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March 2013 ◄ ►

8.00pmFriday 1st March

THE CBSO IN STOKE

Stoke-on-Trent Victoria Hall, Hanley.

Orozco-Estrada, Ek

Mozart and Mahler

Mozart: Symphony No. 38 (Prague) 26' Mozart: Arias 15' Le nozze di Figaro - Deh, vieni non tardar La finta giardiniera - Geme la tortorella Idomeneo - Padre, germani addio Mahler: Symphony No. 4 55' Sleigh-bells...

7.30pmSaturday 2nd March

THE CBSO IN LEEDS

Leeds Town Hall. 0113 224 3801/2

Orozco-Estrada, Ek

Mozart, Mahler

Mozart: Symphony No. 38 (Prague) 26' Mozart: Arias 15' Le nozze di Figaro - Deh, vieni non tardar La finta giardiniera - Geme la tortorella Idomeneo - Padre, germani addio Mahler: Symphony No. 4 55' "O...

7.30pmWednesday 6th March

A BOY WAS BORN: BOSTRIDGE SINGS BRITTEN

Symphony Hall, Birmingham. +44 (0)121 345 0600

Seal, Bostridge

Elgar, Britten

Thought you knew British music? Think again, as CBSO associate conductor Michael Seal conducts an evening of soaring passions and tender secrets. Elgar's In the South explodes in a burst...

7.30pmThursday 7th March

TUNED IN: ELGAR'S ENIGMA

Symphony Hall, Birmingham. +44 (0)121 345 0600

Seal, Rissmann

Elgar's Enigma

An introduction to Elgar's In the South 20' Elgar: In the South 20' interval An introduction to Elgar's Enigma Variations 20' Elgar: Enigma Variations 32' Elgar didn't call them the "Enigma" variations for nothing! In this...

1.10pmFriday 8th March

CENTRE STAGE

CBSO Centre, Birmingham. +44 (0)121 345 0491

The Leo Quartet

Schubert

Schubert's song "Death and the Maiden" might sound a bit sinister - but it's nothing compared to the string quartet he based upon it. Huge, dark and driven...

7.30pmFriday 8th March

FRIDAY NIGHT CLASSICS: THE MUSIC OF ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER™

Symphony Hall, Birmingham. +44 (0)121 345 0600

Yates, Harris, Scott, Rawle, Davies

The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber™

Including hits from Love Never Dies • The Phantom of the Opera • Cats • Evita • Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat • The Woman in White • Starlight...

11.00amSaturday 9th March

NOTELETS - Crash, Bang, Wallop!

CBSO Centre, Birmingham. +44 (0)121 345 0491

CBSO Players

An interactive mini-concert for toddlers and their families

Bring the youngest members of the family to CBSO Centre for a special toddler-friendly mini-concert. Expect a feast for all the senses, with bite-sized music, lively presentation, lots to see, and...

1.30pmSaturday 9th March

NOTELETS - Crash, Bang, Wallop!

CBSO Centre, Birmingham. +44 (0)121 345 0491

CBSO Players

An interactive mini-concert for toddlers and their families

Bring the youngest members of the family to CBSO Centre for a special toddler-friendly mini-concert. Expect a feast for all the senses, with bite-sized music, lively presentation, lots to see, and...

3.30pmSaturday 9th March

NOTELETS - Crash, Bang, Wallop!

CBSO Centre, Birmingham. +44 (0)121 345 0491

CBSO Players

An interactive mini-concert for toddlers and their families

Bring the youngest members of the family to CBSO Centre for a special toddler-friendly mini-concert. Expect a feast for all the senses, with bite-sized music, lively presentation, lots to see, and...

7.30pmSunday 10th March

BCMG: CROSSING THE ATLANTIC

CBSO Centre, Birmingham. +44 (0)121 345 0491

Knussen, Leigh

Crossing the Atlantic

Programme to include Joanna Lee: new work for voice and ensemble * (world premiere) American experimental music from the 1920s Works by American experimentalists provide the setting...

10.30amSaturday 16th March

YOUNG AT HEART 11!

CBSO Centre, Birmingham. +44 (0)121 345 0491

Allen, Foster

An hour's fun concert for children & adults

An hour's fun concert for children & adults presented & conducted by Keith Allen & Birmingham Symphonic Winds. Hear the sounds & learn about the instruments - programme includes Tubby the...

7.00pmSaturday 16th March

THE FLYING DUTCHMAN

Symphony Hall, Birmingham. +44 (0)121 345 0600

Nelsons, Wilson, Henschel, Bezuyen, Spence, Rutherford, CBSO Chorus

Wagner

In the teeth of the storm, a sea captain shakes his fist at the devil - and is cursed to roam the seas until doomsday. Only love can save him,...

11.30amSunday 17th March

CBSO SO VOCAL CELEBRATE ST PATRICK'S DAY

Selfridges Balcony, Digbeth High Street.

SO Vocal

Folk songs

CBSO SO Vocal, our community choir in the Selly Oak District, perform a selection of folk tunes to get us in the mood for St. Patrick's Day. If...

11.00amTuesday 19th March

NOËL NOTELETS

CBSO Centre, Birmingham. +44 (0)121 345 0491

CBSO Players

An interactive mini-concert for toddlers and their families

Bring the youngest members of the family to CBSO Centre for a special toddler-friendly mini-concert. Expect a feast for all the senses, with bite-sized music, lively presentation, lots to see, and...

1.10pmTuesday 19th March

CENTRE STAGE

CBSO Centre, Birmingham. +44 (0)121 345 0491

Gibbons (oboe) and CBSO colleagues

Mozart, Bliss

It's Friday lunchtime - don't you deserve 20 minutes of Bliss? The CBSO's popular principal oboist Rainer Gibbons has devised this fascinating concert, in which the...

1.10pmTuesday 19th March

CENTRE STAGE

CBSO Centre, Birmingham. +44 (0)121 345 0491

Zupancic, Römer, Vassallo, Tattersdill

Braun, Cambini, Schulhoff

Take a flute, a viola and a double bass, add a shot of 1920s jazz, shake vigorously for fifteen minutes, and garnish with a sprig of Czech folksong....

1.10pmTuesday 19th March

A PALM COURT CHRISTMAS PARTY!

CBSO Centre, Birmingham. +44 (0)121 345 0491

Berkley Salon Ensemble, CBSO Youth Chorus

A Palm Court Christmas Party!

Tired of Christmas shopping? Fancy a break from the commercialism of the modern festive season? Then step back in time to the Berkley Salon Ensemble's annual ...

1.30pmTuesday 19th March

NOËL NOTELETS

CBSO Centre, Birmingham. +44 (0)121 345 0491

CBSO Players

An interactive mini-concert for toddlers and their families

Bring the youngest members of the family to CBSO Centre for a special toddler-friendly mini-concert. Expect a feast for all the senses, with bite-sized music, lively presentation, lots to see, and...

2.15pmTuesday 19th March

THE BIRMINGHAM BEETHOVEN CYCLE: SYMPHONIES 1 & 2

Symphony Hall, Birmingham. +44 (0)121 345 0600

Nelsons, Skride

The Birmingham Beethoven Cycle

The symphonies of Ludwig van Beethoven are the greatest journey any conductor and orchestra can take together. All of human experience is contained in these nine life-changing masterpieces. Here, Andris...

2.15pmTuesday 19th March

DVORÁK'S NEW WORLD SYMPHONY

Symphony Hall, Birmingham. +44 (0)121 345 0600

Collon, Piemontesi

Berlioz, Mozart, Dvorák

As the inspiration behind London's award-winning Aurora Orchestra, the young British conductor Nicholas Collon has thrown aside convention and let fresh air in on the capital's music scene. Making his...

2.15pmTuesday 19th March

LEONSKAJA PLAYS GRIEG

Symphony Hall, Birmingham. +44 (0)121 345 0600

Vedernikov, Leonskaja

Sibelius, Grieg, Rachmaninov

An angry snarl, an ominous chant, and a doom-laden fanfare - and that's just the start! When the young Sergei Rachmaninov launched his First Symphony, he didn't pull his punches....

2.15pmTuesday 19th March

AUTUMN CONTRASTS

Symphony Hall, Birmingham. +44 (0)121 345 0600

Manze, Gibbons

Mozart, Vaughan Williams, Schumann

Engaging, inspired and endlessly lively, Andrew Manze is quickly making a name as one of the most charismatic conductors around - and a firm favourite with musicians and audiences alike....

3.00pmTuesday 19th March

FAMILY CONCERT: THE MAD HATTER'S TEA PARTY

Symphony Hall, Birmingham. +44 (0)121 345 0600

Seal, Malloy

The Mad Hatter's Tea Party

Tumble down the rabbit hole this afternoon, and join the CBSO for the Mad Hatter's Tea Party. We don't need special effects to conjure up the mad magical...

3.00pmTuesday 19th March

FESTIVE FAVOURITES WITH ALAN TITCHMARSH

Symphony Hall, Birmingham. +44 (0)121 345 0600

Halsey, Titchmarsh, CBSO Chorus, CBSO Children's Chorus, CBSO Young Voices

Festive Favourites with Alan Titchmarsh

The CBSO's traditional Christmas Concerts are as much a part of a Birmingham Christmas as crowds in the Bullring and glühwein in Victoria Square! So join the CBSO and its...

3.30pmTuesday 19th March

NOËL NOTELETS

CBSO Centre, Birmingham. +44 (0)121 345 0491

CBSO Players

An interactive mini-concert for toddlers and their families

Bring the youngest members of the family to CBSO Centre for a special toddler-friendly mini-concert. Expect a feast for all the senses, with bite-sized music, lively presentation, lots to see, and...

7.00pmTuesday 19th March

BRUCH'S VIOLIN CONCERTO

Symphony Hall, Birmingham. +44 (0)121 345 0600

Weller, Ivanov

Weber, Bruch, Tchaikovsky

Tchaikovsky always wore his heart on his sleeve, and no question - in his Fifth Symphony, you can hear it. Deep sorrow, exuberant joy and pure, uninhibited passion...they're all there,...

7.00pmTuesday 19th March

CBSO YOUTH ORCHESTRA: THE NUTCRACKER

Symphony Hall, Birmingham. +44 (0)121 345 0600

Vedernikov, CBSO Youth Orchestra, CBSO Children's Chorus

Tchaikovsky

The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, the Waltz of the Flowers, the Kingdom of Sweets…everyone loves Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker. But it's so much more than just the the famous...

7.00pmTuesday 19th March

LEONSKAJA PLAYS GRIEG

Symphony Hall, Birmingham. +44 (0)121 345 0600

Vedernikov, Leonskaja

Sibelius, Grieg, Rachmaninov

An angry snarl, an ominous chant, and a doom-laden fanfare - and that's just the start! When the young Sergei Rachmaninov launched his First Symphony, he didn't pull his punches....

7.00pmTuesday 19th March

THE BIRMINGHAM BEETHOVEN CYCLE: TUNED IN - THE EROICA

Symphony Hall, Birmingham. +44 (0)121 345 0600

Nelsons, Johnson

The Birmingham Beethoven Cycle

An introduction to Beethoven's Eroica Symphony, with live orchestral examples 35' interval Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 (Eroica) 47' Beethoven's Eroica Symphony changed the course of musical history. But it's not just a thrilling...

7.30pmTuesday 19th March

THE BIRMINGHAM BEETHOVEN CYCLE: SYMPHONIES 1 & 2

Symphony Hall, Birmingham. +44 (0)121 345 0600

Nelsons, Skride

The Birmingham Beethoven Cycle

The symphonies of Ludwig van Beethoven are the greatest journey any conductor and orchestra can take together. All of human experience is contained in these nine life-changing masterpieces. Here, Andris...

7.30pmTuesday 19th March

BRUCH'S VIOLIN CONCERTO

Symphony Hall, Birmingham. +44 (0)121 345 0600

Weller, Ivanov

Weber, Bruch, Tchaikovsky

Tchaikovsky always wore his heart on his sleeve, and no question - in his Fifth Symphony, you can hear it. Deep sorrow, exuberant joy and pure, uninhibited passion...they're all there,...

7.30pmTuesday 19th March

SUNLIGHT AND SHADOWS

Symphony Hall, Birmingham. +44 (0)121 345 0600

Gardner, Sokolov

Smetana, Bartók, Dvorák

Bohemian rhapsodies: when Smetana's overture to The Bartered Bride burst into fizzing dancing life, so did Czech music. CBSO principal guest conductor Edward Gardner directs a concert of warm sunshine...

7.30pmTuesday 19th March

FRIDAY NIGHT CLASSICS: SUE PERKINS' CARTOON CLASSICS

Symphony Hall, Birmingham. +44 (0)121 345 0600

Seal, Perkins

Sue Perkins' Cartoon Classics

Including: Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker - Waltz of the Flowers Stravinsky: Firebird Suite Elgar: Pomp + Circumstance 4 Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody No.2 Wagner: Ride of the Valkyries Henry Mancini: Pink Panther Danny Elfman: Simpsons Dukas: The Sorcerer's Apprentice Strauss: Die...

7.30pmTuesday 19th March

THE YEAR 1912: BRAVE NEW WORLDS

Symphony Hall, Birmingham. +44 (0)121 345 0600

van Steen

Schoenberg, Mahler

Mahler called it his "song of the night", and it's true: the Seventh is a Mahler symphony like no other. It begins in a boat on an Alpine lake and...

7.30pmTuesday 19th March

THE BIRMINGHAM BEETHOVEN CYCLE: MASS IN C

Symphony Hall, Birmingham. +44 (0)121 345 0600

Elts, Leese, Rüütel, Murray, Loges, CBSO Chorus

The Birmingham Beethoven Cycle

"What do I care for your wretched violin?" demanded Ludwig van Beethoven. "I am speaking to my God." And whatever your beliefs, there's always something profoundly inspiring about hearing one...

7.30pmTuesday 19th March

FRIDAY NIGHT CLASSICS: THE MUSIC OF BURT BACHARACH

Symphony Hall, Birmingham. +44 (0)121 345 0600

Balcombe, Bickley, Lark, Jiear

The Music of Burt Bacharach

What The World Needs Now • Magic Moments • Do You Know The Way To San Jose? • Walk On By • Say A Little Prayer • Raindrops Keep Falling...

7.30pmTuesday 19th March

BENEDETTI PLAYS SZYMANOWSKI

Symphony Hall, Birmingham. +44 (0)121 345 0600

Ono, Benedetti

Dvořák, Szymanowski, Bartók

Nicola Benedetti is surely one of Britain's best-loved violinists - and no player is closer to Karol Szymanowski's glittering First Violin Concerto, the piece with which...

7.30pmTuesday 19th March

NELSONS CONDUCTS BRUCKNER'S EIGHTH

Symphony Hall, Birmingham. +44 (0)121 345 0600

Young

Bruckner

PLUS - a late-night performance Birmingham Contemporary Music Group Claire Booth - soprano Schoenberg: Pierrot Lunaire 38' It's a cliché to call Bruckner's symphonies "cathedrals in sound". True, Bruckner's Eighth Symphony is one of...

7.30pmTuesday 19th March

CBSO BENEVOLENT FUND CONCERT

Symphony Hall, Birmingham. +44 (0)121 345 0600

Nelsons, Skride, Müller-Schott, Vogt

The Birmingham Beethoven Cycle

The Birmingham Beethoven Cycle: The Eroica Two chords slam out, and music will never be the same again. Beethoven's mighty Eroica Symphony changed the course of musical history - but it's not...

7.30pmTuesday 19th March

FESTIVE FAVOURITES WITH ALAN TITCHMARSH

Symphony Hall, Birmingham. +44 (0)121 345 0600

Halsey, Titchmarsh, CBSO Chorus, CBSO Youth Chorus

Festive Favourites with Alan Titchmarsh

The CBSO's traditional Christmas Concerts are as much a part of a Birmingham Christmas as crowds in the Bullring and glühwein in Victoria Square! So join the CBSO and its...

7.30pmTuesday 19th March

FESTIVE FAVOURITES WITH ALAN TITCHMARSH

Symphony Hall, Birmingham. +44 (0)121 345 0600

Halsey, Titchmarsh, CBSO Chorus, CBSO Youth Chorus

Festive Favourites with Alan Titchmarsh

The CBSO's traditional Christmas Concerts are as much a part of a Birmingham Christmas as crowds in the Bullring and glühwein in Victoria Square! So join the CBSO and its...

7.30pmTuesday 19th March

TUNED IN AT THE SAGE

The Sage, Gateshead. 0870 703 4555

Young, Johnson

Tuned In - Introduction to Bruckner Symphony No. 8

From the summer of 1884, Anton Bruckner struggled to give birth to his last completed symphony - the grand and complex masterpiece that was his Eighth. The resulting piece is...

7.30pmTuesday 19th March

SPECTACULAR CLASSICS

Symphony Hall, Birmingham. +44 (0)121 345 0600

Rigby, Redgwick, O'Brien, City of Birmingham Choir

Spectacular Classics

Wagner: Prelude to Lohengrin Act III Sousa: Stars and Stripes Forever Handel: Hallelujah Chorus Tchaikovsky: Sleeping Beauty Waltz Verdi: Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves Puccini: O soave fanciulla La Boheme Verdi: Brindisi La Traviata Ravel:...

7.30pmWednesday 20th March

THE BIRMINGHAM BEETHOVEN CYCLE: SYMPHONIES 6 & 7

Symphony Hall, Birmingham. +44 (0)121 345 0600

Nelsons, Jackson

The Birmingham Beethoven Cycle

From spring-fresh opening to serene finish, there's no experience in music more life-affirming than Beethoven's lovely Pastoral Symphony. And there's none more gloriously, exuberantly, physical than his unstoppable Seventh. Andris...

2.15pmThursday 21st March

THE BIRMINGHAM BEETHOVEN CYCLE: SYMPHONIES 6 & 7

Symphony Hall, Birmingham. +44 (0)121 345 0600

Nelsons, Jackson

The Birmingham Beethoven Cycle

From spring-fresh opening to serene finish, there's no experience in music more life-affirming than Beethoven's lovely Pastoral Symphony. And there's none more gloriously, exuberantly, physical than his unstoppable Seventh. Andris...

7.30pmFriday 22nd March

THE CBSO IN CARDIFF

St David's Hall, Cardiff. 029 2087 8444

Nelsons, Lewis

Wagner, Mozart, Beethoven

One of Britain's leading pianists, Paul Lewis grows in stature with each successive year. Following in the footsteps of his mentor, Alfred Brendel, he is particularly admired in the music...

12.00pmSaturday 23rd March

CBSO SO VOCAL PERFORM AT ART SOAK

Walkers Heath Park.

CBSO SO Vocal

A selection of folk tunes and popular classics

PLEASE NOTE THIS EVENT IS CANCELLED Due to the poor weather conditions we're experiencing we have regrettably had to cancel this performance. We apologise for any disappointment...

7.30pmSaturday 23rd March

THE CBSO IN NOTTINGHAM

Nottingham Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham. 0115 9895555

Hopkins, Bezrodny, Marsh, Nottingham Trent University Choir

Walton, Borodin, Bruch, Mascagni, Elgar, Parry, Arne, Carr, Britten

Programme to include: Walton: Spitfire Prelude and Fugue 7' Puccini: O mio babbino caro from Gianni Schicchi 2' Puccini: Quando me'n vo' from La bohème' 5' Bruch: Violin Concerto No.1, Op.26 23' Mascagni: Easter Hymn...

7.30pmSaturday 23rd March

SINFONIA OF BIRMINGHAM

CBSO Centre, BIRMINGHAM.

Seal, Dawson

Brahms, Mendelssohn

...

1.10pmThursday 28th March

CENTRE STAGE

CBSO Centre, Birmingham. +44 (0)121 345 0491

CBSO Players

Haydn, Mendelssohn

For Felix Mendelssohn, music dealt with emotions that were simply too precise for words. So when we say that Mendelssohn's First Piano Trio fuses sparkling brilliance,...

7.30pmThursday 28th March

COSMIC DANCES

Symphony Hall, Birmingham. +44 (0)121 345 0600

Matheuz, Moser

Moncayo, Chapela, Prokofiev

They call it "El Sistema": the Latin American phenomenon that's got the whole world of classical music dancing with excitement. Tonight, we welcome...