2014/2015 Bridgewater Hall Season bbc.co.uk/philharmonic
Inspiration with every note
BBC Philharmonic
Inspiration with every note
“The orchestra - always a joy to hear - provided suppleness, finesse and a strong sense of personality.” The Financial Times, July 2013
Beethoven’s music forms the backbone of our new season, which includes complete performances of his incidental music to Egmont and his only opera, Fidelio, both conducted by Juanjo Mena.
I enjoy the creative process of planning the season, and this year is no exception. I’m excited to be conducting some of Beethoven’s greatest works: the highlights for me have to be the mighty Ninth Symphony at the start of the season, and Fidelio to At the end of the season we’ll be celebrating the end it. Nothing caused Beethoven more emotional 150th anniversary of Nielsen’s birth, performing his pain and turmoil than his only opera, but for that six symphonies over three concerts starting on his same reason it was understandably the work that actual birthday, 9 June. By playing Nielsen’s major was closest to him. works in the context of other great orchestral composers we will be further consolidating the It’s a huge honour and always a great joy to position of this sometimes neglected composer work with such a wonderful orchestra. The BBC Philharmonic’s first reading of every work is alongside his more performed peers. incredible, and then they have an amazing capacity We continue to champion the music of British to explore new details and textures. They approach composers with the world premiere of David different music in infinitely flexible ways. That’s Matthews’s Eighth Symphony plus works by something we shouldn’t ever take for granted. It Colin Matthews, Elgar, Walton, Vaughan Williams brings freshness to every performance. and Delius. Juanjo Mena, Chief Conductor As always, our work on the concert platform is part BBC Philharmonic of our wider programme, which includes studio concerts in Salford, CD recordings for Chandos, collaborations across the BBC and an extensive programme of learning work focusing on Salford and also including important collaborations in Cumbria and across the North of England.
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Contents Season highlights 2014–2015 season Nielsen concerts BBC Philharmonic Learning Tickets Ticket information and how to book Information on The Bridgewater Hall Season at a glance
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Discounted tickets for families available. See page 25 for details.
Discounted tickets available for students. See page 25 for details.
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Simon Webb, General Manager BBC Philharmonic
Design & Art Direction: Raw — weareraw.co.uk
Credits Imagery: Helen Musselwhite — helenmusselwhite.co.uk 1.
BBC Philharmonic
Inspiration with every note
bbc.co.uk/philharmonic
Season highlights
Juanjo Mena, Chief Conductor
John Storgårds, Principal Guest Conductor
David Matthews
Sabine Meyer
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Beyond the Symphonies – Beethoven Explored This season we explore the rich and varied work of the most famous composer of all time. We open with an all-Beethoven concert and throughout the season we perform the ‘Emperor’ Piano Concerto, the Violin Concerto and as three of his symphonies – including the glorious Ninth. In January we perform the full score to Egmont; the music Beethoven wrote for Goethe’s play about the life and heroism of a 16thcentury Dutch freedom-fighter. And in May Juanjo Mena conducts Fidelio, Beethoven’s only opera and the work he held dearest to his heart. Nielsen Symphony Cycle Carl Nielsen was a force of nature. From his youth in the Danish countryside to the global tragedy of the First World War, he channelled all that he saw and felt into six symphonies that sing, dance and shout with an irrepressible lust for life. On what would have been his 150th birthday in June 2015, we celebrate Nielsen with a week-long festival featuring all of the Danish composer’s symphonies. Following on from his critically-acclaimed Sibelius Cycle, our Principal Guest Conductor John Storgårds conducts all three concerts. Great British Music Many British composers feature this season. In November Juanjo Mena conducts Elgar’s Second Symphony for the first time and John Storgårds presents William Walton’s spectacular oratorio Belshazzar’s Feast. Guy Braunstein performs Delius’s lyrical Violin Concerto in February, in a programme that also features Vaughan Williams’s most-loved work The Lark Ascending. Alongside these old friends, we bring new works to the fore: Colin Matthews’s tribute to Beethoven, Grand Barcarolle, in October and the world premiere of David Matthews’s Eighth Symphony in April. Acclaimed Soloists The orchestra will be joined by an array of world-class soloists this season. Legendary clarinettist Sabine Meyer performs Nielsen’s Concerto in October and Garrick Ohlsson brings his glittering pianism to Chopin’s First Piano Concerto in November. The incomparable Nobuyuki Tsujii’s ‘rich and luminous’ interpretations of Rachmaninov have won him many friends in Manchester – and he returns to play the Russian composer’s Third Piano Concerto in October. James Ehnes and Jean-Efflam Bavouzet also return to the Hall, building on the great success of previous collaborations.
Saturday 27 September, 7.30pm Beethoven
Symphony No. 4
Beethoven
Symphony No. 9, ‘Choral’
34’ 61’
Juanjo Mena Rebecca Evans Clara Mouriz Andrew Kennedy Alastair Miles CBSO Chorus
Conductor Soprano Mezzo Soprano Tenor Bass
Preview, 6.30pm: Chief Conductor Juanjo Mena in conversation with the BBC Philharmonic’s General Manager Simon Webb. ‘Join in one embrace, you millions! Share this kiss with all the world!’ Every performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony is a special event: from its dark opening to the final blazing Ode to Joy it’s one of the greatest emotional journeys in all music. There’s no more uplifting way to launch our season, which features many of Beethoven’s finest works. The programme begins with the headlong energy and rapier wit of Beethoven’s brilliant Fourth. 3.
BBC Philharmonic
Inspiration with every note
Saturday 11 October, 7.30pm
Friday 31 October, 7.30pm
Sibelius
John Adams
Rakastava (The Lover)
Nielsen
Clarinet Concerto
Shostakovich Symphony No. 4
11’ 24’ 63’
John Storgårds Conductor Sabine Meyer Clarinet Imagine a symphony of iron and steel: a masterpiece so vast and politically charged that for 25 years no-one dared perform it. Today we can hear Shostakovich’s Fourth Symphony for what it is: a gripping eye-witness account of one of the most turbulent eras in modern history. Principal Guest Conductor John Storgårds joins the incomparable Sabine Meyer to offer an early anniversary present to one of his personal favourite composers, Carl Nielsen. Sibelius’s haunting Rakastava quietly sets the scene.
The Chairman Dances
Rachmaninov Symphonic Dances
Rachmaninov
Piano Concerto No. 3
13’ 34’ 38’
Yutaka Sado Nobuyuki Tsujii
Conductor Piano
Far from all he loved, Sergey Rachmaninov surrendered to his memories and his Symphonic Dances fuse the loneliness of exile from Russia with the sheer electricity of jazz-age America. They’re the beating heart of a concert that sweeps from John Adams’s fabulous ‘foxtrot for orchestra’, to the sumptuous romance of Rachmaninov’s epic Third Piano Concerto. Japanese pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii has received standing ovations each and every time he has visited The Bridgewater Hall. Join us for another spellbinding performance.
Saturday 25 October, 7.30pm Colin Matthews Grand Barcarolle
Schubert
Symphony No. 2
Beethoven
Violin Concerto
4.
14’ 27’ 42’
Juanjo Mena Renaud Capuçon
Conductor Violin
Beethoven’s Violin Concerto lets a great violinist sing out their very soul. Tonight it’s performed by the young French violinist Renaud Capuçon whose ‘reflective, incredibly beautiful’ way with Beethoven leaves critics grasping for superlatives. The teenage Schubert wrote a sparkling symphony in homage to Beethoven: tonight Chief Conductor Juanjo Mena explores the links and guides us through another work inspired by the great composer, Colin Matthews’s Grand Barcarolle.
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Saturday 8 November, 7.30pm Elgar
Overture, ‘Cockaigne (In London Town)’
15’
Nielsen Violin Concerto
35’
Walton Belshazzar’s Feast
34’
John Storgårds Alina Pogostkina David Soar CBSO Chorus
Conductor Violin Baritone
William Walton’s great classic of British choral repertoire tells of the hedonism of a Babylonian King and his eventual overthrow. It has been thrilling audiences since its premiere in Leeds in 1931. Elgar’s Cockaigne overture has plenty of pomp and ceremony – but there’s a wicked sense of humour behind this gloriously colourful portrait of Edwardian London. John Storgårds cools things off with the fire and ice of Carl Nielsen’s bracing Violin Concerto, delivered with style by the superb Alina Pogostkina.
Saturday 15 November, 7.30pm Lutosławski
Symphonic Variations
9’
Chopin Piano Concerto No. 1
38’
Elgar
Symphony No. 2
54’
Juanjo Mena Garrick Ohlsson
Conductor Piano
Preview, 6.30pm: Garrick Ohlsson performs Chopin in the main auditorium. Nothing in British music is more thrilling than the opening of Elgar’s Second Symphony, and nothing quite matches what follows: a no-holdsbarred emotional autobiography, ending in a sunset of heart-breaking beauty. Juanjo Mena guides us through the emotions and shares the brilliant musical fireworks of Lutosławski’s Symphonic Variations. And between post-war Poland and Edwardian England the bridge is Chopin: the timeless romance of his First Piano Concerto, played tonight by one of today’s true keyboard poets, Garrick Ohlsson.
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BBC Philharmonic
Inspiration with every note
Friday 21 November, 7.30pm Tchaikovsky
Fantasy-Overture, ‘Hamlet’
Nielsen
Flute Concerto
Tchaikovsky
Symphony No. 5
18’
19’ 41’
John Storgårds Conductor Katherine Bryan Flute ‘With desire and passion’, Tchaikovsky wrote on the score of his Fifth Symphony. It’s one of the most popular symphonies ever composed, and John Storgårds will bring out all its power, as well as all those unforgettable tunes. There’s a different kind of intensity to Carl Nielsen’s brilliant and witty Flute Concerto. Completing the programme is Tchaikovsky’s very personal take on Hamlet: a rare chance to hear this compelling dramatic work.
Saturday 29 November, 7.30pm Berlioz
Beatrice and Benedict- 8’ Overture
Brahms
Violin Concerto
39’
Nicholas Collon James Ehnes
Conductor Violin
Preview, 6.30pm: Nicholas Collon and James Ehnes in conversation with the BBC Philharmonic’s General Manager Simon Webb.
Berlioz’s fizzing comedy overture and Stravinsky’s pulsating Symphony Stravinsky Symphony in Three Movements
Ravel
La Valse
8.
22’
12’
in Three Movements frame the pure, sunlit song of Brahms’s everpopular Violin Concerto, written on a summer holiday in the Austrian Alps. It’s played tonight by the brilliant Canadian James Ehnes, making a welcome return to The Bridgewater Hall. Ravel’s seductive La Valse completes the programme.
BBC Philharmonic
Inspiration with every note
Friday 5 December, 7.30pm Bach
Cantata No. 191, ‘Gloria 19’ in excelsis Deo’ (for Christmas Day)
Bruckner
Symphony No. 4, ‘Romantic’
70’
Juanjo Mena Conductor Elin Manahan Thomas Soprano Nicholas Mulroy Tenor Manchester Chamber Choir The air shimmers, and in the distance a horn calls softly — no wonder Bruckner called his Fourth Symphony the ‘Romantic’. Bruckner imagined a story of knights, forests and distant castles — but he preferred to let the music speak for itself. Juanjo Mena prefaces it with a celebratory cantata by one of the composers Bruckner loved best, sung by the acclaimed Manchester Chamber Choir Post-Concert Performance: Manchester Chamber Choir performs in the main auditorium, with conductor Justin Doyle.
Saturday 17 January, 7.30pm Gerhard
Dances from ‘Don Quixote’ 16’
Takemitsu
To the Edge of Dream
Debussy Ibéria
Rodrigo
Fantasía para un gentilhombre
Ravel
13’ 16’ 22’
Rapsodie espagnole
15’
Falla
7’
La vida breve — Interlude and Dance 10.
Juanjo Mena Craig Ogden
Friday 23 January, 7.30pm Conductor Guitar
Close your eyes and dream of Spain. Roberto Gerhard heard brilliant colours and impossible dreams; Manuel de Falla felt the blazing heat of his native Andalusia; Claude Debussy saw sunlit fiestas; and Maurice Ravel savoured the perfumes of a Mediterranean night. But they each transformed them into music as warm, as colourful and as intoxicating as that extraordinary land itself. Spanish-born Juanjo Mena is joined by one of the world’s finest living guitarists, Craig Ogden, who performs in Takemitsu’s musical dreamscape, and Rodrigo’s deliciously tuneful Fantasía para un gentilhombre. This concert is part of Craig Ogden’s Guitar Weekend Friday 16 – Sunday 18 January. For more information please see: bridgewater-hall.co.uk
Beethoven
Egmont, complete incidental music
48’
Mozart Piano Concerto 25’ No. 23 in A major (K 488) Haydn
Symphony No. 44 in E minor, ‘Trauer’
23’
Juanjo Mena Conductor Malcolm Raeburn Narrator Eleanor Dennis Soprano Javier Perianes Piano ‘Friends, protect what’s important to you and follow my example: die joyfully in battle to save those who are dearest to you.’ Count Egmont, champion of freedom, has been betrayed – and now he faces certain death. When Beethoven discovered Goethe’s play, he set it to some of the most inspired music he ever wrote. The BBC Philharmonic presents a rare complete performance of Beethoven’s score for Egmont: music of visionary power and tragic grandeur, narrated tonight by actor Malcolm Raeburn. Juanjo Mena completes the programme with the ‘storm and stress’ of Haydn’s little volcano of a symphony; and pianist Javier Perianes brings out both the brightness and shade of Mozart’s most tender piano concerto. 11.
BBC Philharmonic
Inspiration with every note
Saturday 31 January, 7.30pm Beethoven
Symphony No. 8
Liszt
Piano Concerto No. 2
Saint-Saëns
Symphony No. 3, ‘Organ’
26’ 20’ 36’
Gianandrea Noseda Conductor Jean-Efflam Bavouzet Piano Jonathan Scott Organ Preview, 6.30pm: Conductor Laureate Gianandrea Noseda and Jean-Efflam Bavouzet join the BBC Philharmonic's General Manager Simon Webb to discuss their collaborations. There’s a reason why they call Saint-Saëns’s Third the ‘Organ’ Symphony and, when The Bridgewater Hall organ raises the roof at the end of tonight’s concert under the baton of Conductor Laureate Gianandrea Noseda, you’ll understand why. It’s the grandest possible finish to an evening of romantic adventures, as Ludwig van Beethoven waves a cheerful farewell to the 18th century with his glorious Eighth Symphony, and Franz Liszt pushes the piano to its absolute limits in his fiery, outrageously over-the-top Second Piano Concerto. It will pose no problem for the energetic Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, whose collaborations with Noseda have drawn considerable critical acclaim.
“Noseda’s players dazzled in the last two movements, culminating in a ferociously articulate account of the finale’s variations.” Gianandrea Noseda and the BBC Philharmonic The Arts Desk, July 2013
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BBC Philharmonic
Inspiration with every note
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Saturday 21 February, 7.30pm
Saturday 7 February, 7.30pm
John Storgårds Grieg
Delius
Lyric Suite
Violin Concerto
Vaughan Williams The Lark Ascending
17’
Conductor Guy Braunstein Violin
Schoenberg Pelleas and Melisande
25’
Preview, 6.30pm: A performance of Delius’s String Quartet in the main auditorium.
Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 5, 40’ ‘Emperor’
13’
Vaughan Williams Symphony No. 6
35’
When peace came to Europe after World War II, Vaughan Williams was already the grand old man of British music. No-one expected the sheer, explosive force of his astonishing Sixth and, 70 years on, this firestorm of a symphony still leaves listeners reeling: John Storgårds unleashes its power tonight. Vaughan Williams wrote The Lark Ascending on the eve of a different war, but there’s a good reason why it regularly tops polls for Britain’s best-loved piece of classical music. If you’re one of the millions who’ve voted for it, we think you’ll also fall in love both with Grieg’s gentle Lyric Suite, and the gorgeous Violin Concerto by his Bradford-born friend Frederick Delius, performed tonight by the exceptional Guy Braunstein.
42’
Juanjo Mena Conductor Hannes Minnaar Piano Arnold Schoenberg had the spirit of a dreamer, and in Pelleas and Melisande it takes glorious flight, with a story of doomed love set in a fairy-tale world. It is music of stirring drama and delirious beauty, drenched in orchestral colours. It’s the curtain-raiser to another Beethoven landmark – his majestic Emperor Concerto, performed by the charismatic young pianist Hannes Minnaar, who is winning major plaudits across the globe.
Saturday 7 March, 7.30pm Elgar
Serenade for strings
12’
Dvořák Cello Concerto
39’
Tchaikovsky
Symphony No. 6, ‘Pathétique’
46’
Juanjo Mena Johannes Moser
Conductor Cello
‘Pathétique’ means ‘full of feeling’, and there’s no better description of Tchaikovsky’s final symphony. It’s anguished, ecstatic and deliriously romantic: an overwhelming climax to a whole concert that simply pulses with feeling. And whether it’s the bittersweet dreams of Dvořák’s Cello Concerto — played tonight by the young cellist Johannes Moser — or the tender, very English poetry of Elgar’s Serenade. Chief Conductor Juanjo Mena knows exactly how to make this music open its heart.
“Mena’s handling of the work’s grand arc from dawn to dusk was majestic.” Juanjo Mena and the BBC Philharmonic, The Guardian, January 2014 15.
BBC Philharmonic
Inspiration with every note
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Friday 20 March, 7.30pm
Friday 24 April, 7.30pm
Lyadov
Ravel
Eight Russian Folk Songs
Prokofiev
Sinfonia concertante for cello and orchestra
14’
32’
Vaughan Williams Job – A Masque for Dancing
50’
Vassily Sinaisky Conductor Leonard Elschenbroich Cello Hold tight, as Vassily Sinaisky and the BBC Philharmonic plunge into a world of angels, demons and fiery visions. This is Vaughan Williams’s Job, and it is as sensational as it sounds. First, Sinaisky shares two rarities from his native Russia: Lyadov’s jewel-like Folk Songs and Prokofiev’s powerful Sinfonia concertante. Leonard Elschenbroich’s reputation as a cellist who will push the instrument to its limits makes him the perfect soloist for this powerful piece, originally written for the great Mstislav Rostropovich.
Piano Concerto in G major
Ravel
Piano Concerto for the Left Hand
22’
19’
Piano Concerto No. 4 27’ Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
Conductor Piano Piano Piano Piano
Preview, 6.30pm: Noriko Ogawa and Peter Donohoe in conversation about Ravel and Rachmaninov.
Rachmaninov Rachmaninov
Andrew Gourlay Noriko Ogawa Martin Roscoe Kathryn Stott Peter Donohoe
23’
This concert is part of a series exploring the piano music of Ravel and Rachmaninov, and features four pianists much-loved by Manchester audiences. Expect big tunes, ravishing sounds and hearts worn unashamedly on sleeves, in a must-hear concert for anyone who loves the piano – or simply enjoys thrilling virtuoso playing. Post-concert Divertimento: 1930s jazz in the main foyer.
Friday 17 April, 7.30pm David Matthews
Symphony No. 8 World Premiere: BBC commission
HK Gruber Cello Concerto
Weill
Symphony No. 1
Kurt Schwertsik
Baumgesänge
18.
25’
HK Gruber Matthew Barley
This is part of The Bridgewater Hall's International Concert Series. ICS prices and concessions apply. See page 26 for details. Conductor Cello
Preview, 6.30pm: David Matthews in conversation. 21’ 25’ 22’
In Weimar Berlin, the workers plot a musical revolution. A cello flies as high as Icarus – then crashes in flames. And an Austrian composer clambers up a tree and listens to its songs. Whether it’s the poetry of Kurt Schwertsik, Kurt Weill’s reports from Berlin or his very own Cello Concerto, no-one makes new music sing, dance and laugh quite like our Composer/Conductor HK ‘Nali’ Gruber. Add a brand-new symphony by national treasure David Matthews, and this concert might change the way you think about the music of our time.
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BBC Philharmonic
Inspiration with every note
Friday 8 May, 7.30pm Beethoven Fidelio
Juanjo Mena 135’ Fidelio Leonora
Conductor Stuart Skelton Rebecca von Lipinski
Preview 6.30pm: Simon Halsey introduces Beethoven’s only opera, Fidelio. Deep in a dungeon, an innocent man lies chained. But while life goes on above him, someone has remembered his plight – and perhaps the new prison-warder Fidelio holds the key to his fate. Beethoven’s only opera was his favourite of all his works, and Fidelio is far more than just a nail-biting drama of secret identities and thrilling escapes.
“Mena... has a superb ear for tone colour... [the] combination of wit and sincerity perfectly judged, was particularly beautiful and touching.” Juanjo Mena and the BBC Philharmonic The Guardian, January 2014
Friday 15 May, 7.30pm Ravel
Mother Goose (complete)
Dutilleux
Sur la même accord
Ravel Tzigane
Prokofiev
Symphony No 5
20.
27’
9’ 9’ 43’
Yan Pascal Tortelier Olivier Charlier
Conductor Violin
Prokofiev’s Fifth Symphony was forged in the fires of war and dedicated to ‘the greatness of the human spirit’. From serene beginning to headlong finish, it’s still one of 20th century music’s most thrilling adventures. It’s all a long way from the childhood dream-world of Ravel’s fairytale ballet Mother Goose. Yan Pascal Tortelier makes a welcome return to the Bridgewater Hall to guide us through these twentiethcentury masterpieces and to conduct Ravel’s Tzigane and Dutilleux’s Sur la même accord with the exceptional violinist Olivier Charlier. Having recorded Dutilleux’s major orchestral works with the BBC Philharmonic, tonight our Conductor Emeritus performs the French composer’s nocturne-like concerto for the first time.
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BBC Philharmonic
Inspiration with every note
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Nielsen Symphony Cycle
Saturday 13 June, 7.30pm
“Life is indomitable and inextinguishable; the struggle, the wrestling, the generation and the wasting away go on today as yesterday, tomorrow as today, and everything returns. Once more: music is life and, like it, inextinguishable.” Carl Nielsen Carl Nielsen was a force of nature. From his youth in the Danish countryside to the global tragedy of the First World War, he channelled all that he saw and felt into six symphonies that sing, dance and shout with an irrepressible lust for life. Following on from his critically-acclaimed Sibelius Cycle in 2013, the BBC Philharmonic’s Principal Guest
Conductor John Storgårds now turns to Sibelius’s great Scandinavian contemporary – matching Nielsen’s freshness and joy with the haunting, folkinspired songs of another composer who saw whole worlds in a teardrop or a flower: Gustav Mahler. The full song cycle of Des Knaben Wunderhorn will be performed across the three concerts.
Tuesday 9 June, 7.30pm Nielsen
Symphony No. 1
32’
Mahler
Songs from 20’ ‘Des Knaben Wunderhorn’
Nielsen
Symphony No. 4, ‘Inextinguishable’
35’
John Storgårds Roderick Williams
Nielsen
Symphony No. 2, 32’ ‘The Four Temperaments’
John Storgårds Conductor Florian Boesch Baritone
For Carl Nielsen, everything about life was worth celebrating. A country walk, a set of cartoons on the wall of an inn somehow bubbled up into Songs from 20’ the exuberant The Four Temperaments. Nielsen’s Second might just be ‘Des Knaben Wunderhorn’ the happiest symphony of the 20th century, but what’s certain is that his explosive, elemental Fifth is one of the very greatest. Nielsen Symphony No. 5 34’
Mahler
Thursday 18 June, 7.30pm Conductor Baritone
Preview, 6.30pm: BBC Radio 3 Presenter Stephen Johnson introduces our Nielsen Symphony Cycle. Nielsen’s First Symphony begins with a burst of youthful confidence. Two decades later, in the darkest days of World War I, he was playing for the highest stakes possible. Nielsen’s tremendous Fourth Symphony is a fight for the very future of life itself, as batteries of drums duel it out over a raging orchestra. It’s an electrifying way to launch our cycle – on what would have been Nielsen’s 150th birthday.
Nielsen
Symphony No. 6, ‘Sinfonia semplice’
31’
Mahler Songs from 20’ ‘Des Knaben Wunderhorn’ Nielsen Symphony No. 3, ‘Sinfonia espansiva’
38’
John Storgårds Conductor Gillian Keith Soprano Hanno Müller-Brachmann Baritone From his earliest childhood, Carl Nielsen felt the life-force in everything – but he felt it most intensely when he was in the Danish countryside. His Sinfonia espansiva is a great, wordless hymn to nature, sunny, songful and gloriously refreshing. And even faced with personal tragedy, Nielsen created beauty: his powerful and poignant final symphony feels more like a new beginning than the end of an unforgettable journey.
“Storgårds commanded his huge musical forces with drive and sensitivity.” John Storgårds and the BBC Philharmonic, The Arts Desk, March 2014 22.
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BBC Philharmonic
Inspiration with every note
BBC Philharmonic Learning/Outreach The orchestra’s Learning/Outreach team works with over 15,000 people each year in various educational and community settings, including schools, colleges, universities, care homes, special needs centres and some more unusual places – including council offices, supermarkets, factories, fire stations and, most recently, on a canal cruise around Salford Quays – taking music and the arts to people wherever they are.
“What a fantastic time we all had. I count the whole initiative up there with the highlights of my life – especially as I reach 70 next week! It was a privilege and an honour to see and work with the talented musicians of a professional orchestra.” Cumbrian Family Orchestra Participant
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Ticket schemes Families Experience live orchestral music at The Bridgewater Hall with Journey Through Music, the BBC Philharmonic’s scheme designed especially for families with 8–to 16-year-olds. With a flexible range of benefits, you can create the evening that suits you – from big discounts on ticket prices for adults and children to free workshops to learn about the orchestra and specially created programme notes to guide you through the music. Tickets are £5 for children aged 16 and under, and £10 for accompanying adults. Look out for the JTM logo beside our Journey Through Music concerts, and visit us at bbc.co.uk/philharmonic to find out more.
Students £3 student tickets are available at all concerts with valid student ID. Sign up to the Sonic Student Network on our Facebook page to receive regular email offers from the BBC Philharmonic, Manchester Camerata, The Bridgewater Hall and RNCM: facebook.com/soniccard
“My husband, two children and two other families with children really enjoyed the performance at The Bridgewater Hall last night and the workshop beforehand really brought the music to life, as did the special programme notes. I just wanted to say a huge ‘thank you’ for making classical music so accessible.” Journey Through Music Workshop Participant
For more information bbc.co.uk/philharmonic philharmonic@bbc.co.uk 24.
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BBC Philharmonic
Inspiration with every note
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Ticket prices
How to book
Ticket bands
Telephone: 0844 907 9000 Online: bridgewater-hall.co.uk In person: The Bridgewater Hall Box Office By post: Request a booking form from the Box Office and return to:
Seating Area A Seating Area B Seating Area C Seating Area D Seating Area E Seating Area F
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Box Office, The Bridgewater Hall, FREEPOST MR10191, Manchester M2 9DW Direct Debit is interest-free on Fixed and Flexible Series ticket orders of £250 or more. Please fill in the mandate form on The Bridgewater Hall booking form and the cost of your tickets will be automatically charged to your bank account in five monthly instalments commencing on Monday 1 September 2014. Please note, the mandate form must be returned by Friday 25 July 2014.
Concessions
Details of Fixed and Flexible Series are on page 23. Concessionary Tickets A 10% discount is available in advance to all under26-year-olds and claimants. A 50% discount is available in advance to all disabled patrons. Senior Citizens From two Mondays prior to the concert, senior citizens may purchase any tickets at a 20% discount. Children’s Tickets A 50% discount is available for children aged 16 and under at all concerts. Students Students are eligible for £3 tickets to all BBC Philharmonic concerts, by showing their NUS card at the Box Office. 26.
Group Discounts Generous discounts are available, depending on the size of your group:
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Prices & concessions: 24 April concert only Senior citizens, students, under 26s and claimants are entitled to a 10% discount off ticket prices. This offer is only valid for bookings made more than one month before the date of the concert. There is also a £5 student standby on the day, subject to availability.
12pm – 8pm Sunday (concert nights only)
The Bridgewater Hall Booking Fees A booking fee of £2 per ticket applies to telephone and online transactions. Tickets bought in person at the Box Office using a debit card or credit card are subject to a 2% booking fee. No fee applies to tickets bought in person and paid for by cash or cheque or purchased as part of a fixed or flexible subscription. Ticket Exchange If you are unable to attend a BBC Philharmonic concert, the Box Office will credit your account with the cost of the tickets provided they are physically returned at least three working days before the concert date. This credit amount (minus a return fee of £2.20 per ticket) can then be used to purchase full-price tickets for another concert of your choice. Tickets also available from: Telephone: 0161 876 2199 (bookings handled by Quaytickets) Online:
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No other discounts or concessions apply. £38 | £31 | £25 | £20 | £12 27.
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Inspiration with every note
Ticket Subscriptions BBC Philharmonic Flexible Packages Allows you to pick a number of BBC Philharmonic concerts listed in this brochure at a discounted rate. These packages can also be bought online. Choose 3 BBC Philharmonic concerts and receive 10% discount and free concert programme vouchers. Choose 5 BBC Philharmonic concerts and receive 15% discount and free concert programme vouchers. Choose 16+ BBC Philharmonic concerts and receive 30% discount and free concert programme vouchers.
bbc.co.uk/philharmonic
Getting to The Bridgewater Hall Flexible Series This flexible series allows you to pick and choose the concerts you wish to attend from any of the BBC Philharmonic performances at The Bridgewater Hall listed within this brochure, or any of the concerts listed in The Bridgewater Hall’s International Series, Manchester Camerata and the Hallé’s season brochures at a generous discount. These flexible packages can be bought online: bridgewater-hall.co.uk. Booking forms also available on request. Choose 5–15 concerts save 15% on tickets. Choose 16+ concerts save 25% on tickets. Choir Seats Choir seats are only available for certain concerts and will go on sale one month before the performance date.
Parking at The Bridgewater Hall: A limited number of guaranteed spaces are available to Bridgewater Hall concert patrons at Park Avenue car park for £6. Spaces must be booked with the Box Office or online at least a week before the concert and are valid from 5.30pm on the date indicated. Patrons can also validate their NCP parking ticket at the Hall for Manchester Central Car Park (formerly G-Mex), Great Northern Phase 1 & 2 and Oxford Street for a discounted rate. Disabled Parking: There are a limited number of complimentary disabled parking spaces for blue badge holders at NCP Manchester Central (formerly G-Mex), allocated on a first-comefirst-served basis. Spaces are free of charge but a ticket must be booked through the Box Office with your concert tickets. Please park in one of the designated disabled parking bays and display your blue badge. This arrangement is for evening concerts only and is not available to those attending daytime or private events at the Hall.
A wheelchair drop off point is located on Lower Mosley Street outside the Hall. We must stress, however, that this is not a parking space, even for blue badge holders. Double yellow lines at the rear of The Bridgewater Hall on Great Bridgewater Street allow parking for blue badge holders except during the hours of 6am - 8am and 4pm - 6pm. Metrolink: Metrolink tickets can be purchased online or through the Box Office at the discounted rate of £4.25 adult and £1.70 child, valid for all day off peak travel across the network. Bus: The nearest bus stops for major routes into the city centre are St Peter’s Square, Portland Street and Deansgate. Rail: The nearest rail stations are Deansgate and Oxford Road. Coach: Coaches can drop off and pick up outside the main entrance on Lower Mosley Street.
Eating and Drinking at The Bridgewater Hall Why not make the most of your evening by enjoying a relaxing drink or a pre-concert meal? The Charles Hallé Restaurant Dining from 5.30pm with a fixed-price menu du jour at £21.95 for 2 courses and £27.50 for 3 courses.
The Stalls Café Bar Dining from 5.30pm with main courses typically costing £10.95. Reservations are required* – contact the Box Office at bridgewater-hall.co.uk or on 0844 907 9000. *£5-per-person deposit required.
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Season at a glance 2014 Saturday 27 September
Saturday 31 January
Beethoven
Beethoven, Liszt & Saint-Saëns
Saturday 11 October
Saturday 7 February
Sibelius, Nielsen & Shostakovich
Schoenberg & Beethoven
Saturday 25 October
Saturday 21 February
Colin Matthews, Schubert & Beethoven
Grieg, Delius & Vaughan Williams
Friday 31 October
Saturday 7 March
John Adams & Rachmaninov
Elgar, Dvořák & Tchaikovsky
Saturday 8 November
Friday 20 March
Elgar, Nielsen & Walton
Lyadov, Prokofiev & Vaughan Williams
Saturday 15 November
Friday 17 April
Lutosławski, Chopin & Elgar Friday 21 November
Tchaikovsky & Nielsen Saturday 29 November
Berlioz, Brahms, Stravinsky & Ravel Friday 5 December
David Matthews, HK Gruber, Weill & Kurt Schwertsik Friday 24 April
Ravel & Rachmaninov Friday 8th May
Beethoven
Bach & Bruckner
Friday 15 May
2015
Tuesday 9 June
Saturday 17 January
Ravel, Dutilleux & Prokofiev Nielsen & Mahler
Gerhard, Takemitsu, Debussy, Rodrigo, Ravel & Falla
Saturday 13 June
Friday 23 January
Thursday 18 June
Beethoven, Mozart & Haydn All concerts start at 7.30pm bridgewater-hall.co.uk | 0844 907 9000
Nielsen & Mahler Nielsen & Mahler