January - April 2015 What's On guide by Liverpool Philharmonic

Liverpool Philharmonic What’s On January - April 2015

Featuring The Unthanks Katherine Jenkins Levellers Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club® The Hollies Sinead O’Connor Calexico Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra Box Office liverpoolphil.com 0151 709 3789

2 | Welcome

Contents Welcome Page 2 – Dining at Liverpool Philharmonic Hall / Dedicate a Seat Page 3 – Contemporary Music Page 4 – Family & Variety Page 10 – Learning Page 12 – Classical Music Page 15 – Comedy & Spoken Word Page 23 – Film Page 24 – Seating Plan & Venue Information Page 26 & 27

PRINCIPAL FUNDERS

SPONSORS

Welcome 2015 is the 175th anniversary of the founding of Liverpool Philharmonic. Our origins date back to 1840, when a group of Liverpool music-lovers formed a music society to present four concerts in its first year. They could surely never have imagined that their endeavour would continue and flourish to this day at the heart of Liverpool’s cultural life; and as one of the world’s oldest music organisations, with the UK’s oldest professional symphony orchestra.

As we’ve done throughout our history, Liverpool Philharmonic is presenting a rollcall of outstanding international artists in Liverpool and this guide brings you details of all our concerts and events at Liverpool Philharmonic Hall and elsewhere in the City. There’s something for music-lovers of every taste and all ages to enjoy, with great comedy and film to look forward to as well.

We’ll be marking the anniversary of that very first concert on 12 March 1840, in concerts performed by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, under the baton of Chief Conductor Vasily Petrenko. We’re also launching an exhibition that draws on our

Thanks to the City of Liverpool for its financial support

archive, with accompanying talks and events in the wonderful Liverpool Central Library (see page 14).

We’re delighted to be up and running again with concerts and events in Liverpool Philharmonic Hall. We’ve all missed being there as much as our audiences. The multimillion pound refurbishment of our Grade II* listed home is continuing and there is still much work to be done on the way to full completion in summer 2015. The opening of the full complex will be one of the highlights of Liverpool Philharmonic’s 175th anniversary year.

In the meantime, whilst works are on-going, we look forward to welcoming you to Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, and we’ll be doing everything we can to ensure your comfort and enjoyment.

With best wishes,

From all of us at Liverpool Philharmonic

PRINCIPAL PARTNERS

MEDIA PARTNER

OTHER PUBLIC FUNDERS

CORPORATE MEMBERS

IN-KIND SPONSORS

IN HARMONY LIVERPOOL

TRAVEL PARTNER

HOTEL PARTNER

HIGHER EDUCATION PARTNER

Austin & Hope Pilkington Trust The Eric and Margaret Kinder Charitable Trust The Granada Foundation | Faith Primary School Oglesby Charitable Trust In Harmony Fund The Rayne Foundation | Weightmans West Lancashire Freemasons Charity anonymous donors

Dining at Liverpool Philharmonic Hall

The new Grand Foyer is open from 10am every day* for...

Breakfast

Relax and enjoy the best cup of coffee in town with an enticing range of freshly baked pastries.

Signature Lunch & Evening Dishes

Choose from classic menus featuring modern British cuisine celebrating local produce such as;

West coast fish and hand cut chips with homemade tartar sauce

Earl Grey tea smoked mackerel, Wirral watercress with horseradish crème fraiche

Philharmonic local hotpot

Slow roast pork belly, sticky mustard glaze with bubble and squeak croquette

Spires’ famous chocolate brownie

Apple and sultana strudel, Chantilly cream

Afternoon Tea

Indulge in a traditional afternoon tea, available every day from 2-4pm, comprising a marvellous range of teas, scrumptious cakes and desserts and a delicious range of sandwiches and savouries.

Pre & Post Concert

The Bar in the stylish refurbished Grand Foyer serves a range of drinks, bar snacks and a fabulous range of cocktails. Our chefs have designed a unique range of sharing platters that are available pre and post-concert. Choose from classics such as the ploughman’s, seafood or antipasti, complemented by a selection of world class wines.

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Please call the Box Office on 0151 709 3789 to reserve or visit www.liverpoolphil.com/dining for more information. *From Monday 17 November

Dedicate a Seat

Dedicating a seat in the newly refurbished hall is a perfect way to celebrate your love of music.

Your donation will make a real difference to our work and help ensure future generations continue to enjoy live music.

Dedicating a seat is a perfect gift for music-lovers and concert-goers, and a lasting dedication if bought in memoriam.

In recognition of your support, we offer a number of benefits which aim to enhance your concert-going experience including invitations to open rehearsals, pre-concert receptions, subscription to Encore magazine and access to a members room.

Dedicate a seat today for £120 a year and begin, what becomes for many, a lifelong journey in supporting our work.

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To learn more please call the Development Team on 0151 210 2921 email Fundraising@liverpoolphil.com or visit www.liverpoolphil.com/seat

4 | Contemporary Music

CONTEMPORARY MUSIC

Image Seth Lakeman

Nils Lofgren

Wednesday 4 February 7.30pm £19.50, £25.50 – A Mercury Prize nominee and festival regular, the folk singer, songwriter and virtuoso fiddler Seth Lakeman makes his Liverpool Philharmonic debut championing his seventh album

Word of Mouth, and plays material from his extensive back catalogue of live favourites. The songs on the new record are a result of interviews Lakeman carried out with an array of characters, from dock workers to D-day witnesses. ‘Word Of Mouth straddles both traditional and contemporary folk’ and showcases ‘Lakeman’s

hauntingly melodic style’ says The Telegraph.

With his captivating live shows, BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards for Singer of the Year and Best Album under his belt, tours to Australia and Europe as well as appearing as part of The Full English project Lakeman has successfully helped to steer

Booking fees Online/Phone Orders £1.50 per ticket administrative fee applies + 75p per order postage fee (if required). In Person No fees for payment by cash or debit card. Credit card orders incur a 2% transaction fee. Cheque orders are subject to a 70p per order charge.

T OU

Seth Lakeman

Paul Carrack Rain or Shine

LD SO

with very special guest Greg Varlotta Friday 16 January 8pm £28.50, £34.50 – After touring with Bruce Springsteen as a long-time member of the E Street Band on both the 2012-13 Wrecking Ball tour and the 2014 High Hopes tour Lofgren is back to perform his own live show at Liverpool Philharmonic. Known for his world-class guitar playing, and his on-stage acrobatics, Lofgren is one of Rock’s greats - a superb frontman, both with Grin and under his own name. Expect classic Lofgren favourites like Shine Silently, I Came to Dance, Keith Don’t Go and many others from his vast back catalogue.

Saturday 17 January 7.30pm £28.50, £38.50 – The singer, songwriter and former frontman of Ace, Squeeze and Mike & The Mechanics returns following his widely acclaimed recent album release Rain or Shine, a mix of new original songs and classic tracks. English folk into the musical mainstream. He is joined by his multi-instrumental band for this concert, so expect a trademark high energy performance. ‘The UK’s most acclaimed young folk artist.’ The Guardian

Transatlantic Sessions Thursday 5 February 7.30pm £25, £27.50, £32 – Perhaps the secret to the Transatlantic Sessions’ winning formula is that there is, ultimately, no formula, beyond the magic of world-class musicians, drawn from diverse but kindred fields either side of

LD SO T OU

Echo & The Bunnymen

Friday 20 February 7.30pm £26.50, £32.50, £39.50 – June 3 2014 saw Echo & The Bunnymen release their twelfth studio album Meteorites, their first studio record in five years to worldwide critical acclaim, Uncut Magazine calling it ‘Starry-eyed anthemic rock’ and The Quietus ‘Classic Bunnymen

Talent, sensational Welsh singing brothers Richard and Adam are back. With Richard & Adam at the Movies, escape into your favourite silver screen classics with memorable numbers such as Can You Feel the Love Tonight, Goldfinger and Moon River, performed by the duo with flawless technique and robust clarity.

‘[An] impeccable night of music that delighted...There is something pure about these concerts.’ The Telegraph

Collabro

with very special guest Lucy Kay

10cc In Concert Sunday 15 February 7.30pm £30, £34, £39 – 10cc made some of the greatest hits of the 70s and are now one of the most exciting live bands of that era currently performing. Catch up with Graham Gouldman, Rick Fenn, Paul Burgess, Mick Wilson and Mike Stevens celebrating 40 years in the business as they perform their greatest hits including Rubber Bullets, I’m Not In Love, The Dean And I and The Wall Street Shuffle and many more.

T OU

Tuesday 10 February 7.30pm £25.50, £27.50, £33.50 – Following a sell-out tour to over 15,000 people and wowing the nation with their extraordinary harmonies on Britain’s Got

The calibre of the assembled line-up is superb, Rodney Crowell makes his first

Making his Transatlantic Sessions debut is Liverpool based guitarist and singer John Smith, whose stunning steelstrung guitar work and earthily compelling songs will be familier to many, while ex-Nickel Creek

singer and fiddler Sara Watkins, now forging a successful solo career, and allround US roots maestro Dirk Powell are both welcome return visitors. Kathleen MacInnes brings sublime vocals from Scotland, alongside other familiar faces including the ever-wonderful Tim O’Brien and guitar hero Russ Barenberg. Musical directors Aly Bain and Jerry Douglas once again helm the dreamteam house band of Michael McGoldrick, John McCusker, Danny Thompson, John Doyle, James Mackintosh and Donald Shaw.

LD SO

Richard & Adam At The Movies In Concert

the Pond, inspiring one another afresh. For performers teh format is a rare chance to cut loose from their customary territory, in cahoots with an Alist mix of old and new friends, and stretch their creative wings. Last year a Telegraph reviewer observed, ‘There is something pure about these concerts.’

appearance among the US contingent, as his 40-year career continues on a renewed artistic roll. After sharing a Grammy with Emmylou Harris for their 2013 duets collection Old Yellow Moon, he reaped further plaudits the following year for his latest solo release, the gutsy yet eloquent Tarpaper Sky. Fellow Grammy-winner Patty Griffin has long been acclaimed as one of contemporary Americana’s most distinctively poetic voices, most recently for her seventh album American Kid, a movingly meditative tribute to her late father.

Contemporary Music | 5

Monday 16 February 7.30pm £19.50, £27.50, £38.50, £44.50 – Britain’s Got Talent 2014 winners Collabro are joined by very special guest and runner up Lucy Kay for this show.

Pop’. Meteorites contains ten new songs written by frontman Ian McCulloch and performed with fellow original band-member Will Sergeant on guitar and was produced by Youth, who has in the past produced The Verve, Shack and The Orb. So it is only right that The Bunnymen’s tour this winter will conclude here at Liverpool Philharmonic Hall as they return to Liverpool for a home-town show. Book now at www.liverpoolphil.com

6 | Contemporary Music

The Classic Rock Show Top 20 Greatest Guitar Riffs Of All Time - LIVE! Saturday 21 February 7.30pm £22.50, £28.50, £32.50 – The classic rock fan’s ultimate live juke box! After its sell out 2014 tour, The Classic Rock Show returns in 2015 to perform the ‘Top 20 Greatest Guitar Riffs Of All Time’. From

The Unthanks Sunday 1 March 7.30pm £19.50, £25.50 – Nominated for the Mercury Music Prize and the only British folk ensemble represented in The Guardian’s and Uncut’s best albums of last decade The Unthanks have amassed an army of admirers. Notable fans include Elvis Costello, Robert Wyatt, Ben Folds, Ryan Adams and Rosanne Cash. Using the traditional music of the North East as a starting point, the influence of Steve Reich, Miles Davis, Sufjan Stevens, Robert Wyatt, Antony & The Johnsons,

the extraordinary opening sounds of Led Zeppelin’s Whole Lotta Love to Queen’s powerhouse anthem We Will Rock You via AC/DCs Back in Black this show will rock you to your core. This critically acclaimed show celebrates its fifth birthday in 2015, and will toast the occasion in the best possible fashion, with some of the greatest moments in rock guitar history. This year the show focuses on songs best

King Crimson and Tom Waits can be heard in the band’s seven albums to date. Uncut said ‘The Unthanks seem to regard folk music the same way Miles Davis regarded jazz: as a launch pad for exploring the wider possibilities.’

The Unthanks have been hiding away in Northumberland, quietly working away on an ambitious follow-up to 2011’s Last. Who knows how rich, imaginative and ground breaking their new album will be? It is released to coincide with this concert and brought to life on stage with a talented ten-piece band. Recent

known for their irresistible guitar hooks, instantly recognisable songs that have earned a golden status in the history of popular music. A virtuoso band take you on a two and a half hour foot-stomping ride featuring the music of The Eagles, Led Zeppelin, Dire Straits, Pink Floyd, Queen, Deep Purple, AC/DC, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Who, Eric Clapton, Fleetwood Mac and much, much more.

collaborations with Orbital, Sting, Adrian Utley (Portishead), Martin Green (Lau), Martin Hayes, The Voice Squad, Charles Hazlewood, The Moulettes and German composer Werner Cee are so diverse that making predictions about the direction of their new music is impossible. What we can guarantee is a wonderful concert. ‘Rachel and Becky’s voices are one of the true wonders of 21st-century music.’ NME ‘Intimate, epic, overflowing with feeling and musical intelligence.’ The Independent

Katherine Jenkins plus special guests Monday 2 March 7.30pm £29.50, £39.50, £55, £61 – Welsh mezzo soprano Katherine Jenkins has achieved meteoric success as the world’s most prolific classical crossover artist her nine studio albums have sold in excess of eight million copies and gone platinum all around the world. She has received numerous accolades for Booking fees Online/Phone Orders £1.50 per ticket administrative fee applies + 75p per order postage fee (if required). In Person No fees for payment by cash or debit card. Credit card orders incur a 2% transaction fee. Cheque orders are subject to a 70p per order charge.

Rumours Of Fleetwood Mac Thursday 5 March 7.30pm £22.50, £33.50 –

The ultimate tribute to one of rock n roll’s most remarkable stories. From the innocence of the innovative, soul-searching blues of the 60s Peter Green era, through the band’s decadedefining album of the 70s, Rumours, to becoming one of rock’s most staggeringly successful behemoth supergroups - The Fleetwood Mac story is a musical journey of quite epic proportions. Having received Mick Fleetwood’s golden seal of approval no less, and selling out Liverpool Philharmonic Hall for their 2014 concert, Rumours Of Fleetwood Mac return to once again to replicate perfectly the power and subtlety of Fleetwood Mac at their brilliant best. Let timeless classics such as Black Magic Woman, Albatross, Go Your Own Way, Dreams, Gypsy, Say You Love Me, Sara, Oh Diane, Little Lies, Everywhere and many more, take you on a nostalgic evening of outstanding musicianship; and all performed in the context where the songs work best, a live stage.

her recordings, including two Classical BRITs for the coveted Album of the Year Award. Her new album Home Sweet Home reflects Jenkins’ return to her classical roots and marks a milestone in an astonishing career, it has been ten years since the release of her debut offering Premiere in 2004 – one of the fastest selling classical albums of all time. This concert will see her perform tracks from the new album plus some favourites from throughout her extraordinary career.

Contemporary Music | 7

Dr John plus support Monday 9 March 7.30pm £25, £31

‘A Curious Life’ & Levellers

(Acoustic) Friday 6 March 7.30pm £20, £22.50, £28.50 – Watch the Levellers documentary film A Curious Life followed by an acoustic performance by the band.

Barbara Dickson Saturday 7 March 7.30pm £26, £32 – Barbara Dickson, OBE, emerged from the Scottish Folk Revival of the 1960s and has become the biggest selling Scottish female album artist of all time. She became known to a wider audience in the 1970s and 1980s for the hits Answer Me, Another Suitcase in Another Hall, The Caravan Song and I know Him so Well. As an actress, Dickson has appeared in the award winning

Me, through the anthemic One Way, Fifteen Years, Hope Street (they really must play this one at Liverpool Philharmonic Hall), Just The One and Beautiful Day to more recent tracks such as Truth Is and Cholera Well, all show the Levellers’ mix of scathing political comment and positive DIY attitude to life hasn’t dissipated with age. As well as the Greatest Hits release, A Curious Life - a film about their rise to fame in the 1990s – also premiered in 2014. Told through the unique perspective of Jeremy Cunningham, the band’s bass player and artist,

and directed by former Chumbawamba frontman Dunstan Bruce, the film focuses on the Levellers phenomenal success between 1988 and 1998 before they disappeared for a time. However, despite reaching their lowest ebb, the band never split up and after a few years in the wilderness they reinvented themselves as a selfmanaging collective with their own studio, label and Beautiful Days festival, and in the process became unexpected survivors of the UK’s famously fickle music industry. See page 24 for full Film listings

theatre productions, John, Paul, George, Ringo and Bert, Blood Brothers and Spend, Spend, Spend. She was the original Mrs Johnstone and Willy Russell’s muse. Now she is returning to her roots once again, after a musical odyssey of 40 years creating music, playing guitar and piano, acting and songwriting. This concert is a culmination of her journey thus far. ‘You want to bottle her voice it’s perfect.’ Melvyn Bragg

Joan Armatrading plus support Monday 23 March 7.30pm £27.50, £29.50, £35.50 – Over her 42 years of touring Joan Armatrading has never done a solo world tour. So, for her last major tour she has decided this is the perfect time to perform her first ever full scale solo concert including songs that span her entire

career so far. ‘I will never retire but this will be the last major tour that I will undertake. For the first time these concerts will be me solo on stage playing the guitar, piano and singing. I want these concerts to be a special lively interactive one to one experience. I have absolutely enjoyed the last 42 years of performances but now, with my final major tour, I want to capture a unique memory for both myself and

The six-time Grammy Awardwinning pianist, singer and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee is known throughout the world as the embodiment of New Orleans’ musical legacy; Dr. John is a true icon in American culture. His colourful musical career began in the 1950s when he wrote and played guitar on some of the greatest records to come out of that most musical of cities. Now, in half a century of music making, he has gone on to be an integral artist on the revered Blue Note Records label, a regular musical partner with Allen Toussaint and Chris Barber and has collaborated with artists including Spiritualized, Paul Weller, Supergrass and Ocean Colour Scene. the audience.’ You are guaranteed a fantastic mix of magical old favourites plus recent compositions to fall in love with. Armatrading is as happy to play Love and Affection, Willow, Drop The Pilot and Me, Myself I, as the audience is to hear them.

Book now at www.liverpoolphil.com

8 | Contemporary Music

Blue

Mike and the Mechanics

plus guests Thursday 2 April 7.30pm £25, £31 – Blue have sold more than 15 million albums worldwide with their first three studio albums reaching the number one spot. They have also toured virtually every country in the world and performed live with the likes of Sir Elton John and Stevie Wonder.

The Solid Silver 60s Show Friday 3 April 7.30pm £26.50, £28.50, £33.50 – Solid Silver 60s celebrates thirty years of the UK’s original sixties show, with its most sensational line-up yet. Headlining, and back in the UK for the first time since 1999, is the original cool cat Billy J Kramer, performing alongside the original voice of the Searchers, Mike Pender. Chris Farlowe of Handbags & Gladrags. And finally on this anniversary bill is UK soul pioneer PP Arnold - one of the original members of The Ikettes, the must-see staples of every Ike and Tina Turner performance. All of these legends are backed by The New Amen Corner, plus very special guests, the Merseybeats.

Aly Bain & Phil Cunningham Thursday 9 April 7.30pm St Georges Hall Concert Room £16 – Bain & Cunningham’s incomparable mastery of fiddle and accordion has made the Scottish duo’s shows some of the finest in traditional music across the British Isles and beyond. They form the core of the house band for the cross cultural Celtic/Americana Transatlantic Sessions project, and individually pursue ventures in

Adios Tour

Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club® Featuring Omara Portuondo, Guajiro Mirabal, Barbarito Torres and Jesus ‘Aguaje’ Ramos Tuesday 7 April 7.30pm £37.50, £43.50 – After 16 years thrilling audiences around the world, the Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club® bid ‘adios’ with a farewell world tour. The group, grew out of the release of the Grammy Award-winning bestselling album Buena Vista Social Club™, and its line-up continues to include a number of the original artists featured on the landmark recording and film. Under the musical direction of band leader and trombonist Jesus ‘Aguaje’

Ramos, the line-up for the Adios Tour features several of those who played on the original album and film, including the incomparable veteran diva Omara Portuondo, trumpeter Guajiro Mirabal and laúd virtuoso Barbarito Torres. They are accompanied by some of those who have joined the journey along the way, including Havana’s young star pianist Rolando Luna; a superb rhythm section and three-man trumpet section led by high note specialist Luis Allemany and celebrated singers Carlos Calunga and Idania Valdéz. The Adios Tour represents the distillation of more than a thousand shows over 16 years involving more than forty musicians celebrating Cuban musical tradition with flair and élan.

performance, television and education but it is when they play live together as a duo that they truly shine with over quarter of a century of wellhoned skills and hilarious banter delighting audiences everywhere. ‘Simply the best traditional musicians you are ever likely to hear.’ The Herald ‘They play with a matchless level of understanding, stamped with their customary combination of technical brilliance and expressive depth.’ The List

Thursday 9 April 7.30pm £30, £35, £42.50 – Even inside Genesis, Mike Rutherford’s forte has always been his melodic songwriting. With the successful side project Mike and the Mechanics, he managed to find a further way to express himself. Since 1985, Mechanics have sold more than 10 million records. Now, coming to Liverpool Philharmonic to play all their classic hits, the Genesis founding member, Rutherford (guitar) joins forces with a new generation Mike and The Mechanics comprising R&B singer Andrew Roachford whose previous hits include Cuddly Tour and Family Man, and Canadian-born singer Tim Howar whose band Vantramp toured with the likes of Rod Stewart and Paulo Nutini. This concert includes the Mechanics’ massive 80s hit single The Living Years, and other classic songs Silent Running, All I Need Is A Miracle, Word Of Mouth, Another Cup of Coffee and the unforgettable Over My Shoulder to name a few.

The Hollies Saturday 18 April 7.30pm £28.50, £29.50 – No support act is needed as The Hollies perform their Classics; The Air That I Breathe, Carrie Anne, Bus Stop, Just One Look, Stop Stop Stop, On a Carousel, Long Cool Woman, In a Black Dress, He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother and many more hits. This show is a brilliant two-hour (and more) Hollies celebration.

Sinead O’Connor Monday 20 April 7.30pm £25, £28, £31

From her breakthrough hit, 1987’s Mandinka, to the multiplatinum international success of 1990’s I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got with its number one version of Prince’s Nothing Compares 2 U, from her fearless genre-crossing forays into Irish folk, and roots reggae to her collaborations with artists as diverse as Peter Gabriel, Massive Attack and The Chieftains, O’Connor has trodden a unique path to become the most iconic female artist of the past 30 years. There is no one like Sinéad O’Connor. I’m Not Bossy, I’m The Boss her brand new studio album was released in August 2014 to huge critical acclaim; Billboard Magazine saying that it is ‘Her most upbeat (and best) album in years’ with the New York Daily saying she ‘Has created the most lustful, loud and, dare I say, commercial album of her career. It rocks’

Contemporary Music | 9

Bellowhead Friday 24 April 7.30pm £22.50, £24.50, £30.50 – The blistering 11-piece band fuses folk, rock, jazz, music hall and classical music. They have placed themselves at the cutting edge of the contemporary music scene while harnessing all the power and mystery of English and European musical folk traditions. Their most recent

Calexico Friday 1 May 8pm £18, £24 – Some 22 years since they first met Joey Burns and John Convertino – joined as ever by a cast of musicians from across the globe – return, as the collective that is Calexico, to play Liverpool for the first time since 2006. They emerged at the forefront of contemporary US acts straddling vintage roots and alternative cool - collaborating with the likes of Victoria Williams, Iron & Wine, Willie Nelson, Roger McGuinn and

The Full English Tuesday 5 May 7.30pm £22 – The folk singer and scholar Fay Hield has assembled a group of stellar musicians to record an album, with material based on a new English Folk Dance and Song Society digital archive of folk music and related materials. The band line-up includes Hield traditional singer and fiddle player Nancy Kerr, boundary-crossing and awardwinning singer/songwriter Seth Lakeman, the internationally renowned guitarist Martin

album, Broadside, spawned three play-listed singles on BBC Radio 2 and was voted Best Album at the station’s 2013 Folk Awards emulating the success of its predecessor, Hedonism the highest-selling independently-released traditional folk album of all time which topped fRoots Critics’ Poll for Best Album of 2010 and won Bellowhead Best Group in Songlines 2011 Music Awards.

Nancy Sinatra. In mapping their eponymous musical and psychic geography – they’re named after a small US/Mexico border town – Burns cites influences including ‘Portugese fado, 50s jazz, gypsy music, 60s surf and twang from Link Wray to Duane Eddy, Ennio Morricone and dark indie-rock singersongwriters’. Splashes of mariachi and Latin colour expand Calexico’s unique palette yet further, with hints of New Orleans hoodoo on their latest studio album, 2012’s Algiers, while reports of a follow-up nearing completion promise fresh surprises at this gig.

Simpson, double bassist of choice Ben Nicolls, and two of the most dazzling, in-demand multi-instrumentalists playing today, Rob Harbron and Sam Sweeney. In February 2014, The Full English won a stunning double at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards; Best Group and Album of the Year, with Fay Hield also gaining a nomination for Folk Singer of the Year. The band performed at Hop Farm Festival and Cambridge Folk Festival last year and now we’re delighted to bring the project to Liverpool.

Book now at www.liverpoolphil.com

10 | Family xxxxxxxxxxx & Variety Raymond Gubbay presents

FAMILY & VARIETY

The Glenn Miller Orchestra Sunday 11 January 2.30pm £16.50, £19.50, £25, £28, £30 – Let one of the UK’s most renowned big bands swing you back in time playing Glenn Miller’s original arrangements of favourite wartime charttoppers and hits from the forties. The programme includes; Moonlight Serenade, Little Brown Jug, String Of Pearls, Tuxedo Junction, American Patrol, Chattanooga Choo Choo, Strike Up The Band and Rhapsody In Blue. Plus a special Frank Sinatra anniversary celebration including I’ve Got you Under My Skin, Strangers in the Night, Birth of the Blues and New York, New York. Ray McVay musical director With special guests The Jiving Lindy Hoppers

Image Fantasia

Disney Fantasia Live in Concert U Saturday 3 January 2.30pm & 7.30pm £17, £22, £29, £34, £40 (£7 for under 25s) – Excerpts from Fantasia and Fantasia 2000 (restored HD film clips with orchestra).

League Of Welldoers New Year Benefit Show Monday 12 January 2pm £9.95, £10.95 – League of Welldoers presents a variety benefit concert featuring some of Merseyside’s finest entertainers. Book early to avoid disappointment and help support one of Liverpool’s oldest independent charities.

Neil Thomson conductor Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra – Join the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra for a thrilling performance of Disney’s groundbreaking marriage of symphonic music and animation. Magnificent repertoire from the original 1940 version and Fantasia 2000, including The Sorcerer’s

Apprentice, Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony and Nutcracker Suite, will be performed while Disney’s stunning footage is shown on the big screen. Experience iconic moments and childhood favourites as you never have before!

The orchestra will perform the second half of the concert in the World War II uniforms of the US army Air Force.

Anton and Erin ‘That’s Entertainment’ Friday 13 February 7.30pm £26.50, £32.50, £44.50 – This dazzling new production for 2015 features sensational choreography, sassy tunes and sparkling costumes in a wonderful show of music, song and dance. Join the UK’s favourite dance couple Anton du Beke and Erin Boag, and star vocalist Lance Ellington, as they combine the sophisticated elegance of their quick step, foxtrot, tango and waltz with

the showbiz razzmatazz of hits and steps from stage and screen.

Featuring classic hits: That’s Entertainment, True Love, Make ‘em Laugh, Steppin’ Out with My Baby and There’s No Business Like Show Business. Plus the full 25-piece London Concert Orchestra live on stage.

St. Mary’s College, Festival of Music Friday 20 March 7.30pm £12 (£6 students and seniors) – compered by BBC Radio Merseyside’s Roger Phillips conducted by Director of Music Andrew Byers, assisted by Colin Johnston – For the 17th year, St. Mary’s College, Crosby presents another showcase of the musical talents of its pupils with over 250 musicians from a range of different musical ensembles from the College and its Preparatory School, The Mount. They will include the College’s award-winning Symphony Orchestra, Symphonic Wind Band, Stage Band, Baroque Consort, Show Choir, Chamber Choir and Jacqui Dankworth & Todd Gordon with The Back to Basie Big Band

The Frank & Ella Show Wednesday 8 April 7.30pm £20, £23, £29 – Two of Britain’s leading jazz vocalists present a stylish, sophisticated and entertaining tribute to Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald, featuring timeless songs such as Manhattan, Lady Is a Tramp, Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye, Summer Wind, Night and Day, I’ve Got You Under My Skin, How High the Moon and Mack the Knife. Todd Gordon is renowned as one of the world’s greatest singers in the classic Sinatra mould, while the

Mount Concert Choir as well as a number of gifted soloists. Highlights include Corelli’s Concerto Grosso for violin, viola and cello, Handel’s The King Shall Rejoice, Chabrier’s orchestral rhapsody Espana, the overture to the Light Cavalry by Franz Von Suppe and music from the big screen blockbuster the Conquest of Paradis by Vangelis.

Family & Variety | 11

Grimethorpe Colliery Band Sunday 22 March 3pm £19,50, £21, £27 – The real stars of the hit movie Brassed Off the Grimethorpe Colliery Band are in constant demand throughout the world for concert appearances. Having won almost every brass band accolade, these musicians have a highly acclaimed international reputation with

numerous television appearances and recordings to their credit. Enjoy the fabulous sound of this world famous brass band, performing your favourite classics with passion and style! ‘A thoroughly entertaining show and a must for all music enthusiasts!’ The Guardian ‘Sensational - performing your favourite classics in spectacular style!’ The Times

fantastic Jacqui Dankworth is one of the select few able to live up to Ella’s exacting standards. They are supported by the 17piece Back to Basie Big Band which has been voted Best British Big Band six times at the British Jazz Awards. ‘The most flexible and expressive voice of her generation.’ The Observer ‘One of the classiest acts in British jazz singing.’ The Guardian ‘Todd Gordon stands as the guardian of all that is good in the music I love. I only wish there were more like him.’ Sir Michael Parkinson

David Arnold Tuesday 21 April 7.30pm £24.50, £29.50, £37.50, £42.50, £50 – David Arnold is one of Britain’s most successful composers. A Grammy, Emmy, Ivor Novello, BMI, Saturn, World Soundtrack and BAFTA award winner, he has written compositions and songs for film, TV, stage and for pop artists, he is one of the most influential and successful British

composers of the last two decades. Through-out the concert, Arnold will sing, play keyboard and guitar alongside the 70 piece Manchester Camerata Orchestra as they perform songs, scores and themes from his broad and varied career including Independence Day, Stargate, the James Bond films (Casino Royale, The World Is Not Enough, Tomorrow Never Dies and others) Godzilla, Made in Dagenham, the hit TV show

Sherlock and more. He will also share an insight into the world of a Bond film composer and songwriter, telling anecdotes about his illustrious career.

Book now at www.liverpoolphil.com

12 | Learning

LEARNING

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra Concerts for Schools Image Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra Schools Concerts

Post-concert Discussions

– This is your chance to ask questions of world-famous artists and hear their perspectives on music.

The events are free to all ticketholders and sessions begin 15 minutes after the concert ends in the Grand Foyer.

Discussion will last around 45 minutes. Classic FM Hall of Fame Wednesday 14 January Violinist Tasmin Little.

– Exsultate, jubilate Saturday 7 February Conductor Sperenza Scappucci and soprano Marina Rebeka. See page 16 for full details of the concert

See page 16 for full details of the concert

Return of the Dream Team Wednesday 18 February Chief Conductor Vasily Petrenko and pianist Simon Trpčeski. See page 17 for full details of the concert

Peer Gynt Wednesday 18 March Chief Conductor Vasily Petrenko and violinist Augustin Hadelich.

– Music for Easter Saturday 28 March Conductor James MacMillan, Simon Emery, Liverpool Philharmonic’s Artistic Director, Youth Ensembles, and a member of the Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Choir. See page 19 for full details of the concert

– South of the Border Thursday 23 April Conductor Carlos Miguel Prieto and Artist in Residence cellist Giovanni Sollima. See page 20 for full details of the concert

See page 21 for full details of the concert

23-27 February (KS2/3) 24-26 June (KS1) £4 per child 1 adult free for every 10 tickets booked – Liverpool Philharmonic’s Schools’ Concerts 2015 are now on sale. This year’s Key Stage 2 and 3 concerts are titled Getting the Message, and focus on how composers use music to communicate with their audience. They will feature the usual mix of familiar and new music designed to capture children’s imagination and inspire a love of orchestral music, and as usual whole thing is brought together with our regular host Alasdair Malloy’s wit and musical wisdom! We are delighted to welcome back author and CBeebies presenter Cerrie Burnell to our KS1 concert series, with another new story written especially for Liverpool Philharmonic.

A scheme of work is written to support each concert series, and twilight training sessions are available to introduce the primary schemes.

The concerts are open to all mainstream and special schools, and home educators. For a booking form or further information visit www.liverpoolphil.com/learning, email schoolsconcerts@liverpoolphil.com or call 0151 210 1953.

Learning | 13

Classic Intros

These are free pre-concert introductions to the music from the Podium. The short talks by visiting artists and scholars are a great way to get more from the performance. The talks are free to all ticket holders. Please take your seat in the auditorium for a 6.15pm start. Liverpool Philharmonic: Celebrating 175 Years Thursday 12 March 6.15pm Barry Cooper, professor of music at Manchester University and leading expert on Beethoven and Tom Hutchinson from the Royal Philharmonic Society discuss the genesis and impact of Beethoven’s Ninth.

Music Workshops for Children

– These workshops help to develop children’s musical skills, with singing, movement, instrumental work, and of course the opportunity meet musicians Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and hear them perform! Each session is led by two musicians. We have provided suggested age ranges for guidance only.

Please note these workshops take place at the Central Library as part of our Celebrating 175 Years of the Original Liverpool Sound exhibition and events. See page 14 for more information.

Saturday 14 March 6.15pm On the 175th anniversary of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society, Darren Henley, Managing Director of Classic FM and Vincent McKernan, Liverpool Philharmonic’s former archivist, tell the story of Liverpool Philharmonic and the anecdotes and secrets of the people and events that have been associated with the organisation. Mahler’s ‘Resurrection’ Thursday 23 April 6.15pm Norman Lebrecht, one of the most widely read commentators on music, culture and politics, regular presenter on BBC Radio 3 and author of Why Mahler? returns to Liverpool to speak about Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony.

Baby Voices Saturday 21 February & Saturday 25 April 10am - 10.45am £6 per child with one accompanying adult free, additional adults £6. Suggested age 0 - 18 months – The perfect introduction to making music with your baby, these 45 minute workshops will involve songs, movement, and active listening. Wordsheets and suggestions on how to make music at home with your baby will be provided. Toddler Tunes Saturday 21 February & Saturday 25 April 11.30am - 12.15pm £6 per child with one accompanying adult free, additional adults £6. Suggested age 18 - 36 months – Songs and games to help your young child develop his or her musicianship and creativity, including ways to ‘tune in’ to your child using child-led music making. Wordsheets and suggestions on how to make music at home with your young child will be provided.

Little Notes Saturday 21 February 2pm - 2.45pm & 3.30pm - 4.15pm Saturday 25 April 2pm - 2.45pm & 3.30pm - 4.15pm £7 per child with one accompanying adult free, additional adults £7. Suggested age 3 - 5 years – Your child will explore pitch and rhythm through songs and activities, develop their creativity through exploration and performance with percussion instruments, and learn more about instruments of the orchestra.

Book now at www.liverpoolphil.com

14 | Learning

Talks

– Running alongside the exhibition will be this series of talks. Each talk will last approximately one hour and admission is free. Talks take place in the meeting room on the 4th Floor of Liverpool Central Library. Though free, a ticket is required and they are available from www.liverpoolphil.com or from our Box Office on 0151 709 3789. Vincent McKernan: Liverpool Philharmonic – A History Monday 19 January 6.30pm

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic – Celebrating 175 Years of the Original Liverpool Sound Monday 19 January - Sunday 2 August Central Library, William Brown Street, Liverpool Free admission, no ticket required – On Monday 19 January, we open our exhibition at Liverpool Central Library celebrating the long and fascinating history of Liverpool Philharmonic, reminding you of some old friends along the way and placing the organisation within the context of Liverpool’s history throughout that time.

Do come along and explore Liverpool Philharmonic’s relationship with a cast of thousands including Charles Dickens, Thomas Beecham, Henry Wood, Malcolm Sargent and Paul McCartney. Discover more about the great fire that destroyed the original Liverpool Philharmonic Hall in 1933 and about the impact of the Second World War. Journey with us as we travel from the 1840s to the 2015, taking in tradition, triumphs and a few tantrums en route.

Archivist Vincent will relate the long and illustrious history of Liverpool Philharmonic by reference to its fabulous archive, publicly accessible at Liverpool Central Library. – Graham Johns: Three Decades with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra Wednesday 25 February 6.30pm

Music, Memories and Memorabilia: Liverpool Philharmonic Heritage Fair Saturday 25 April 10.30am - 4pm Central Library, William Brown Street, Liverpool Free Admission, no ticket is required

Do you have some memories of Liverpool Philharmonic you’d like to share? Do you own an item of memorabilia that tells a story you’d like to share with us? Why not come on down to the Liverpool Central Library and talk to us. We’d love to see you there and to share the part in your life that Liverpool Philharmonic has played!

Graham Johns, Principal Percussion with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, unpacks some marvellous anecdotes and stories from over thirty years of playing percussion the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. – Nicholas Wong: Liverpool Philharmonic and the Rushworths. Wednesday 25 March 6.30pm

Nicholas, a PhD candidate at University of Liverpool, Liverpool historian and Rushworth family history researcher, will examine the long relationship between the Rushworth family and its famous Liverpool music business and Liverpool Philharmonic. – Tom Hutchinson, Leanne Langley and Fiona Palmer: Philharmonic Societies. Wednesday 22 April 2.30pm

Tom, Projects Coordinator at the Royal Philharmonic Society, Leanne, Social Historian of Music in Britain, and Fiona, Professor of Music at the National University of Ireland Maynooth, will place Liverpool Philharmonic within the broader context of Philharmonic Societies and their history.

Classical Music | 15

Disney Fantasia

CLASSICAL MUSIC

Live in Concert Saturday 3 January 2.30pm & 7.30pm £17, £22, £29, £34, £40 (£7 for under 25s) – Excerpts from Fantasia and Fantasia 2000 (restored HD film clips with orchestra).

Neil Thomson conductor Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra

Join us for a thrilling performance of Disney’s groundbreaking marriage of symphonic music and animation. Magnificent repertoire from the original 1940 version and Fantasia 2000, including The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony and Nutcracker Suite, will be performed while Disney’s stunning footage is shown on the big screen. Experience iconic moments and childhood favourites as you never have before! Presentation made under license from Buena Vista Concerts, a division of ABC Inc. © All rights reserved.

Image Vasily Petrenko Raymond Gubbay presents

New Year’s Day Prom Thursday 1 January 2.30pm £16.50, £21.50, £24.50, £29.50 £34.50, £39.50 – Rossini Overture to the Barber of Seville Handel Water Music Suites (Selection) Grieg Morning and In the Hall of the Mountain King Dvor˘ ak Slavonic Dance No.1 Puccini O mio babbino caro from Gianni Schicchi Bizet Flower Song from Carmen Tchaikovsky Excerpts from The Nutcracker Suite Raymond Gubbay presents Celebrating 40 years

Johann Strauss Gala Music * laughter * dance starring Rainer Hersch Sunday 4 January 2.30pm £17, £23, £27.50, £29.50, £34.50 – Imagine a ballroom, the guests have arrived and the celebration is about to begin…. The candelabra twinkle, the conductor taps his baton, the dancers take their partners and the orchestra plays a sparkling assortment of much-loved music. This is Raymond Gubbay’s Johann Strauss Gala, the show that has enchanted audiences across the UK and Ireland for 40 years with its whirls and twirls, billowing gowns and graceful elegance. Irrepressible showman Rainer Hersch guides you, with a dash of comedy, through this wonderful show filled with music, laughter and dance.

Puccini O soave fanciulla Verdi Brindisi from La traviata Strauss Radetsky March Goodwin 633 Squadron – Manchester Concert Orchestra John Pryce Jones conductor Sarah Redgwick soprano James Edwards tenor – Great classics and fun to see in the New Year! And all your New Year’s Day favourites including Jerusalem, Rule, Britannia!, Nessun Dorma, Land Of Hope And Glory.

Programme includes The Blue Danube Waltz, Radetzky March, Emperor Waltz, Thunder & Lightning Polka, Laughing Song Roses From The South Waltz plus many more of your favourite waltzes and polkas from the Strauss family and friends. – featuring sparkling soprano Kristy Swift Johann Strauss Dancers in glorious costumes of the period and the Johann Strauss Orchestra

Messiah Saturday 10 January 7pm Please note start time £17, £22, £29, £34, £40 – Handel Messiah – Nathalie Stutzmann conductor Susan Gritton soprano Gaia Petrone alto John Mark Ainsley tenor Brindley Sherratt bass Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Choir Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra – Hallelujah! Ever since Handel passed through Chester on his way to the world premiere in 1742, Messiah has been a Merseyside tradition. Liverpool Philharmonic has been performing it for more than 150 years, and with tunes as famous – and as unforgettable – as Ev’ry Valley, The Trumpet Shall Sound and For Unto Us a Child is Born, it never fails to send the spirits soaring. This year we’re delighted to welcome – for the first time – the inspirational French conductor Nathalie Stutzmann. As a singer herself, she loves Messiah as much as we do; she brings true affection and unstoppable energy to a masterpiece that never gets any less fresh.

Book now at www.liverpoolphil.com

16 | Classical Music

Classic FM Hall of Fame Wednesday 14 & Thursday 15 January 7.30pm £13, £18, £24, £29, £36 – Programme to include: Dvor˘ák Humoresque* Tchaikovsky Excerpts from Romeo and Juliet Elgar Pomp and Circumstance March No.4 Mendelssohn Violin Concerto* Brahms Hungarian Dances – Manuel López-Gómez conductor Tasmin Little* violin Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra Post-concert Discussion Wednesday 14 January (Starts 15 minutes after the concert) Violinist Tasmin Little answers your questions in the Grand Foyer.

Ji Liu, piano Sunday 18 January 6.30pm St George’s Hall Concert Room £25 – Beethoven Sonata in C sharp minor, Op.27 No.2 ‘Moonlight’ Schubert ‘Wanderer’ Fantasy, Op.15 Debussy Suite Bergamasque Chopin Nocturne in C sharp minor, Op.27 No.1 Chopin Prelude, Op.28 No.15 in D flat major ‘Raindrop’ Chopin Fantaisie-Impromptu in C sharp minor, Op.66 Gershwin/Earl Wild The Man I Love / Embraceable You / I Got Rhythm Liszt Waltz on Themes of Gounod’s Faust – China is quickly becoming the powerhouse of 21st century piano playing, and signs are that the Shanghai-born Ji Liu may soon acquire a following comparable to Yundi’s or Lang Lang’s. His debut disc Piano Reflections– recorded here in Liverpool – has already attracted glowing reviews, and this recital demonstrates the full range of his artistry, from Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata to one of the supreme challenges of the romantic repertoire, Schubert’s Wanderer Fantasy. Miniatures by Chopin, Liszt, Saint-Säens and Gershwin offer a charming portrait of this engaging and intelligent young artist.

This concert marks the start of our 175th anniversary celebrations, as on 14 January, 1840, Liverpool Philharmonic was founded. This concert features a special programme of some of the most loved pieces of all time. In his Liverpool debut, Maestro Manuel López-Gómez - the latest star to emerge from Venezuela’s world-famous El Sistema music education programme - dishes them up with sparkle and flair. And Tasmin Little - surely Britain’s best-loved violin soloistbrings all her poise and charm to Dvořák’s Humoresque and Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto.

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Carducci String Quartet

Exsultate, jubilate

Wednesday 4 February 7.30pm St George’s Hall Concert Room £25 – Haydn String Quartet Op.33 No.2 ‘The Joke’ Shostakovich String Quartet No.4 in D, Op.83 Beethoven String Quartet No.8, Op.59 No.2 – A sense of creativity, discovery and shared imagination colours everything the Carducci Quartet play – and it’s pushed them quickly into the top flight of international string quartet playing. This concert finds them tackling three cornerstones of the repertoire, from the timeless wit of Haydn to the monumental strength of Beethoven’s second ‘Razumovsky’ quartet by way of Shostakovich’s lyrical, impassioned Fourth, a heartfelt protest against anti-Semitism, rich in Jewish melody.

Saturday 7 February 7.30pm £13, £18, £24, £29, £36 – Schubert Overture in the Italian Style in D Mozart Exsultate, jubilate Rossini Stabat Mater – Speranza Scappucci conductor Marina Rebeka soprano Silvia tro Santafé mezzo-soprano Lawrence Brownlee tenor Marco Spotti bass Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Choir – Think of Rossini and you think of opera: grand opera. That’s exactly how he wrote his Stabat Mater – turning a sacred text into a spiritual drama of positively operatic passion and power. Music like this demands a special kind of performer, so welcome Italian conductor Speranza Scappucci, soprano Marina Rebeka, and an all-star team of vocal talent. When Scappucci and Rebeka recorded with the Orchestra last year, something just clicked, and we’re thrilled to introduce them to you in a concert that also features the teenage Mozart’s joyful Exsultate, jubilate – and the spoof Rossini overture that Schubert wrote to win a bet!

‘The Carducci Quartet played a blinder at the Wigmore Hall...playing of vivacity and constant rhythmic subtlety.’ The Strad Sponsored by

Post-concert Discussion (Starts 15 minutes after the concert) Conductor Sperenza Scappucci and soprano Marina Rebeka answer your questions about tonight’s performance in the Grand Foyer. Sponsored by

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Shostakovich Nine Thursday 12 February 7.30pm £13, £18, £24, £29, £36 – Ravel Le Tombeau du Couperin Tan Dun Wolf Totem UK premiere

Partnership commission by Liverpool Philharmonic with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Taiwan Philharmonic Orchestra and the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra

Hindemith Concerto for Orchestra Shostakovich Symphony No.9 – Darrell Ang conductor Marcel Becker bass Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra Sponsored by

Classical Music | 17

Expect the unexpected. The Soviet authorities wanted Shostakovich’s Ninth to be a blockbuster epic, but instead they got a brilliantly entertaining mini-masterpiece with a wicked sense of humour. Tonight the Orchestra’s Double Bass Section Leader Marcel Becker stars in the UK premiere of a new concerto by Tan Dun, the world-famous composer of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. And the dynamic young conductor Darrell Ang has roots in the Far East – but trained in the great Russian tradition. Add Ravel’s graceful mock-baroque miniatures and Hindemith’s supercharged Concerto for Orchestra, and his Liverpool debut looks set to be one of the real talking-points of the season.

Return of the Dream Team Wednesday 18 & Thursday 19 February 7.30pm £13, £18, £24, £29, £36 – Prokofiev Russian Overture, Op.72 Ravel Piano Concerto in G Tchaikovsky Capriccio Italien Tchaikovsky Symphony No.2 ‘Little Russian’ – Vasily Petrenko conductor Simon Trpc˘eski piano Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra Post-concert Discussion Wednesday 18 February (Starts 15 minutes after the concert) Chief Conductor Vasily Petrenko and pianist Simon Trpc˘eski answer your questions about tonight’s performance in the Grand Foyer.

Bring a Russian conductor together with a Macedonian pianist, and…well, one critic described Vasily Petrenko’s and Simon Trpčeski’s award-winning Rachmaninov recordings as “bursting with fire!” But then, Russian musicians have always drawn inspiration from the South. In his Little Russian symphony, and in the bustling life and blazing sunlight of Rome in his Capriccio Italien, Tchaikovsky was no exception. This should be a particularly joyous instalment of our year-long salute to Tchaikovsky; but first, we reassemble the Petrenko-Trpčeski dream-team in music of blue skies and smouldering passions: Ravel’s sparkling, Basque-inspired Piano Concerto.

Valentine’s Day Concert Saturday 14 February 7.30pm £17, £22, £29, £34, £40 – Philippe Bach conductor Kathryn Rudge soprano Jesús León tenor Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra – This Valentine, give your special someone an unforgettable gift – a bouquet of romantic classics, wrapped in the luxurious sound of a full symphony orchestra and delivered with love by maestro Philippe Bach, Liverpool’s own star of the operatic stage, Kathryn Rudge and Jesús León (who created a buzz at 2012’s Spirit of Christmas). Be seduced by Bizet’s Carmen, savour the pure sensual indulgence of Samson et Dalila. If music is the food of love, this is a candlelit, Michelin starred banquet. All for just one wonderful night: so go on, spoil them!

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18 | Classical Music

Rhapsody in Blue Saturday 28 February 7.30pm £13, £18, £24, £29, £36 – Gershwin Overture, Girl Crazy Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue Davis Safety Last (Harold Lloyd’s 1923 film with live orchestra) – Carl Davis CBE conductor Ian Buckle piano Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra – It doesn’t matter how good your TV is. Until you’ve heard a full symphony orchestra accompanying a film live, you’ve never experienced the ultimate in movie sound! As Liverpool Philharmonic Hall fulfils its art deco destiny as the city’s most spectacular cinema, veteran movie maestro Carl Davis conducts the Orchestra in a live accompaniment to Harold Lloyd’s Safety Last. With its knockabout humour and breath taking real-life stunts, this madcap 1923 comedy is an all-time classic – and it never sounds better than here. There’s even a “B” feature too – Gershwin’s jazztastic Girl Crazy overture and Rhapsody in Blue. ‘I got rhythm?’ You’d better believe it!

Petrenko’s Tchaikovsky I

Petrenko’s Tchaikovsky II

Wednesday 4 March 7.30pm £13, £18, £24, £29, £36 – Rimsky-Korsakov Overture, The Tsar’s Bride Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No.1 Tchaikovsky Symphony No.4 – Vasily Petrenko conductor Nikolai Lugansky piano Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra – Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony isn’t just a matter of life and death – it’s more important than that. Tormented by loneliness, and convinced that Fate itself was out to destroy him, Tchaikovsky poured everything into this shattering symphony: a no-holdsbarred emotional autobiography of uncompromising rawness and drama. If you’ve heard Vasily Petrenko and the Orchestra play Tchaikovsky before, you’ll know what to expect; if you haven’t – well, their performance of Tchaikovsky’s renowned First Piano Concerto with the great Russian piano virtuoso Nikolai Lugansky should give you some idea! Prepare to be electrified!

Sunday 8 March 2.30pm £13, £18, £24, £29, £36 – Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No.2 Tchaikovsky Symphony No.4 – Vasily Petrenko conductor Nikolai Lugansky piano Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra – Vasily Petrenko and the Orchestra have a special affinity with Russian music and if you haven’t yet experienced it now is your chance. They join with the magnificent Russian virtuoso pianist Nikolai Lugansky described as ‘a pianist who makes the music, its wit, its bravura and its piquant lyricism come vividly alive’, for a performance of Tchaikovsky’s splendidly tuneful Second Piano Concerto. Tchaikovsky poured everything he had into his shattering Fourth Symphony, tormented by loneliness and convinced that Fate itself was out to destroy him.

Mendelssohn Die erste Walpurgisnacht Beethoven Symphony No.9 ‘Choral’ – Vasily Petrenko conductor Claire Rutter soprano Kathryn Rudge mezzo-soprano Bryan Register tenor Andreas Scheibner bass Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Choir Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra – 175th birthdays don’t happen every day – and the anniversary of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic’s first ever concert in 1840 calls for a very special musical celebration. But then, Beethoven’s Ninth has never been just another symphony – from tragic opening to climactic, world-embracing ‘Ode to Joy’, it’s an artistic experience with the power to change lives. Vasily Petrenko, the Orchestra, the Choir and a quartet of worldclass soloists will give it their all, and as we look forward to the next century-and-threequarters, they toast our founding fathers

with one of the highlights of organisation’s early years: Mendelssohn’s Die erste Walpurgisnacht, a secular cantata about survival against adversity and was given on the occasion of our 100th anniversary. –

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Liverpool Philharmonic: Celebrating 175 Years Thursday 12 & Saturday 14 March 7.30pm £13, £18, £24, £29, £36

Classic Intro Thursday 12 March 6.15pm Barry Cooper, professor of music at Manchester University and leading expert on Beethoven and Tom Hutchinson from the Royal Philharmonic Society discuss the genesis and impact of Beethoven’s Ninth symphony.

Classic Intro Saturday 14 March 6.15pm On the 175th anniversary of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society, Darren Henley, Managing Director of Classic FM and Vincent McKernan, Liverpool Philharmonic’s former archivist, tell the story of Liverpool Philharmonic and the anecdotes and secrets of the people and events that have been associated with the organisation.

12 March sponsored by

14 March sponsored by

Classical Music | 19

Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Orchestra Sunday 15 March 2.30pm £9 adults / £6 under 25s £2 Liverpool Young Musician Pass – Wagner Prelude to Die Meistersinger Brahms Double Concerto Copland Fanfare for the Common Man Arnold English Dances, Set 2, Op.33 Elgar Serenade for Strings in E minor Tchaikovsky Capriccio Italien* – Simon Emery conductor Vasily Petrenko conductor* Rakhvinder Singh violin Jonathan Aasgaard cello

Sir Simon Rattle Patron – Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Orchestra takes a journey through some of the world’s best-loved pieces. For Brahms’ Double Concerto they’ll be joined by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra’s Joint Assistant Leader Rakhivinder Singh and Section Leader Jonathan Aasgaard. The programme also includes Elgar’s personal favourite composition, Serenade for Strings, Copland’s celebratory Fanfare for the Common Man before Chief Conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra Vasily Petrenko leads Tchaikovsky’s fantasy for orchestra, Capriccio Italien.

Gould Piano Trio Tuesday 24 March 7.30pm St George’s Hall Concert Room £25 – Dvořák Piano Trio No.2 in G minor, Op.26 MacMillan Piano Trio No.2 Tchaikovsky Piano Trio in A minor, Op.50 – ‘The Goulds are a top-line ensemble. Gould’s violin can soar like a lark, with a sweetness of tone that is honey to the ear; Neary’s spruce, articulated cello lines bring the bounce and propulsion of a jazz group.’ New Zealand Herald

Peer Gynt Wednesday 18 & Thursday 19 March 7.30pm £13, £18, £24, £29, £36 – Grieg Peer Gynt Suite No.1 Sibelius Violin Concerto Tchaikovsky Symphony No.6 ‘Pathétique’ – Vasily Petrenko conductor Augustin Hadelich violin Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra – Pathétique means full of feeling. No surprises there: Tchaikovsky was a man on the edge, and all his hopes, his terrors and his passionate love of life went into his heart-breaking final symphony. Some say that it takes a Russian conductor to do it

justice, and Vasily Petrenko certainly won’t stint on the emotion tonight. It’s a long way from the Nordic cool of Sibelius’ beautiful Violin Concerto, though the stunning young German violinist Augustin Hadelich (who recorded the work with the Orchestra in 2013) will strike fire from the ice in his first concert appearance with the Orchestra. Grieg’s famous Peer Gynt suite gets things off to a delightful start – tunes you’ve known all your life, whether you realise it or not! Post-concert Discussion Wednesday 18 February (Starts 15 minutes after the concert) Chief Conductor Vasily Petrenko and violinist Augustin Hadelich answer your questions about tonight’s performance.

The Gould Piano Trio have been building an international name for themselves for well over a decade. That’s one reason why they’re the dedicatees of James MacMillan’s keenly-awaited Second Piano Trio, and why their recording of Tchaikovsky’s huge A minor Trio has won such widespread critical acclaim. Tonight they prove how this vast, tragic masterpiece can give even Tchaikovsky’s symphonies a run for their money! Sponsored by

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20 | Classical Music

Beloved Brahms Saturday 11 April 7.30pm £13, £18, £24, £29, £36 – Mendelssohn Overture, A Midsummer Night’s Dream Prokofiev Piano Concerto No.2 Brahms Symphony No.2

Music for Easter Saturday 28 March 7.30pm £13, £18, £24, £29, £36 – Beethoven Overture, Leonore No.3 Wagner Prelude to Parsifal and Good Friday Music MacMillan A Little Mass World Premiere

Liverpool Philharmonic commission for the 175th Anniversary. Supported by Sally, Mary and Jonathan Groves to mark the centenary of Sir Charles Groves, in the month he would have celebrated his 100th birthday

Rimsky-Korsakov Russian Easter Festival Overture – James MacMillan conductor Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Choir Liverpool Philharmonic Training Choir Melody Makers Simon Emery Director Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Ensembles Alison White Liverpool Philharmonic Training Choir and Melody Makers Director Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra – Liverpool Philharmonic is 175, and we’re celebrating the way we always have – by looking to the future. And what better way to look forward than with the very first performance of a major new choral work, specially written for our wonderful youth choirs by the man who’s been called Britain’s greatest living composer? James MacMillan’s music is passionate, sincere and charged with emotion: with the man himself conducting, this should be a landmark event in British music. And then MacMillan and the Orchestra continue to reach for the heavens, with music inspired by Easter - by turns joyous, serene and rapturously beautiful. A celebration for both heart and soul. Post-concert Discussion (Starts 15 minutes after the concert) Conductor James MacMillan, Simon Emery, Liverpool Philharmonic’s Artistic Director Youth Ensembles, and a member of the Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Choir answer your questions about tonight’s performance. Sponsored by

Gilbert Varga conductor Anna Vinnitskaya piano Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra – ‘A lioness at the keyboard’ – that’s how one critic described Anna Vinnitskaya. And since she’s making her Liverpool debut with Prokofiev’s ferocious Piano Concerto No.2, you’ll be able to hear exactly why! Prokofiev’s revolutionary concerto is the powerhouse at the centre of this first Liverpool appearance from the hugely respected conductor Gilbert Varga: an electrifying contrast to the feather-light fantasy of Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream overture, and a powerful upbeat to the sunlit meadows and joyous trumpets of Brahms’ lyrical Second Symphony. Sponsored by

Pictures from an Exhibition Wednesday 15 & Thursday 16 April 7.30pm £13, £18, £24, £29, £36 – Weber Overture to Oberon Beethoven Violin Concerto Mussorgsky, orch. Ravel Pictures from an Exhibition – Richard Farnes conductor Chloë Hanslip violin Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra – Maybe it was the vodka talking, but when Modest Mussorgsky set out to tell a story in music, he made it a good one! Gnomes, talking skulls and a whole row of dancing chicks...Pictures at an Exhibition is simply one of the most fabulously imaginative halfhours you’ll ever hear, and in Ravel’s lavish orchestral version, it sparkles and shines with all the colours of a Russian carnival. Opera North music director Richard Farnes really knows how to do drama, so expect thrills, spills, and poetry too, as he joins one of Britain’s most engaging violinists in Beethoven’s sunlit and serene Violin Concerto. Weber’s fairytale overture gets the magic started.

Giovanni Sollima cello Monika Leskovar cello Saturday 18 April 7.30pm St George’s Hall Concert Room £25 – Marin Marais Suite in D minor from Pièces de Violes, Deuxième livre Debussy Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune Giovanni Sollima The Interpretation of Dreams – Composer, improviser, performance artist, and cellist of jaw-dropping virtuosity and flair...there’s simply no one way of describing the many-sided musical phenomenon that is Giovanni Sollima. He refuses to be categorized: the best way of describing this concert with fellow-cellist (and regular collaborator) Monika Leskovar is to say that it begins with the sublimely inventive music of baroque France, and ends deep inside Sollima’s own extraordinary musical imagination. And that the journey will be unforgettable. ARTISTS in RESIDENCE

Sponsored by

keyboard and guitar alongside the 70 piece Manchester Camerata Orchestra as they perform songs, scores and themes from his broad and varied career including Independence Day, Stargate, the James Bond films (Casino Royale, The World Is Not Enough, Tomorrow Never Dies and others) Godzilla, Made in Dagenham, the hit TV show Sherlock and more. He will also share an insight into the world of a Bond film composer and songwriter, telling anecdotes about his illustrious career.

Classical Music | 21

Birkenhead & Formby Choral Societies and Merchant Taylors’ School

Choral Spectacular

South of the Border Thursday 23 April 7.30pm £13, £18, £24, £29, £36 – Ravel Rhapsodie Espagnole Sollima Antidotum Tarantulae XXI (Antidote to Tarantulas XXI), Concerto for Two Cellos De Falla Suite, The Three Cornered Hat Chávez Symphony No.2, ‘Sinfonia India’ Moncayo Huapango – Carlos Miguel Prieto conductor Giovanni Sollima violin Jonathan Aasgaard cello Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra – Spiders, carnivals, and antelope hooves… south of the border, things can get wild! And as Mexico’s leading conductor makes his Liverpool debut, he’s cooked up a fiesta of a programme: beginning in Ravel’s sultry Spanish night, and ending with José Pablo Moncayo’s flamboyant Mexican folkdance and Mexico’s most famous foot tapping piece of classical music. In between, Carlos Chávez

celebrates the ancient cultures of Central America, Manuel de Falla thwarts a Spanish seducer, and the one and only Giovanni Sollima – Liverpool Philharmonic’s current Artist in Residence – makes his cello dance like something’s bitten it. Blazing colours, fiery rhythms and spicy tunes: this concert positively bursts with flavour.

Saturday 25 April 7.30pm £10, £18, £24 (under 19s half price) – Carol Orff Carmina Burana John Rutter Feel the Spirit Benjamin Britten Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra – Boys from Merchant Taylors’ School in Crosby, combine with the Choral Societies of Birkenhead and Formby again - in the 12th concert in their series of collaborations. Three hundred singers will perform the dynamic, exciting and everpopular Carmina Burana, along with Rutter’s cycle of arrangements of popular Spirituals, Feel the Spirit. Supported by a full symphony orchestra who get us underway with The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, this is a spectacular concert and a fantastic introduction for anyone new to choral music, as well as an exciting opportunity to hear a fresh interpretation of old favourites.

Post-concert Discussion (Starts 15 minutes after the concert) Conductor Carlos Miguel Prieto and Artist in Residence cellist Giovanni Sollima answer your questions about tonight’s performance. ARTISTS in RESIDENCE

Sponsored by

Kids Club ReCommended

We’ve picked this concert as one we think older children might enjoy – look out for this symbol on other Kids Club Recommended events. For more info visit www.liverpoolphil.com/kidsclub

Book now at www.liverpoolphil.com

22 | Classical Music

Boléro Sunday 26 April 2.30pm £13, £18, £24, £29, £36 – Ravel Valses nobles et sentimentales Tchaikovsky Rococo Variations for cello and orchestra Ravel Alborado del gracioso De Falla Suite, The Three Cornered Hat Ravel Boléro – Carlos Miguel Prieto conductor Giovanni Sollima cello Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra – Warmth in the air, the scent of orange blossom on a gentle breeze…there’s something magical about a southern summer night. As Mexico’s Carlos Miguel Prieto knows how to conjure up that enchantment, whether in the glittering sounds and dreamwaltzes of Maurice Ravel or the Spanish perfumes of Manuel de Falla’s The Three Cornered Hat. Artist in Residence Giovanni Sollima brings a very Italian panache to Tchaikovsky’s playful Rococo Variations, and Prieto rounds it all off with the ultimate in Latin passion. You know the rhythm, you know the tune, and whether or not you’re old enough to remember Torvill and Dean, there’s still only one Boléro!

Mahler’s ‘Resurrection’ Wednesday 29 & Thursday 30 April 7.30pm £13, £18, £24, £29, £36 – Mahler Symphony No.2 ‘Resurrection’ – Sir Andrew Davis conductor Erin Wall soprano Catherine Wyn-Rogers mezzo-soprano Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Choir Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra – Sponsored by

Priority Booking Beat the Crowds!

‘Since getting Priority Booking I get to see more great shows & have the best seats in the house... why wouldn’t you join?’

A man stands alone at the grave of a friend. Shattered by grief, he shakes his fist at the heavens, and takes the first step on a journey that will take him to the end of the world itself. This is Gustav Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony, and if it sounds incredible on paper, just wait till you hear it live! It’s quite simply overwhelming – and if you only know it from recordings, you haven’t really heard it at all. Sir Andrew Davis, whose association with Liverpool spans back to the early 1960s, joins the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Choir, two A-list singers and a full Orchestra, prepare yourself for this poignant symphony. Classic Intro Thursday 30 April 6.15pm Norman Lebrecht, one of the most widelyread commentators on music, culture and politics, regular presenter on BBC Radio 3 and author of Why Mahler? returns to Liverpool to speak about Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony.

Did you miss out on tickets to see Ludovico Einaudi, Elvis Costello, Jools Holland, Gary Barlow or Richard Hawley? Then join the Liverpool Philharmonic Priority Booking Scheme! For just £30 a year members receive advanced email notification of every new show before it goes on sale and are able to book tickets up to 48 hours before everyone else!*

Mike, Priority Booking Member To sign up call 0151 210 2921, email fundraising@liverpoolphil.com or buy online at liverpoolphil.com/priority *Terms and conditions apply

Comedy & Spoken Word | 23

COMEDY & SPOKEN WORD

Image One Man Breaking Bad

One Man Breaking Bad Performed by Miles Allen. Written and Directed by Matthew Hardy Tuesday 24 March 7.30pm £18.50, £24.50 – Sixty Episodes. One Show. Yo! Join us on a rip roaring ride through the greatest television show ever made. LA actor Miles Allen smacks the senses, and amazes, with his super-charged, scarily accurate renditions of all the iconic characters, including Walter White, Jesse, Saul, Skyler, Hank, Walt Junior, Mike and Gus Fring. With over a million hits on YouTube, and a sell-out run at the Edinburgh Comedy Festival, Allen’s incredible impersonations break all six seasons down into one, exhilarating, hilarious tour de force performance. ‘Miles Allen is a supreme entertainer ... he nail impressions of pretty much every character in the series ... a high-tempo, laugh out loud, beautifully executed homage to one of the best TV shows of our generation.’ What’s On Stage ‘Miles Allen’s high-energy, warp-speed romp through all five seasons is bringing the house down every night.’ The Guardian

Fascinating Aida Wednesday 25 March 7.30pm £20, £26 – This fabulous romping cabaret show ‘engages the brain as well as the funny-bone’ says The Times. Following several soldout shows since their debut here at Liverpool Philharmonic Hall in 2011, three Olivier Award nominations and over 10 million YouTube hits for Cheap Flights (their infamous anthem to

budget air travel), Dillie Keane, Adele Anderson and Liza Pulman celebrate 31 years of Fascinating Aïda. Expect topical new songs hot off the press, plus some outrageous old favourites, as Fascinating Aïda continue to grow old disgracefully! ‘Outrageous... seductive.’ The Guardian ‘I can’t recommend this show highly enough.’ Mail on Sunday

Dylan Moran Off The Hook Saturday 2 May 8pm £25, £31 – Dylan Moran star of Black Books, Shaun of the Dead and Calvary is back with his new stand up show. He returns to Liverpool Philharmonic Hall for the first time since 2004! ‘Jokes as sharp as barbed wire and a comedy brain quicker than a steel trap… Rarely have the rafters of the Playhouse shook so dangerously to the sound of laughter.’ The Scotsman ‘It didn’t falter for a moment. This is stand-up comedy of the first order... there’s scarcely a word wasted... seriously good fun.’ The Times

Book now at www.liverpoolphil.com

24 | Film

Disney Fantasia Live in Concert U

FILM

Saturday 3 January 2.30pm & 7.30pm £17, £22, £29, £34, £40 (£7 for under 25s) See page 10 for more information

Image The Theory of Everything

NEW Catch a mid-morning film screening and then retire to the glorious surroundings of our newly refurbished art-deco Grand Foyer for lunch.

Choose any two courses from our exclusive three course lunch menu for just £15 per person including your ticket to the film! Pre-booking of this lunch menu and film ticket offer is essential, please call 0151 709 3789 or go www.liverpoolphil.com/film

Breakfast at Tiffany’s

Some Like It Hot

Thursday 12 February 11am £15 inc. 2 course lunch or £6, £7 film only – Director Blake Edwards 1961 Running time 112 mins Starring Audrey Hepburn, George Peppard, Patricia Neal, Mickey Rooney – Struggling writer Paul Varjak moves into a New York apartment building and becomes intrigued by his pretty, quirky neighbour Holly Golightly. Holly's lifestyle confuses and fascinates Paul; in public she flits through parties with a sexy, sophisticated air, but when they're alone she changes into a sweetly vulnerable bundle of neuroses.

12A

Thursday 16 April 11am £15 inc. 2 course lunch or £6, £7 film only

Mr Turner

12A

Thursday 12 March 11am £15 inc. 2 course lunch or £6, £7 film only – Contains moderate sex and sex references

Director Mike Leigh 2014 Running time 150 mins Starring Timothy Spall, Paul Jesson, Dorothy Atkinson, Lesley Manville – Profoundly affected by the death of his father, loved by a housekeeper he takes for granted and occasionally exploits sexually, JMW Turner forms a close relationship with a seaside landlady with whom he eventually lives incognito in Chelsea, where he dies. Throughout this he travels, paints and is both celebrated and reviled by the public and by royalty.

Contains mild violence and sex references – Director Billy Wilder 1959 Running time 116 mins Starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, Joe E. Brown – Two Chicago musicians witness the St. Valentine's Day massacre and the only job to get them out of town is with an all-girl band heading to Florida. They show up at the train station as Josephine and Daphne and mayhem ensues as the two men try to keep their true identities hidden when Spats Colombo and his crew arrive for a meeting with several other crime lords.

The Imitation Game

12A

Monday 12 January 7.30pm £6, £7 Contains moderate sex and sex references – Director Morten Tyldum 2014 Running time 114 mins Starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Charles Dance, Allen Leech, Rory Kinnear. – Based on the real life story of legendary cryptanalyst Alan Turing, the film portrays the nail-biting race against time by Turing and his brilliant team of code-breakers at Britain's topsecret Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park, during the darkest days of World War II.

Paddington

TBC

Sunday 8 February 4pm £6, £7 – Director Paul King 2014 Running time tbc Starring Nicole Kidman, Ben Whishaw (voice), Peter Capaldi, Julie Walters – Everyone’s favourite Peruvian bear finds himself lost and alone at Paddington Station, and city life is not all he had imagined until he meets the kindly Brown family, who offer him a temporary haven. It looks as though his luck has changed until this rarest of bears catches the eye of a museum taxidermist...

Film | 25

Unbroken

‘A Curious Life’ & Levellers

TBC

Sunday 8 February 7.30pm £6, £7 – Director Angelina Jolie 2014 Running time tbc Starring Finn Wittrock, Jai Courtney, Jack O’Connell, Domhnall Gleeson – An epic drama that follows the incredible life of Olympian and war hero Louis ‘Louie’ Zamperini who, along with two other crewmen, survived in a raft for 47 days after a near-fatal plane crash in WWII only to be caught by the Japanese Navy and sent to a prisoner-of-war camp.

The Theory Of Everything

(Acoustic) Friday 6 March 7.30pm £20, £22.50, £28.50

Testament Of Youth

TBC

Tuesday 3 March 7.30pm £6, £7 – Director James Kent 2015 Running time tbc Starring Dominic West, Emily Watson, Miranda Richardson, Kit Harington – Vera Brittain overcomes the prejudices of her family and hometown to win a scholarship to Oxford. The First World War is looming and as the boys leave for the front Vera realises she cannot sit idly by as her so volunteers as a nurse. She works tirelessly and returns to Oxford determined to create a world in which such a war can never take place again.

Contains very strong language – Watch the Levellers documentary film A Curious Life followed by an acoustic performance by the band.

Levellers released their Greatest Hits this autumn. It includes every Levellers single released over the last 25 years (of which 20 were chart hits), together for the first time. From the folk punk roots of Carry Me, through the anthemic One Way, Fifteen Years, Hope Street (they really must play this one at Liverpool Philharmonic Hall), Just The One and Beautiful Day to more recent tracks such as Truth Is and Cholera Well, all show the Levellers’ mix of scathing political comment and positive

Fifty Shades Of Grey

TBC

Tuesday 17 February 7.30pm £6, £7 – Director James Marsh 2015 Running time tbc Starring Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones, Emily Watson, David Thewlis – The extraordinary story of Stephen Hawkins, of one of the world’s greatest living minds. Once a healthy, active young man, Hawking received an earth-shattering diagnosis at 21 and embarks on his most ambitious scientific work, studying the very thing he now has precious little of – time.

Mortdecai

TBC

Tuesday 17 March 7.30pm £6, £7 – Director David Koepp 2015 Running time tbc Starring Johnny Depp, Ewan McGregor, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Goldblum – Juggling some angry Russians, the British MI5, his impossibly leggy wife and an international terrorist, debonair art dealer and part time rogue Charlie Mortdecai must traverse the globe armed only with his good looks and special charm in a race to recover a stolen painting rumored to contain the code to a lost bank account filled with Nazi gold.

DIY attitude to life hasn’t dissipated with age. As well as the Greatest Hits release, A Curious Life - a film about their rise to fame in the 1990s – also premiered in 2014. Told through the unique perspective of Jeremy Cunningham, the band’s bass player and artist, and directed by former Chumbawamba frontman Dunstan Bruce, the film focuses on the Levellers phenomenal success between 1988 and 1998 before they disappeared for a time. However, despite reaching their lowest ebb, the band never split up and after a few years in the wilderness they reinvented themselves as a selfmanaging collective with their own studio, label and Beautiful Days festival, and in the process became unexpected survivors of the UK’s famously fickle music industry. See page 7 for more information

TBC

Tuesday 14 April 7.30pm £6, £7 – Director Sam Taylor Johnson 2015 Running time tbc Starring Jamie Dornan, Dakota Johnson, Jennifer Ehle, Marcia Gay Harden – When Anastasia Steele interviews the wealthy Christian Grey, she encounters a beautiful, brilliant and intimidating man. Innocent and naïve, Ana realises she wants him. Unable to resist Grey wants her too, but on his own terms. Grey is consumed by the need to control everything. As they get close Ana starts to explore her own desires.

The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel TBC Wednesday 22 April 7.30pm £6, £7 – Director John Madden 2015 Running time tbc Starring Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Richard Gere, Bill Nighy – The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is the expansionist dream of Sonny who has his eye on a promising property now that his first venture only has a single remaining vacancy. As the demands of his traditional Indian wedding threaten to engulf him, an unexpected way forward presents itself.

Book now at www.liverpoolphil.com

26 |

SEATING PLAN

Wheelchair spaces Transfer seats - Armrest on aisle lifts for ease of transfer from wheelchair or walker

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St George’s Hall Concert Room

By telephone 0151 709 3789 Monday to Saturday 9.30am to 5.30pm Sunday 12noon – 5pm In person Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, Hope Street, Liverpool, L1 9BP Monday to Saturday 10am to 5.30pm and 90 minutes prior to each performance

All major credit cards accepted (and are subject to a booking fee) Mastercard/Visa/Switch/Delta. We do not accept AMEX. Please make cheques payable to ‘RLPS’.

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Tiered Seats

Booking Fees Online & Phone A £1.50 per ticket administrative fee applies + 75p per order postage fee (if required).

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In Person No fees for payment by cash or debit card. Credit card orders incur a 2% fee.

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paid parking for the majority of Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra concerts at Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral.

Car park spots are available to pre-purchase for just £4 at the Box Office on 0151 709 3789, will booking your concert online or from www. liverpoolphil.com /carparking.

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We know that parking has become more difficult around Liverpool Philharmonic Hall and to that end are delighted to confirm that we can offer pre-

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A large print version of this brochure is available by calling 0151 210 2895.

Please let the Box Office know of your specific requirements when booking so we can help you to make best use of our facilities.

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You can also see the view from your seat on our seating plan at liverpoolphil.com/ planyourvisit

Most of our facilities are fully accessible for wheelchair users, although access to the Circle is via stairs. An infra-red hearing system is available. For full information on accessibility, please visit liverpoolphil.com/ accessibility

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For full booking information, directions and terms & conditions please visit liverpoolphil.com/ planyourvisit

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Facebook

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We also recommend public transport, or leaving a little extra time to travel and park when attending any concert during the capital development works at Liverpool Philharmonic Hall.

Book now at www.liverpoolphil.com

Gift Cards Liverpool Philharmonic Gift Cards are the perfect present for the music lover who has everything! Each card comes in a deluxe gift card holder with a space to write your message. Gift Cards are valid for all performances at Liverpool Philharmonic Hall.

Available from Box Office, order online at www.liverpoolphil.com/giftcards or call 0151 709 3789

Choose from three different card designs and share the magic of Liverpool Philharmonic with your friends and family!

complete your evening Just across the road, we’re a perfect partner to your evening at Liverpool Philharmonic. Ɖƌŝǆ ĮǆĞ ŵĞŶƵ ƚǁŽ ĐŽƵƌƐĞƐ άϭϳ͘ϱϬ ;άϮϲ͘ϱϬ ŝŶ ĞĐĞŵďĞƌͿ ͬ ƉŽƐƚ ĐŽŶĐĞƌƚ ŶŝŐŚƚĐĂƉƐ ͬ ďĞĚƌŽŽŵƐ ĨƌŽŵ άϴϵ

Hotel of the Year, Liverpool City Region Tourism Awards 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014 VisitEngland Silver Award for Excellence 2014

t: 0151 709 3000 | e: sleep@hopestreethotel.co.uk web: www.hopestreethotel.co.uk

Ϯ ZŽƐĞƩĞ ǁĂƌĚ ĨŽƌ ƵůŝŶĂƌǇ ǆĐĞůůĞŶĐĞ ϮϬϭϬ͕ ϮϬϭϭ͕ 2012, 2013, 2014

t: 0151 705 2222 | e: eat@hopestreethotel.co.uk web: www.thelondoncarriageworks.co.uk

The hotel in the heart of Liverpool

DIARY January Thu Sat

1 3

2.30pm Raymond Gubbay New Year’s Day Prom P15 2.30pm RLPO: Disney Fantasia Live in Concert P10

Sat Sun Sat Sun Mon Mon Wed Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Mon

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7.30pm 2.30pm 7pm 2.30pm 7.30pm 2pm 7.30pm

RLPO: Disney Fantasia Live in Concert P10 Raymond Gubbay Johann Strauss Gala P15 RLPO: Messiah P15 The Glenn Miller Orchestra P10 Film: The Imitation Game P24 League of Welldoers Concert P10 RLPO: Classic FM Hall of Fame P16 Post-concert Discussion P12 7.30pm RLPO: Classic FM Hall of Fame P16 8pm Nils Lofgren P4 7.30pm Paul Carrack P4 6.30pm Ji Liu, piano * P16 6.30pm Talk: Liverpool Philharmonic a History ** P14

February Wed Wed Thu Sat Sat Sun Sun Tue Thu Thu Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue Wed Wed Thu Fri Sat Sat Sat Sat Sat Wed Sat

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7.30pm 7.30pm 7.30pm 7.30pm

Carducci String Quartet * Seth Lakeman Transatlantic Sessions Exsultate, jubilate Post-concert Discussion 4pm Film: Paddington 7.30pm Film: Unbroken 7.30pm Richard & Adam At The Movies 11am Film: Breakfast at Tiffany’s 7.30pm RLPO: Shostakovich Nine 7.30pm Anton and Erin ‘That’s Entertainment’ 7.30pm RLPO: Valentine’s Day Concert 7.30pm 10cc In Concert 7.30pm Collabro with Lucy Kay 7.30pm Film: The Theory of Everything 7.30pm RLPO: Return of the Dream Team Post-concert Discussion 7.30pm RLPO: Return of the Dream Team 7.30pm Echo & The Bunnymen 10am Musical Workshops for Children ** 11.30am Musical Workshops for Children ** 2pm Musical Workshops for Children ** 3.30pm Musical Workshops for Children ** 7.30pm The Classic Rock Show 6.30pm Talk: Graham Johns ** 7.30pm RLPO: Rhapsody in Blue

P16 P4 P5 P16 P12 P24 P25 P5 P24 P17 P10 P17 P5 P5 P25 P17 P12 P17 P5 P13 P13 P13 P13 P6 P14 P18

7.30pm 7.30pm 7.30pm 7.30pm 7.30pm 7.30pm 7.30pm 2.30pm

P6 P6 P25 P18 P6 P7 P7 P18

March Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun

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The Unthanks Katherine Jenkins Film: Testament of Youth RLPO: Petrenko’s Tchaikovsky I Rumours Of Fleetwood Mac ‘A Curious Life’ and Levellers (Acoustic) Barbara Dickson RLPO: Petrenko’s Tchaikovsky II

Mon Thu Thu Thu Sat Sat Sun Tue Wed Wed Thu Fri Sun Mon Tue Tue Wed Wed Sat Sat

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7.30pm 11am 6.15pm 7.30pm 6.15pm 7.30pm 2.30pm 7.30pm 7.30pm

Dr John P7 Film: Mr Turner P24 Classic Intro P13 RLPO: Liverpool Philharmonic: 175 Years P18 Classic Intro P13 RLPO: Liverpool Philharmonic: 175 Years P18 Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Orchestra P19 Film: Mortdecai P25 RLPO: Peer Gynt P19 Post-concert Discussion P12 7.30pm RLPO: Peer Gynt P19 7.30pm St Mary’s College Festival of Music P11 2.30pm Grimethorpe Colliery Band P11 7.30pm Joan Armatrading P7 7.30pm Gould Piano Trio P19 7.30pm Comedy: One Man Breaking Bad P23 6.30pm Talk: The Rushworths ** P14 7.30pm Comedy: Fascinating Aida P23 7.30pm RLPO: Music for Easter P20 Post-concert Discussion P12

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Blue P8 The Solid Silver 60s Show P8 Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club® P8 The Frank and Ella Show P11 Aly Bain & Phil Cunningham * P8 Mike and the Mechanics P8 RLPO: Beloved Brahms P20 Film: Fifty Shades of Grey P25 RLPO: Pictures from an Exhibition P20 Film: Some Like it Hot P24 RLPO: Pictures from an Exhibition P20 Giovanni Sollima / Monika Leskovar * P20 The Hollies P8 Sinead O’Connor P9 David Arnold P11 Talk: Philharmonic Societies ** P14 Film: The Second Best Exotic Marigold.. P25 Classic Intro P13 RLPO: South of the Border P21 Post-concert Discussion P12 7.30pm Bellowhead P9 10am Musical Workshops for Children ** P13 11.30am Musical Workshops for Children ** P13 2pm Musical Workshops for Children ** P13 3.30pm Musical Workshops for Children ** P13 7.30pm Birkenhead & Formby Choral Society P21 2.30pm RLPO: Boléro P22 7.30pm RLPO: Mahler’s ‘Resurrection’ P22 7.30pm RLPO: Mahler’s ‘Resurrection’ P22

May Fri Sat Tue

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8pm 8pm 7.30pm

Calexico Comedy: Dylan Moran The Full English*

Key * St George’s Hall Concert Room ** / Central Library *** / RLPO Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra

P9 P23 P9

Wealth & Investment that hits the right notes We are delighted to continue our long-standing Principal Partnership with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. With more than 150 years’ experience of serving clients by investing their money wisely, Investec Wealth & Investment have the knowledge and expertise to help make your financial goals a reality. Our specialist teams manage over £24 billion* on behalf of our clients, seeking the best and most tax-efficient returns on their capital. With a network of 15 offices across the UK, including Liverpool, we are well placed to oversee your investments, pensions or other financial matters. Please bear in mind that the value of investments and the income derived from them can go down as well as up and that you may not get back the amount that you have put in. Please visit our website, call David Owen on 0151 227 2030 or email david.owen@investecwin.co.uk investecwin.co.uk Individuals

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Charities

Court of Protection

*As at 31 March 2014. Member firm of the London Stock Exchange. Member of NYSE Liffe. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Investec Wealth & Investment Limited is registered in England. Registered No. 2122340. Registered Office: 2 Gresham Street, London EC2V 7QP. Offices at: Bath Belfast Birmingham Bournemouth Cheltenham Edinburgh Exeter Glasgow Guildford Leeds Liverpool London Manchester Reigate Sheffield

A Principal Partner of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic

Don’t miss the forthcoming

Roscoe Lectures Baroness Helena Kennedy QC ‘The search for justice in an unjust world’ 5pm, Tuesday 2 December 2014, St Georges Hall

Professor the Lord Peter Hennessy ‘Watching Prime Ministers’ 5pm, 5 March 2015, St Georges Hall

Michael Murpugo ‘Fact and Fiction: Where the ideas came from for my novels’ 6pm, 6 May 2015, Liverpool Philharmonic Hall All lectures are free. For more details and to reserve your tickets, go to: www.ljmu.ac.uk/roscoe