the most powerful, and personal, symphonies ever written. Andris Nelsons will bring every bar urgently to life.

Edward Gardner - Conductor Luba Orgonášová - Soprano Sarah Connolly - Mezzo-soprano John Daszak - Tenor Clive Bayley - Bass Thomas Trotter - Organ CBSO Chorus Berlioz Roman Carnival Overture Berlioz Les Troyens: Royal Hunt and Storm Berlioz La Mort de Cléopâtre Janácˇek Glagolitic Mass

9’ 10’ 21’ 45’

“The fragrance of the trees was like incense,” declared Leosˇ Janácˇek. “I felt a cathedral grow from a great forest.” And with its jubilant trumpets, thundering organ and raw, unbuttoned lust for life, there’s nothing quite like the Glagolitic Mass. The CBSO Chorus loves to sing it, and Edward Gardner gets the pulse racing straight away, with three barnstorming showpieces by Hector Berlioz. Hold tight! FREE pre-concert talk - see p45. This concert has been made possible with support from an anonymous donor through the Keynote Programming Fund, see p49.

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Friday 6 March, 7.30pm

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Friday Night Classics: 21st Century Blockbusters

Notelets: Move and Groove © Nicole Frost

Michael Seal Conductor Tommy Pearson Presenter Williams Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone Williams Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Shore The Hobbit Zimmer Gladiator Greenwood There Will Be Blood Horner Avatar Williams Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith Rahman Slumdog Millionaire Zimmer Pirates of the Caribbean Giacchino Star Trek Into Darkness Arnold/Price Sherlock Powell The Bourne Ultimatum Williams War Horse Armstrong Love, Actually Powell How To Train Your Dragon

Friday 6 March, 10.30am & 1.30pm Saturday 7 March, 11am, 1.30pm & 3.30pm - CBSO Centre

CBSO 10-piece ‘mini orchestra’ Catherine Arlidge - Presenter You’re never too young to discover the joy of live music, with this specially-devised, toddler-friendly mini-concert. A 10-piece mini orchestra will help parents and children alike onto their feet with music to make you move and groove your way through the concert. Each concert lasts 45 minutes and FREE craft activities take place from an hour before each concert. At the end there is also a chance to meet the musicians and see their instruments close up.

A film doesn’t have to be old to be a classic. Think of the magic of Harry Potter, the sheer spectacle of Avatar and The Hobbit, the swashbuckling fun of Pirates of the Caribbean and the heartbreak of War Horse. And admit it... you’re already humming the tunes! Great music from great modern movies, delivered with flair by conductor Michael Seal and the full 80-piece City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.

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RELAX & REVITALISE

Wednesday 11 March, 7.30pm & Saturday 14 March, 7pm

Wednesday 18 March, 7.30pm & Thursday 19 March, 2.15pm

Rachmaninov’s Second Symphony

Bach and Bruckner

16’ 79’

Soul music, Austrian style. Bruckner’s Fifth Symphony has been described as a cathedral in sound, but Bruckner also drew his inspiration from the music of J. S. Bach and the majestic scenery of the Austrian Alps. So the timeless beauty of Bach’s A minor violin concerto – played today by the superb Ilya Gringolts – will make the perfect upbeat.

Ilan Volkov - Conductor Ilya Gringolts - Violin J. S. Bach Violin Concerto in A minor Bruckner Symphony No. 5

PURE EMOTION

Andris Nelsons - Conductor Stephen Hough - Piano Dvorˇák Piano Concerto Rachmaninov Symphony No. 2

36’ 55’

Is Rachmaninov’s Second the most romantic symphony ever written? With its vast, stormswept vistas, endless melodies and rapturous love-song of a slow movement, it’s certainly a contender, and Andris Nelsons conducts it with unbridled emotion. First, though, he rediscovers the spirited Piano Concerto by Antonín Dvorˇák - with one of the world’s finest living pianists as his partner.

FREE pre-concert talk on 11 March - see p45.

Centre Stage at CBSO Centre Thursday 12 March, 1.10pm CBSO Players Brahms Piano Quartet No. 3 in C minor

Wednesday 18 March, 1.10pm Moritz Pfister (violin), Catherine Bower (viola), Eduardo Vassallo (cello) Penderecki String Trio Beethoven String Trio in D Op. 9 No. 2

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Friday 10 April, 1.10pm CBSO Baroque Ensemble (on period instruments) Dance Music of the English Baroque - music by Purcell, Locke and Matteis. 34

Wednesday 25 March, 2.15pm & Saturday 28 March, 7pm

RELAX & REVITALISE

Brahms and Beethoven

13’ 28’ 45’

When Brahms went on holiday, all his troubles fell away - and that’s exactly the effect of his lovely second symphony, 45 minutes of glowing landscapes, jubilant trumpets and tunes that never seem to end. The very English serenity of Ralph Vaughan Williams is a gentle prelude to Beethoven’s most brilliant piano concerto, played today by one of Britain’s brightest keyboard stars. FREE pre-concert talk on 25 March - see p45.

Friday Night Classics: Queen - Rock and Symphonic Spectacular © akg-images / Album / GLOBE PRODUCTIONS

Andrew Manze - Conductor Steven Osborne - Piano Vaughan Williams Five Variants of Dives and Lazarus Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 2 Brahms Symphony No. 2

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Friday 27 March, 7.30pm

Richard Sidwell - Conductor Jenna Lee James - Vocalist Ricardo Afonso - Vocalist Rachael Wooding - Vocalist Peter Eldridge - Vocalist Andrew Wyke - Executive Producer Bohemian Rhapsody • I Want To Break Free Play The Game • Under Pressure These Are The Days Of Our Lives Love Of My Life • Bicycle Race Killer QUEEN • Radio Ga Ga • I Want It All Who Wants To Live Forever • Hammer To Fall A Kind Of Magic • The Show Must Go On Crazy Little Thing Called Love Fat Bottomed Girls • Don’t Stop Me Now Another One Bites The Dust • One Vision Somebody To Love • We Will Rock You It’s a kind of magic - big, brash, and fabulously larger than life, the music of Queen was simply made for a symphony orchestra. This sensational full orchestral spectacular unleashes Queen’s greatest hits like you’ve never heard them before. We Will Rock You? With guest vocalists from the hit musical, you’d better believe it! FREE pre-concert performance - see p45.

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Box Office 0121 345 0499 Book Online www.cbso.co.uk

Julian Atkinson, Principal Double Bass

RELAX & REVITALISE

Thursday 16 April, 2.15pm & Saturday 18 April, 7pm

PURE EMOTION

Thursday 23 April, 7.30pm

Mendelssohn’s Elgar’s Cello Midsummer Night’s Dream Concerto © Sim Canetty-Clarke

Edward Gardner - Conductor Cédric Tiberghien - Piano CBSO Youth Chorus Mendelssohn The Fair Melusina - Overture 10’ Mendelssohn Serenade and Allegro giocoso 11’ Mendelssohn Piano Concerto No. 1 20’ Mendelssohn A Midsummer Night’s Dream - 45’ incidental music Edward Gardner’s Mendelssohn symphony cycle was one of the real delights of last season in Birmingham. Now he teams up again with our famous Youth Chorus in its 20th anniversary year in Mendelssohn’s magical homage to Shakespeare: fairies, donkeys and that Wedding March! And we’re delighted to welcome the award-winning Cédric Tiberghien to sprinkle a different kind of magic over Mendelssohn’s sparkling First Piano Concerto.

Edward Gardner - Conductor Alban Gerhardt - Cello Elgar Cockaigne Elgar Cello Concerto Bridge Lament for strings Tippett Symphony No. 2

15’ 26’ 5’ 35’

“Stout and steaky” was how Elgar described his Cockaigne overture - and this uproarious portrait of Edwardian London is a far cry from the heartbreak and poetry of his famous Cello Concerto, written in the aftermath of the Great War. Edward Gardner joins Alban Gerhardt to dig deep into this very British masterpiece - and then offers a joyous cure for melancholy: the “abounding, generous, exuberant beauty” of Tippett’s vibrant Second Symphony.

FREE pre-concert talks - see p45. FREE pre-concert talk - see p45.

The CBSO joins Birmingham Opera Company with conductor Andrew Gourlay for Michael Tippett’s The Ice Break. Dates and venue to be announced, booking opens in January 2015. For further details please refer to the CBSO website www.cbso.co.uk and the Birmingham Opera Company website www.birminghamopera.org.uk

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Wednesday 29 April, 7.30pm & Thursday 30 April, 2.15pm

Sunday 26 April, 2.30pm

Family Concert: Bite-size Classics II

RAISE THE ROOF

Symphonie fantastique © Russell Duncan

Jamie Phillips - Conductor Nikky Smedley - Presenter CBSO Children’s Chorus You don’t have to be old to make great music in fact, you don’t have to be grown up at all! As the CBSO Children’s Chorus celebrates its 20th birthday, this fun family concert features music by and for children - from Britten and Elgar, to Mozart and Holst. Former Children’s Chorus member Jamie Phillips is back for the day to conduct, and whether you’re young or just young at heart, you’re invited to the party! FREE workshops in the foyers from 1pm.

Centre Stage at CBSO Centre

Nikolaj Znaider - Conductor Jian Wang - Cello Dvorˇák Cello Concerto Berlioz Symphonie fantastique

40’ 59’

All you need is love! When Hector Berlioz couldn’t get the girl of his dreams, he wrote her a symphony: a huge, crazy, opiumfuelled riot of supernatural fantasies and star-crossed passion. It’s quite simply... well, fantastic! And Dvorˇák took a boyhood romance and a vision of Niagara Falls, and poured them into the most ardent cello concerto ever written. Jian Wang tells the story tonight. The 30 April concert is followed by a Members’ Afternoon Tea with Nikolaj Znaider. For information, contact Claire Watts on 0121 616 6533.

Friday 24 April, 1.10pm CBSO Players Brahms String Sextet in G Op. 36 Box Office 0121 345 0499 Book Online www.cbso.co.uk

Friday 1 May, 7.30pm

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Friday Night Classics: Charlie Chaplin

RELAX & REVITALISE

Wednesday 6 May, 2.15pm & Thursday 7 May, 7.30pm

Haydn in London

20’ 80’

Until you’ve heard a symphony orchestra accompanying a film live, you’ve never experienced the ultimate in movie sound. Veteran movie maestro Carl (“Cranford”) Davis conducts the CBSO in a live soundtrack to one of Hollywood’s all-time comedy classics, Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times - humour that never gets old, with Chaplin’s wonderful score sounding as good as new. He also gives us his own music with one of Chaplin’s funniest shorts, a satire on the business of making movies. You can’t hire this on Netflix! Special prices and seating plan apply, see p54.

Carl Davis - Conductor Behind the Screen Modern Times

Andris Nelsons - Conductor Baiba Skride - Violin Haydn Symphony No. 103 (Drumroll) Mozart Violin Concerto No. 4 Prokofiev Violin Concerto No. 2 Haydn Symphony No. 104 (London)

29’ 24’ 26’ 29’

No two great composers were ever closer than Mozart and Haydn, and there’s a smile in every bar of this delightfully entertaining concert. Two of the wittiest and warmest symphonies ever written frame lively concertos by Haydn’s best friend, and his biggest 20th century fan. Andris Nelsons’ schoolfriend Baiba Skride is the soloist. This is going to be fun: this spring, put a spring in your step! FREE pre-concert talks, plus post-concert chat on 7 May - see p45.

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Sunday 17 May, 3pm

PURE EMOTION

Parsifal Andris Nelsons - Conductor Burkhard Fritz - Tenor (Parsifal) Georg Zeppenfeld - Bass-baritone (Gurnemanz) James Rutherford - Baritone (Amfortas) Mihoko Fujimura - Mezzo-soprano (Kundry) David Wilson-Johnson - Bass (Titurel) CBSO Chorus CBSO Youth Chorus Wagner Parsifal 306’ (sung in German, with English surtitles)

“In this realm, time becomes space”. Wagner’s Parsifal tells of the knights of the Holy Grail: a story of truth, suffering and redemption, set to music so beautiful that it pierces straight to your very soul. Andris Nelsons has been hailed around the world as one of the finest Wagner conductors of our time: this concert performance of Wagner’s final opera should be transcendent. The approximate running times of Acts 1, 2 and 3 are 97’, 62’ and 67’ respectively. There will be a one-hour interval after Act 1, and a 30-minute interval after Act 2.

Image from the set of pictures by Ferdinand Leeke: Parsifal’s Journey to the Grail. From Richard Wagner: 12 Illustrationen von Ferd. Leeke (c. 1900–10)

This concert has been made possible with support from an anonymous donor through the Keynote Programming Fund, see p49.

Centre Stage at CBSO Centre Friday 8 May, 1.10pm Baiba Skride (violin) and CBSO Players Mendelssohn Octet Friday 15 May, 1.10pm CBSO Players Beethoven String Quartet in B flat Op. 130 Beethoven Grosse Fuge Op. 133 Box Office 0121 345 0499 Book Online www.cbso.co.uk

Friday 5 June, 10.30am & 1.30pm Saturday 6 June, 11am, 1.30pm & 3.30pm CBSO Centre

RELAX & REVITALISE

Thursday 11 June, 7.30pm

Schubert, Strauss & Dvorˇák

Notelets: Under the Sea © Nicole Frost

CBSO String Ensemble Catherine Arlidge - Presenter Bring the youngest members of the family to CBSO Centre for this special toddler-friendly mini-concert. Dive into action for an under the sea musical adventure and let members of the CBSO string section transport you into an amazing underwater world (with just a little help from some of their percussion friends - they don’t like to stray too far from their tank!). Each concert lasts 45 minutes and FREE craft activities take place from an hour before each concert. At the end there is also a chance to meet the musicians and see their instruments close up. In association with

Andris Nelsons - Conductor Elspeth Dutch - Horn Schubert Symphony No. 8 (Unfinished) Strauss Horn Concerto No. 2 Dvorˇák Symphony No. 7

22’ 20’ 38’

If you enjoy Dvorˇák’s New World symphony, just imagine the music he wrote when he was happily at home! Dvorˇák’s Seventh is stormy, passionate and filled with the kind of tunes you just can’t stop humming. Andris Nelsons loves it, and tonight he serves it up with Strauss’s bubbly second horn concerto (starring the CBSO’s own Elspeth Dutch), and Schubert’s Eighth: a symphony that couldn’t be more perfect even if he’d finished it. FREE pre-concert talk - see p45.

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Wednesday 17 June, 7.30pm & Thursday 18 June, 7.30pm

RAISE THE ROOF

92’

The annual Members’ Reception takes place after the concert on 17 June. For information about how to join, contact Claire Watts on 0121 616 6533.

Thursday 18 June, 1.10pm CBSO Cellos Spanish surprises from the eight cellos of the CBSO - including music by Falla, Albéniz and Pau Casals.

10’

All good things come to an end. And on what are sure to be emotional evenings, Andris Nelsons has chosen to say farewell to Birmingham with Mahler’s huge, rapturous hymn to nature - both unchanging, and forever renewing. A beautiful new choral work by Andris’s fellow-Latvian Ēriks Ešenvalds – jointly commissioned (thanks to support from the Feeney Trust) with Andris’s new orchestra in Boston – brings our orchestra, choruses, audience and conductor together to celebrate seven inspirational years.

Centre Stage at CBSO Centre

RELAX & REVITALISE

Summer Showcase

Andris Nelsons’ Farewell Concerts Andris Nelsons Conductor Michaela Schuster Mezzo-soprano CBSO Chorus CBSO Youth Chorus CBSO Children’s Chorus Ēriks Ešenvalds New Work (CBSO co-commission, UK premiere) Mahler Symphony No. 3

Thursday 25 June, 2.15pm

Alpesh Chauhan - Conductor Strauss Suite in B flat major for 13 winds 25’ Shostakovich Chamber Symphony 20’ Reich Music for Pieces of Wood 8’ Cage First Construction in Metal 9’ Mussorgsky (arr. Howarth) Pictures 30’ at an Exhibition Our orchestra is made up of 83 extraordinary artists, and today they step into the limelight. The CBSO woodwinds share Strauss’s delightful Suite, and our strings play their hearts out in Shostakovich’s white-hot Chamber Symphony. Then the percussion section sets up a rhythm in two stunning contemporary classics - and a spectacular, all-brass version of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition proves that a great orchestra is the sum of some seriously impressive parts! This concert is followed by a Members’ Afternoon Tea with CBSO players. For information, contact Claire Watts on 0121 616 6533.

Box Office 0121 345 0499 Book Online www.cbso.co.uk

Thursday 2 July, 11.30am & 1.30pm

Schools Concerts: Bite-size Classics

CELEBRATE & SHARE

Friday 3 July, 7.30pm

Friday Night Classics: The Ella Fitzgerald Songbook © Lebrecht Music & Arts

Michael Seal - Conductor Nikky Smedley - Presenter You don’t have to be old to make great music - in fact, you don’t even have to be grown up at all! This lively concert for Key Stage Two is entirely made up of music by and for children - from Britten and Elgar, to Mozart and Holst. Michael Seal waves the stick, and presenter Nikky Smedley (best known as Laa-Laa from Teletubbies) proves that when it comes to classical musical, you’re never too young! CBSO Schools programme supported by

Laurence Cottle - Conductor Claire Martin - Vocalist Lerner & Loewe Almost Like Being In Love Rodgers & Hart The Lady is a Tramp Manhattan • With A Song In My Heart Arlen This Time the Dream’s On Me That Old Black Magic Gershwin Ambulatory Suite • S’Wonderful Three Preludes • But Not For Me Berlin Cheek to Cheek • Blue Skies Kern I Won’t Dance • Pick Yourself Up Duke Ellington All Too Soon Swan When Your Lover Has Gone Cole Porter Too Darn Hot Every Time We Say Goodbye They called her the First Lady of Song, and no-one’s ever sung the Great American Songbook with more style – and joy – than Ella Fitzgerald. Tonight’s show brings together one of the most glorious voices on the international jazz scene with the swinging orchestral arrangements from Ella’s own albums, for a deluxe tribute to Cole Porter, the Gershwins, Irving Berlin and Rodgers & Hart: a golden age of popular song.

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Pre-concert Talks Discover More About Music Get more from your listening with these FREE pre-concert talks at Symphony Hall, given by composers, writers, critics and conductors - all sharing their perspectives on the music to follow. Also, enjoy music-making from the next generation with free pre-concert performances by students from Birmingham Conservatoire, Birmingham Young Musicians and Trio Severn. Pre-concert Talk Diary Thu 18 Sept, 1pm Beethoven: Piano Trio in C minor, Op. 1 No. 3 Beethoven Week: Opus 1 FREE pre-concert performance by Trio Severn. Sat 20 Sept, 5.45pm Beethoven: Piano Trio in D Op. 70 No. 1 (The Ghost) Beethoven Week: The Ghost FREE pre-concert performance by Trio Severn. Sun 21 Sept, 5.45pm The CBSO’s distinguished chorus director Simon Halsey talks about Beethoven Week: The Ninth Beethoven and the chorus. Wed 24 Sept, 6.15pm Composer Roxanna Panufnik talks about her father Andrzej, Panufnik Centenary in conversation with Jessica Duchen. Thu 2 Oct, 6.15pm The composer, conductor and pianist Ryan Wigglesworth Ryan Wigglesworth talks to CBSO chief executive Stephen Maddock. Sat 18 Oct, 5.45pm The CBSO’s principal guest conductor introduces tonight’s Edward Gardner programme in conversation with Stephen Maddock. Wed 22 Oct, 6.15pm Granville Bantock: Pagan Symphony Conservatoire Showcase Birmingham Conservatoire Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Michael Seal, performs a neglected work by one of the CBSO’s founders. Wed 29 Oct, 1pm Broadcaster and author Stephen Johnson introduces Strauss’s Don Quixote symphonic poem. Sun 2 Nov, 5.45pm Stephen Maddock interviews Mark Anthony Turnage about Mark Anthony Turnage Passchendaele, his new work for the CBSO Youth Orchestra. Wed 12 Nov, 6.15pm A FREE 30-minute piano recital, performed by rising stars Conservatoire Showcase of Birmingham Conservatoire. Wed 19 Nov, 6.15pm The young British conductor Nicholas Collon talks to Stephen Maddock. Nicholas Collon Thu 27 Nov, 1pm Critic and broadcaster David Nice explores Bruckner’s Bruckner’s Seventh best-loved symphony. Thu 4 Dec, 6.15pm James MacMillan introduces the UK premiere of his St Luke Passion, James MacMillan in conversation with Stephen Maddock. Wed 10 Dec, 1pm Andrew Litton and Stephen Maddock discuss today’s Andrew Litton all-British programme. Thu 8 Jan, 6.15pm Writer and critic David Fanning and musicologist Michelle Assay Tchaikovsky’s Suite No. 3 tell the story behind this underrated masterpiece. Wed 14 Jan, 1pm CBSO vioinist David Gregory – plus the complete CBSO trombone The Great C Major section – explain the inner workings of Schubert’s Ninth. Thu 22 Jan, 6.15pm A FREE 30-minute piano recital, performed by rising stars Conservatoire Showcase of Birmingham Conservatoire. 44

Wed 28 Jan, 6.15pm Novelist, blogger and Korngold biographer Jessica Duchen Korngold’s Symphony introduces Korngold’s only symphony. Wed 11 Feb, 6.15pm Scriabin: The Poem of Ecstasy, Op.54 Conservatoire Showcase Birmingham Conservatoire Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Michael Seal, performs Scriabin’s spectacular fourth symphony. Thu 19 Feb, 1pm CBSO violinist David Gregory offers a performer’s angle on Dvorˇák’s Seventh this great romantic symphony. Thu 26 Feb, 6.15pm Two great Viennese masterpieces, introduced by writer Berg and Mahler and Austrophile Gavin Plumley. Thu 5 Mar, 6.15pm French music expert Roger Nichols tells the remarkable story The Death of Cleopatra of Berlioz’s rarely-heard cantata. Wed 11 March, 6.15pm Broadcaster and author of Bruckner Remembered, Bruckner’s Fifth Stephen Johnson, introduces tonight’s performance. Wed 25 Mar, 1pm Violinist David Gregory and two CBSO colleagues explain Brahms’s Second the inside story of Brahms’s popular symphony. Fri 27 Mar, 6.15pm Young musicians from across the West Midlands give a FREE Project Remix! pre-concert performance inspired by the music of Queen. Thu 16 Apr, 1pm Mendelssohn’s delightful score, explained from the inside & Sat 18 Apr, 5.45pm by violinist David Gregory and CBSO colleagues. A Midsummer Night’s Dream Thu 23 Apr, 6.15pm Anthony Burton shares his enthusiasm for this post-war Tippett’s Second British masterpiece. Wed 6 May, 1pm Today’s programme is introduced by Denis McCaldin, & Thu 7 May, 6.15pm Director of the Haydn Society of Great Britain. Haydn in London Thu 7 May, c9.45pm Stay late for a post-concert conversation with Andris Nelsons Post-concert chat and Stephen Maddock. Thu 11 Jun, 6.15pm CBSO violinist David Gregory offers a performer’s angle Dvorˇák’s Seventh on this great romantic symphony.

Concerts by Coach The CBSO offers coach services from Cheltenham (selected weekday matinées) and Lichfield / Sutton Coldfield (selected Wednesday evenings). Please call 0121 616 6544 for information. In addition, the following coach schemes are organised by regular concert-goers Church Stretton and District: Graham Heath on 01694 722216 heath@knollcrest.co.uk Leominster & Hereford: Mary Seldon on 01885 482543 mary.seldon@googlemail.com Ludlow and District Theatre & Arts Group: (South Shropshire Concerts Coach) Bronwen Coldwell on 01584 831323 Newport Music Coach: (Newport, Telford, Shropshire) Anita Davies on 01952 813340 newportmusicbus@btconnect.com Shropshire & Mid-Wales: Frank North on 01743 790400 enquiries@artsforall.info www.artsforall.info 45

What’s on this Season Summer 2014 Concerts Friday 4 July, 7.30pm Sat 12 July, 7.30pm Warwick Castle Saturday 26 July, 7pm Town Hall Monday 25 August, 7.30pm

Friday Night Classics: New York, New York A Gershwin and Bernstein Gala 8 Warwick Castle 1,100th Anniversary Summer Proms 8 Strauss and Beethoven: CBSO Youth Orchestra Academy 9 Wagner and Elgar 9

2014–15 Season - September 2014 Tuesday 16, 7.30pm Thursday 18, 2.15pm Saturday 20, 7pm Sunday 21, 7pm Wednesday 24, 7.30pm

Beethoven Week: The Eroica 10 Beethoven Week: The Fifth Symphony 10 Beethoven Week: The Pastoral 11 Beethoven Week: The Choral Symphony 11 Panufnik Centenary 12

October 2014 Thursday 2, 7.30pm Wed 8, 7.30pm & Thu 9, 2.15pm Thursday 16, 7.30pm Saturday 18, 3pm Wednesday 22, 7.30pm Friday 24, 7.30pm Sunday 26, 2.30pm Wed 29, 2.15pm & Thu 30, 7.30pm

Romantic Journeys 12 Bruch’s Violin Concerto 13 Bartók Uncovered 13 Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra 14 Mediterranean Classics 14 Friday Night Classics: TV and Advert Classics 15 Family Concert: Cartoon Classics 15 Nelsons conducts Strauss and Brahms 16

November 2014 Sunday 2, 7pm Thursday 6, 7.30pm Wed 12, 7.30pm & Thu 13, 2.15pm Sunday 16, 3pm Wednesday 19, 7.30pm Friday 21, 7.30pm Thu 27, 2.15pm & Sat 29, 7pm

The Planets: CBSO Youth Orchestra 16 War and Peace 17 Russian Classics 17 The Final: Dudley-Yamaha International Piano Competition 18 Spirit of 1945 18 Friday Night Classics: Songs from the Sixties 19 Nelsons conducts Bruckner’s Seventh 19

December 2014 Thursday 4, 7.30pm MacMillan’s St Luke Passion 21 Fri 5 & Sat 6, various, CBSO Centre Notelets: Christmas Crackers 21 Wed 10, 2.15pm & Sat 13, 7pm Elgar’s Enigma Variations 22 Fri 19, 7.30pm, Festive Favourites with Hugh Dennis 22 Sun 21, 3pm / 7.30pm & Mon 22, 7.30pm January 2015 Sunday 4, 3pm Thu 8, 7.30pm & Sat 10, 3pm Wed 14, 2.15pm & Sat 17, 7pm

The Magic of Vienna 23 Rachmaninov’s Third Piano Concerto 23 Schubert’s Great 24

Box Office 0121 345 0499 Book Online www.cbso.co.uk

Tue 20 & Fri 23, various Thursday 22, 7.30pm Sunday 25, 7pm Wednesday 28, 7.30pm Friday 30, 7.30pm

Schools Concerts: The CBSO’s Guide to the Orchestra 24 Spanish Night 25 Singalong with the CBSO: Mozart’s Requiem 25 American Classics with Freddy Kempf 26 Friday Night Classics: Best of the West End 26

February 2015 Sunday 1, 2.30pm Thu 5, 7.30pm & Sat 7, 3pm Wednesday 11, 7.30pm Sunday 15, 3pm Thursday 19, 2.15pm Friday 20, 7.30pm Sunday 22, 7pm Thursday 26, 7.30pm Saturday 28, 7pm

Family Concert: Around the World in 80 Minutes 28 From the Danube to the Rhine 28 Shostakovich Uncovered 29 War and Revolution 29 Schubert, Strauss & Dvorˇák 30 Friday Night Classics: Opera Gala 30 Mahler’s First Symphony: CBSO Youth Orchestra 31 Mahler’s Sixth Symphony 31 Mahler’s Sixth Symphony 32

March 2015 Thursday 5, 7.30pm Friday 6, 7.30pm Fri 6 & Sat 7, various, CBSO Centre Wed 11, 7.30pm & Sat 14, 7pm Wed 18, 7.30pm & Thu 19, 2.15pm Wed 25, 2.15pm & Sat 28, 7pm Friday 27, 7.30pm

Janácˇek’s Glagolitic Mass 32 Friday Night Classics: 21st Century Blockbusters 33 Notelets: Move and Groove 33 Bach and Bruckner 34 Rachmaninov’s Second Symphony 34 Brahms and Beethoven 35 Friday Night Classics: Queen - Rock and Symphonic Spectacular 35

April 2015 Thu 16, 2.15pm & Sat 18, 7pm Thursday 23, 7.30pm Sunday 26, 2.30pm Wed 29, 7.30pm & Thu 30, 2.15pm

Mendelssohn’s Midsummer Night’s Dream 37 Elgar’s Cello Concerto 37 Family Concert: Bite-size Classics II 38 Symphonie fantastique 38

May 2015 Friday 1, 7.30pm Wed 6, 2.15pm & Thu 7, 7.30pm Sunday 17, 3pm

Friday Night Classics: Charlie Chaplin 39 Haydn in London 39 Parsifal 40

June 2015 Fri 5 & Sat 6, various, CBSO Centre Thursday 11, 7.30pm Wed 17, 7.30pm & Thu 18, 7.30pm Thursday 25, 2.15pm

Notelets: Under the Sea 41 Schubert, Strauss and Dvorˇák 41 Andris Nelsons’ Farewell Concerts 42 Summer Showcase 42

July 2015 Thursday 2, 11.30am & 1.30pm Friday 3, 7.30pm

Schools Concerts: Bite-size Classics 43 Friday Night Classics: The Ella Fitzgerald Songbook 43

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Support the CBSO Birmingham has one of the world’s greatest orchestras at its heart. Every year we perform for over 200,000 concertgoers, enrich the lives of 80,000 young people through our learning programme, nurture the talents of 750 local residents with our six choirs and our youth orchestra, and serve as a global ambassador for the region through our recordings and tours. Our recent performance in Tokyo was selected as Japan’s best classical concert of 2013 by 44 of the country’s leading music critics, receiving more votes than performances by the Berlin Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and the London Symphony Orchestra.

new recording and digital programme, the development of our life-changing work with young people with disabilities, and visionary concert and educational programmes. But our public funding has declined by 24% since 2010. If we are to remain what the Birmingham Post recently described as ‘one of the city’s greatest institutions’, we must raise at least £1 million from private supporters, partners and funders in the year ahead - up from £750,000 last year. To do so we urgently need your help.

Our ambitious plans for the next three years include a £2.1 million refurbishment of CBSO Centre, the appointment of a world-class successor to our music director Andris Nelsons, the creation of a programme to nurture young conducting talent, the launch of a major

Find out more at www.cbso.co.uk/support Or contact our development team on 0121 616 6533 cwatts@cbso.co.uk

Support a Priority Project Those supporting the Orchestra at higher levels have the opportunity to become closely involved with a particular aspect of its work.

Become a Member Membership ranges from £40–£10,000+ per year. Depending upon the level of your support, you will enjoy a variety of opportunities to get more involved with the Orchestra’s work - from open rehearsal invitations to the opportunity to travel with the Orchestra on international tours.

Leave a Legacy By remembering the CBSO in your Will you will enable future generations to benefit from your own musical legacy. Unless otherwise instructed the CBSO commits legacies to its Endowment fund, income from which enables us to realise extraordinary projects and shape the future of our world-class orchestra in perpetuity.

For example: • Our keynote programming fund supports major concerts at Symphony Hall, including opera and large-scale choral performances and visits by major guest artists; • Our new music fund supports our ambitious commissioning programme; • Our learning and engagement fund supports our work in schools and communities; • Our talent development fund supports our youth orchestra and youth choirs and our work developing the next generation of conducting talent. To find out more please contact Simon Fairclough on sfairclough@cbso.co.uk or 0121 616 6502.

To find out more about membership and legacies please contact Claire Watts on cwatts@cbso.co.uk or 0121 616 6533.

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The CBSO’s Family Concerts and Notelets series are specially-created concerts designed to open up the whole world of classical music to children and adults alike. These concerts are bite-size, informal, enjoyable experiences, full of extraordinary sights and sounds. Lively and entertaining, they’re a wonderful opportunity for the young and youngat-heart to get to know our world-famous orchestra, its musicians, their instruments, and the music they play. Family Concerts at Symphony Hall In the Family Concerts, fun presenters take you on a whistlestop tour of the orchestra and the world of music; with lots of audience participation to set the scene for families to listen, learn and enjoy. Notelets at CBSO Centre Notelets are toddler-friendly mini-concerts combining music and stories, offering a chance to meet the musicians of the CBSO, and for children to join in and express themselves through singing and dancing. Moving around is encouraged! We’re passionate about sharing our love of music - and we believe that you’re never too young for your first concert. We hope that the combination of fun, learning and the sheer thrill of experiencing live music, up close and physical, will be an unforgettable way to discover a source of lifelong enjoyment - and maybe inspire a future Elgar, Simon Rattle or Evelyn Glennie too!

Family Concerts Tickets £10 plus transaction fee* all areas Group of 4 £32 plus transaction fee* Notelets Tickets £7.50 plus transaction fee* Group of 4: £25 plus transaction fee* Book all 3 Notelets concerts in one go and save 20%. Other main season concerts - child tickets Tickets priced £5 plus transaction fee* for children aged 16 or under (except Family Concerts and Notelets, see above) - children must be accompanied by an adult. Available in all areas, subject to availability. Family Child tickets can be booked online, by phone and in person. To check the suitability of a performance for your family, please enquire when booking. * £2.50 transaction fee (£3 after 1 June 2014), plus £1 (optional) postage, will be charged on all bookings except purchases made in person at the Town Hall or Symphony Hall Box Office.

For more information or to book tickets visit www.cbso.co.uk or call 0121 345 0499

Ways to Save

GROUP BOOKINGS

CONCERT PACKAGES† Symphonic Selection Pick 3+ concerts in one go to benefit from: • saving up to 30% off tickets† • free ticket exchange service if your plans change • spread the cost over 9 months† • discounted concert programmes • discounted car parking at Qpark Brindleyplace • regular CBSO MusicStand magazine

Symphonic Selection Plus Book 11+ concerts and get everything above, plus: • save on additional CBSO tickets throughout the season • free bonus concert if you book by 27 June • 10% discount in the Symphony Hall Gift Shop†

Groups of 11 or more receive a 20% discount and one FREE ticket for every 10 tickets purchased. Plus: • free reservation facility • discounted concert programmes • £5 tickets plus transaction fee* for accompanied children aged 16 or under (do not count towards total number in the group) • regular CBSO MusicStand magazine for the organiser. How to book: Online** www.thsh.co.uk or www.cbso.co.uk/groups Call FREE on 0800 358 7070 By post: Group Bookings, THSH Box Office, Symphony Hall, Broad Street, Birmingham B1 2EA **If you book online, you will receive the 20% discount but will need to phone to claim your FREE ticket.

Season Tickets Buy a set series of concerts on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Weekday Matinées or the Weekend to fix your seat and save 15%. Visit www.cbso.co.uk/packages for further details. How to book: Online www.thsh.co.uk/cbso-2014-15 or www.cbso.co.uk/packages Call 0121 345 0499 By post using the form on p56 †For full terms and conditions visit www.cbso.co.uk/packages

City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, CBSO Centre, Berkley Street, Birmingham B1 2LF Tel: 0121 616 6500 • Fax: 0121 616 6518 • www.cbso.co.uk Registered in England no. 1262018. Registered Charity no. 506276

All performance timings are approximate. The information in this brochure was correct at the time of going to press. The CBSO reserves the right to alter programmes and artists without notice. All tickets subject to availability. Concert descriptions: Richard Bratby. This brochure is manufactured from pulp which is sourced from sustainable forestry, guaranteed for your peace of mind via an international chain of custody certification.

DISCOUNTS

Ways to Save

Students and Young People

Tickets For Benefit Recipients

£5 tickets plus transaction fee* for anyone in fulltime education, and young people aged 25 and under - one discounted ticket per ID used, available from one month before the concert date. Tickets can be booked online, by phone and in person proof of eligibility will be required upon collection. We reserve the right to allocate tickets in certain areas of the hall and to withdraw this discount on concerts that are selling out.

If you receive income support, job seeker’s allowance, pension credit and disability tax credit (or future equivalents), you can buy one ticket per performance for £5 plus transaction fee*, from one month before the concert. Proof of eligibility required, to be presented when collecting your ticket. We reserve the right to allocate tickets in certain areas and withdraw this discount on well-sold concerts.

Schools and Youth Music Groups

Standby Tickets

A certain number of tickets priced £5 plus transaction fee* per pupil/teacher (for every 10 tickets purchased, receive the 11th ticket free) are available to schools, Youth Music Groups and any educational establishment for under 18s (including home school groups) through our Stay Tuned scheme. To book, please call Group Bookings on 0800 358 7070.

Patrons aged 60+ receive a 10% discount off one ticket (Symphony Hall/Town Hall concerts only). Birmingham City Council’s ‘Passport to Leisure’ holders can buy a Circle ticket for £29 plus transaction fee*, or a seat on another level for £21 plus transaction fee* at Symphony Hall, and receive £1 off a full-price ticket at CBSO Centre. Available in person / by phone from 1pm on the day of evening performances and 10am for matinée concerts (Symphony Hall & Town Hall concerts), and from CBSO Centre one hour before CBSO Centre performances. Standby tickets subject to availability and issued on production of valid ID. We reserve the right to allocate tickets in certain areas and withdraw standby offers on well-sold concerts.

Budget Seats If you’re on a budget and don’t mind a less favourable seat (eg restricted view), there are a number of Budget Seats priced £12.50 plus transaction fee* for many of our concerts. They are at the back of the Grand Tier and Upper Circle, in the Stalls Terrace and at the very front of the Stalls when a stage extension is not in use. * £2.50 transaction fee (£3 after 1 June 2014), plus £1 (optional) postage, will be charged on all bookings except purchases made in person at the Town Hall or Symphony Hall Box Office.

Ticket Prices Symphony Hall Standard prices

Special prices

Seating Area

Evening, Friday Matinée Night Classics, Christmas

Matinées Summer on 18 Oct, 4 July & 10 Jan, 7 Feb 25 Aug

21 Sep, Beethoven 17 May, Concerts 17 & 18 Jun 16 & 20 Sep

£12.50–£44 +

£12.50–£41 +

£12.50–£44 +

£18.50–£42 +

£25–£55 +

transaction fee*

transaction fee* transaction fee*

I T V W

£44

£41

£44

£42

£55

£45

F G J K M S

£39

£34

£39

£37.50

£48

£40

E H L N O Y

£34

£29

£34

£32.50

£40

£35

C D P Q X Z ZZ Choir Chorus Boxes

£25

£24

£25

£24

£32.50

£27.50

A B R U £19 Wheelchair Positions**

£16

£19

£18.50

£25

£20

Budget Seats†

£12.50

† See p53 for further details on Budget Seats. ** Wheelchair positions are available on the Stalls and Upper Circle levels in Symphony Hall, Stalls and Circle levels of Town Hall.

* £2.50 transaction fee (£3 after 1 June 2014), plus £1 (optional) postage, will be charged on all bookings except purchases made in person at the Town Hall or Symphony Hall Box Office. R Q Q

ZZ P N

P N

K Y

Z ZZ

O M

J H

X G

U T

B A

E C

E C A

Chorus Boxes

D D

E C

D B

£10 + transaction fee* Group of 4 £32 + transaction fee*

Youth Orchestra Concerts

£20 + transaction fee*

Uncovered Concerts (16 Oct/11 Feb)

£20 + transaction fee*

Schools Concerts

£5 + transaction fee*

Includes free programme

To book: 0800 358 7070

Special events

Choir

Family Concerts

Tuned programme, receive further discounted school tickets and enjoy activities to enhance students’ concert-going experiences. Contact: 0121 616 6546 / education@cbso.co.uk

Choir

Dudley-Yamaha £20 + transaction fee* International Piano Competition 16 Nov

Stay Tuned for Schools: Through our Stay

F E V

Concerts: all areas one price

H V

£20–£45 +

Chorus Boxes

Singalong with the CBSO, 25 January Audience £13 plus transaction fee* Singer £20 plus transaction fee*/£27 plus transaction fee* with score hire. If you’re singing please book in advance to specify your voice type. Silent Movie, 1 May £10–£32 plus transaction fee*. Special seating plan applies.

ay d ce :

Town Hall CBSO Youth Orchestra Academy, 26 July £20 plus transaction fee* all areas

CBSO Centre Centre Stage £10 plus transaction fee*, except Palm Court Christmas Party 22 December £16 plus transaction fee* Notelets £7.50 plus transaction fee* / £25 plus transaction fee* Group of 4 Book all 3 Notelets concerts and save 20%.

Accessibility Facilities for Disabled Patrons Call: 0121 780 4949 (THSH) Visit: www.thsh.co.uk/your-visit/accessibility Email: boxoffice@thsh.co.uk Call: 0121 616 6532 (CBSO Centre) Visit: www.cbso.co.uk/yourvisit THSH Access Scheme: A range of tickets including a free ticket for patrons who need the assistance of a companion are available at Symphony Hall, Town Hall and CBSO Centre. Facilities: A range of facilities are available, including an infra-red system for the hearing impaired. Guide dogs welcome. Wheelchair Users: Spaces for patrons who need to stay in their wheelchair during the performance are on the Stalls/Upper Circle levels of Symphony Hall, and Stalls/Circle levels of Town Hall, and are available at CBSO Centre. Drop-Off Facility & Parking: · Blue Badge holders can pre-book (no later than 24 hours in advance) the drop-off facility at Symphony Hall. · A limited number of parking spaces for disabled people driving themselves is available at Town Hall & Symphony Hall, allocated by ballot. Deadline for application: 9 June, call 0121 780 4949. Spaces left following the ballot can be booked from 9 July. · Limited space is available at CBSO Centre for Blue Badge holders driving themselves; please book in advance.

Call 0121 616 6534 for a free large-print brochure, or an audio-CD version. 55 1415 season brochure.indd 55

How to Book Public booking opens 27 May. Online - www.cbso.co.uk Telephone - 0121 345 0499 Symphony Hall Box Office 10am–6pm Monday to Saturday 12pm–4pm Sunday & Bank Holidays Post - Please use the form at the back of this brochure, and send your form to: THSH Box Office, Symphony Hall, Broad Street, Birmingham B1 2EA Minicom - 0121 644 6140 Box Office opening hours may be extended on concert days.

How to Pay Credit/debit card MasterCard, Visa, Maestro and Amex. Please note, in order to protect your security, we no longer accept card details by post. To pay by card, please call 0121 345 0499. Cheque - please make cheque payable to ‘Performances Birmingham Limited’. If you wish to send a cheque in the post but are unsure of the total amount, please call the box office to discuss your booking. By monthly direct debit - for Symphonic Selection concert packages of 3+ concerts worth £100 or more, book before 14 July 2014. Please do not send cash through the post

Venue Addresses

Symphony Hall Broad Street, Birmingham B1 2EA Town Hall Victoria Square, Birmingham B3 3DQ CBSO Centre Berkley Street, Birmingham B1 2LF Data Protection Once you have booked tickets for a CBSO concert, your contact details will be held on the CBSO’s and THSH’s marketing and box office databases and, from time to time, you may receive details from both organisations about their future activities, using any of the contact methods you provided, unless you specify otherwise when booking. Other arts organisations and companies carefully selected by THSH and the CBSO may also be interested in sending you information on events and products they think will be of interest. If you do not want your details to be passed to other organisations please tell us at the time of booking. Returns & Resales Tickets are accepted at the discretion of the Box Office but all CBSO sales take priority. There is a service charge of 10% of the face value and money resulting from a resale will be forwarded by gift voucher. Lost Tickets There is a £2 charge for printing duplicate tickets.

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Why not book online? It’s quick and easy www.cbso.co.uk

Booking Form

section a)

I WOULD LIKE TO BOOK FOR THE FOLLOWING CONCERTS: Concert date & start time

eg. 22 Oct, 7.30pm Detach this form, complete both sides and send to: THSH Box Office, Symphony Hall, Broad Street, Birmingham B1 2EA

Preferred seating area* (bracket 2 Full price for No. of alternatives) this concert tickets

D (P, C)

£25

Total per concert before Concert Package discount

£50

1 2 3

All bookings, including Symphonic Selection concert packages, can also be made by phone or online from 27 May, allowing you to view or discuss seating availability and be sure exactly which seat/s you have booked. Call 0121 345 0499 to book by phone. Please note Season Tickets for fixed series of concerts can only be booked by phone or online at www.cbso.co.uk/packages.

4 5 6 7

1. Opposite, list your chosen concerts. If you are booking 3 or more concerts at Symphony Hall/ Town Hall, note the discount you are entitled to, as detailed in the box below*.

No. of concerts

Concert Package

Symphonic Selection

3–5

6–10

10%

11–13

15%

14–19

20%

20+

30%

12 13

Symphonic Selection Plus

14 15 16

*Centre Stage & Notelets concerts at CBSO Centre are not eligible for the concert package discount and associated benefits. A free companion ticket is available for disabled patrons who require their assistance.

17 18

2. Choose where you want to sit for each concert, with alternatives should your first choice be unavailable. You can choose a different seating area for different concerts if you wish. If you want to sit with your friends and you are each completing a separate form, please return all the forms together in one envelope.

19 20 Total (before deducting any Concert Package discount)

* See seating plan on p54. Choir Stalls, Chorus Boxes & Front Stalls are not always available, so please include a range of options if one of the above is your first choice.

3. Work out the total price for each concert. 4. Add the individual concert totals together and, if you are booking 3 or more concerts at Symphony Hall/Town Hall, deduct your Concert Package discount to give the final amount you need to pay. Add the £2.50 (£3 if booking from 1 June 2014) transaction fee, unless you are booking in person. 5. Overleaf, fill in your contact details (section b). If you are booking a concert package of 3 or more concerts, please also complete section c.

Total payable after deducting Concert Package discount if applicable †

plus £2.50 (£3 if booking after 1 June 2014) transaction fee

Box Office use only

Grand Total payable †

6. Choose how you want to pay and fill in your payment details. Please note, direct debit is only available for bookings of 3 or more concerts, and credit card booking is only available by phone or online. 7. Public booking opens on 27 May; postal bookings received in advance will be processed in order of receipt on or shortly after this date, but please note that phone bookings will take precedence at busy times. After this point, please allow three weeks for the processing of your booking from the point it is received.

I am booking for

Symphony Hall/Town Hall concerts at a discount of

DISABLED PATRONS: Please tick if you need a wheelchair position For members of the THSH access scheme (see p55): if you require a free ticket for an assisting companion, please tick

Booking form continued

Discount

1415 final outer cover one piece.qxd:Layout 1 11/04/2014 07:47 Page 1

Why not book online? It’s quick and easy www.cbso.co.uk

Booking Form

section a)

I WOULD LIKE TO BOOK FOR THE FOLLOWING CONCERTS: Concert date & start time

eg. 22 Oct, 7.30pm Detach this form, complete both sides and send to: THSH Box Office, Symphony Hall, Broad Street, Birmingham B1 2EA

Preferred seating area* (bracket 2 Full price for No. of alternatives) this concert tickets

D (P, C)

£25

Total per concert before Concert Package discount

£50

1 2 3

4 5 6 7

1. Opposite, list your chosen concerts. If you are booking 3 or more concerts at Symphony Hall/ Town Hall, note the discount you are entitled to, as detailed in the box below*.

No. of concerts

Concert Package

Symphonic Selection

3–5

6–10

10%

11–13

15%

14–19

20%

20+

30%

12 13

Symphonic Selection Plus

14 15 16

17 18

19 20 Total (before deducting any Concert Package discount)

* See seating plan on p54. Choir Stalls, Chorus Boxes & Front Stalls are not always available, so please include a range of options if one of the above is your first choice.

Total payable after deducting Concert Package discount if applicable †

plus £2.50 (£3 if booking after 1 June 2014) transaction fee

Box Office use only

Grand Total payable †

I am booking for

Symphony Hall/Town Hall concerts at a discount of

DISABLED PATRONS: Please tick if you need a wheelchair position For members of the THSH access scheme (see p55): if you require a free ticket for an assisting companion, please tick

Booking form continued

Discount

1415 final outer cover one piece.qxd:Layout 1 11/04/2014 07:47 Page 2

section d) b) CONTACT DETAILS – please use BLOCK CAPITALS Title:

First Name:

PAYMENT DETAILS (Please select one of the following two options; please do not send cash in the post.)

Last Name:

1 2

Address: Postcode: Day tel:

Evening tel:

Email:

Today’s date:

I enclose a cheque, payable to ‘Performances Birmingham Ltd’ (If you are unsure of the total amount payable, please call the box office to discuss your booking.)

I am booking a concert package of three or more concerts costing more than £100, and am returning this instruction by 5pm, Monday 14 July 2014. I would like to pay by Direct Debit over 9 months and I enclose my completed Direct Debit instruction. First Name______________ Surname______________________ Postcode_________

Data protection please read: Your details will be held and processed on THSH’s and the CBSO’s marketing and box office databases and we may wish to reach you by any one of your contact details in order to administrate your booking and to send you information on our programme of events, other arts organisations and information from companies offering discounts and special offers to concert package bookers.

DIRECT DEBIT INSTRUCTION Instruction to your Bank or Building Society to pay by Direct Debit. Please fill in the whole form and send it to: BOX OFFICE, PERFORMANCES BIRMINGHAM LIMITED, SYMPHONY HALL, BROAD STREET, BIRMINGHAM B1 2EA

Other companies carefully selected by THSH and the CBSO (over and above those mentioned above) may also wish to send you information. If you do not want to receive this or do you not want us to pass on your contact details, please tick.

Originator’s Identification Number 2 people

4 1

1. Name and full postal address of your Bank or Building Society branch

(optional) Please send me ‘pay-as-you-use’ car parking vouchers for the Q-park car park, Brindleyplace, for my concert days (subject to availability).

To: The Manager

Early Bird Bonus Concert: I am booking 11+ concerts for my booking by Friday 27 June. I would like tickets for the concert indicated below.*

Address

Bank or Building Society

people, and you will receive

Postcode 2. Name(s) of account holder(s)

Please indicate a first and second choice from the list below, marking your choices ‘1’ and ‘2’ to show your preference.

3. Branch sort code (from the top right hand corner of your cheque)

Wednesday 24 September

Thursday 22 January

Thursday 2 October

Sunday 22 February

Thursday 16 October

Thursday 5 March

5. Originator’s Reference number CBSO/001

Sunday 16 November

Saturday 14 March

6. Instruction to your Bank or Building Society.

Thursday 4 December

Thursday 25 June

Please pay Performances Birmingham Limited Direct Debits from the account detailed on this Instruction subject to the safeguards assured by The Direct Debit Guarantee. I understand that this Instruction may remain with Performances Birmingham Limited and, if so, details will be passed electronically to my Bank/Building Society.

4. Bank/Building Society account number

* Max. one complimentary ticket per person for this concert. Tickets will be allocated subject to availability in areas of our choice. Bonus tickets cannot be exchanged.

Booking form

Booking form continued

c) please complete if you are booking a concert package: I am booking for

Signature(s)

Date

Banks and Building Societies may not accept Direct Debit Instructions for some types of account.

The Direct Debit Guarantee This Guarantee is offered by all banks and building societies that accept instructions to pay Direct Debits. If there are any changes to the amount, date or frequency of your Direct Debit, Town Hall and Symphony Hall will notify you three working days in advance of your account being debited or as otherwise agreed. If you request Town Hall and Symphony Hall to collect a payment, confirmation of the amount and date will be given to you at the time of the request. If an error is made in the payment of your Direct Debit by Town Hall and Symphony Hall or your bank or building society, you are entitled to a full and immediate refund of the amount paid from your bank or building society. If you receive a refund you are not entitled to, you must pay it back when Town Hall and Symphony Hall asks you to. You can cancel a Direct Debit at any time by simply contacting your bank or building society. Written confirmation may be required. Please also notify us.

IMPORTANT – DATA PROTECTION Please see p58 for details.

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section d) b) CONTACT DETAILS – please use BLOCK CAPITALS Title:

First Name:

PAYMENT DETAILS (Please select one of the following two options; please do not send cash in the post.)

Last Name:

1 2

Address: Postcode: Day tel:

Evening tel:

Email:

Today’s date:

I enclose a cheque, payable to ‘Performances Birmingham Ltd’ (If you are unsure of the total amount payable, please call the box office to discuss your booking.)

Originator’s Identification Number 2 people

4 1

1. Name and full postal address of your Bank or Building Society branch

(optional) Please send me ‘pay-as-you-use’ car parking vouchers for the Q-park car park, Brindleyplace, for my concert days (subject to availability).

To: The Manager

Early Bird Bonus Concert: I am booking 11+ concerts for my booking by Friday 27 June. I would like tickets for the concert indicated below.*

Address

Bank or Building Society

people, and you will receive

Postcode 2. Name(s) of account holder(s)

Please indicate a first and second choice from the list below, marking your choices ‘1’ and ‘2’ to show your preference.

3. Branch sort code (from the top right hand corner of your cheque)

Wednesday 24 September

Thursday 22 January

Thursday 2 October

Sunday 22 February

Thursday 16 October

Thursday 5 March

5. Originator’s Reference number CBSO/001

Sunday 16 November

Saturday 14 March

6. Instruction to your Bank or Building Society.

Thursday 4 December

Thursday 25 June

4. Bank/Building Society account number

* Max. one complimentary ticket per person for this concert. Tickets will be allocated subject to availability in areas of our choice. Bonus tickets cannot be exchanged.

Booking form

Booking form continued

c) please complete if you are booking a concert package: I am booking for

Signature(s)

Date

Banks and Building Societies may not accept Direct Debit Instructions for some types of account.

IMPORTANT – DATA PROTECTION Please see p58 for details.

Thank You For Your Support The support we receive from thousands of individual donors, public funders, businesses and private foundations allows us to present extraordinary performances and to create exciting activities in schools and communities. Your support makes such a difference and is much appreciated.

Strategic Partners

Corporate Partners Platinum Partners

Major Sponsor of Clock on to Safety

Major Sponsor of CBSO Schools Programme

Major Sponsor of Arts Café

Gold Partners

Academic Partner

Broadcast Partner

Silver Partners

Partners in Orchestral Development Supporter of Centre Stage

Bronze Partners Birmingham Music Education Partnership

Associated Architects

Deloitte

Genesys Human Resource Solutions

Menzies Nunn

For more information on how your organisation can engage with the CBSO, please contact Anthony Bisseker, CBSO corporate relations manager, on 0121 616 6538 or abisseker@cbso.co.uk Trusts and Foundations

Thank you also to our many Chair Endowers, Music Director’s Circle members, Benefactors, Patrons and Friends for their generous support.

1415 season brochure.indd 56

Angus Allnatt Foundation Arts Connect West MIdlands Baron Davenport’s Charity Birmingham Bodenham Trust CBSO Development Trust City of Birmingham Orchestral Endowment Fund Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation Douglas Turner Charitable Trust The D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust Edward Cadbury Charitable Trust Esmée Fairbairn Foundation Eveson Charitable Trust Garfield Weston Foundation George Fentham Birmingham Charity George Henry Collins Charity Grantham Yorke Trust Instytut Adama Mickiewicza The J. H. Burn Charity Trust J Paul Getty Jnr Charitable Trust John Feeney Charitable Trust

The Justham Trust Kirby Laing Foundation Lillie C Johnson Charitable Trust Limoges Charitable Trust Mazars Charitable Trust MFPA Fund for the Training of Handicapped People in the Arts The Michael Marsh Charitable Trust Misses CM Pearson & MV Williams Charitable Trust The Oakley Charitable Trust Penny Trust Perry Family Charitable Trust The R. C. and F. M. Young Trust Rowlands Trust S & D Lloyd Charitable Trust Tolkien Trust W E Dunn Trust William A. Cadbury Charitable Trust Wilmcote Charitrust Wolfson Foundation

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