FROM THE STAGE TO THE PIT

What a great start to the year in the classical scene! We’ve seen orchestras and arts organisations bouncing back into life after the rather unpredictable winter of 2021. If you’ve not yet jumped on the live events bandwagon, we really recommend you do. In the Arts we’ve learnt over the last couple of years that however impressive (and useful) streaming is, it just does not replace the excitement of live music – get out there and support your local orchestras and theatres!

In this edition you may notice the glaring omission of any of the BBC Proms, as the 2022 programme has not yet been released – but if murmurings around the orchestras are true then we’ll be in for a great season so check out the BBC Proms website when it’s announced!

BY JOSH CIRTINA // PRINCIPAL BASS TROMBONE IN THE ROYAL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

SYMPHONIC HIGHLIGHTS

WAR & PEACE – LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA 7.30pm, Wednesday, 27 April Royal Festival Hall, London Quite poignant programming in current times from the LPO and their chief conductor Ed Gardner. VaughanWilliams’ gloriously rich 5th Symphony with its long, lush flowing lines juxtaposes Britten’s explosive Sinfonia Da Requiem. Between the two titanic works Alban Gerhardt is the soloist for the UK première of Brett Dean’s Cello Concerto – sure to be a fantastic evening.

A POSTCARD FROM ITALY – ULSTER ORCHESTRA 7.30pm, Friday, 13 May Ulster Hall, Belfast Join Northern Ireland’s Ulster Orchestra and their chief conductor Daniele Rustioni for an evening of Italian music from composers all born around 1880. There’s plenty on offer to enjoy here in this concert from composers such as Malipiero and Pizzetti, but the highlights for me will certainly be Martin Riccabona’s performance of Casella’s Organ Concerto – Concerto Romano, and Respighi’s picturesque Fountains of Rome!

MAXIM’S FIREBIRD – SCOTTISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA 7.30pm, Wednesday, 11 May Perth Concert Hall, Perth 7.30pm, Thursday, 12 May Usher Hall, Edinburgh 7.30pm, Friday, 13 May City Halls, Glasgow The SCO and Maxim Emelyanychev close their Spring Season in style with Stravinsky’s Firebird – the ballet that really established the composer’s name back in the early 20th Century. Violinist Alina Ibragimova joins the orchestra for Prokofiev’s energetic 1st Concerto in the first half.

ELGAR AND MAHLER – ROYAL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA 7.20pm, Sunday, 29 May Royal Festival Hall, London The RPO and Vasily Petrenko continue their 2022 Royal Festival Hall Season with two major works written within six years of each other. Mezzo Soprano Kathryn Rudge joins the orchestra for Elgar’s evocative work Sea Pictures, depicting the boundless scale and power of the sea. Following this on a grand scale is Mahler’s colossal 6th Symphony with massed brass, percussion and strings which takes listeners on a thrilling journey from electric opening to tragic finale.

ROMANCE AND REVOLUTION – BBC NATIONAL ORCHESTRA OF WALES 7.30pm, Thursday, 9 June St. David’s Hall, Cardiff 7.30pm, Friday, 10 June Brangwyn Hall, Swansea Ryan Bancroft and his orchestra contrast one of Walton’s most romantic works, his Cello Concerto with Shostakovich’s dark and dramatic 10th Symphony, known for its unrelenting pace and power. In the hot seat for the Walton is the masterful Steven Isserlis who will certainly bring out every nuance in Walton’s writing.

ARTIST PORTRAIT: HÄKAN HARDENBERGER – LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA 7.00pm, Friday, 16 June Barbican, London This concert celebrates this phenomenal musician’s 60th birthday in style, accompanied by the London Symphony Orchestra, pianist Roger Muraro and Sir Simon Rattle. Hardenberger features in Betsy Jolas’ True Stories, while the orchestra envelopes the audience in the warm embrace of Brahms Second Symphony (and its EPIC D Major trombone-tastic ending!)

Other, non-Wagnerian, highlights include:

Garsington Opera performing Rusalka by Dvorak from 18 June to 19 July. Gorgeous music and not performed that often. This was the show English National Opera were rehearsing when the first lockdown hit, so I think I can safely say you will enjoy this, there’s nothing not to like!

Jenufa by Janacek: I will always recommend this if it is on, as it is one of my favourites. Welsh National Opera are performing this on tour across the South and West of the UK from 25 March until 10 May.

The Glyndebourne season begins in May with The Wreckers by Ethel Smyth. I don’t know this opera, but some critics consider it to be the ‘most important English opera composed during the period between Purcell and Britten’, which is quite a statement! A major work not to be missed in the beautiful setting of Glyndebourne Opera House in the Sussex countryside.

Do get out there and enjoy live music once again. It is such a privilege to be able to go to work and perform, and to see people get so much from a live performance once more. ◆

ANGLO–AMERICAN HALLÉ 7.30pm, Friday, 10 June Nottingham Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham The Hallé are in Nottingham for this eclectic and exciting programme featuring young star-saxophonist Jess Gillam. Stephen Bell directs the orchestra through a number of gems of 20th century jazz-inspired repertoire. Copland’s ballet Billy the Kid features, as does Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story and Adam’s Short Ride in a Fast Machine. An adrenaline filled evening!

BY BECKY SMITH // PRINCIPAL TROMBONE AT THE ENGLISH NATIONAL OPERA

OPERA PICKS

What a difference a year makes! From a hesitant start to last spring, this year looks positively blooming with lots of shows to choose from.

There seems to be a chunk of Wagner on offer this year, with Longborough Festival Opera putting on the third instalment of their Ring Cycle. This year they are performing Siegfried from 30 May until 7 June, with Gotterdamerung in the diary for 2023, building up to the full Ring Cycle in 2024. They are also performing a semi-staged production of Die tote Stadt by Korngold from 21 June until 27 June. Not performed that often, Die tote Stadt is a glorious score, highly recommended.

More Wagner at the Royal Opera House this spring, the lengthy (over four hours) Lohengrin, fabulous music and a stellar cast makes this a show not to miss, running 19 April to 14 May.

Opera North are taking Parsifal on tour, another long show at five and a half hours! Opera North are performing this concert production across Northern England and London between 1 and 26 June so try to get to a performance if you can.