MANCHESTER’S orchestras are gearing up for stupendous 2015-16 seasons.
Rimsky-Korsakov, Verdi and Mahler feature in the Halle’s opening three programmes, each concert conducted by Sir Mark, and all examine fate and its consequences
The Halle, under Sir Mark Elder, are devoting a series of concerts to the theme of Fate and also exploring Dvorak in a special festival; the BBC Philharmonic are celebrating the life and music of the great American composer Leonard Bernstein; while the Manchester Camerata, boosted by their inspirational musical director Gábor Takács-Nagy extending his contract until 2019, offer a typically innovative season.
Sir Mark Elder conducts the mighty Halle, tackling the big issue of fateRimsky-Korsakov, Verdi and Mahler feature in the Halle’s opening three programmes, each concert conducted by Sir Mark, and all examine fate and its consequences. Scheherazade’s valiant attempt to escape her own seemingly inevitable demise, Verdi’s tumultuous Requiem and Mahler’s schizophrenic Sixth Symphony set the scene. The concerts also feature Sunwook Kim performing Rachmaninov’s Third Piano Concerto and Christian Zacharias playing Mozart’s Piano Concerto No.12, as well as soloists including Alice Coote and Alexander Vinogradov joining the Hallé Choir.
Ryan Wigglesworth’s debut season as Principal Guest Conductor begins with the UK premiere of Mark-Anthony Turnage’s Piano Concerto and Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, while new Associate Conductor Jamie Phillips’ concerts feature works by Elgar and Tchaikovsky.
Sir Mark ends the Hallé’s season with a Dvořák festival, entitled Nature, Life and Love. Francesco Piemontesi will play the Piano Concerto (in a concert which also includes the Nature, Life and Love Overtures). Gary Hoffman will perform the Cello Concerto and Sir Mark will conduct Symphonies Seven, Eight and Nine.
He will also feature in the UK premiere of Gerard McBurney’s presentation Beyond the Score. Music, singers, actors and film on the Hallé big screen, all combine to tell the story of Dvořák’s Ninth Symphony. With Sir Mark and the Hallé on stage throughout, we see Dvořák fascinated by American history and the America around him. We hear the Native American legends and African-American spirituals that had such a profound impact on the composer and this work.
Full concert listings are available here.
Leonard Bernstein, 20th century musical giantLeonard Bernstein, who died 25-years-ago, was one of the greatest composers and conductors of his time, as well as a brilliant pianist. The BBC Phil have invited an array of world-class conductors and soloists to celebrate him and composers he championed, including Mahler, all concerts to be recorded or broadcast live for BBC Radio 3.
Bernstein’s mentor, Serge Koussevitzky, commissioned many great twentieth century works and the orchestra showcases some of them, including Bernstein’s Serenade, Britten’s Peter Grimes, Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G, Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms and, in its season launch on 19 September under Chief Conductor Juanjo Mena, Messiaen’s Turangalîla Symphony.
Great British music features heavily in the season with works by Foulds, Britten, McCabe, Turnage, Adès, Payne, Walton, MacMillan and Maxwell Davies. Key anniversaries to be marked include Sibelius’s 150th and the 400 years since Shakespeare’s death.
Tickets cost from £12 to £38 and can be purchased online at bridgewater-hall.co.uk or by calling the Box Office on 0161 907 9000.Full concert information can be found via this link. http://www.bbc.co.uk/events/r4bj3d/by/decade/2010
Glamorous violin virtuoso Nicola Benedetti returns for the CamerataManchester Camerata promise ‘a season of extraordinary events which continue to fulfil our vision of redefining what an orchestra can do’.
Their opening concert at The Bridgewater Hall on 26 September features chart-topping guitarist Miloš Karadaglić as soloist in Rodrigo’s famous Concierto de Aranjuez. Season highlights include the return of phenomenal violinist Nicola Benedetti for an all-Mozart programme, and fellow BBC Young Musician Jennifer Pike performing Vaughan Williams’ Lark Ascending. Jean-Efflam Bavouzet also returns to record a disc of Mozart Piano Concertos for Chandos; cello sensation Giovanni Sollima performs with the Camerata’s own principal cellist, Hannah Roberts, while former leader Giovanni Guzzo duets with visionary pianist Gabriela Montero.
In a new departure Norwegian trumpet player Tine Thing Helseth, a huge hit last year, will be curating a very personal UpClose series, with music ranging from jazz and folk to classical – one of many ongoing creative partnerships.
Tickets are on sale now via the Bridgewater Hall Box Office on 0161 907 9000 or online. Full concert information can be found via this link.
