Bristol Colston Hall 17/18 Season

concert season 2017/18

Kirill Karabits Chief Conductor

www.bsolive.com

Welcome to the 2017/18 season of BSO concerts at Colston Hall Join us for two remarkable milestones as Colston Hall celebrates its 150th Anniversary of bringing world-class music to Bristol, in a season leading up to the BSO’s 125th Birthday in May 2018.

The BSO’s artistic strength continues to grow under the outstanding leadership of Chief Conductor Kirill Karabits and as ever, the BSO is joined by a roster of exceptional international artists including regular favourites Andrew Litton and Sunwook Kim, as well as debutants Andreas Ottensamer and David Fray.

A highlight of every concert is without doubt the palpable sense of audience excitement, of the shared musical experience which generates emotions and long-lasting memories which is hard to equal.

Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra the Orchestra at Colston Hall Dougie Scarfe

Louise Mitchell

BSO Chief Executive

Bristol Music Trust Chief Executive

Kirill Karabits

thursday 12 october 7.30pm

Clarinet Magic brahms Variations on a Theme of Haydn

hindemith Clarinet Concerto

weber Concertino

schumann Symphony No.4 Kirill Karabits conductor Andreas Ottensamer clarinet

Hindemith’s Concerto is a work of particular serenity and melody, marked by a distinctive, translucent language encompassing the entire chromatic scale. The movements reflect four moods – hedonism, optimism, lyricism and gaiety.

Weber’s works for the clarinet broke fresh ground, demonstrating the recently developed instrument’s wideranging capabilities. The dramatic and energetic Concertino remains a favourite in the repertory even today. A landmark in the history of the symphony, the four thematically connected movements of Schumann’s Fourth Symphony are played without pause, enhancing the poetic flow of the music before reaching its volatile and explosive ending.

Also known as the St Anthony Variations, the Haydn Variations are a work of ever-evolving harmonic and rhythmic enhancements.

Andreas Ottensamer

Carol Paige and Jesper Svedberg

thursday 16 november 7.30pm

Russian Dance glazunov From the Middle Ages Overture

beethoven Piano Concerto No.3

tchaikovsky Suite No.3 Kirill Karabits conductor David Fray piano

Tchaikovsky’s Suite No.3 is a finely crafted work of winning spirit, entirely idiomatic Tchaikovsky.

Nobody else could have written the opening Elegy, which reaches from the languid to the impassioned, with gorgeous themes and fluttering accompaniments. Glazunov’s richly scored and detailed prelude conveys the image of two lovers high on a barren cliff, so lost in each other they are oblivious to the stormdriven sea below. Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No.3 came straight from the heart of its creator and was a showcase for his own amazing pianistic talents, revolutionary in its scale, drama and intensity.

David Fray

Magda Gruca-Broadbent

saturday 30 december 7.30pm

New Year Johann Strauss Gala j strauss ii Die Fledermaus Overture

r strauss Waltzes from Der Rosenkavalier

j strauss ii Tritsch-Tratsch Polka

j strauss ii Emperor Waltz

j strauss ii On the Blue Danube and more Victor Aviat conductor Rhian Lois soprano

Celebrate the New Year with an uplifting selection of waltzes, marches, polkas and arias by the King of Waltz, Johann Strauss and his contemporaries! The full symphonic forces of the BSO will be joined by outstanding soprano, Rhian Lois to bring you an evening of swirling melodies and carry you away into the glamour of Viennese Dance Halls. A sparkling start to 2018!

friday 2 march 7.30pm

Heroes & Monsters williams Jurassic Park

shore Lord of the Rings

herrmann Psycho

williams Dracula and more Pete Harrison conductor

More music from the movies! Once again the full power of a symphony orchestra is unleashed in a concert packed full of stirring and epic soundtracks of the silver screen – this time featuring music from films with monsters galore, whether they be prehistoric dinosaurs, giant beasts from the jungle or the deep, supernatural creatures of the night or psychopathic killers.

Other titles include The Mummy, Silence of the Lambs, King Kong, Super 8, The Abyss, Pan’s Labyrinth, Jaws and Gremlins composed by Hollywood greats from Bernard Herrmann to Michael Giacchino, Jerry Goldsmith to Howard Shore and, not forgetting, John Williams.

Eluned Pierce, Anna Pyne and Kevin Smith

thursday 22 march 7.30pm

Hollywood Concerto In his Violin Concerto, Korngold reworked themes from several of his korngold film scores. Lush and romantic, the Violin Concerto music certainly brings to mind the tchaikovsky swashbuckling films of the period Symphony No.6 ‘Pathétique’ with its combination of full-throated lyricism, unbridled virtuosity and Andrew Litton pyrotechnic passagework. The conductor finale melds a lively hoedown with Stefan Jackiw violin a sweeping melody of decidedly cinematic character. Tchaikovsky’s final symphony explores the metaphysics of death – the piece, as uplifting as it is harrowing, has become one of his most popular compositions. Copland’s overture opens with a fanfare, contrasted with a march-like theme and a lyrical melody for strings, all of which are cleverly woven into the final, joyous conclusion.

copland

An Outdoor Overture

Andrew Litton

Tim Fisher and Kevin Banks

thursday 12 april 7.30pm

Images And Dreams debussy Rondes de printemps

mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E minor

berlioz Symphonie fantastique Robert Trevino conductor Simone Lamsma violin

The Symphonie fantastique is a work like no other. Its sound palette is unprecedented. Its forms are fresh.

Its programme is grotesque. And the result is a composition that creates its own world in sound. The twenty seven-year old Berlioz produced an amazingly fresh and wholly personal trip through sumptuous reveries and drug-induced dreams that leads ultimately to a death by beheading.

Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto makes a journey from darkness to light. It begins restless, sometimes mysterious, sometimes nostalgic but ends with a mood of joy and exhilaration. The last part of his triptych Images, Debussy conveys the joyousness of the countryside awakening to spring and decking itself in leaves and garlands.

Simone Lamsma

Janice Thorgilson, Jacoba Gale and Magda Gruca-Broadbent

thursday 3 may 7.30pm

Into The Light haydn

Aside from containing probably

Symphony No.100 ‘Military’ the most famous theme in classical

beethoven Piano Concerto No.2

beethoven Symphony No.5 Kirill Karabits conductor Sunwook Kim piano

music, the Fifth Symphony truly shows the genius of Beethoven as the musical manifestations of his mind. A sense of a power struggle is played out between the forces of darkness and the avenging nature of light, but in the end goodness triumphs over even the darkest fate.

One of his earliest compositions for orchestra, the Second Piano Concerto reflects Beethoven’s mastery of Classical form and style.

It is a youthful work, yet shows glimpses of the mature Beethoven.

Haydn’s Military Symphony caught the public’s imagination with its novelty of introducing percussion instruments, adding not just exotic colour but also a touch of menace.

Sunwook Kim

0117 203 4040 bsolive.com colstonhall.org tickets for 12 oct, 16 nov 22 mar, 12 apr, 3 may

£36 £30 £24 £18 under 25s £8.50, u18s £1

tickets for 30 dec, 2 mar

£30 £25 £20 £15 under 25s £8.50, u18s £1 Prices include booking fee.

For concessions contact the box office.

Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, 2 Seldown Lane, Poole, BH15 1UF Tel: 01202 670611 www.BSOlive.com.

BSO is a Charity Registered No.208520 and a company limited by guarantee Registered No.538351 England.

All information is correct at the time of going to press – however artists are subject to availability.

BSO reserves the right to make any necessary changes from the advertised programmes.