Classical

25 January 2010

Wigmore Hall  W1U 2BP[map]

Hans Werner Henze: 6 songs from the Arabian; Robert Schumann: Mrzveilchen Op. 40 No. 1, Muttertraum Op. 40 No. 2, Der Soldat Op. 40 No. 3, Der Spielmann Op. 40 No. 4.

8 March 2010

Wigmore Hall  W1U 2BP[map]

Henry Purcell: Music for a while; Peter Warlock: Sleep; Bridge: Mantle of blue, Berceuse, Day after day, Speak to me my love; Ivor Gurney: By a Bier-Side, Sleep; Herbert Howells: King David, Lost love; Britten: A Charm from 'A Charm of Lullabies', The Salley Gardens.

18 January 2010

Wigmore Hall  W1U 2BP[map]

George Frideric Handel: Sinfonia from Amadigi, Aria Cara sposa, amato bene from Radamisto, Aria Perfido!, d a quell'empio tiranno from Radamisto, Sinfonia (Andante) from Orlando, Aria Ombra cara di mia sposa from Radamisto, Sinfonia from Lotario, Arioso Tiranni miei pensieri from Tolomeo, Aria Se un solo è quel core from Tolomeo, Sinfonia from Orlando, Recitative and Aria Inumano fratel, Stille amare from Tolomeo Opus 0; Padre Giovanni Battista Martini: Sinfonia in D for 4 instruments; Antonio Vivaldi: Cantata Cessate, omai cessate.

1 March 2010

Wigmore Hall  W1U 2BP[map]

Antonio Vivaldi (arr Respighi): Violin Sonata in D; George Enescu: Violin Sonata No. 3 in A minor Op. 25 'dans le caractère populaire roumain'; Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Violin Sonata in A K. 305.

1 February 2010

Wigmore Hall  W1U 2BP[map]

Franz Joseph Haydn: Fantasia in C HXVII 4, Piano Sonata in E minor HXVI 34; Frédéric Chopin: Impromptu No. 1 in A flat Op. 29, Impromptu in C sharp minor Op. 66, Polonaise in A flat Op. 53 Heroic; Franz Liszt: Sonetto del Petrarca No.104 from Années de pèlerinage S. 161.

15 March 2010

Wigmore Hall  W1U 2BP[map]

Anton Bruckner: String Quartet in C minor; Robert Schumann: String Quartet in A minor Op. 41 No. 1.

5 December 2009

Barbican EC2Y 8DS[map]

27 November 2009

Barbican EC2Y 8DS[map]

Josquin, born around 1450, was among the most influential composers of his day. His elegy Nymphes des bois is one of the greatest works of musical mourning and, as such, provides an ideal companion to Mozart's sublime Requiem. Boulez wrote his monumental Rituel, first performed by the BBC SO in 1975, in memory of his friend and colleague Bruno Maderna and here the work completes a programme of commemorative music from across the centuries. Josquin des Prez: Nymphes des bois; Pierre Boulez: Rituel in memoriam Bruno Maderna; Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Requiem. Pre-concert talk, David Robertson in conversation.

19 February 2010

Barbican EC2Y 8DS[map]

Central Europe's essential spirit courses through the veins of this evening's programme, from inimitable orchestral music drawn from Janacek's opera Katya Kabanova to the irresistible lyricism of Martinu's Fourth Symphony (1945). The Suite from Katya, arranged by Czech composer Jaroslav Smolka, here receives its world premiere performance. Old Vienna and the music of 1930's Hollywood combine in tuneful pomp in Korngold's Violin Concerto. Tonight's soloist is Andrew Haveron, one of the BBC Symphony Orchestra's two leaders. This event is part of 'Martinu: The Symphonies' series. 2009 marks the 50th year since the death of the great Czech composer, whose life began in a church tower in the village of Policka and ended in exile in Switzerland. Janacek: Katya Kabanova - suite (world premiere of suite); Korngold: Violin Concerto in D major; Matinu: Symphony No. 4.

19 March 2010

Barbican EC2Y 8DS[map]

Martinu's Fifth Symphony, written for the Czech Philharmonic and premiered by the orchestra at the Prague Spring Festival in 1947, sets out the composer's vision of truth in music of tender lyricism, rhythmic animation and crystalline structural clarity. Brahms, like Martinu, is central to Jiri Belohlavek's repertoire. The conductor turns here to the German Requiem and its uplifting message of comfort to those who mourn. This concert forms part of the 'Martinu: The Symphonies' series. 2009 marks the 50th year since the death of the great Czech composer, whose life began in a church tower in the village of Policka and ended in exile in Switzerland. Martinu: Symphony No. 5; Brahms: A German Requiem.

17 April 2010

Barbican EC2Y 8DS[map]

Having written his Second Symphony, Martinu became increasingly depressed and exhausted. He sought refuge in reading and exploring New York's second-hand book stores, but was unable to shake off uncharacteristic feelings of despair and intense homesickness. Those feelings are never far from the Third Symphony's surface. Here is the work of an exile yearning for peace in the world. Peace was far from Prokofiev's mind when he wrote his Second Piano Concerto, its 'futurist' wildness causing a riot following its premiere in the refined Russian town of Pavovsk. This concert forms part of the 'Martinu: The Symphonies' series. 2009 marks the 50th year since the death of the great Czech composer, whose life began in a church tower in the village of Policka and ended in exile in Switzerland. Stravinsky: Symphony in Three Movements; Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor; Martinu: Symphony No. 3.

8 May 2010

Barbican EC2Y 8DS[map]

Tippett's Fantasia concertante on a Theme of Corelli and Martinu's Sixth Symphony 'Fantaisies symphoniques', both written in 1953, are united by their pursuit of musical fantasy. Tippett's work, first performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the Edinburgh Festival, melds the worlds of the Italian baroque and romantic concerto to create new possibilities of lyrical expression. Martinu, meanwhile, looked to Berlioz for inspiration, if not melodic material, in his dramatic final symphony. Acclaimed Georgian pianist Elisabeth Leonskaja is soloist in Schumann's Piano Concerto, which also began life in 1841 as a 'fantasy' for piano and orchestra. This concert forms part of the 'Martinu: The Symphonies' series. 2009 marks the 50th year since the death of the great Czech composer, whose life began in a church tower in the village of Policka and ended in exile in Switzerland. Tippett: Fantasia concertante on a Theme of Corelli; Schumann: Piano Concerto in A minor; Martinu: Symphony No. 6, 'Fantaisies symphoniques'.

9 December 2009

Wigmore Hall  W1U 2BP[map]

A performance of works by Purcell: 'Strike the viol'; 'Olinda' from 'The Shades Unseen'; 'Since' from 'My Dear'; Evening Hymn (arr Benjamin Britten); Haydn: 'Sympathy', 'She never told her love', 'Fidelity'; Beethoven: 'An die ferne Geliebte'; Vaughan Williams: 'Linden Lea Silent Noon'; Howells: 'The Widow Bird', 'The Little Boy Lost'; Berkeley: 'The Horseman'; Warlock: 'The Lover's Maze', 'Jillian of Berry'; and Gurney: 'Down by the Salley Gardens'.

10 December 2009

Wigmore Hall  W1U 2BP[map]

A performance of works by Haydn: String Quartet in C op.20 No.2; Shostakovich: String Quartet No.14 in F sharp op.142; and Schubert: String Quintet in C D956.

26 February 2010

Wigmore Hall  W1U 2BP[map]

Franz Schubert: Quartettsatz in C minor D703, String Quartet in D minor D810 'Death and the Maiden'; Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quartet in F Op. 59 No. 1 'Razumovsky'.

22 December 2009 to 23 December 2009

St Martin-in-the-Fields Ltd WC2N 4JJ[map]

A performance of works by Handel: Messiah. Featuring English Chamber Choir and Belmont Ensemble of London.

26 December 2009

St Martin-in-the-Fields Ltd WC2N 4JJ[map]

A performance of works by Vivaldi: 'Autumn' and 'Winter' from Four Seasons, Christmas Violin Concerto; Corelli: Christmas Concerto; Mozart: Eine Kleine Nachtmusik; Bach: Concerto for Two Violins in D minor; Handel: Arrival of the Queen of Sheba, Overture to 'Messiah'; Torelli: Christmas Concerto.

25 March 2010

Cadogan Hall SW1 9DQ[map]

Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra (BFO) has the status of the national orchestra and as one of the world's oldest orchestras led its history dating back to 1765. Edvard Grieg was closely linked to the BFO, and was in the years 1880-82 the orchestra's artistic director. The orchestra now counts 97 musicians.

12 December 2009

Kings Place N1 9AG[map]

In 1958 Berio undertook one of his most celebrated compositional ideas, his series of sequenzas. Number VIII for violin is seen by many as the most successful and exhilarating of all Berio's solo works.

16 December 2009

St James's Church Piccadilly W1J 9LL[map]

Byrd: 4-part Mass: Kyrie, 4-part Mass: Sanctus, Benedictus, Agnus Dei; Bloch: Prayer; Tavener: The Lamb; Prt: Spiegel Im Spiegel; Marshall: Out of the Darkness.