Leap into Live Music! January - July 2023

Treat yourself to a great night out at Liverpool Philharmonic

LEAP INTO LIVE MUSIC!

January – July 2023

Roderick Cox

© Mark Allan

Welcome

As a Leap member you get access to free and discounted tickets at Liverpool Philharmonic.

From global to classical music, to family concerts and film screenings, we have plenty of exciting and varied events on offer.

Enjoy reading through this brochure – we hope you find something that’s perfect for you.

If you’re not sure whether a concert or performance will be suitable for you or your family, please get in touch and our team will be happy to advise.

If you have any thoughts or comments about the brochure, let us know – we’d love to hear from you.

We look forward to seeing you at an event soon!

The Leap into Live Music!Team

All tickets must be booked at least one week before the performance by calling Box Office on 0151 709 3789

Telephone Box Office opening hours:

Monday to Friday 9.30am - 5.30pm*

In person Box Office opening hours: Monday to Friday noon - 5pm*

* Box Office and phone lines are also open 2 hours prior to the start of each event in the main Hall.

Family Concert

The Simon & Garfunkel Story

Thursday 26 January 7.30pm

Liverpool Philharmonic Hall

Direct from a weeklong run in London’s West End at the Vaudeville Theatre, a sold-out worldwide tour and standing ovations at every performance, The Simon & Garfunkel Story is back!

Using huge projection photos and original film footage, the international hit show also features a full live band performing all the hits including ‘Mrs Robinson’, ‘Cecilia’, ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’, ‘Homeward Bound’ and many more.

‘Fantastic’ Elaine Paige, BBC Radio 2

‘Authentic and exciting’ The Stage

The Gruffalo and The Gruffalo’s Child: Film with Live Orchestra

Saturday 28 January 11am

Liverpool Philharmonic Hall

Terry Davies conductor

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra

Terry Davies conducts the Orchestra for René Aubry’s inspired scores for this wonderful animated double-bill, based on the much-loved children’s books written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler. Join Mouse on a daring adventure through the deep dark wood, where he is confronted by three hungry animals who each thinks that the mouse looks good! And the magic doesn’t stop there, as the Gruffalo’s child ignores her father’s warnings one wild and windy night and goes in search of the Big Bad Mouse...

The concert will last approximately one hour. Family concerts are most suitable for children aged 4-10 years.

‘We had never been to a classical concert before, but I don’t think that it will be our last!’

LEAP INTO LIVE MUSIC audience member

Photo Credit: Orange Eyes Limited 2019

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra

Alpine Symphony

Wednesday 1 February 8pm Music Room

Kweku Sackey aka K.O.G (Kweku of Ghana) is a multi-dimensional force, combining exquisite writing skills with shamanistic live performance, fierce raps, perfectly on pitch singing across a massive vocal range and some absolutely wicked dance moves. Not to mention his skills as a percussionist, arranger, bandleader and art director. A true poet and storyteller, he uses a mix of English, Pidgin and Ga to paint sonic pictures that reach deep into the soul.

Kweku is deeply aware of his heritage and of his role as an ambassador, negotiating culturally between African and Western influences and between the traditional and the modern: always open to new innovations and ideas while firmly rooted in a deep lineage.

This is a standing event.

Thursday 2 February 7.30pm

Liverpool Philharmonic Hall

Bruch Violin Concerto No.1

Strauss An Alpine Symphony

Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider conductor/violin

Richard Strauss boasted that he could depict even a knife and fork in music. So when he set out to paint the full majesty of the Bavarian Alps, the results were... well, hear for yourself as Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider and a super-sized Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra scale the summit of the mighty Alpine Symphony. There are waterfalls, glaciers, an ear-splitting storm – and that’s after our multi-tasking guest maestro plays the solo violin in Bruch’s unashamedly romantic Violin Concerto. It was one of Strauss’ favourite pieces, and one of ours, too.

Film

Matilda The Musical

Sunday 5 February 2.30pm

Liverpool Philharmonic Hall

Director Matthew Warchus Starring Alisha Weir, Lashana Lynch, Andrea Riseborough, Stephen Graham, Emma Thompson

An adaptation of the Tony and Olivier awardwinning musical, Matilda The Musical tells the story of an extraordinary girl who, armed with a sharp mind and a vivid imagination, dares to take a stand to change her story with miraculous results.

Featuring organ prelude from resident organist Dave Nicholas.

Transatlantic Sessions

Friday 10 February 7.30pm

Liverpool Philharmonic Hall

One of Celtic Connections’ most enduring and beloved institutions, Transatlantic Sessions celebrates its 20th edition, drawing on the traditions of Scotland, Ireland and the US, while continuing to break new ground.

First-time guest singers line up alongside returning favourites; centuries-old songs and tunes interweave with original material, and the time-honoured session-style format consistently delivers fresh collaborative magic.

As ever, the show’s house band are joined by joint masters of ceremonies Aly Bain and Jerry Douglas. Artists include Phil Cunningham, John Doyle, Michael McGoldrick, John McCusker, Donald Shaw, James Mackintosh, Daniel Kimbro. and Martha Wainwright.

Photo Credit: Cai Leilei

First Ever UK Show

Ahmed Fakroun

Sunday 12 February 8pm

Music Room

Libyan pioneer Ahmed Fakroun, a purveyor of Arab melodies and western electronic music, has taken the long route to recognition. In the 1980s, a promising career looked set to begin with the release of his acclaimed album Mots D’Amour, but international sanctions displaced many Libyans and curtailed his superstardom in the Arab world. Fakroun disappeared altogether in the 90s.

Now, almost forty years on, he is beloved for his unique blend of new-wave, synthpop, and disco infused with the folk sounds and melodies of his homeland. Fakroun has become a rediscovered star in the western world thanks to renewed attention from the electronic community and appreciation from musical adventurers like David Byrne and Bat For Lashes. The Master of the Maghreb brings his glittering Saharan sheen to Liverpool Philharmonic for his first ever UK show.

This is a standing event.

The George Harrison Story

Something About George

Saturday 25 February 7.30pm

Liverpool Philharmonic Hall

Something About George – The George Harrison Story is a musical biopic tribute to the so-called ‘quiet’ Beatle, and the 2023 tour celebrates what would have been George’s 80th birthday.

Starring West End actor and musician Daniel Taylor, Something About George – The George Harrison Story tells the truly remarkable tale of one of music’s most understated icons. Featuring a five-piece band performing beautiful songs such as ‘My Sweet Lord’, ‘Something’, ‘Got My Mind Set On You’ and ‘Handle With Care’, the show includes incredible solo material and music from rock n’ roll’s greatest supergroup, The Travelling Wilburys – not forgetting more than a few Beatles’ classics along the way.

From heartbreak to hedonism and song writing to instant success, Something About George will show you a life that was anything but quiet.

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra

Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi

Sunday 12 March 2.30pm

Liverpool Philharmonic Hall

Puccini La Tregenda (Le Villi, Act II)

Puccini Intermezzo (Manon Lescaut, Act III)

Mascagni Intermezzo sinfonico (L’amico Fritz)

Mascagni Intermezzo (Cavalleria Rusticana)

Ponchielli Dance of the Hours (La Gioconda)

Puccini Gianni Schicchi

Domingo Hindoyan conductor

Sir Bryn Terfel Gianni Schicchi

Singers from European Opera Centre

“O mio babbino caro...” No-one wrote a love song quite like Puccini, but in the farcical world of

Gianni Schicchi, nothing is quite as it seems. A sparking, screwball tale of scheming, bickering relatives, a lawyer and of young love, it’s a comedy with a huge heart. We’ve got a huge star to prove it, too: the one and only Sir Bryn Terfel, supported by some of the very best young singers in Europe today from the European Opera Centre for this dramatised performance. To set the scene, Domingo and the Orchestra provide some of opera’s most glorious orchestral intermezzos.

Gianni Schicchi will be performed in Italian with English surtitles.

Photo Credit: Mitch Jenkins/ Deutsche Grammophon

Soumik Datta

Wednesday 22 March 8pm Music Room

Daudi Matsiko

Wednesday 29 March 8pm Music Room

Tom McGuire & The Brassholes

Saturday 15 April 8pm Music Room

Soumik Datta is a composer, producer, bandleader and TV presenter – his work embraces traditional and contemporary art forms to address the urgent issues of our times. Soumik is best known for his creative collaborations with the likes of Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Bill Bailey, Nitin Sawhney and Anoushka Shankar, to name a few.

Soumik’s latest production Hope Notes weaves the stories of refugees through a soundtrack of sarod, strings and voices. In 2021, Soumik wrote, directed and scored Songs of the Earth, an award-winning animation about a young climate refugee which

premiered at the UN Climate Conference. Soumik’s previous highlights include performing at BBC Proms, Glastonbury Festival and presenting the three-part primetime, documentary series Rhythms of India on BBC 4.

Soumik’s art is about our world, making us hear it, see it, feel it anew.

Supported by

Born and raised in the UK, Ugandan singersongwriter and guitarist Daudi Matsiko carefully crafts modern albeit reverent folk. Deft, melancholic picking reminiscent of Nick Drake is tempered by contemporary percussion and instrumentation, and Matsiko’s vocals derive their strength from their seeming fragility, a warble in notes that may or may not be intentional. With every song, his confessional lyrics cut to the marrow.

After releasing two independent EPs, A Brief Introduction to Failure and The Lingering Effects of Disconnection, he signed to Naim Records and has toured with GoGo Penguin, Keaton Henson and Portico Quartet, whilst also being a successful graduate of the Red Bull Music Academy in Montreal.

Tom McGuire & the Brassholes is a funk-soul powerhouse from Glasgow - combining rich arrangements with meticulous songcraft, and untouchable live performance.

The band’s music is full of vitality – classic pop sensibility with high musicianship values and rich production. At the root is soulful song, telling stories and sharing experiences of joy, turmoil, loss, celebration, sadness and happiness.

Following the success of their 2019 debut album, they have supported Craig Charles and George Clinton, have become a firm favourite on the festival circuit and have toured extensively in the U.K and Europe.

Life is confusing and hard, but music is fun and great, so let’s talk about it whilst getting down!

This is a standing event.

Family Concert

Intergalactic Adventure: Relaxed Family Concert

Sunday 16 April 3.30pm

Liverpool Philharmonic Hall

Ellie Slorach conductor

Alasdair Malloy presenter

Kate Labno BSL presenter

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra

Prepare to countdown and blast off with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, as we leave the Earth behind and pilot a spaceship through the Solar System to visit some of our nearest space-dwelling neighbours. We’ll encounter some friendly, and some not-so-friendly, extraterrestrials and get caught up in some Star Wars before boldly going where no concert has ever gone before – to a party in The Planets! This concert is truly out of this world and features music from Holst’s The Planets, Star Wars, Star Trek, Super Mario Galaxy and of course, E.T.

This relaxed concert is fun and accessible for the whole family, combining brilliant music and a safe and enjoyable environment. We offer support for audiences with a range of additional needs, including physical and learning disabilities. We’ll have resources to help you prepare for the event, including music playlists and a virtual venue tour. We’ll also have easy-read materials and quiet spaces on the day.

The concert will last approximately one hour. Family concerts are most suitable for children aged 4-10 years.

This concert will be signed by a BSL interpreter

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra

The Great American Songbook

Saturday 22 April 7.30pm

Liverpool Philharmonic Hall

Anthony Weeden conductor

Gary Williams vocalist

Featuring sensational songs with swing, including:

Luck Be A Lady

Can’t Take My Eyes Off You

Mack the Knife

The Way You Look Tonight

I’ve Got You Under My Skin

Night and Day

Singin’ In the Rain

You’re All The World to Me

Ain’t That A Kick in the Head

My Kinda Town

New York, New York

My Way

Star of the West End’s Rat Pack, Gary Williams returns to Liverpool to join the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and celebrate music with all the glamour and glitz of the Las Vegas Strip. This evening, join us for a night with swagger, featuring the hits of Bobby Darin, Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Andy Williams, Dean Martin, Nat ‘King’ Cole and many more.

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra

Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring

Sunday 30 April 2.30pm

Liverpool Philharmonic Hall

Falla Suite 1 and 2, The Three-Cornered Hat

Prokofiev Piano Concerto No.3

Stravinsky The Rite of Spring

Domingo Hindoyan conductor

Isata Kanneh-Mason piano

Here in Liverpool, we hold our friends close, and we’ve taken pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason to our hearts. “Flair, mature interpretation, astounding technique and virtuosity” – critics have been grasping for words. We say, come and hear her play in Prokofiev’s daredevil Third Piano Concerto. And to follow that, Domingo Hindoyan turns the voltage up even higher with Stravinsky’s explosive The Rite of Spring. Back in 1913, it provoked riots, and it can still knock you backwards today.

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra

The Divine Poem

Thursday 4 May 7.30pm

Liverpool Philharmonic Hall

Legacy Memorial Concert

Bernd Richard Deutsch Phantasma (UK premiere: co-commissioned with the Concertgebouw, Cleveland Orchestra and Bamberger Symphoniker)

Strauss Brentano Lieder (Six Songs) Scriabin Symphony No.3, The Divine Poem

Vasily Petrenko conductor

Adela Zaharia soprano

Some composers think bigger, but it takes a special sort of genius to create a whole new musical universe. Back in 1904, Alexander Scriabin pulled out all the stops in his massive Third Symphony, and if you like Rachmaninov and Mahler, you’ll love The Divine Poem. Vasily Petrenko sets the scene with something entirely original – a UK premiere from Bernd Richard Deutsch – and six gorgeous songs by Richard Strauss: a perfect Liverpool debut for the glorious voice of Adela Zaharia.

Post-concert Question Time - starts 15 minutes after the concert ends (Music Room) with Vasily Petrenko.

Photo Credit: Mark McNulty

Photo Credit: Gary Williams

Photo Credit: Chris Christodoulou

Photo Credit: Klaudia Taday

Family Concert

Gaspard The Fox

Sunday 18 June 2.30pm

Liverpool Philharmonic Hall

Jonathan Dove Gaspard the Fox Prokofiev Peter and the Wolf

Rebecca Tong conductor

Zeb Soanes presenter

James Mayhew live illustration

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra

Alongside the classic Peter and the Wolf, join Gaspard the friendly fox and his furry chums in a warm-hearted adventure performed by their creator Zeb Soanes with live on-stage painting from the series illustrator, James Mayhew. Accompanied by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, this is the perfect way to introduce children to a live orchestra through images and storytelling.

The concert will last approximately one hour. Family concerts are most suitable for children aged 4-10 years.

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra

A Child of Our Time

Saturday 24 June 7.30pm

Liverpool Philharmonic Hall

Eleanor Alberga Tower

Vaughan Williams Songs of Travel

Tippett A Child of Our Time

Martyn Brabbins conductor

Nardus Williams soprano

Kathryn Rudge mezzo-soprano

Elgan Llŷr Thomas tenor

Roderick Williams baritone

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Choir

Individual lives tell the stories for this programme. Jamaican-born British composer Eleanor Alberga is inspired by the memory of a dear friend, a “tower of strength”, with music that brings a character to life. Meanwhile, Vaughan Williams tells the tale of a vagabond on his travels who demands “give to me the life I love”. Tippett’s oratorio relates the tragedy of an individual’s desperate act, and over 80 years after its premiere, still resonates with its themes of oppression and disenfranchisement. His use of African-American spirituals to evoke, as he put it, those “cast out from the centre of our society onto the fringes” is as pertinent now as it was then.

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra

Sixteen Swans

Thursday 29 June 7.30pm

Liverpool Philharmonic Hall

Strauss Don Juan

Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No.1

Sibelius Symphony No.5

Roderick Cox conductor Inon Barnatan piano

One quiet evening, Sibelius saw a flight of 16 swans. “God, what beauty!” he exclaimed, and he transformed that natural wonder into the melody that concludes his Fifth Symphony – a tune so good that you feel like you’ve known it forever. Tonight, it’s the crowning glory of a concert that unites Strauss at his most swashbuckling and Tchaikovsky

at his most romantic – with the superb Inon Barnatan returning as soloist in one of the world’s favourite piano concertos. The German-based American conductor, Roderick Cox, winner of the 2018 Georg Solti competition, makes his Liverpool debut.

Post-concert Question Time - starts 15 minutes after the concert ends (in the Music Room) with conductor Roderick Cox.

Recommended by

This concert will be signed by a BSL interpreter

Photo Credit: James Mayhew

Photo Credit: Bertie Watson

Photo Credit: Susie Knoll

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra

Fiesta!

Saturday 8 July 7.30pm

Liverpool Philharmonic Hall

Evencio Castellanos Santa cruz de pacairigua, Suite Sinfónica

Antonio Estévez Mediodía en el Llano (Midday in the Plains)

Gabriela Ortiz Trumpet Concerto (UK premiere)

Revueltas Sensemayá

Inocente Carreño Variations for orchestra, Margariteña

Roberto Sierra Salseando for trumpet and orchestra

Ginastera Four Dances from Estancia

Domingo Hindoyan conductor

Pacho Flores trumpet

Some critics have said that Pacho Flores is the best trumpeter in the world. We just know that as our 2022/23 Artist in Residence, he’s an inspiration – and that whenever he joins us here in Liverpool, he brings the house down. Together with Domingo Hindoyan, he’ll let the music do the talking – and the dancing – as we travel in a whirl of colour and rhythm from the heat of Mexico to the plains of Venezuela.

Sponsored by

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra

Summer of Love: Bee Gees

Saturday 22 July 7.30pm

Liverpool Philharmonic Hall

Richard Balcombe conductor with vocalists:

Graham Bickley

Patrick Smyth

Stuart Matthew Price

Abbie Osmon

“Feel the city breakin’ and everybody shakin’”. It’s time to dust off your disco gear, dig out those sunglasses and boogie, as the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and a team of star West End vocalists celebrate the groove, the era and the legend that was the Bee Gees. ‘Night Fever’, ‘How

Deep is Your Love’, ‘Tragedy’, ‘Stayin’ Alive’– you know them, you love them and now hear them live and jiving in full symphonic sound. Whether you’re a brother or whether you’re a mother, it’s almost too much heaven at Liverpool Philharmonic Hall tonight.

Photo Credit: GRB concerts

Photo Credit: Mark McNulty

How to find us

Public Transport

Liverpool Philharmonic Hall is within walking distance of Lime Street and Central Stations. We are also on the frequent 74, 75, 80 and 86 bus routes. www.merseytravel.gov.uk has comprehensive transport information and a ‘Journey Planner Service’. You can also call Traveline on 0871 200 2233.

Access at Liverpool Philharmonic Hall

LEAP INTO LIVE MUSIC!

Directions from the M62 Postcode for satnav is L1 9BP

Continue along the motorway until its end and then follow the signs for the city centre, cathedrals and universities (approx.3 miles). Turn left at the Metropolitan Cathedral and head past the Everyman Theatre along Hope Street.

Where to park for Liverpool Philharmonic Hall

Lifts

There are two customer lifts providing level access from the foyer to all levels.

Spaces for wheelchairs with seats for companions are available in Boxes 7, 8, 15 & 16, Row A in the front of the stalls and Rows W & X in the Grand Circle.

A number of the aisle seats in the stalls are transfer seats. Transfer seats have movable armrests for those who would like to transfer out of their wheelchair and can be used by others with limited mobility.

Accessible WCs

Three ambulant accessible unisex WCs and two fully accessible WCs – allowing right hand or left hand transfer – are available in the foyer. A further fully accessible WC can be found at stalls level close to Box 16 and an additional ambulant accessible WC is located in both the male and female toilets in the basement.

Changing Places Toilet

A Changing Places toilet is located backstage on the ground floor of Liverpool Philharmonic Hall. It is most easily accessed via the Stage Door entrance on Caledonia Street, but can be accessed from anywhere within the building if required – please speak to a steward who will guide you.

Hearing Induction Loop

A Hearing Induction Loop system is available in Box Office and the Main Auditorium. The loop system in the Main Auditorium requires infrared equipment which can be requested from us. You can choose between equipment which works with a hearing aid or one which works independently.

Assistance Dogs

Assistance dogs are welcome throughout the building and water is available to them. Please advise us when booking your ticket if you are bringing an assistance dog as we recommend that you book an aisle seat.

Terms and conditions

Leap into Live Music! is limited to one membership per household. Tickets for Leap into Live Music! members are subject to availability and offers may be withdrawn at any time. Tickets are allocated on a first come – first served basis. Liverpool Philharmonic will do its best to accommodate Leap into Live Music! members. In addition, all tickets are subject to Liverpool Philharmonic’s normal terms and conditions. If you have any questions, please contact Leap into Live Music!

Please note more information on access can be found on our website at liverpoolphil. com/plan-your-visit/ accessibility.

If you have any concerns about access needs please don’t hesitate to contact the Leap into Live Music! team at leap@liverpoolphil.com or by calling 07834 790 760

Liverpool Philharmonic strives to be as accessible as possible to all. We have been awarded Gold Standard accreditation from Attitude is Everything. Attitude is Everything improves Deaf and disabled people’s access to live music by working in partnership with audiences, artists and the music industry to implement a Charter of Best Practice across the UK.

Read more at www. attitudeiseverything.org.uk

1. Liverpool Philharmonic, Caledonia Street Car Park (L1 9BP)

2. Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral Car Park (L3 5TQ)

3. ParkBee, Liverpool Central Village Car Park (L1 4EF)

4. University of Liverpool Visitor Car Park, Mount Pleasant

5. Liverpool Cathedral Car Park (L1 7AZ)

6. Blackburne House Car Park (L8 7PE)

Funded by

LiverpoolPhilharmonic liverpoolphil liverpool_philharmonic

Commissioned photography © Mark McNulty

All information correct at time of printing, however may be subject to change. For the most up to date information, visit liverpoolphil.com

The price of tickets may vary, subject to demand.