CLASSICAL SEASON 2013/14 FEATURING NORTHERN SINFONIA G R E AT M U LT I B U Y DE A L S ACROSS THE SEASON – SEE PAGE 11
WELCOME Welcome to the 2013/14 Classical Season where worldclass precision and excellence, paired with stunning, crystalclear acoustics are the foundations of every performance.
Northern Sinfonia, Orchestra of Sage Gateshead, is joined by a star-studded roster of guest ensembles and artists for a programme packed full of exciting, beautiful and fascinating concerts with music from the 16th to 21st centuries, from Stravinsky to Sleigh-Ride. With a typically varied programme Thomas Zehetmair, Northern Sinfonia’s longest serving Music Director, embarks on his 12th and final season at the helm. Known for his dedication to style and interpretation, he leads the orchestral programme at Sage Gateshead and conducts Northern Sinfonia in their debut series at Milton Court, London. Marking their 40th anniversary, Northern Sinfonia Chorus also joins Thomas and the orchestra for three significant and memorable concerts as well as performing under their founding Chorus Master Alan Fearon.
Thomas Zehetmair
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In 2013 the country remembers its most celebrated composer, Benjamin Britten, and in the first half of the season we follow suit featuring his music in Hall One, Hall Two and through our Join In projects. In the spring and summer months we focus on internationally-renowned British composer John Casken with a series of performances that culminate in the world premiere of his new concerto for violin and viola ‘That Subtle Knot’. Opera North concludes its epic Ring Cycle with the dramatic and powerful ‘Götterdämmerung’ and we turn our attention to a new programme cycle: Beethoven’s complete Piano Sonatas. From the grandeur of Wagner in Hall One, we look to the intimate setting of Hall Two for this fascinating set of works performed over several seasons by the celebrated Palestinian-Israeli pianist Saleem Abboud Ashkar. Among the many wonderful guests of Northern Sinfonia are leading instrumentalists who each perform a concerto and then conduct the orchestra for the first time, bringing their unrivalled musicality to the podium. Violinist Julian Rachlin performs Mendelssohn, pianist Lars Vogt takes on Mozart and Beethoven and astounding trumpeter Håkan Hardenberger presents Bach, Haydn and Stravinsky.
Our popular Classic FM Series, featuring Principal Conductor Mario Venzago, continues with a selection of the most loved concerti from classical music and many pieces from Classic FM’s ‘Hall of Fame’, whilst Late Mix inspires and challenges the mind with music from throughout time. Chamber music is a unique and integral part of the work of Northern Sinfonia, highlighted in our Hall Two series which includes works from Brahms to Schoenberg whilst Section Leader Flute, Juliette Bausor, performs a vivid recital as an ECHO (European Concert Hall Organisation) Rising Star. To learn more about the musicians and the music they play, ‘Northern Sinfonia Spotlight’ performances give you the chance to hear individual players performing their own choice of solo repertoire whilst beautiful music you might not yet know is featured in ‘Northern Sinfonia Presents…’
Both series are presented after Hall One concerts whilst the pre-concert talks are a fascinating insight into the background of the music from the artists’ perspective. Outside the auditorium, our Exploring Music talks offer an in-depth study of all genres of music from every angle. Before all of that, our 2013 Summer Series features Northern Sinfonia players in ensembles from duos to octets contrasted by regular guests the Hallé who provide an injection of symphonic excitement. Whether you attend one concert or take advantage of our multibuy deals, there will be something on offer for everyone. We look forward to welcoming you to our performances. Craig West, Head of Classical Music
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BIOGRAPHY
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Northern Sinfonia, Orchestra of Sage Gateshead and the UK’s only full-time chamber orchestra, has built a distinctive reputation as a fresh-thinking and versatile orchestra. Under its longest serving Music Director, Thomas Zehetmair, Northern Sinfonia has taken a dedicated approach to stylistic excellence in all genres and has developed an extensive and ambitious repertoire. Core classical music remains at the heart of the programme whilst precision, excellence and deep musical understanding are equally applied to its chamber, contemporary, light music and cross-genre performances. All performances are underpinned by Zehetmair’s maxim; to perform “as if the ink was still wet on the page.” Founded in 1958, the orchestra has been integral to the cultural life of the region and reached new heights with the opening of Sage Gateshead in 2004 as its world-class home. A critically acclaimed cycle of Beethoven Symphonies marked the orchestra’s 50th anniversary and the orchestra has since given equally lauded symphonic cycles by Schubert, Brahms and Schumann, the piano concertos of Beethoven and the complete Brandenburg Concerti by JS Bach whilst continuing to explore the symphonies of Tchaikovsky and Sibelius. Northern Sinfonia has worked with many of the most in-demand artists in the world including Sir Mark Elder, Yannick Nezet-Seguin, Gidon Kremer, Ian Bostridge, Pierre Laurent-Aimard and Heinz Holliger whilst also offering opportunities for the next generation of
star conductors and musicians. The orchestra’s commitment to contemporary music is highlighted by frequent commissions and premieres, most recently by Simon Bainbridge, David Lang and John Woolrich. Performances of the most current composers are a regular feature of the orchestra’s work. A unique and extensive programme of chamber music celebrates the individual talent of Northern Sinfonia musicians with performances in the intimate setting of Hall Two as well as regular solo and concerto performances by leading players in Sage Gateshead’s Hall One. Part of a vibrant programme of music at Sage Gateshead, Northern Sinfonia takes regular opportunities to collaborate with artists from other art forms including Sting, Pet Shop Boys, Joanna Newsome, Efterklang, Spiritualised and Raul Malo. The orchestra has also taken an active role in Sage Gateshead’s flagship festivals’ including Gateshead International Jazz Festival and SummerTyne Americana Festival.
Festival with Thomas Zehetmair are among the many recent invitations to perform at venues and festivals around the country and abroad with visits to Germany, Sweden, Portugal, Holland and South Korea as well as the regular performances at the BBC Proms and involvement in the 2013 The Rest is Noise festival at London’s Southbank. The orchestra is broadcast on radio each season whilst recordings on its own label are complemented by regular commercial releases on AVIE, Signum, Naxos and NMC. Northern Sinfonia continues to contribute to the cultural life of the region through its work with adults and youngsters alike. Performances for families and schools, gala concerts with community choirs and workshops and premieres of student compositions are regular projects whilst the individual members play a key role coaching and mentoring in Sage Gateshead’s Young Musicians’ Programme and In Harmony project.
Performances in its landmark home are complemented by an extensive programme of activity in the local and regional community as well as nationally and internationally. Residencies at the Aldeburgh Festival and Hong Kong Arts
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SUMMER CONCERTS NORTHERN SINFONIA SUMMER CHAMBER SERIES
HALLÉ Sunday 14th July 2013, 7.30pm, Hall One
Hall Two, 7pm Sunday 30th June, 2013 Beethoven Mozart Bartók Tchaikovsky
Trio for Violin, Viola and Cello in C minor Op.9/3 Oboe Quartet Selection of Duos for two violins String Quartet No.1
Thursday 18th July, 2013 Beethoven Prokofiev Françaix Bruch
Trio for Violin, Viola and Cello in D Op.9/2 Sonata for two violins Wind Quintet No.2 Octet for Strings
Wednesday 31st July, 2013 Beethoven Francaix Telemann Wieniawski Verdi Tickets: £16
Trio for Violin, Viola and Cello in G Op.9/1 Wind Quintet No.1 Gulliver Suite for two violins Caprices for two violins, Nos. 1, 4, 6 String Quartet in E minor
The Hallé return with conductor Stephen Bell for a spectacular night packed full of classics. From the serenity of Saint-Saën’s ‘The Swan’ and the stately pomp of Elgar’s ‘Nimrod’ to the rip roaring excitement of Tchaikovsky’s ‘1812 Overture’ - there’s something for everyone from one of Britain’s most respected orchestras. Tickets: £10-£33
‘VIELEN DANK’ THOMAS In the 12th and final season of Thomas Zehetmair’s tenure as Music Director of Northern Sinfonia, the orchestra’s longest serving Director presents a typically varied programme that shows the full range of musical wonders that have been a feature of their work together.
Gateshead are just some of the performances that live long in the memory whilst the orchestra under Zehetmair have been described as “one of the most daringly responsive Mozartian orchestras in the country” (Alfred Hickling, The Guardian). This season, major choral works by Bach, Beethoven and Brahms and the three last symphonies of Mozart feature with Thomas’s ethos and the orchestra’s dedication showcased to the highest level.
Thomas Zehetmair
Upon joining Northern Sinfonia, Thomas quickly established a crucial philosophy to the music-making seeking to perform “as if the ink was still wet on the page”, something that now underpins the orchestra’s whole approach to all music. With a pure dedication to style and a deep musical interpretation, Northern Sinfonia’s performances of the classical repertoire with Thomas have been world-class, recognised nationally and internationally. The Complete Bach Brandenburg Concerti at the Edinburgh Festival, Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony at the Aldeburgh Festival and an acclaimed cycle of Brahms Symphonies at Sage
Thomas’s commitment to music from the 20th century has been regularly highlighted in concert programmes each season. This passion was reflected in a short festival of music from the 20th century over one week with music from Schoenberg to Oliver Knussen, whilst in 2008 Thomas and the orchestra gave the world premiere performance and recording of several new discoveries from the pen of Benjamin Britten. Britten’s music more than any other has been a key part of Thomas’s 20th century repertoire with most of the chamber orchestra works performed. In Britten’s anniversary year Thomas continues this
interest in the country’s most celebrated composer with performances of three song-cycles, each performed with specially selected singers; established talent Werner Güra and Julie Fuchs and rising star Samuel Boden. Alongside the dedication to his art, Thomas’s time with Northern Sinfonia has been defined by ambition. A Beethoven symphonic cycle over two weeks, conductor-less performances and recordings of numerous violin concerti including Stravinsky and Brahms, exploration of the symphonic works of Tchaikovsky and Sibelius or the many world-premieres, including works by Philip Cashian, John Woolrich and Simon Bainbridge, are just some of the examples of how Thomas and the orchestra have set new targets and challenges and met them with critical acclaim. This final season led by Thomas culminates with a fittingly epic programme including the world-premiere of John Casken’s concerto for violin and viola, directed and performed by Thomas and guest Ruth Killius, alongside Bartók’s powerful Viola Concerto and Beethoven’s saluting Fifth Symphony. Stunning musicianship, heartfelt commitment and endless ambition underpin a season of masterful works and memorable performances that are a fitting end to this wonderful musical relationship. What Thomas has undertaken and achieved in his 12 seasons is unrivalled and has made a profound difference to the musical heritage of the region and the future of Northern Sinfonia. We don’t say goodbye as there are still so many projects and ideas to explore in the future but we say ‘thank you’ Thomas for 12 seasons of pure musical joy.
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John Casken
BRITISH CONNECTION This season we feature two British composers of international repute who between them have contributed to the musical life of the country for the last 80 years: Benjamin Britten and John Casken. With such a varied and often unusual catalogue, the music of Benjamin Britten is frequently featured by orchestras large and small as well as chamber ensembles, soloists and opera companies. In the first half of our season we reflect that variety with performances across all our series and programmes. We start our focus on Britten with Late Mix pitching his first published work with one of his last. The late String Quartet No.3 could be seen as his final musical statement before his death whilst his Op.1 Sinfonietta is a self-assured work
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from his time at the Royal College of Music. At the centre of our celebration in October and November are three song cycles from different stages of Britten’s life, each charged with vivid imagery and emotion: ‘Les Illuminations’ written in his American period but embracing not only the French language but also elements of French style; the most famous of the three works, his Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings written during World War II for the celebrated horn player Dennis Brain; and finally Nocturne, written in the late 1950s and, like so many other works, premiered by Peter Pears. At opposite ends of the compositional scale are his ‘Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra’ and his ‘Phantasy Quartet’ for oboe and strings presented by the Hallé in October and Northern Sinfonia soloists in November respectively. Britten had strong links to Russian musicians Shostakovich and Rostropovich and it was those relationships that influenced his Cello Symphony, altogether more ambitious than a concerto, performed in March by our Section Leader Cello Louisa Tuck. Before the main series performances begin, our young musicians collaborate with Samling Academy singers to present his comic opera, ‘Albert Herring’ and throughout the season we will be working with local schools to create new works inspired by Britten’s incomplete radio plays in our composition project “What would Britten have written?” Performances and projects from Young Sinfonia, Quay Choirs and our Young Musicians Programme will feature Benjamin Britten and details of performances and showcase events will be featured on our website.
As we move into the second half of our season, we look ahead to June 2014 and the world premiere of a new concerto for violin and viola jointly commissioned by Thomas Zehetmair and Northern Sinfonia from John Casken. Entitled ‘That Subtle Knot’ the work is inspired by the poem ‘Ecstasy’ by John Donne and will receive its second performance days after its premiere in Northern Sinfonia’s London Series at Milton Court. John Casken was Composer-in-Association for Northern Sinfonia from 1990 to 2001 writing numerous works for the orchestra including his Cello Concerto written for Heinrich Schiff, ‘Darting the Skiff’ for strings, and ‘Maharal Dreaming’ a tone poem based on his opera ‘Golem’, performed this season by Mario Venzago in April 2014. The orchestra and chorus have continued to perform his music, most recently his ‘Farness’ – three poems of Carol Ann Duffy and ‘The Knight’s Stone’ for chorus and flute which features in Late Mix in February 2014. John studied in Poland and formed a close relationship with Witold Lutosławski, inviting both him and the Japanese composer Toru Takemitsu to Durham University, where he taught, to receive honorary doctorate degrees, a link that inspires a special Late Mix concert curated and conducted by John in April 2014. Emeritus Professor of Music at the University of Manchester, having been Professor from 1992 to 2008, John now lives and composes in Coquetdale and influences of the Northumberland landscape are just one source of inspiration for his music.
NORTHERN SINFONIA CHORUS AT 40 For 40 years Northern Sinfonia Chorus has been an integral, ever-present part of the Northern Sinfonia musical family drawing on talented and committed singers from across the North of England. Choruses allow an orchestra to present the great, stand-out works from history; Mozart’s Requiem, Bach’s Passions and Haydn’s Masses and performances of these have formed the core repertoire for Northern Sinfonia Chorus. However its role in Sage Gateshead’s classical programme is altogether more ambitious matching the breadth of repertoire of the orchestra itself. Regular performances of the classics are frequently placed alongside modern masterpieces and the chorus now regularly features in both Hall One and our more eclectic Hall Two series, Late Mix.
Former Northern Sinfonia Timpanist Alan Fearon founded the chorus and continues to lead them whilst playing a crucial role in the choral and vocal strategy at Sage Gateshead. The chorus has worked with many guest conductors and with every Music Director since Rudolph Schwartz, the orchestra’s second Music Director, including for the last 12 seasons Thomas Zehetmair. From 2004 to 2012 renowned choral conductor Simon Halsey led the chorus as Principal Conductor Choral Programme. In this 40th season Northern Sinfonia Chorus once again feature in a full range of programmes
with Thomas Zehetmair and Alan Fearon and in a final flourish give their first ever performance of Beethoven’s stunning ‘Missa Solemnis’. As we say farewell to Thomas as Music Director one thing remains certain, that Northern Sinfonia Chorus will continue to play a major role in the classical programme and we look forward to embarking on their next musical adventures.
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by the influential pianist Hans von Bülow. It was Bülow who described the works as “The New Testament of Music” with Bach’s ‘The Well-Tempered Clavier’ being “The Old Testament”. Whether planned as a cycle or not, what is clear is that each sonata is in itself a masterpiece and they all regularly feature in the piano recital repertoire.
Saleem Abboud Ashkar
BEETHOVEN PIANO SONATAS – SALEEM ABBOUD ASHKAR
Beethoven’s status as one of the most important composers of all time is undisputed, the advances in compositional style and form, and a more radical musical sound-world, despite the fact that he battled with profound deafness for much of his career, are all well-known. We explore these aspects of Beethoven’s work in the medium he composed for the most – the solo piano. Northern Sinfonia has performed the complete Beethoven symphonies in two weeks and all the piano concerti in one season, and both the Lindsays and the Belcea Quartet have performed a complete cycle of string quartets. Over several seasons we present the most ambitious of Beethoven’s cycles with the complete Piano Sonatas. The 32 sonatas were composed between 1795 and 1822 with almost all being written after the point that Beethoven’s hearing began to deteriorate. It is unlikely that they were conceived as a set and it was not until after Beethoven’s death that the sonatas were performed in a cycle,
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To take on a cycle of such challenging and intense works takes courage and ambition and an artist who has a complete affinity with the composer. We are delighted to welcome Palestinian-Israeli pianist Saleem Abboud Ashkar, already a master interpreter of Beethoven’s work, to take us on this epic musical journey. Championed by Daniel Barenboim, Saleem made his Carnegie Hall debut aged 22 and has performed with the world’s leading orchestras and conductors in all the finest concert halls. His interpretation of Beethoven is magical and has been critically acclaimed, Germany’s leading newspaper commenting on Saleem as “A formidable musician … who has a mixture of warmth and clarity, intensity and freshness that simply grabs you: Pure Beethoven joy.” Die Welt. In this first season, Saleem Abboud Ashkar presents the first two recitals in Hall Two featuring the popular ‘Moonlight’ Sonata and his E flat major ‘Les Adieux’. Book tickets early. This is a cycle not to be missed.
MULTIBUY DEALS Book a multibuy deal and save more and more on your concerts*: 4-7 concerts
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8-11 concerts
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12-19 concerts
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20+ concerts
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*Does not apply to Opera North, Summer Concerts or Christmas events.
• Principal Partners, Sage Supporters and Northern Sinfonia Friends presale: Friday 10th May • 2012/13 season package bookers presale: Friday 24th May • General onsale: Sunday 9th June If you would like to join one of our membership schemes and benefit from priority booking please contact Ticket Office on 0191 443 4661.
Multibuy deal bookers also benefit from: • A choice of payment options, including a six month payment plan. • Free exchanges within the season. • Special offers and promotions. • Priority booking period for next season.
Pre-concert talks take place for selected concerts, an hour before the start time. ‘Northern Sinfonia Spotlight’ and ‘Northern Sinfonia Presents...’ follow a 20 minute break after the end of the main performance.
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A GERMAN REQUIEM Sunday 29th September, 7.30pm, Hall One
In 1857, encouraged by his mentor Robert Schumann, Johannes Brahms began work on his choral masterpiece ‘A German Requiem’. Schumann hoped Brahms would deliver “wonderful glimpses of the spirit world”, and he wasn’t disappointed. What Brahms created was a Requiem unlike any other: a piece that carried the gift of spiritual comfort rather than the threat of impending judgment, conveying the weight of Germany’s cultural tradition in the process – a poignant opening to Thomas Zehetmair’s final season as Music Director.
Brahms A German Requiem Conductor: Thomas Zehetmair Soprano: Elizabeth Atherton Northern Sinfonia Northern Sinfonia Chorus
With a pre-concert talk and postconcert ‘Northern Sinfonia Spotlight’ Buses from Alnwick, Hexham and Carlisle. Tickets: £10-£33
Sponsored by
Thomas Zehetmair
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Founding Patron
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SERIES
FROM PLAYER TO PODIUM: JULIAN RACHLIN Thursday 3rd October, 7.30pm, Hall One
Two of Mendelssohn’s most carefree and radiant works meet in this concert featuring the remarkable violinist Julian Rachlin as both soloist and conductor. After the serenity of Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto – a gift to one of his closest friends and collaborators – comes the thrusting brilliance of his Italian Symphony, the composer’s fascinating take on symphonic theory tinged with poetry and romance.
Mozart Overture: The Marriage of Figaro Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E minor (HOF: 45) Mendelssohn Symphony No.4 in A, ‘Italian’ (HOF 209) Conductor/Violin: Julian Rachlin Northern Sinfonia HOF: Classic FM’s Hall of Fame 2013 position
With a post-concert ‘Northern Sinfonia Presents...’ Buses from Alnwick, Hexham and Carlisle. Tickets: £10-£29
“Mr. Rachlin has a brilliant highoctane technique that he deployed to great ovation-producing effect.” The New York Times
Julian Rachlin
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LATE MIX BRITTEN Tuesday 8th October, 9pm, Hall Two
A fascinating juxtaposition of youthful energy and vibrancy and an unknowing final musical statement, Northern Sinfonia members perform music from the student Britten and the experienced Britten. Colin Matthews, who was and is a great supporter of Britten and his music, features with his Oboe Quartet written for Nottingham University whilst Thomas MacMillan’s ‘A Thousand Plateaus’ was created just this year as part of his studies at Newcastle University. Tickets: £16
Britten Sinfonietta Thomas MacMillan* A Thousand Plateaus Colin Matthews Oboe Quartet No.1 Britten String Quartet No.3 *Conductor: Mark Edwards Northern Sinfonia
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HALLÉ Sunday 13th October, 7.30pm, Hall One
When the 19-year old student Dmitri Shostakovich handed in the score for his first symphony in 1925, his tutors were stunned. Shostakovich’s dramatic, impulsive and strident work seemed to combine Tchaikovsky’s emotional fervour, Prokofiev’s playful joie de vivre and Scriabin’s intense heat. Rory Macdonald and the Hallé perform Shostakovich’s eye-widening first symphony alongside Rachmaninov’s devious dance after Paganini and Britten’s monumental celebration of the orchestra.
Britten The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra
With a pre-concert talk
Conductor: Rory Macdonald
Buses from Alnwick and Hexham. Tickets: £13-£36
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Rachmaninov Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini Shostakovich Symphony No.1 in F minor
Piano: Andrew Tyson Hallé
ILLUMINATIONS Thursday 17th October, 7.30pm, Hall One
Mysterious, urgent, complex and unprecedented, Mozart’s last three symphonies seemed to appear from nowhere but at the same time carried a underlying power and passion that no generation has been able to ignore. Thomas Zehetmair conducts all three with the enchanting Salzburg Divertimenti, beginning here with the joyous explosion that is the Symphony No.39 and luminous songs by Benjamin Britten from the ice-pure voice of Julie Fuchs. With a post-concert ‘Northern Sinfonia Spotlight’
Mozart Divertimento in D ‘Salzburg Symphony No.1’ Britten Les Illuminations (with three additional movements orchestrated by Colin Matthews) Mozart Symphony No.39 in E flat Conductor: Thomas Zehetmair Soprano: Julie Fuchs Northern Sinfonia
Buses from Alnwick and Hexham. Tickets: £10-£33
Dedicated to the memory of Jan Dyer Julie Fuchs
“one of the most daringly responsive Mozartian orchestras in the country” Alfred Hickling, The Guardian on Northern Sinfonia
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“the young Palestinian Israeli Saleem Abboud Ashkar, has the slender looks of a matinee idol, and his playing too was fabulously well-groomed, light-fingered and neat.” The Telegraph
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BEETHOVEN SONATAS: MOONLIGHT Tuesday 22nd October, 8pm, Hall Two
Championed by Daniel Barenboim and renowned for the clarity and feeling of his Beethoven playing, pianist Saleem Abboud Askhar begins his series, reaching across the coming seasons, of the seminal piano sonatas of Ludwig van Beethoven with the outward glitter of the C major Sonata, the fate-filled C minor Sonata and the almost naïve purity of the sonata in E flat. Finally he plays the most famous of all – the singing restraint and brooding unrest of Beethoven’s iconic ‘Moonlight’ Sonata. Tickets: £16-£20
Beethoven Piano Sonata Cycle Piano Sonata No.3 in C Piano Sonata No.5 in C minor Piano Sonata No.13 in E flat, ‘Sonata quasi una fantasia’ Piano Sonata No.14 in C sharp minor, ‘Moonlight’ Piano: Saleem Abboud Ashkar
Saleem Abboud Ashkar
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SERENADE Friday 25th October, 7.30pm, Hall One
One century ago, a musician was born who did more to encapsulate the geographical and linguistic qualities of England than any other composer had managed before or has since. In his haunting Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings, Benjamin Britten set poetry by Blake, Tennyson and Cotton with a intensity, penetration and unity of atmosphere that hadn’t been heard before. We hear the Serenade here alongside the second of Mozart’s carefree ‘Salzburg’ Divertimenti and his frantic, eerie but compelling Symphony No.40. With a post-concert ‘Northern Sinfonia Spotlight’ Buses from Alnwick and Hexham. Tickets: £10-£33
Werner Güra
Mozart Divertimento in B flat ‘Salzburg Symphony No. 2’ Britten Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings Mozart Symphony No.40 in G minor Conductor: Thomas Zehetmair Tenor: Werner Güra Horn: Peter Francomb Northern Sinfonia
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“a commanding stage presence” LA Times on Veronika Eberle
LEGENDS – DVORÁK AND TCHAIKOVSKY Friday 8th November, 7.30pm, Hall One
Tchaikovsky’s heart-on-sleeve showpiece, his unforgettable Violin Concerto is played by the Veronika Eberle unforgettable Veronika Eberle. You may never have heard them before, but prepare to be enchanted by Antonín Dvořák’s ‘Legends’ – ten charming orchestral pictures exploring elements of human character with all the beguiling imagination and heartfelt rapture that demonstrates the best from this composer, not least the exquisite second of his ‘Slavonic Dances.’
Dvořák Legends Nos.1, 9 & 2 Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto in D Dvořák Legends Nos.4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10 & 3 Dvořák Slavonic Dance No.2 Conductor: Christian Zacharias Violin: Veronika Eberle Northern Sinfonia
With a pre-concert talk Tickets: £10-£33
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BEETHOVEN SEPTET Tuesday 12th November, 8pm, Hall Two
Beethoven’s celebrated Septet for winds didn’t just take the composer’s writing to a new level; it helped make his name in Vienna. In this inventive and colourful piece there is, according to musicologist Peter Holman, “grandeur, intimacy, virtuosity and informality”. Wind soloists of Northern Sinfonia invite you into the Septet’s alluring twist and turns in this concert, after playing similarly engaging and celebrated chamber works by August Klughardt and Benjamin Britten. Tickets: £16
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Klughardt Wind Quintet Britten Phantasy Quartet Beethoven Septet Northern Sinfonia
NOCTURNE Friday 22nd November, 7.30pm, Hall One
“It is the strangest and remotest thing”, Britten said of his voice-andorchestra work Samuel Boden Nocturne as he worked on it in the summer of 1958, (“but then dreams are remote and strange.”) Fast-rising tenor Samuel Boden sings Britten’s curious and unsettling piece, before Thomas Zehetmair conducts Mozart’s final symphony – a staggering and uncanny marriage of technical wizardry to emotional profundity and the peak of Mozart’s orchestral achievements.
Mozart Divertimento in F ‘Salzburg Symphony No. 3’ Britten Nocture for Tenor and Chamber Orchestra Mozart Symphony No.41 in C, ‘Jupiter’ Conductor: Thomas Zehetmair Tenor: Samuel Boden Northern Sinfonia
With a post-concert ‘Northern Sinfonia Spotlight’ Buses from Alnwick and Hexham. Tickets: £10-£33
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Rossini Overture: Italian Girl in Algiers SERIES
BEETHOVEN EMPEROR Friday 6th December, 7.30pm, Hall One
One composer’s first great symphony meets another’s last great piano concerto. Mozart discovered his trademark symphonic brilliance and tunefulness for the first time in the 35th Symphony, a piece whose joyous finale with its rushing scales and lunging changes in texture and volume are heard here after a truly landmark work – Beethoven’s mammoth ‘Emperor’ concerto, as heroic and virtuosic as it is touching and profound. With a post-concert ‘Northern Sinfonia Spotlight’ Buses from Alnwick and Hexham. Tickets: £10-£29
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Beethoven Piano Concerto No.5 in E flat, ‘Emperor’ (HOF: 6) Schubert Overture in D, ‘In the Italian Style’ Mozart Symphony No.35 in D, ‘Haffner’ Conductor: Enrique Mazzola: Piano: Cédric Tiberghien: Northern Sinfonia HOF: Classic FM’s Hall of Fame 2013 position
Cédric Tiberghien
“the brilliant French pianist” The New York Times on Cédric Tiberghien
LATE MIX CABARET - FROM BOHEMIA TO THE BLACK SEA Thursday 12th December, 9pm, Hall Two
This season’s ‘cabaret mix’ features music from Bohemia to the Black Sea in the first half of the twentieth century, a time when traditional, folk and dance music inspired the greatest composers from the region. Martinů and Dvořák provide the rugged Bohemian sounds whilst Enescu flourishes in the south. In between are the great Hungarian folk-song collectors Bartók and Kodály. Northern Sinfonia musicians feature in this informal and enjoyable concert. Tickets: £16 (Cabaret Layout)
Enescu Cantabile et Presto Martinů Duo for Violin and Cello Kodály Dances from Marosszek Dvořák Extracts from ‘Cypresses’ Bartók Rhapsody No.1 for Violin and Piano Enescu Concert piece for Viola and Piano Martinů Sextet for Piano and Winds Northern Sinfonia
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TRANSFIGURED NIGHT Thursday 9th January, 8pm, Hall Two
In 1899 Schoenberg was falling in love with the sister of a colleague. At the same time he read a poem by Richard Dehmel, telling of a couple walking at dusk in a wood; the woman confesses that she is pregnant by another lover, before the forest fills with moonlight and the man proclaims that the strength of their love will make the child their own. The smitten Schoenberg was inspired to create his most touching work, played here against colourful, rich chamber works by Dvořák and Martinů. Tickets: £16
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Martinů String Sextet Schoenberg Verklärte Nacht Beethoven Rondino in E flat for Wind Octet Dvořák Serenade in D minor Northern Sinfonia
CITY OF BIRMINGHAM SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Friday 17th January, 7.30pm, Hall One
Andris Nelsons and the CBSO come to Sage Gateshead for music of beauty both sumptuous and raw. Richard Strauss’s late songs shot through with tearful resignation, a resigned goodbye to the world, are heard after his rollicking rollercoaster ride ‘Don Juan’ from 60 years earlier. They finish with Stravinsky’s ‘Petrushka’ – a playful yet disturbing score in which the composer returned to his roots, depicting Russia with, in his own words, “quick tempos, major keys, smells of Russian food, sweat and glistening leather boots.” With a pre-concert talk
Strauss Don Juan Strauss Four Last Songs Stravinsky Petrushka Conductor: Andris Nelsons Soprano: Erin Wall City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
“The greatest and brightest hope on the international conductor’s scene. The 30year-old Latvian is a paragon of musicality.” Der Tagesspiegel on Andris Nelsons
Buses from Alnwick and Hexham. Tickets: £13-£36
www.sagegateshead.com
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“one of the most extraordinary musicians of any age group that I have had the fortune to be associated with.” Sir Simon Rattle on Lars Vogt
FROM PLAYER TO PODIUM: LARS VOGT Saturday 25th January, 7.30pm, Hall One
‘We shall never be able to do anything like that’ proclaimed a near-overwhelmed Ludwig van Beethoven when he heard Mozart’s dramatic, minor-key Piano Concerto No.24. Beethoven, of course, went on to produce a lot like it in the same C minor key and of similar dramatic fortitude and emotional strength. His Fourth Symphony is neither tragic nor heroic, but an exercise in energy, life and joy – uncannily carefree and wholly uplifting.
Beethoven Coriolan Overture Mozart Piano Concerto No.24 in C minor Beethoven Symphony No.4 in B flat Conductor/Piano: Lars Vogt Northern Sinfonia
With a post-concert ‘Northern Sinfonia Spotlight’ Tickets: £10-£33 Lars Vogt
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SERIES
BRUCH VIOLIN CONCERTO
Rossini Overture: The Barber of Seville
Friday 31st January, 7.30pm, Hall One
Bruch Violin Concerto No.1 in G minor (HOF:13)
On 22nd July 1919 an audience sat quietly in front of Pablo Picasso’s drop-curtain at London’s Jennifer Pike Alhambra theatre, waiting for the first sounds of Manuel de Falla’s new ballet the ‘Three Cornered Hat’. Picasso’s colourful images got them in the mood for the sensuous sounds of Falla’s music – its intoxicating rhythms, bold colours and vivid descriptions of Iberian life. Also performed here is Falla’s darker, more intimate and supernatural score ‘El Amor Brujo (Love, the Magician)’, the perfect foil to Bruch’s beauteous and gregarious Violin Concerto.
Faure Pelléas et Mélisande Suite
With a post-concert ‘Northern Sinfonia Spotlight’ Buses from Alnwick and Hexham. Tickets: £10-£29
Falla The Three-Cornered Hat: Suite No.1 Falla Ritual Fire Dance from ‘El Amor Brujo’ Conductor: Christian Vasquez Violin: Jennifer Pike Northern Sinfonia HOF: Classic FM’s Hall of Fame 2013 position
“Britain’s foremost young fiddler” “simply spectacular” The Independent on Jennifer Pike
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NUITS D’ÉTÉ Thursday 6th February, 7.30pm, Hall One
Ryan Wigglesworth First Book of Inventions Sophie Bevan
When Berlioz encountered a set of poems by his friend Théophile Gautier which told of love passionate, unrequited and lost, his reaction was typically intense. Berlioz immediately set the songs to music – first for soprano with piano, then with orchestra. In the colour, sensuousness and grace of ‘Nuits d’été’, Berlioz “sowed the seeds for the entire musical lyricism of the nineteenth century in the French language”, according to one musicologist. Ryan Wigglesworth also includes Mozart’s most miraculous piano concerto, Ravel’s plangent memorial to lost friends and his own ‘Inventions’. With a pre-concert talk Buses from Alnwick and Hexham Tickets: £10-£33
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Mozart Piano Concerto No.9 in E flat, ‘Jeunehomme’ Berlioz Nuits d’été Ravel Le Tombeau de Couperin Conductor/Piano: Ryan Wigglesworth Soprano: Sophie Bevan: Northern Sinfonia
“Sophie Bevan is pure sunshine: like the legendary Elisabeth Schumann, she sings for joy, on a breeze... an enchanted performer” The Telegraph
“Wigglesworth writes music stamped with iridescent hues, instrumental finesse, shapely ideas and a lyrical impulse that stays within reach even when textures turn prickly… [his] bright ear for glinting textures, his flair for taut motivic interplay, his conjuror’s ability to cast a spell.” The Times
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LATE MIX MOTET Saturday 15th February, 9pm, Hall Two
The motets of Bach and Bruckner are established sets of works that showcase the individual talents of each composer in writing for voices. Bruckner’s are full of the expressive, dynamic and harmonic ranges that we associate with his symphonies while Bach’s are full of the interplay that was so fundamental to his music, sometimes through counterpoint and sometimes with double choirs. John Casken’s ‘The Knight’s Stone’ with solo flute is the newest work in the Northern Sinfonia Chorus repertory and completes this programme of stunning, beautiful music.
Tickets: £16
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Bach Der Geist Hilft Bruckner Ave Maria Afferentur Regi Virga Jesse Christus Factus Est John Casken The Knight’s Stone Bach Jesu meine Freude Conductor: Alan Fearon Northern Sinfonia Chorus
SERIES
MOZART PIANO CONCERTO
Mozart Overture: Così fan Tutte
Friday 21st February, 7.30pm, Hall One
Mozart Piano Concerto No.21 in C (HOF: 53)
After its melancholic predecessor, Mozart’s twenty-first piano concerto Francesco Piemontesi must have seemed like a sudden step into daylight. With longer themes, more musical conversation, a bigger orchestra and a freer way with harmony, this most majestic piece reduced its first audience to tears. For all the radiance therein, and in the flight of Vaughan Williams’s ‘Lark’, there’s more emotional struggle in Beethoven’s insistent symphony, one of the composer’s first musical protests against his encroaching deafness.
Vaughan Williams The Lark Ascending (HOF: 2) Beethoven Symphony No.2 in D Conductor: Mario Venzago Piano: Francesco Piemontesi Violin: Bradley Creswick Northern Sinfonia
“His playing is intelligent and refined, and he commands a prodigious range of keyboard touch and colour, combined with remarkable powers of articulation... Piemontesi’s playing is always a delight.” The Guardian on Francesco Piemontesi
HOF: Classic FM’s Hall of Fame 2013 position
With a post-concert ‘Northern Sinfonia Presents...’ Buses from Alnwick and Hexham. Tickets: £10-£29
www.sagegateshead.com
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SCHUBERT’S GREAT Thursday 6th March, 7.30pm, Hall One Louisa Tuck
From its monolithic opening theme kick-starting a cycle of inexorable momentum like a giant pendulum, to the breathless dash of its finale, Schubert’s Ninth offers one of the most riveting journeys of any symphonic work. No wonder it attracted the title ‘Great’. “Write for the cello everything that your heart tells you” said the great soloist Mstislav Rostropovich when asking Britten for a new work. Britten responded with his remarkable ‘Symphony’ for cello and orchestra, an inspiring musical journey from darkness to light. With a pre-concert talk Buses from Alnwick, Hexham and Carlisle. Tickets: £10-£33
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Purcell (tr. Britten) Chacony Britten Symphony for Cello and Orchestra Schubert Symphony No.9 in C, ‘The Great’ Conductor: Paul Watkins Cello: Louisa Tuck Northern Sinfonia
SCOTTISH SYMPHONY Thursday 20th March, 7.30pm, Hall One
It was Schumann’s unflinching love for his pianist wife Clara that spawned the Jonathan Biss Piano Concerto – a love letter in music that offers a touching insight into one of the most famously passionate romances of the nineteenth century. Joshua Weilerstein also conducts Ligeti’s flavoursome ‘Concert Romanesc’ and Mendelssohn’s most inspired symphony – the free-flowing, rugged forty minutes of musical brilliance that is his ‘Scottish’.
“Biss never does anything just for effect, and everything here had a point and musical purpose. He has few peers as a Schumann pianist today.” The Guardian on Jonathan Biss
With a post-concert ‘Northern Sinfonia Spotlight’
Ligeti Concert Romanesc Schumann Piano Concerto in A minor Mendelssohn Symphony No.3 in A minor, ‘Scottish’ Conductor: Joshua Weilerstein Piano: Jonathan Biss Northern Sinfonia
Buses from Alnwick and Hexham. Tickets: £10-£33 Supported by the Vardy Foundation
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JULIETTE BAUSOR: ECHO RISING STAR Friday 28th March, 8pm, Hall Two
Northern Sinfonia Section Leader Flute Juliette Bausor features as one of this season’s Juliette Bausor ECHO (European Concert Hall Organisation) Rising Stars, a first for a Northern Sinfonia member. In a fascinating mix of old and new Juliette performs music from Bach to Gubaidulina and presents an exciting new addition to the flute repertoire by Charlie Piper, culminating in one of the most striking works for Flute and Piano - Prokofiev’s Sonata in D. Tickets: £16
“radiating composure and command in equal measure” The Times on Juliette Bausor
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Dutilleux Sonatine Bach Sonata in E Sofia Gubaidulina Allegro Rustico: Klänge des Waldes Charlie Piper New commission Messiaen Le Merle Noir Bach Sonata in E minor Prokofiev Sonata in D Flute: Juliette Bausor Piano: Alasdair Beatson
LATE MIX JOHN CASKEN PRESENTS Tuesday 8th April, 9pm, Hall Two
Northern Sinfonia introduces the music of John Casken and his influences in this Late Mix concert curated by the composer. Music that plays on words and images is a feature of much of his music and ‘Shadowed Pieces’ for violin and piano and ‘Winter Reels’ for ensemble both conjure and inspire. Influences on John Casken’s music include his mentor, Witold Lutosławski, and Toru Takemitsu showing the diversity of musical styles that make John Casken one of Britain’s foremost composers.
John Casken Shadowed Pieces Takemitsu Entre-temps Lutosławski Partita John Casken Winter Reels* *Conductor: John Casken Northern Sinfonia
Tickets: £16
www.sagegateshead.com
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SERIES
“enormously impressive” BBC Music Magazine on Alexandra Dariescu
SHOSTAKOVICH PIANO CONCERTO Friday 11th April, 7.30pm, Hall One
A conductor of total charisma and commitment makes his debut at Sage Gateshead in this concert. Andrew Gourlay includes Shostakovich’s touchingly simple and disarmingly witty Piano Concerto under the fingers of Alexandra Dariescu, and finishes with Beethoven’s most impulsive symphony – a journey through steady, poignant contemplation to one of the most momentum-filled musical fireballs ever written.
Alexandra Dariescu
Tchaikovsky Serenade for Strings (HOF: 295) Shostakovich Piano Concerto No.2 in F (HOF: 34) Beethoven Symphony No.7 in A (HOF: 21) Conductor: Andrew Gourlay Piano: Alexandra Dariescu Northern Sinfonia
With a post-concert ‘Northern Sinfonia Presents...’ Buses from Alnwick and Hexham. Tickets: £10-£29
Dedicated to the memory of Stuart Ayre
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HOF: Classic FM’s Hall of Fame 2013 position
STABAT MATER Tuesday 15th April, 7.30pm, Hall One
Bernard Labadie and The English Concert come to Sage Gateshead for an exploration of one of the most moving and iconic sacred texts ever written. ‘The Stabat Mater’, attributed to Jacapone da Toni, portrays the mother of Christ as she stands at the foot of the cross which bears her crucified son. Vivaldi responded to the often unbearably moving words with sombre brilliance, and Pergolesi with music of acute intimacy and emotional directness which never fails to move. With a pre-concert talk Buses from Alnwick and Hexham.
Vivaldi Sinfonia ‘Al Santo Sepolcro’ Vivaldi Stabat Mater Pergolesi Stabat Mater Conductor: Bernard Labadie Soprano: Roberta Invernizzi Mezzo soprano Sonia Prina The English Concert
Tickets: £10-£33
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ST. MATTHEW PASSION
Bach St. Matthew Passion
Saturday 19th April, 7pm, Hall One Conductor: Thomas Zehetmair 11th April 1727 might not have seemed a particularly unusual day for the workaholic choirmaster James Oxley Johann Sebastian Bach, but even he realised soon afterwards that the music he unveiled that day – the ‘St Matthew Passion’ – achieved something unprecedented and profound that was destined to outlive its creator. This most communicative of Bach’s works tells the Passion story through music so affecting and inspiring that it appears to transcend its religious context. Thomas Zehetmair marks Easter Saturday 2014 with Bach’s monumental masterpiece. Buses from Alnwick, Hexham and Carlisle. Tickets: £10-£33
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Soprano: Rebecca Bottone Counter-tenor: Christopher Ainslie Evangelist/tenor arias: James Oxley Christus: Nicholas Merryweather Pilate/bass arias: Samuel Evans Northern Sinfonia Northern Sinfonia Chorus
BEETHOVEN SONATAS: LES ADIEUX Tuesday 22nd April, 8pm, Hall Two
Saleem Abboud Ashkar’s second concert of Beethoven piano sonatas includes the piece titled ‘the farewell’ – Beethoven’s goodbye to his friend Archduke Rudolph, exiled from Vienna as Napoleon’s troops took hold. Beethoven captures his feelings in the three-note ‘farewell’ motif, initially downcast but injected with inspiring optimism as the sonata proceeds. The rich, solemn colours of the E minor sonata are followed by the often forthright and playful sounds of Beethoven’s A major sonata, as now we begin to feel the full force of the composer’s keyboard virtuosity.
Beethoven Piano Sonata Cycle Piano Sonata No.11 in B flat Piano Sonata No.26 in E flat, ‘Les Adieux’ Piano Sonata No.27 in E minor Piano Sonata No.28 in A Piano: Saleem Abboud Ashkar
Tickets: £16-£20
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POETIC CHOPIN Friday 25th April, 7.30pm, Hall One
As Sibelius’s symphonic journey drew to a close, it grew ever more remarkable. His Mario Venzago final symphony was something completely different: a single-movement epic of just twenty minutes, a work whose compactness seemed to encapsulate everything the composer had achieved to date. Sibelius might not have known it, but his Seventh’s big tune – now on a soaring trombone – was his farewell to the symphony. Preceding that, Chopin’s sparkling second piano concerto, Weber’s sharpshooting overture and a short piece from John Casken. With a pre-concert talk Tickets: £10-£33
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Weber Overture: Der Freischütz Chopin Piano Concerto No.2 in F minor John Casken Maharal Dreaming Sibelius Symphony No.7 in C Conductor: Mario Venzago Piano: Alexej Gorlatch Northern Sinfonia
SERIES
MOZART CLARINET CONCERTO Saturday 3rd May, 7.30pm, Hall One
In his last symphony, inspired by the city of London, Haydn went allout. He created the grandest, Julian Bliss most captivating and most confident symphonic work of his career, affectionately capturing the spirit of the town that had done so much to welcome him. Mozart’s last concerto is wholly different: its autumnal golden browns speak of resignation rather than celebration, a piece which feels like a goodbye even in its most carefree moments.
Wagner Siegfried Idyll Mozart Clarinet Concerto in A (HOF: 8)
“he reserved his subtlest powers for the end of the sublime adagio, delivered so quietly that 6,000 people held their breath.” The Times on Julian Bliss playing Mozart's Clarinet Concerto
Beethoven Romance No.1 in G for Violin and Orchestra Haydn Symphony No.104 in D, ‘London’ Conductor: Mario Venzago Clarinet: Julian Bliss Violin: Bradley Creswick Northern Sinfonia HOF: Classic FM’s Hall of Fame 2013 position
Buses from Alnwick, Hexham and Carlisle. Tickets: £10-£29
www.sagegateshead.com
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BRAHMS CLARINET QUINTET Saturday 10th May, 8pm, Hall Two
When Johannes Brahms heard the beautiful strains of Richard Mühlfeld’s clarinet, he claimed the Meiningen musician “the best wind player I know”. Brahms came out of retirement to write for Mühlfeld, creating one of his most profound, intimate and strangely coloured works the Clarinet Quintet. Here the Quintet’s fragile emotions meet the singing strength of Alban Berg’s ‘Lyric Suite’ and the charming, open-air directness of Carl Nielsen’s bracing Wind Quintet. Tickets: £16
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Ticket Office: 0191 443 4661
Nielsen Wind Quintet Berg Lyric Suite Brahms Clarinet Quintet Northern Sinfonia
FROM PLAYER TO PODIUM: HÅKAN HARDENBERGER Thursday 15th May, 7.30pm, Hall One
A visit to Sage Gateshead from Håkan Hardenberger, arguably the world’s finest trumpeter, who brings with him music infused with the spirit of the Baroque. Stravinsky’s re-working of music by the Italian Giovanni Battista Pergolesi is a bustling bag of Baroque tricks injected with Stravinsky’s own brand of 20th century irreverence and harmonic spice. Håkan picks up his trumpet for Haydn’s spectacular concerto along with an exquisite piece of Bach, ending with more Haydn: his penultimate symphony, the ‘Drumroll’. With a post-concert ‘Northern Sinfonia Spotlight’
“ the best trumpet player in the galaxy” The Times on Håkan Hardenberger
Bach Suite No.3 in D for Orchestra Haydn Trumpet Concerto in E flat Stravinsky Pulcinella Suite
Buses from Alnwick and Hexham. Tickets: £10-£33
Haydn Symphony No.103 in E flat, ‘Drumroll’ Conductor/Trumpet: Håkan Hardenberger Northern Sinfonia
Håkan Hardenberger
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LATE MIX MUSICAL OFFERING Friday 23rd May, 9pm, Hall Two
Frederick the Great, King and flautist, was not a fan of ‘high’ Baroque music, much preferring a more galant and uncomplicated style. So when the King of Prussia challenged the aging JS Bach to improvise on an awkward, chromatic theme he seemed to have completely underestimated the old master. Not only did Bach astound the court with his improvisation on the ‘Royal Theme’ but he later published it at his own expense, a work that is as ‘Baroque’ as it gets, a prominent flute part being his only reverence to his royal challenger. Tickets: £16
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Bach Musical Offering Northern Sinfonia
MISSA SOLEMNIS Friday 6th June, 7.30pm, Hall One
From 1819 to 1823, Beethoven was stirred by a new creative energy. Sketched over this fouryear period, Sally Matthews on specially enlarged manuscript sheets, was the work Beethoven himself came to admire above all others: the Missa Solemnis. Using every means of musical imagery available, Beethoven set about demonstrating his supreme mastery of the orchestralchoral model in a musical glimpse of the heavenly. The results get their first performance by Northern Sinfonia Chorus in this not to be missed performance; their last ever under Thomas Zehetmair as Music Director.
Beethoven Missa Solemnis in D Conductor: Thomas Zehetmair Soprano: Sally Matthews Tenor: Peter Bronder Baritone: David Wilson Johnson Northern Sinfonia Northern Sinfonia Chorus
Buses from Alnwick and Hexham. Tickets: £10-£33
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FINALE “Zehetmair’s Northern Sinfonia do play like angels.”
Wednesday 11th June, 7.30pm, Hall One
Mozart Overture: Don Giovanni
Thomas Zehetmair’s last evening as Music Director of Northern Sinfonia arrives with a concert of big gestures: Mozart’s imposing overture, Bartók’s insistent Viola Concerto, and John Casken’s inspiring picture of human love and togetherness, commissioned for Thomas and his partner Ruth. But gestures don’t come much bigger than Beethoven’s Fifth – an infamous musical tussle with fate whose compelling narrative and unfailing beauty changed the way music was conceived, in the head and on the stage. A fitting conclusion to a remarkable tenure.
Bartók Viola Concerto
The Arts Desk
John Casken That Subtle Knot (world premiere) Beethoven Symphony No.5 in C minor Conductor/Violin: Thomas Zehetmair Viola: Ruth Killius Northern Sinfonia
With a pre-concert talk Buses from Alnwick and Hexham. Tickets: £10-£33
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GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG Saturday 28th June, 3.30pm, Hall One
The season ends with the ultimate musical conclusion – the last chapter in Wagner’s epic ‘Ring Cycle,’ performed by Opera North under music director Richard Farnes. With ‘Götterdämmerung’, the Ring reaches new levels of intimacy and spectacle. On top of Wagner’s surging orchestral ocean, the stolen ring is fought over with even greater guile and fiercer anger, testing the hero Siegfried’s qualities of love and valour. In the end, the world will change – against the backdrop of the most overwhelming operatic music ever written.
Wagner Götterdämmerung Conductor: Richard Farnes: Orchestra and Chorus of Opera North Huddersfield Choral Society Brunnhilde: Alwyn Mellor Siegfried: Daniel Brenna Hagan: Mats Almgren Gutrune: Orla Boylan Gunther: Eric Greene Alberich: Jo Pohlheim Waltraute: Susan Bickley
With a pre-concert talk
Woglinde: Katherine Broderick
Tickets: £18-£47
Wellgunde: Madeleine Shaw Flosshilde: Sarah Castle Staging and Design, Lighting and Projection Design: Peter Mumford Vocal Consultant: Dame Anne Evans
www.sagegateshead.com
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2013/14 CHRISTMAS CONCERTS Sunday 1st December, 7pm, Hall One
MESSIAH Handel Messiah Conductor: Alan Fearon Soloists from Samling Scholars and Samling Academy Northern Sinfonia Northern Sinfonia Chorus
Monday 23rd December, 2pm & 5pm, Tuesday 24th Friday 27th December, 11am & 2pm, Hall One
THE SNOWMAN
Tickets: £10-£33
Saturday 14th December, 7.30pm and Sunday 15th December, 3pm, Hall One
REJOICE! WITH NORTHERN SINFONIA SPECIAL GUEST PRESENTER, ANGELA RIPPON Conductor:
Simon Halsey
Tickets: £15-£17, Family ticket: £50 (four people, must include at least one child)
Wednesday 1st January 2014, 3pm & 7pm, Hall One
NEW YEAR VIENNESE
Tickets: £10-£33
Conductor/Violin:
Supported by The Vardy Foundation
Tickets: £10-£33
Joseph Swensen
Classical music at Sage Gateshead is a collaborative mix of projects and promoters and we’re pleased to be able to work with three regional partner organisations to present the broadest range of music to our audience.
MUSICAL PARTNERSHIPS The Newcastle International Chamber Music Society is the oldest chamber society in the country, promoting its first concerts in 1880. Having presented annual series in Newcastle’s Old Assembly Rooms, King’s Hall and Playhouse, the society moved to Hall Two at Sage Gateshead in 2005. World-renowned artists have made up the enviable programmes throughout its history and the society continues to present the most current and talented ensembles and artists on the performing circuit.
and Thomas Zehetmair. The newly formed Samling Academy brings mentoring expertise and performance opportunities to younger singers from across the North of England. This season Samling Scholars and Samling Academy students perform with Northern Sinfonia in Handel’s ‘Messiah’ in December 2013.
Samling is a charity that since 1996 has worked consistently with the best in the world to make a significant contribution to art and music in the United Kingdom, focussing on excellence. International opera star Sir Thomas Allen leads Samling Masterclass, an intensive residential programme led by worldclass artists, teachers and experts. It attracts outstanding young singers and pianists from around the world. Major projects are regularly undertaken including two acclaimed opera productions with Northern Sinfonia
Founded by cellist Jonathan Bloxham, the Northern Chords Festival brings the best young and dynamic talent from around the world to the North East. Established and emerging soloists are pitched together as chamber musicians to perform timeless classics to modern masterpieces presenting concerts of energy and passion. With a deep commitment to the region’s next generation of musicians, in 2010 The Northern Chords Young Musician of the Year Award was created complementing its burgeoning Schools Programme. See our website or events diaries for details of performances.
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JOIN IN Sage Gateshead is both a live music venue and a centre for music education that enables everyone to become involved in, stimulated and excited by music of any genre.
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We deliver a range of music programmes and projects across the whole of the North East and Cumbria as well as at Sage Gateshead. These include classes for early years and families; schools and adults as well as a Silver Programme for people over the age of 50. We also deliver two music degree courses with the University of Sunderland (BMus in Popular, Contemporary and Jazz and BA in Community Music). There are opportunities to explore and create all kinds of music, for people of all ages, at every level of ability and experience. So, whether you are young or old, a beginner or have years of experience; you want to pursue music professionally or as a social pastime or would just like to join a choir, play in a band, brush up on your music theory, or learn the steel pans – we are sure you will find an opportunity to join in, enjoy and learn with us.
All our programmes and classes are delivered by a highly experienced team of community musicians and tutors, many of whom perform regularly across the region, nationally and internationally. For more information, please visit www.sagegateshead.com/join-in/ You can also email us at lp@sagegateshead.com or call 0191 443 4661. Check out our Exploring Music talks and broaden your musical horizons. Our weekly series of introduction to music talks covers a wide range of musical topics, such as What is classical music?’; ‘Choral Music’; ‘The Music of Burt Bacharach’; ‘The Romantic Period’; ‘Jazz Scores from the Big Screen’; and the life and music of composers, such as Britten, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Purcell and Tchaikovsky. www.sagegateshead.com/tourdates/exploring-music
TAKE YOUR SEAT MAKE YOURSELF AT HOME HERE
WHY NAME A SEAT? Be a part of the new 10th Birthday Appeal by naming a seat in Hall One for yourself, a family member or a friend. Your support will be invested into an endowment and provide a contribution every year to help sustain the future of music in the North East.
SO MUCH MORE THAN A PIECE OF FURNITURE From £250, you can have a plaque with your name or the name of someone special attached to one of the iconic auditorium seats and become part of the history of Sage Gateshead. We will send you, or the recipient of the gift, a certificate with the details of your seat and arrange a quiet and convenient time for you to come and see it.
MAKE YOUR GIFT You can ‘take your seat’ today by making a gift as a one-off payment or in instalments. Please contact Rosie Thomas on 0191 443 4641 or rosie.thomas@sagegateshead.com
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THANK YOU Sage Gateshead values its partnerships with individuals, trusts and foundations and companies. Core Revenue support is also provided by Arts Council England, North East and Gateshead Council. As a registered charity (number 1087445) this support is vital to allow us to continue and develop our work. Founding Patrons The Sage Group plc The Barbour Trust Northern Rock Foundation Garfield Weston Foundation Joan and Margaret Halbert Founding Endowment Donors The Shears Foundation The David Goldman Programme The Go-Ahead group plc Northern Arts Board Fenwick Ltd Northumbrian Water Benfield Charitable Trust The Sir James Knott Trust Greggs plc The David Boardman Trust Roland Cookson Fund 1989 Willan Trust
10th Birthday Appeal Donors The Barbour Trust The Vardy Foundation Mr & Mrs M Howard Ms W Oloman Trusts and Foundation Supporters Baring Foundation Esmee Fairbairn Foundation J Paul Getty JNR Charitable Trust Paul Hamlyn Foundation The Foyle Foundation Garfield Weston Foundation The Hadrian Trust The Monument Trust The PRS for Music Foundation The Sir James Knott Trust The Shears Foundation The Vardy Foundation The WA Handley Charitable Trust Youth Music
Corporate Partners Platinum Partners
Gold Partners
Silver Partners
Bronze Partners • RSM Tenon • The Open University • Barclays • O'Brien Waste Recycling Solutions • Rutherford Wilkinson Ltd
Legacy Bequests Stuart Ayre Jan Dyer
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EVERY GIFT IS IMPORTANT TO US AND THERE ARE MANY WAYS YOU CAN SUPPORT NORTHERN SINFONIA AND THE WORK OF SAGE GATESHEAD Ticket top up – you will notice a space on the booking form to make a one off donation to support the work of Northern Sinfonia. Please consider making a gift when placing your ticket order for the season. Gift Aid can increase the value of your donation by 25% so please tick the box if you are an eligible taxpayer.
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Join our Sage Supporters Membership starts from £40 per year Benefits include: • Discounts in the Shop, Bars and Brasserie • Advance notice of concerts • Special events For more information visit Ticket Office Visit www.sagegateshead.org/support Email sagesupporters@sagegateshead.com
Become a Northern Sinfonia Friend Membership starts from £27.50 Benefits include: • Priority booking for the classical season • Exclusive member’s evenings • Quarterly newsletter For more information visit Ticket Office Visit www.sagegateshead.org/support Email joyce.porter@sagegateshead.com
Become a Principal Partner Whether you have a passion for classical music, a taste for the Timpani or you particularly admire one of the orchestra’s many characters, why not support Northern Sinfonia by becoming a Principal Partner for just £167 per month? Benefits include: • Direct association with one of Northern Sinfonia’s Principal Players or Music Director • Crediting in all Northern Sinfonia Concert Programmes • Personalised priority booking to the Classical Season • Opportunities to meet the musicians • Invitations to exclusive open rehearsals and events Email jennifer.rycroft@sagegateshead.com or call 0191 443 4651 for more information.
Make a regular donation to Northern Sinfonia We welcome donations by monthly direct debit. Email jennifer.rycroft@sagegateshead.com or call 0191 443 4651 for a donation form. Make a gift in your will Making a gift in your will is one of the most enduring gifts you can make. As well as tax benefits, you have the satisfaction of knowing your donation will go on supporting our work long into the future. Email karen.kirkup@sagegateshead.com or call 0191 443 5038 for further information. Make a donation to the 10th Birthday Appeal Email rosie.thomas@sagegateshead.com or call 0191 443 4641 for more information.
ORCHESTRA LIST Northern Sinfonia First Violin Bradley Creswick, Leader Kyra Humphreys, Co-Leader Sara Wolstenholme, Principal Iona Brown, Principal Andrew Harvey Jane Nossek Sarah Roberts Alexandra Raikhlina Second Violin Sophie Appleton Jenny Chang Jonathan Martindale Viola Michael Gerrard, Section Leader Malcolm Critten, Principal Tegwen Jones James Slater Cello Louisa Tuck, Section Leader Daniel Hammersley, Principal James Craig Gabriel Waite
Flute Juliette Bausor, Section Leader Oboe Steven Hudson, Section Leader Michael O’Donnell, Principal Clarinet Jessica Lee, Principal Bassoon Stephen Reay, Section Leader Robin Kennard, Principal Horns Peter Francomb, Section Leader Christopher Griffiths, Principal Trumpet Richard Martin, Section Leader Marion Craig, Principal Timpani Marney O’Sullivan, Section Leader
Double Bass Siân Hicks, Principal
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Marketing and Communications, Fundraising and Customer Experience Dominic Parker – Director of Communications and Development Emily Taylor – Head of Marketing and Communications Kirsten Swanston – Marketing and Communications Manager Kate Holland – Programme Editor Kelly Enderwick – Tessitura and Research Coordinator Katherine Leadbeter – Head of Fundraising Karen Kirkup – Head of Fundraising (maternity cover) Jennifer Rycroft – Acting Fundraising Manager Joyce Porter – Northern Sinfonia Friends Coordinator Corin McEwan – Ticket Office Manager Mandy Baines – Set Up Manager
STAFF LIST Sage Gateshead is a home for music and musical discovery, offering performance and participation projects across all genres of music. Over 500 people work in, from or for Sage Gateshead, too many to mention here, but this is a short list of the members of the team who focus most on the classical programme.
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Ticket Office: 0191 443 4661
Anthony Sargent – General Director Classical Music Programme Ros Rigby – Performance Programme Director Craig West – Head of Classical Music Frances Axford – Concerts Manager Fergal Harkin – Orchestra Manager Hannah Reynolds – Planning Manager Claire Yim – Librarian Alice Benzing – Concerts and Tours Assistant Michael Dawson – Stage and Transport Assistant
Learning and Participation Katherine Zeserson – Director of Learning and Participation Edward Milner – Head of Music Learning Wendy Smith – Head of Strategy and Enterprise Sally Kat – Head of Community Programme Jacqui Cameron – Young Musicians Programme Manager Britta Koerber – Schools and Early Years Manager Robin Purser – Cross Programme Manager Emma Ogle – Northern Sinfonia Chorus Producer
BOOKING INFO: You can book: In person at Ticket Office By phone on 0191 443 4661 Online at www.sagegateshead.com (please note that packages are not yet available through our website) By completing and returning the booking form – if you would like a booking form, do give us a call on 0191 443 4661. When buying a package, you can pay in six monthly instalments – ask at Ticket Office for more details. Ticket Office is open seven days a week – 10am-8pm on show days and 10am-6pm on non-show days. On Sundays and Bank Holidays phone booking closes at 6pm. Concessions Concessions for under 16s, students, people over 60 and unemployed are available at £2 off for all of the concerts in this brochure. For every performance, one free ticket is available for the essential carer of those who need assistance to attend the performance. Ask Ticket Office for details and bookings. Conditions A copy of our full conditions is available on our website or by requesting a copy by sending us a stamped addressed envelope. Handling fees of £2.50 apply per transaction for telephone, internet and postal bookings (fees do not apply when booking a package). We regret that no refunds can be given except where an event is cancelled. We will always attempt, where possible, to exchange unwanted tickets for concerts as long as we have the tickets returned to us at least 24 hours prior to the performance, for an administration fee of £2.50 (fees do not apply when exchanging within a package).
Travel We have our own car park directly behind the building, with pedestrian lift access. There are spaces for blue badge holders by the lifts in the car park or other spaces immediately to the rear of the building along the rear access road. There is a drop off and pick up point in St Mary’s Square adjacent to our West (Tyne Bridge) doors. Thanks to the generosity of Nexus you can travel free on the Metro to and from Gateshead if you have a ticket for a concert here: simply retain your concert ticket for inspection on the Metro. We are also on the Q1 Quaylink bus service (the yellow buses) which drops off in St Mary’s Square. Buses We run buses from Hexham (via Corbridge) Alnwick (via Felton and Morpeth) and Carlisle to a selection of our concerts. You can book a space on the bus for £6.50 return per concert. Please book your bus tickets when you book your event tickets. Seating: Hall One: seating plans and pricing vary.
Level 1 Stalls
Stage
Level 2
Stage
Hall Two is a flexible, ten-sided space, and is set up for each concert according to what will provide the best experience for the audience: there are three levels, and levels 2 and 3 are gallery-style spaces. Level 3
In seats on the sides of levels 2 and 3 in both halls, you have to lean forwards to obtain a full view of the stage. Please ask our staff for more information. For most concerts, level 3 and the areas behind the stage will not initially be on sale. Please ask at Ticket Office when booking. Full seating plans are available on our website: www.sagegateshead.com/your-visit/seating-plan/
Stage
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Sage Gateshead St Mary’s Square Gateshead Quays Gateshead NE8 2JR Chairman: Lord Falconer of Thoroton Visit www.sagegateshead.com for information on all our projects at Sage Gateshead, around the region and nationwide. Ticket Office: 0191 443 4661 Welcome Desk: 0191 443 4666
Photography: Mark Savage, Dan Brady, Marco Borggreve, Felix Broede, Benjamin Ealovega, Chester Fildes, Peter Rigaud, Julia Wesely, F Ferranti, Monika Ritterhaus, Robert Bridgens, Eric Richmond, Sussie Ahlburg, TallWall Media, Faye Thomas, Alberto Venzago, Thomas Rabsch, Johan Persson, Snowman Enterprises Ltd. 1982, 2013, morgueďŹ le, openphoto (inc. Michael Jastremski), stock.xchng (Ravanous, smrcoun, desigu, Ayla87, Stanciuc, ahaarsager). The information in this brochure is correct at the time of the going to print: we reserve the right to make changes which circumstances may necessitate. North Music Trust is registered in England as a company limited by guarantee, number 4044936 and as a charity, number 1087445. Concert Text: Andrew Mellor Brochure Design: www.solutiongroup.co.uk
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