2013-14 Concerts in Norwich
THE TIMES
”
exhilarating energy and theatricality”
Benjamin Ealovega ©
Benjamin Ealovega ©
Benjamin Ealovega ©
Benjamin Ealovega ©
Benjamin Ealovega ©
Benjamin Ealovega ©
Benjamin Ealovega ©
WWW .Britten Sinfonia .COM
is an exciting event “andEachanconcert introduction to new music alongside the old. The performers exhibit true happiness in their playing - smile at each other and us, and the audience smiles back
”
Norwich Audience Member
It still feels as if we’re still drawing breath after a thrilling series of concerts in Norwich last season. Our audiences grew dramatically and the musicians are still glowing from winning the Ensemble Award (for the second time!) at the recent 2013 Royal Philharmonic Society Awards. Looking ahead to this new season we’re being even bolder with our programming and expanding the main concert series and lunchtime concerts by one concert respectively – that’s a total of 9 concerts in 2013-14, not to mention pre-concert events and a range of projects run by our Creative Learning team. There’s a stellar line up of soloists joining us including regular Britten Sinfonia collaborators Mark Padmore, Pekka Kuusisto and Iestyn Davies, and also some
new guest artists including violin sensation Patricia Kopatchinskaja and pianist Dejan Lazic´. With music ranging from Bach’s St. John Passion – which we’ll present fresh from a performance at Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw – to works by Benjamin Britten in his centenary year, we will hope to surprise and inspire with the familiar and unfamiliar programmed and presented in an illuminating and entertaining way. I hope you’ll enjoy reading through this brochure and perhaps subscribe to all four main concerts and save up to 20% - and also choose your favourite seat in Norwich Theatre Royal. On behalf of the musicians, we all look forward to welcoming you for what promises to be an inspiring season of concerts. David Butcher Chief Executive, Britten Sinfonia
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Within Her Arms Dejan Lazic´ is a “ powerhouse performer
whose playing combines strength with beauty.
”
Dejan Lazic´ © Susie Knoll
The Guardian
Sunday 20 October 2013 Norwich Theatre Royal - 7.30pm Dejan Lazic´ piano / director Jacqueline Shave violin / director Nicholas Daniel oboe Stravinsky Three pieces for string quartet Anna Clyne Within Her Arms (UK premiere tour) Mozart Piano Concerto No.12 in A major, K414 Maw Little Concert Haydn Symphony No. 60 “Il distratto”
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Young Croatian-born pianist Dejan Lazic´ directs Britten Sinfonia in Mozart’s elegant and lyrical Piano Concerto No.12. The classical thread continues through the rest of the programme including Haydn’s inventive and quirky Il distratto symphony. Nicholas Daniel is the soloist in Nicholas Maw’s concert aria for oboe, and Britten Sinfonia perform Anna Clyne’s beautiful and poignant elegy for strings. £26, £23, £20, £13, £6.50 In conversation – 6.30pm Nicholas Daniel talks about tonight’s programme and his life as a musician.
Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings Sunday 17 November 2013 Norwich Theatre Royal - 7.30pm Mark Padmore tenor Pekka Kuusisto violin / director Stephen Bell horn
Mark Padmore © Ben Ealovega
Nico Muhly Three Songs for tenor & violin Bartók Fourth movement from Quartet no. 4 Britten Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal Erkki-Sven Tüür Lighthouse Judith Weir I Give You The End of a Golden String (world premiere tour) Arne Nordheim Individualisierte Höhemessung der Lagen (from Partita für Paul) Nico Muhly Material in E flat for violin & drone Bartók Third movement from Quartet no. 4 Berg arr. Schnittke Kanon Arvo Pärt Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten George Crumb God Music from Black Angels Britten Serenade for Tenor, Horn & Strings
Britten Sinfonia’s recent recording of Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings with Mark Padmore, has been acclaimed worldwide and these artists will perform the work in this fascinating concert. Violinist Pekka Kuusisto directs the orchestra in an illuminating programme of works which also includes a new work by Judith Weir, commissioned by the Britten Pears Foundation and Royal Philharmonic Society, to celebrate Britten’s centenary and the Bicentenary of the Royal Philharmonic Society. £26, £23, £20, £13, £6.50
Serenade – A Benjamin Britten Celebration – 6.15pm Primary school children from the Wymondham area and Britten Sinfonia perform their own night-time themed compositions, inspired by Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings. This project is supported by South Norfolk District Council and Orchestras Live. Free event but booking is essential.
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Patricia Kopatchinskaja DIRECTs Tuesday 4 March 2014 Norwich Theatre Royal - 7.30pm
Patricia Kopatchinskaja © Marco Borggreve
Patricia Kopatchinskaja violin / director
Moldovan “Gifted violinist Patricia
Kopatchinskaja has slimmed her tone to a fragile finesse… the freshness of this interpretation is exhilarating.
”
The Times
Brahms arr. Paul Angerer Chorale Preludes Op. 122 Tigran Mansurian Four Serious Songs after Brahms Bartók Romanian Dances Janácˇek arr. Richard Tognetti String Quartet No. 1 Kreutzer Sonata Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in D minor Explosive, barefoot and unpredictable! It quickly becomes apparent when you hear Moldovan violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja perform that there is only one thing of importance to her: the music. In Patricia’s debut directing Britten Sinfonia she performs a distinctly Eastern European folk-flavoured programme including Bartók’s Romanian folk melodies, string arrangements of Brahms and Janác˘ek masterpieces and Tigran Mansurian’s violin concerto inspired by the four biblical songs of Brahms. £26, £23, £20, £13, £6.50 Pre-concert Event – 6.15pm
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Easter Sunday: Bach St John Passion Composed for Good Friday vespers in 1724, Bach’s masterpiece perfectly balances the theatrical with the devotional. In this performance, which will showcase the technical precision and musical beauty of this sacred oratorio, Britten Sinfonia is joined by a stellar line-up of soloists and its acclaimed professional choir, Britten Sinfonia Voices.
Sunday 20 April 2014 Norwich Theatre Royal - 7.30pm Julia Doyle soprano Iestyn Davies counter-tenor Nicholas Mulroy Evangelist Jeremy Budd tenor Matthew Brook bass Eamonn Dougan Pilate / Britten Sinfonia Voices Director Jacqueline Shave violin / director Britten Sinfonia Voices
£26, £23, £20, £13, £6.50 In conversation – 6.30pm Julia Doyle and Iestyn Davies discuss Bach’s St John Passion
Bach St John Passion
Davies’s voice remains “ true to the English choral tradition, of which he is a product. Its purity is astonishing… it sounded effortless…
”
Financial Times
Iestyn Davies © Marco Borggreve
This performance will be signed by BSL signer Paul Whittaker OBE.
Harry Rankin ©
britten sinfonia at lunch
Subscribe
to Britten Sinfonia’s evening concerts and pay just £6 for At Lunch tickets. See page 9 for details
Our award-winning lunchtime concerts feature Britten Sinfonia’s principal musicians performing major works from the chamber repertoire alongside new pieces co-commissioned by Britten Sinfonia and Wigmore Hall. This season we extend the series to five concerts and are pleased to welcome young musicians from Britten Sinfonia Academy for the final of our 2013-14 At Lunch performances. £8, £3 (under 18s and students)
At Lunch 1 Friday 13 December 2013 Noverre Suite, Assembly House – 1pm
At Lunch 3 Friday 14 March 2014 Noverre Suite, Assembly House – 1pm
Jacqueline Shave violin Clare Finnimore viola Caroline Dearnley cello Huw Watkins piano
Thomas Gould violin Clare Finnimore viola Caroline Dearnley cello Stephen Williams double bass Joy Farrall clarinet Sarah Burnett bassoon Stephen Bell horn
Mozart Adagio from Violin Sonata in E flat K481 Lutoslawski Bukoliki for viola and cello Sally Beamish New Work (world premiere tour) Fauré Piano Quartet No. 2 in G minor
At Lunch 2 Friday 31 January 2014 Noverre Suite, Assembly House – 1pm Roderick Williams baritone Huw Watkins piano Joy Farrall clarinet Britten Sinfonia Voices Eamonn Dougan Britten Sinfonia Voices Director Roderick Williams Red Herring Blues Schubert Der Tanz D826 Schubert Trinklied D75 Roderick Williams New Work (world premiere tour) Schubert An die Sonne D439 Schumann Auf einer Burg Schubert Schicksalslenker D763 Schumann Mondnacht Schubert Lebenslust D609 Schubert Trinklied D183
William Cole (Winner of University of Cambridge Composers Workshop) New Work (world premiere tour) Beethoven Septet in E flat, Op. 20
At Lunch 4 Friday 2 May 2014 Noverre Suite, Assembly House – 1pm Allison Bell soprano Jacqueline Shave & Miranda Dale violins Brett Dean viola Caroline Dearnley cello Tintner Ellipse Brett Dean New Work (world premiere tour) Schoenberg Quartet No. 2
At Lunch 5 Friday 4 July 2014 St Andrew's Hall – 1pm Britten Sinfonia Academy and members of Britten Sinfonia Programme to include: Philip Cashian New Work (world premiere tour)
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Creative Learning Although our concert programmes take us to the Americas and Europe and with our residency at the Barbican in its second season, our roots remain firmly in the East of England, not only with concerts, but with our wide-ranging Creative Learning programme. We are committed to developing long-term relationships with key partners, such as Norfolk Music Hub, South Norfolk Council, schools and other arts organisations. This season in Norfolk, we will be focussing on: Britten Sinfonia Academy Founded in 2012 the academy is an auditioned youth ensemble for the most talented classical musicians of secondary school age from the East of England. Academy members are coached by Britten Sinfonia players on the skills that make Britten Sinfonia unique, such as playing without a conductor and exploring new music.
Creative Learning at Lunch We regularly visit primary and secondary schools for half day workshops in order to make the music we play accessible to younger audiences. These workshops introduce the repertoire in a creative way and explore it in context, before inviting a school class to attend a Britten Sinfonia At Lunch concert.
Serenade A project taking place in primary schools in and around Wymondham, using Benjamin Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings as the inspiration for composing a new song cycle.
Digital Youth Orchestra Britten Sinfonia players will be working in partnership with Future Projects, to work with looked-after children on a creative project mixing acoustic and electronic instruments to create new music.
We also run a variety of other bespoke projects. For further information, please visit www.brittensinfonia.com/creative-learning
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booking Information Tickets Please see individual concerts for ticket prices. Season Subscription Offer Book for all four evening concerts at the same time and save 20% (excludes £13 and £6.50 tickets) Season subscribers also enjoy an annual reception and £6 tickets for Britten Sinfonia At Lunch concerts Evening Concert Concessions • Under 18s and students – all tickets £5 (excl £6.50 seats, students must show a valid NUS card) • Go4Less – all tickets £5 (excl £6.50 seats, must show a valid card, limited availability) • Jobseekers – all tickets £5 (excl £6.50 seats, must show valid ID) • Top price seats are half price for those registered blind or partially sighted and one companion. Certain seats across all price bands are removable to accommodate wheelchairs – these tickets are half price for the wheelchair user and one companion (excl lowest price). If your choice of seat is restricted by access requirements, or you require a carer to accompany you, let the box office know and they will offer you and your companion a discount. • Please note only one concession applies per customer.
How to Book • In person Norwich Theatre Royal, Theatre Street, NR2 1RL • By phone 01603 630000 • Online www.theatreroyalnorwich.co.uk (Box Office open 9.30am until 8pm, Monday to Saturday (6pm if no evening performance). 5.30pm until 8pm Sunday) Tickets can be posted at a cost of £1.50 or collected in person. Refunds Britten Sinfonia operates a no refunds policy. Schools & Families We welcome school groups and families to all our concerts. For discounted tickets, schools’ programme notes and additional benefits please contact our Creative Learning team. Venue Information Norwich Theatre Royal Theatre Street, Norwich, NR2 1RL Norwich Theatre Royal is fully accessible and there are hearing loops. The Assembly House Theatre Street, Norwich, NR2 1RQ Assembly House is fully accessible. St Andrew’s Hall St Andrew’s Plain, Norwich, NR3 1AU. St Andrew’s Hall is fully accessible.
All information correct at time of going to press. Please visit www.brittensinfonia.com for changes and additional concerts. Britten Sinfonia reserves the right to substitute repertoire and artists as necessary.
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Design: carly.merrydew@gmail.com
Britten Sinfonia 13 Sturton Street Cambridge CB1 2SN Telephone: 01223 300795 Email: info@brittensinfonia.com www.brittensinfonia.com Chief Executive: David Butcher Chairman: Stephen Bourne Registered Charity No. 291245
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