Sage Gateshead Classical Season 2019/20

sagegateshead.com 0191 443 4661

Karin Hendrickson Assistant Conductor & Music Director Young Sinfonia

Thomas Zehetmair Conductor Laureate

Julian Rachlin Principal Guest Conductor

Lars Vogt Music Director

Thank you

Public Funding

Sage Gateshead values its partnerships with individuals, trusts and foundations, companies, and its revenue supporters Arts Council England and Gateshead Council. As a registered charity this support is vital to allow us to continue and develop our work.

Trust and Foundation Supporters Britford Bridge Trust Esmée Fairbairn Foundation Goldman Sachs Gives (UK) Hays Travel Foundation Morrisons Foundation Netherton Park Trust Percy Hedley 1990 Charitable Trust PRS Foundation for Music Ronnie Scott’s Charitable Foundation Sir James Knott Trust Skipton Building Society Charitable Foundation The Barbour Foundation The Foyle Foundation The Hadrian Trust The John S Cohen Foundation The Kavli Trust The Leche Trust The Marchus Trust The Michael Tippett Musical Foundation The Shears Foundation W A Handley Charity Trust Youth Music

2

Project Supporters Darlington Borough Council DCSF Music Manifesto and Music and Dance Scheme Newcastle City Council Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council The National Lottery Community Fund Founding Patrons Garfield Weston Foundation Joan and Margaret Halbert Northern Rock Foundation The Barbour Foundation The Sage Group plc Founding Endowment and 10th Birthday Endowment Donors 1989 Willan Charitable Trust 400 Club Bowland Charitable Trust Clore Duffield Foundation Cunard Mr J Cuthbert Fenwick Ltd Christopher French

Gillian Dickinson Charitable Trust Greggs plc Mr & Mrs M Howard John and Florence Adamson Charitable Trust John Bell Charitable Trust Lord Falconer of Thoroton Northern Arts Board Northumbrian Water Ms W Oloman Anne Reece Roland Cookson Fund Mr Anthony Sargent cbe Sir James Knott Trust Stuart Halbert Foundation The Barbour Foundation The David Boardman Trust The David Goldman Programme The Go-Ahead Group plc The Shears Foundation The Squires Foundation The Vardy Foundation Legacy Bequests Mr H Bender Miss Joyce Christie Audrey Dixon Richard and Maggie Freyman Ann Stephenson

Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

Platinum Corporate Partners

Gold Corporate Partners

Silver Corporate Partners

Bronze Corporate Partners Biffa, Komatsu UK Ltd, Northern Elevator Limited, Pioneer Foodservice, Solution Group, Statex Colour Print, ZeroLight

North Music Trust is a charity (No. 1087445) and relies on your support

Welcome

The major event of the year will be our first Big Beethoven Weekend in February, the start of our year-long Beethoven 2020 anniversary celebrations marking 250 years since the birth of the great composer in 1770. For this occasion, which was jointly conceived with London’s Barbican Centre, Royal Northern Sinfonia will be joined by orchestral friends the RLPO, Hallé and BBC Scottish Symphony, as well as the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, to perform all of Beethoven’s symphonies over one intensive weekend. In addition, RNS brings us Beethoven’s Christ on the Mount of Olives under the baton of Harry Bicket, Lars Vogt closes the season with the Emperor Concerto, and the orchestra will return to regular full orchestral performances in Middlesbrough and Carlisle with complete symphony cycles in our ‘Beethoven 2020: The next generation’ project. In our Beethoven chamber focus we will present Andersson Dance Company in two contrasting productions which open a vista on the work of the great composer through the eyes of a choreographer in our second Big Beethoven Weekend: Dancing Beethoven.

Thorben Dittes © Chris Auld

Following on from the RNS 60th Birthday celebrations, where the spotlight was firmly on our marvellous chamber orchestra, it gives me great pleasure to welcome you to the 19/20 classical season, where we will be shining a spotlight on some of the artistic collaborations and partnerships we have built over the last few years.

The other date to mark is the change of decades into the 2020s, which we are utilising to explore the wonderful music of the 1920s in our focus ‘Welcome to the Roaring Twenties’, both on chamber scale with Walton’s Façade, and in Sage One, culminating in Gershwin’s evergreen Rhapsody in Blue.

As with every year, there are some marvellous Sage Gateshead debuts: watch out for the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra with Sakari Oramo, and the Orchestre National de Lille under their charismatic Music Director Alexandre Bloch. The very special Venezuelan pianist Gabriela Montero and the distinguished French conductor Laurence Equilbey will join RNS for the first time. And we will have the first Sage Gateshead performances of Mahler’s gargantuan Symphony No.3, Nielsen’s thrilling Symphony No.1 and Louise Farrenc’s Symphony No.3.

To complement the new, we are pleased to present welcome returns from pianist Christian Zacharias, the always engaging Julian Rachlin and the inimitable Nicola Benedetti playing Bruch’s Violin Concerto.

As always, I look forward to seeing you at as many of the concerts as you can manage, with our subscriptions remaining the best way to enjoy them.

Thorben Dittes Director, Royal Northern Sinfonia and Classical Music Programme

Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

3

Our Series

RNS at Home The heart of our season - join Royal Northern Sinfonia ‘at home’ for their main series of concerts in Sage One.

RNS Presents We have a huge array of music on offer for the 2019/20 season, with no less than eight concert series plus two very special Big Beethoven Weekends.

We welcome visiting symphony orchestras from near and far, plus virtuoso choir The Sixteen.

Here’s a taste of what you can expect from each series. And remember you can save up to 20% on the cost of your tickets if you book a subscription for concerts in our RNS at Home and RNS Presents series.

Small is Beautiful

RNS Nights Out This season includes music from Star Wars and a live screening of E.T., plus music from the movies and hits by Elton John.

Small chamber groups from within RNS, as well as some very special visiting artists, perform up-close in Sage Two.

Classics 4 Kids A great family-friendly introduction to classical music, with free Concourse activities before each concert.

Pre-concert talk 6.30pm

Piano Greats More great music from the world’s great pianists.

Post-concert spotlight performance by RNS musicians or visiting solo artists

RNS @ Wylam

Buses from Alnwick and Hexham

New last season, RNS @ Wylam was a great success. Back this year with more minimalist music at Wylam Brewery in Newcastle’s Exhibition Park.

Buses from Carlisle

RNS Christmas Festive favourites including Handel’s Messiah and The Snowman.

4

Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

Subscribe now The best way to enjoy classical music at Sage Gateshead is to subscribe.

Choose a minimum of just 5 concerts from our RNS at Home and RNS Presents series to unlock some great discounts and a host of other benefits.

The more you buy the more you save, and the more music you will enjoy.

Save 20% 15 - 20 concerts Save 15% 10 - 14 concerts Save 10% 5 - 9 concerts

Subscription benefits: • Great discounts • Best choice of seats including the option to retain your seat for next season if you book all 20 concerts • Option to spread the cost over six months if you choose to pay by direct debit (subscriptions over £200) • Free exchanges within the 2019/20 season • Priority booking for non-subscription concerts in the 2019/20 season including RNS Nights Out, Small is Beautiful, Classics 4 Kids, Piano Greats, RNS @ Wylam, RNS Christmas, and RNS Christmas by Candlelight tour

Booking dates:

• Priority booking for the 2020/21 season

Saturday 27 April - Priority Booking and Subscription Renewals

Book now for best seats.

Friday 10 May - Booking Opens for New Subscriptions

Call our Box Office on 0191 443 4661 or book online sagegateshead.com/classical

Saturday 15 June - General On Sale

Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

5

Introducing new ways to donate to Royal Northern Sinfonia...

Thank you to all of you who have supported Royal Northern Sinfonia’s 60th anniversary appeal.

As we finish our celebratory year, we are launching a new donors group, to help sustain the orchestra for the future.

We have created a new set of individual levels and hope that you might want to join.

In return you will be invited to special events and experiences such as behind the scenes rehearsals, an annual season party with players, and a private introduction to the season by the Director of Royal Northern Sinfonia.

Giving starts at just £10 a month and all members will have the opportunity to be acknowledged for their support.

To find out more about these giving levels contact the Fundraising Team on 0191 443 5038.

Bronze

Silver

Gold

• Invitation to our annual RNS Supporters event

• Bronze benefits

• Silver benefits

• Invitation to attend a behind the scenes orchestral rehearsal once a year

• Private introduction to new season each year by the Director of RNS

£10/month

• Copy of bi-annual RNS newsletter & Annual Report

£25/month

£50/month

• Acknowledgement on RNS website and in Annual Report

6

Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

Principal Partner (Player)

Principal Partner

• Gold benefits

£250/month

£125/month

• Invitation to behind the scenes orchestral rehearsals • Invitation to our annual Principal Partner, player and staff party

(Section Leader) • Principal Partner (Player) benefits • Annual concert invitation hosted by the Managing Director or Director of RNS

Leave a lasting legacy Do you believe that classical music should be available for everyone to enjoy? If this sounds like you, then why not consider leaving a gift in your will?

This costs nothing now but will make a difference for years to come. Gifts of all sizes are welcome and are an ideal way to ensure the passion you have for Royal Northern Sinfonia endures in the future.

To learn more about leaving a legacy gift to RNS please contact the Fundraising Team on 0191 443 5038.

Sage Gateshead is a registered charity.

North Music Trust (Reg. Ch. No. 1087445).

Jenny Chang Š Chris Auld

Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

7

Music from the Classic FM Hall of Fame Royal Northern Sinfonia is proud to be Classic FM’s Orchestra in North East England.

Saturday 14 September

Saturday 22 February (7.30pm)

Borodin In the Steppes of Central Asia (No.72) Shostakovich Piano Concerto No.2 (No.25) Tchaikovsky Symphony No.6 ‘Pathétique’ (No.57)

Beethoven Symphony No.5 (No.26) Beethoven Symphony No.6 ‘Pastoral’ (No.7)

Sunday 23 February (3pm) Friday 4 October

Sunday 23 February (7pm) Saturday 14 December

Beethoven Symphony No.9 ‘Choral’ (No.8)

Handel Messiah (No.18)

Friday 13 March

We all know that Classic FM plays some of the world’s greatest music. Every year the station asks listeners to get in touch to tell them their three favourite pieces and compiles a ‘chart’ of the top 300 - the Classic FM Hall of Fame.

Friday 17 January

Listen out for these highlights from the world’s biggest poll of classical music tastes, coming up in our 2019/20 season.

Beethoven Symphony No.3 ‘Eroica’ (No.67)

8

Beethoven Symphony No.7 (No.16)

Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto in D major (No.62)

Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No.1 (No.37)

Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue (No.52)

Sunday 26 April Saturday 22 February (12 noon)

Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

Bruch Violin Concerto No.1 (No.24) Sibelius Symphony No.2 (No.97)

Saturday 16 May Rimsky-Korsakov Scheherazade (No.41)

Friday 29 May Handel Zadok the Priest (No.77) Mozart Ave Verum Corpus (No.71)

Saturday 13 June

Positions from the 2018 Classic FM Hall of Fame.

Alanna Tonnetti-Tieppo © Chris Auld

Beethoven Piano Concerto No.5 ‘Emperor’ (No.6)

Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

9

As part of Royal Northern Sinfonia’s 60th birthday celebrations last season we commissioned portraits of 60 audience members listening to their favourite piece of classical music for a special exhibition around Sage One. For the new season we thought we’d ask our RNS players to do the same thing. Here are some of our favourite portraits of audience members and musicians, all listening to their favourite piece of music.

Which piece would you choose?

Geoff

Siân, double bass

Orff Carmina Burana

Liquid Gold Dance Yourself Dizzy

Portrait photography © Michael Olatunji 10 Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

Joan

Richard, trumpet

Arthur and Vanessa

Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No.2

Brahms arr. Rubbra Variations and Fugue on a theme by Handel

Tchaikovsky Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy

Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

11

Saturday 14 September 7.30pm // Sage One

Don’t be misled by the name. ‘Pathétique’ actually means ‘full of feeling’, and Tchaikovsky poured everything he had into his sixth and final symphony. This is music in the raw, pounding with emotion and packed with melody after glorious melody: a magnificent way for Lars Vogt to open Royal Northern Sinfonia’s new season, and the climax of an all-Russian concert that begins deep in the deserts of Mongolia with Borodin’s colourful musical landscape.

Then Vogt takes to the keyboard to perform - and direct - the delightfully playful piano concerto that Shostakovich wrote for his teenage son.

Lars Vogt conductor/piano Royal Northern Sinfonia Borodin In the Steppes of Central Asia Shostakovich Piano Concerto No.2 Tchaikovsky Symphony No.6 ‘Pathétique’

RNS at Home

Lars Vogt © Chris Auld

Tickets £14, £22, £31, £38

12

Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

Wednesday 18 September 8pm // Wylam Brewery

Bold colours, crisp rhythms, basic tools: the key to American minimalism is in its name.

But these seemingly simple elements can unlock infinite worlds of the imagination, creating musical patterns whose complexity - and beauty - know few limits.

In the stunning surroundings of Wylam Brewery, Royal Northern Sinfonia digs into the surprisingly passionate soul of Steve Reich’s Duet, finds endless, glinting shades of darkness in Marc Mellits’ Black, and dances above the warping sonic landscape of Missy Mazzoli’s Ecstatic Science. Plus, a complete performance of Philip Glass’ Symphony No.3 - a true cult classic, on an expansive scale.

Tickets Standing £15, Seated £20

Royal Northern Sinfonia Steve Reich Duet Marc Mellits Black Missy Mazzoli Ecstatic Science Philip Glass Symphony No.3

RNS @ Wylam Please note this concert is at Wylam Brewery, Exhibition Park, Newcastle upon Tyne.

Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

13

Natalie Clein © Neda Navaee

Lars Vogt © Giorgia Bertazzi

Friday 20 September 7.30pm // Sage One

Friday 27 September 7.30pm // Sage One

‘I believe Schubert knew very precisely that he was dealing with the heart of the matter’ says Lars Vogt - and for him, Schubert’s late music ‘is dealing directly with life and death’. Sage Gateshead audiences don’t need to be told just how profoundly - and how emotionally - Royal Northern Sinfonia’s Music Director approaches the classics, but in this beautifully-conceived recital his performance of Schubert’s majestic last sonata comes as the climax of a sequence of pieces that contrast the life-affirming grace of Mozart with the grand passions of Liszt and the raw, unvarnished feeling of Leoš Janáček’s explosive sonata.

Some called her the ‘female Beethoven’, and the music of the French composer Louise Farrenc won praise from Berlioz and Schumann. But only in the 21st century are we truly rediscovering her ardently romantic, strikingly original voice. Her stormy Third Symphony is a fitting climax to a concert charged with emotion - from Saint-Saëns’ impassioned First Cello Concerto, played by Classic FM favourite Natalie Clein - to the tender poetry of Wagner’s Siegfried Idyll; a musical loveletter to the composer’s wife after the birth of their first son. Lithuanian conductor Giedrė Šlekytė has been acclaimed for her energy, wit and uncompromising sincerity.

Lars Vogt piano Mozart Sonata No.2 K280 Janáček Sonata 1.X.1905 ‘From the Street’ Liszt Ballade No.2 in B minor Schubert Sonata No.21 D960

Piano Greats

Tickets £18, £22 Tickets £14, £22, £31, £38 10% off when you book all 4 Piano Greats 14

Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

Giedrė Šlekytė conductor Natalie Clein cello Royal Northern Sinfonia Wagner Siegfried Idyll Saint-Saëns Cello Concerto No.1 Farrenc Symphony No.3

RNS at Home

Friday 4 October 7.30pm // Sage One

Vasily Petrenko and the RLPO want to tell you a story. Meet Baba Yaga, the Russian witch who flies in a pestle and mortar. Or Richard Strauss: a young artist imagining the infinite, in dazzling orchestral sound. And then there’s Igor Stravinsky - celebrating the end of the Second World War amid the bright lights of Hollywood, in a supercharged symphony like no other.

At the heart of it all is one of the most astonishing young Russian violinists, in Tchaikovsky’s gloriously tuneful concerto. ‘I can’t imagine any other violinist dead or alive surpassing Krylov’ was one critic’s verdict.

Vasily Petrenko conductor Sergej Krylov violin Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra Liadov Baba Yaga Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto R Strauss Tod und Verklärung (Death and Transfiguration) Stravinsky Symphony in Three Movements

Vasily Petrenko © Mark McNulty

Tickets £16.50, £26, £32.50, £40

RNS Presents

Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

15

Royal Northern Sinfonia © TyneSight Photographic

Classics 4 Kids © TyneSight Photographic

Friday 11 October 7.30pm // Sage One

Saturday 12 October 2pm // Sage One

Every music lover knows Dvořák’s symphony ‘from the New World’, but when he wrote his Seventh, he was a lot closer to home - and it shows. Turbulent, passionate and bursting with melody, this is Dvořák at his most heroic, the Czech upstart proudly claiming his place alongside Beethoven and Brahms. So it’s wonderfully appropriate that this concert includes Brahms’ soul-stirring Tragic Overture as well as Beethoven’s Romance. In between, Lars Vogt takes to the keyboard to perform - and at the same time, direct Mendelssohn’s brilliant First Piano Concerto.

It drove Victorian audiences wild: you’ll hear why.

Mendelssohn Piano Concerto No.1

Royal Northern Sinfonia’s Music Director, Lars Vogt, delights us with his keyboard wizardry and conducts the orchestra too in this concert especially for young RNS fans.

Come and learn all there is to know about the piano from a real expert. Join us for free crafts and instrument demonstrations on the Concourse from 1.15pm. It’ll be a whole afternoon of entertainment! Suitable for children aged 5+ and their families.

Dvořák Symphony No.7

Tickets Children £5.50, Adults £11

Lars Vogt conductor/piano Anna Reszniak violin Royal Northern Sinfonia Brahms Tragic Overture Beethoven Romance No.1

RNS at Home

Tickets £14, £22, £31, £38 16

Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

10% off when you book both Classics 4 Kids. Children two and under go free sitting on a knee.

Lars Vogt conductor/piano Royal Northern Sinfonia

Classics 4 Kids

Saturday 19 October 8pm // Sage Two

Alasdair Beatson © Giorgia Bertazzi

In the world of chamber music, big emotions can come in small packages.

When Brahms originally planned his Piano Quintet, he thought it would turn out to be a symphony - and confined to four string players and a piano, the emotion becomes so potent that it practically pours off the score. Pianist Alasdair Beatson and four Royal Northern Sinfonia musicians perform this pocket-sized epic today - a stirring counterpart to the tender Romances

by Brahms’ beloved friend and mentor Clara Schumann. Webern’s extraordinary miniature version of Schoenberg’s groundbreaking Chamber Symphony gets things off to a swirling, intoxicating start.

Alasdair Beatson piano Royal Northern Sinfonia Schoenberg arr. Webern Chamber Symphony No.1 C Schumann Three Romances for Violin and Piano Brahms Piano Quintet in F minor

Small is Beautiful

Tickets £14.50

Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

17

Friday 25 October 7.30pm // Sage One

‘When I think of God, I can write only cheerful music’ said Joseph Haydn. So when he turned to the greatest story of all time, his imagination simply bubbled over. The Creation is filled with sparkling melodies, blockbuster choruses and a joyous, generous spirit that finds room for both angels and earthworms. But Haydn saw further than others, and his depiction of a universe emerging from chaos inspired music of cosmic grandeur, too. 18th century music specialist Paul McCreesh conducts, and soprano Sophie Bevan heads a firstclass team of soloists in some of the most life-affirming sounds you’ll ever hear.

Paul McCreesh conductor

Tickets £14, £22, £31, £38

RNS at Home

Sophie Bevan soprano Stuart Jackson tenor James Platt bass Royal Northern Sinfonia Chorus of Royal Northern Sinfonia Quay Voices

Paul McCreesh © Ben Wright

Haydn The Creation

18

Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

Friday 1 November 7.30pm // Sage One

‘A lioness at the keyboard’ - that’s how one critic described Russian pianist Anna Vinnitskaya. And since she’s concluding her Sage Gateshead recital with Chopin’s darkest and most famous piano sonata, you’ll be able to hear for yourself.

Everything about this concert could have been designed to demonstrate the full, remarkable range of a pianist whose artistry is as powerful as it is poetic: Bartók’s peppery piano sonata, Schumann’s deeply romantic solo miniatures, and of course, Brahms’ Four Ballades - music as elusive as it is haunting. ‘Music is a path without an end’ says Vinnitskaya: share it with her tonight.

Vinnitskaya © Marco Borggreve

Tickets £18, £22

Anna Vinnitskaya piano Brahms Four Ballades Op.10 Bartók Sonata Sz80 Schumann Arabesque in C major Op.18 Schumann Novelette in F sharp minor Op.21 No.8 Chopin Sonata No.2 in B flat minor Op.35

Piano Greats

10% off when you book all 4 Piano Greats

Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

19

Saturday 2 November 7.30pm // Sage One Sunday 3 November 3pm // Sage One

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...

John Williams’ scores for Star Wars are some of the most rousing music ever written for the cinema. Tonight, as Stormtroopers and Jedi Knights across the universe await the opening of Episode IX, we celebrate the whole saga so far - from The Phantom Menace to The Last Jedi, from the sands of Tatooine to the cliffs of Ahch-To. And if you think it sounds good in the cinema, wait til you hear the iconic themes played live by the full Royal Northern Sinfonia and Chorus! Stephen Bell conducts: the Force is strong with this one.

Stephen Bell conductor Royal Northern Sinfonia Chorus of Royal Northern Sinfonia John Williams The Music of Star Wars

RNS Nights Out

Tickets £16.50, £26, £32.50, £40

Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

21

Julian Rachlin © Evgeny Evtyukhov

Friday 8 November 7.30pm // Sage One

Amid the turmoil of the Russian Revolution, the young Prokofiev sat down to imagine the music Mozart or Haydn might have written if they’d been alive in the 20th century. Whip-smart and uproarious, his Classical Symphony is the result - the centre of a concert in which conductor and violinist-extraordinaire Julian Rachlin takes a marvellously entertaining tightrope walk between two centuries. Prokofiev’s zingy Second Violin Concerto is every bit as tuneful and irreverent as his symphony, but even that is no match for Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and tonight Rachlin conducts both his startlingly brilliant (for an eight-year old!) first symphony, and his sublimely inspired last.

Thursday 14 November 7.30pm // Sage One

Julian Rachlin conductor/violin Royal Northern Sinfonia Prokofiev Violin Concerto No.2 Prokofiev Classical Symphony Mozart Symphony No.1 Mozart Symphony No.41 ‘Jupiter’

RNS at Home

Tickets £14, £22, £31, £38

Gustav Mahler said that ‘a symphony must be like the world’. But even by his own standards, Mahler’s Third Symphony is extraordinary. Probably the longest symphony that’s regularly performed, it’s a concert in its own right: a huge, teeming musical world in which the composer tried to capture the whole of nature in music. Distant trumpets, children’s songs, glittering marches and serene mountaintop meditations: Mahler throws them all into the mix before ending with a rapturous hymn to love. With Pietari Inkinen at the helm of the Prague Symphony Orchestra - an orchestra steeped in Mahlerian tradition - this will be a Sage Gateshead first and should be a major occasion.

Pietari Inkinen conductor Ester Pavlů mezzo soprano Prague Symphony Orchestra Ladies of the Chorus of Royal Northern Sinfonia Children’s Chorus Mahler Symphony No.3 Please note there will be no interval.

Tickets £16.50, £26, £32.50, £40 RNS Presents

22

Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

Marie Schreer © Michael Olatunji

Daniel Blendulf © Marco Borggreve

Friday 22 November 7.30pm // Sage One

Thursday 28 November 8pm // Sage Two

What do you see - and hear - once the sun has set? Out on the great plain of Hungary, Béla Bartók hears a nocturnal rhapsody of insects and shivering leaves. In the emptiness of Iceland, Anna Thorvaldsdottir kindles a flame against a darkness that lasts all winter long. In 18th century Salzburg, the young Mozart dances the night away. And Benjamin Britten enlists a horn player, a tenor and some of the greatest poems in the English language for a luminous journey through to dawn. The superb young Swedish conductor Daniel Blendulf is our guide to an evening of music that glows in the dark.

Maybe it’s a Northern thing, but there’s something unmistakable about the way your spirit starts to dance when you head for the Mediterranean. Hugo Wolf felt it. So did Tchaikovsky, and their musical postcards from Italy begin and end this Italian-themed concert with music of vibrant melody and brilliant sunlight. You can almost smell the basil; but light needs shade, too, and RNS have chosen to contrast all that sunshine with Britten’s haunting final string quartet, inspired by a wintry trip to Venice and filled with mists, reflections and moments of piercing beauty.

Daniel Blendulf conductor Joshua Ellicott tenor Peter Francomb horn Royal Northern Sinfonia Mozart Serenade No.6 ‘Serenata notturna’ Britten Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings Anna Thorvaldsdottir Illumine Bartók Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta

Tickets £14, £22, £31, £38

Royal Northern Sinfonia Wolf Italian Serenade Britten String Quartet No.3 Tchaikovsky Souvenir de Florence

Small is Beautiful

Tickets £14.50 RNS at Home Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

23

24

Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

Sunday 1 December 3pm and 7.30pm // Sage One

Director Steven Spielberg’s heartwarming masterpiece is one of the brightest stars in motion picture history. Filled with unparalleled magic and imagination, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial follows the moving story of a lost little alien who befriends a 10-year-old boy named Elliott. Experience all the mystery and fun of their unforgettable adventure in the beloved movie that captivated audiences around the world, complete with John Williams’ Academy Award®-winning score performed live by a full orchestra in sync to the film projected on an HD screen!

Anthony Gabriele conductor Royal Northern Sinfonia

RNS Nights Out

Tickets £18.50, £28, £34.50, £42

E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial is a trademark and copyright of Universal Studios. Licensed

by Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.

Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

25

Friday 6 December 7.30pm // Sage One

Harry Christophers conductor The Sixteen Programme to include: Walton Make we joy now in this fest Warlock Corpus Christi carol Holst This have I done for my true love Britten A Ceremony of Carols Plus medieval carols

Tickets £20, £25, £30

RNS Presents

26

Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

Harry Christophers © Marco Borggreve

Out of the air and water of his native Suffolk, Benjamin Britten crafted a musical Christmas celebration with a difference: a garland of song, charged with the power of tradition, but bright with the promise of renewal. His Ceremony of Carols is like a wreath of freshly-plucked greenery on the top of this carol concert with a difference from Harry Christophers and his virtuoso chamber choir The Sixteen: the brightest link in a chain of seasonal music that stretches from Medieval chant to the vivid, poetic British classics by William Walton, Peter Warlock, Gustav Holst and many more. “Wolcum alle and make good cheer!”

Saturday 14 December 7pm // Sage One

Handel’s Messiah isn’t so much an oratorio, more a national institution. Everyone knows the Hallelujah Chorus, but if that’s all you know, you’re in for a wonderful revelation - because every note is just as inspired.

And you don’t have to be religious to be stirred by some of the most heartfelt and uplifting music ever written. Over three and a half centuries, it’s become something of a Christmas tradition, although it’s anything but staid and under the dynamic American conductor Jeanette Sorrell, expect a performance that brings out all the energy, freshness and sheer inspiration of this timeless classic.

Jeannette Sorrell © Roger Mastroianni

Tickets £16.50, £26, £32.50, £40

Jeannette Sorrell conductor Elizabeth Atherton soprano Feargal Mostyn-Williams countertenor Ed Lyon tenor Neal Davies bass-baritone Royal Northern Sinfonia Chorus of Royal Northern Sinfonia Handel Messiah Pre-concert performance

by Young Sinfonia at 6pm RNS Christmas

Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

27

Tuesday 17 December 8pm // Sage Two

Noah Bendix-Balgley violin Sebastian Gürtler violin Thilo Fechner viola Stephan Koncz cello Ödön Rácz bass Daniel Ottensamer clarinet Christoph Traxler piano

Small is Beautiful

Tickets £20.50, £22.50 (cabaret tables)

28

Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

Philharmonix © Max Parovsky

Take a handful of virtuoso players from the world’s greatest orchestras - the Vienna and Berlin Philharmonics. Invite a couple of friends along, and now imagine them kicking back and playing exactly what they’ve always secretly wanted to play - an anarchic, no-holds-barred musical cocktail of classical, jazz, klezmer, Latin, improv and pop. Philharmonix sing, joke, and play like the superstars they are - and whether it’s Brahms' Hungarian Dances or Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody, Johann Strauss’ Die Fledermaus Overture or Sting’s Englishman in New York, we guarantee you’ve never heard anything like it. Pure class, pure melody, pure fun. What’s that - classical music isn’t meant to be as entertaining as this? ‘Course it is - and believe us, you’re going to love it.

Thursday 19 December 7.30pm // Sage One

The Great White Way comes to Gateshead this Christmas to showcase the musicals that have put Broadway firmly on the map. Under the baton of expert conductor and compère Michael England, and fronted by four leading musical theatre soloists, the programme will include hits from Guys and Dolls, West Side Story, The Sound of Music, South Pacific, The Wizard of Oz, 42nd Street and A Chorus Line, plus a little something extra to put you in the Christmas spirit!

Michael England conductor Royal Northern Sinfonia

RNS Christmas

Tickets £16.50, £26, £32.50, £40

Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

29

Sunday 22 December 2pm (relaxed) and 5pm // Sage One Monday 23 December 11am, 2pm and 5pm // Sage One Tuesday 24 December 11am and 2pm // Sage One

Alan Fearon conductor Eleanor Mooney presenter Ian Stephens We’re Going on a Bear Hunt Howard Blake The Snowman

RNS Christmas

Tickets 22/23 Dec £19.50, Family £60 24 Dec £22, Family £65 Family ticket: Four tickets to include at least one adult and one child. 16 and under £2 off. Children two and under go free sitting on a knee.

30

Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

© Snowman Enterprises Ltd. 1982, 2019

We’re walking in the air... it isn’t Christmas until a little boy has built a new friend in a snowy garden and The Snowman has whisked us off into the frosty, starlit night.

If you didn’t think the classic film could get any more enchanting, you’re in for a magical surprise, because this seasonal screening is accompanied live by Royal Northern Sinfonia. But first wrap up warm, because we’re going on a bear hunt - along with the whole orchestra. All the family’s welcome, so all together now - 'We’re going to catch a big one! What a beautiful day!'

Kyra Humphreys © Michael Olatunji

Jessica Cottis © Kaupo Kikkas

Wednesday 1 January 3pm // Sage One

What better way to start your year than with a concert of glorious music! This wonderful Viennese tradition has become a firm favourite with audiences in the North East.

New Year’s Day just wouldn’t by New Year’s Day without the music of the Waltz Kings, Johann Strauss II, his family and friends, plus more lighthearted music to put a spring in your step as you dance your way home. The sound of elegance, the sound of romance, and above all, the sound of pure tuneful indulgence. Prosit!

Tickets £16.50, £26, £32.50, £40

Friday 10 January 8pm // Sage Two

Jessica Cottis conductor Royal Northern Sinfonia

RNS Christmas

'Something lies beyond the scene…' Jazzage London: and when surrealist poet Edith Sitwell met William Walton, the hottest young talent in British music, the result was Façade. Rap 1920s style, an outrageously entertaining, deliriously daft cocktail of words and music in which devils eat dessert, flappers become Greek goddesses and British music pours itself a gin and learns to foxtrot. Hearing is believing - and once heard, Façade is never forgotten.

Jazz-influenced classics from the bright young composers of 1920s Europe and America set the scene: and then hold onto your hats, because this is going to get very silly indeed.

Alasdair Beatson piano

Tickets £14.50, £16.50 (cabaret tables)

Small is Beautiful

Royal Northern Sinfonia Korngold Much Ado About Nothing Suite Amy Beach The Water Sprites and Pastorale Gershwin Three Preludes arr. clarinet and piano Martinů La revue de cuisine Walton Façade

Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

31

What’s your favourite music?

Portrait 32 photography © Michael Olatunji

Alexious

Tegwen, viola

Tchaikovsky Andante Cantabile

Queen Bicycle Race

Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

Eva

Steven, oboe

Myra

Holst St Paul’s Suite

Sondheim Getting Married Today

Mozart CosĂŹ fan tutte

Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

33

Alexandre Bloch © Ugo Ponte

Lise de la Salle © Stéphane Gallois

Friday 17 January 7.30pm // Sage One

Like a siren, like a skyscraper, the soaring clarinet that opens Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue was the sound that defined a new era in western music. A new world found its musical voice, and from Paris to Prague, European classical music started to dance to the sound of jazz. Duncan Ward takes a journey through the roaring twenties, from the Americana of Barber and Copland to the swinging rhythms and vibrant new colours of Milhaud and Martinů. Then that clarinet begins to wail, and pianist Lise de la Salle whirls us away to Manhattan where the mood - unmistakably - is blue.

Thursday 30 January 7.30pm // Sage One

Duncan Ward conductor Lise de la Salle piano Royal Northern Sinfonia Copland Music for the Theatre Barber Serenade for Strings Martinů Jazz Suite Milhaud La création du monde Daniels Deep Forest Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue (1926 version)

‘I have slandered the sea... Today it is beautiful enough to defy all comparisons…’

Debussy was being a bit hard on himself: La mer is one of the most gorgeous seascapes ever painted by an orchestra, just as you’d expect from the composer whose Ibéria can practically make you smell the orange blossom of Spain. Under its inspirational young Music Director Alexandre Bloch, the Orchestre National de Lille brings a programme of French music at its most sumptuously colourful, as well as a chance to hear 2018 Leeds Piano Competition winner Eric Lu in Beethoven’s most poetic - and personal - concerto.

Tickets £14, £22, £31, £38 Tickets £16.50, £26, £32.50, £40 RNS at Home 34

Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

Alexandre Bloch conductor Eric Lu piano Orchestre National de Lille Debussy Ibéria Beethoven Piano Concerto No.4 Ravel Ma mère l’Oye (Mother Goose Suite) Debussy La mer

RNS Presents

Classics 4 Kids © TyneSight Photographic

Laurence Equilbey © Jana Jocif

Friday 7 February 7.30pm // Sage One

Franz Schubert was one of the greatest songwriters of all time, so for a conductor like Laurence Equilbey - who never conducts a predictable concert - a programme that begins with Schubert’s delightful Rosamunde overture and ends with the high symphonic drama of his ‘Tragic’ symphony has simply got to find room for his songs. So meet Ilker Arcayürek, described by Opera Now as ‘a golden and natural lyric tenor’. He captivated audiences at the 2015 Cardiff Singer of the World, and he’ll bring all his theatrical flair to this selection of Schubert songs, each one a music-drama in miniature.

Saturday 8 February 2pm // Sage One

Schubert Songs

Classics 4 Kids presents an all-time family favourite, Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf.

Cuddly cats, dippy ducks, bossy birds and grumpy grandfathers all welcome! Join us from 1.15pm on the Concourse for fun, free activities, including the chance to have a try at playing the orchestral instruments yourself. Suitable for children aged 5+ and their families.

Schubert Symphony No.4 ‘Tragic’

Tickets Children £5.50, Adults £11

Laurence Equilbey conductor Ilker Arcayürek tenor Royal Northern Sinfonia Schubert Overture to Rosamunde

Royal Northern Sinfonia

Classics 4 Kids

10% off when you book both Classics 4 Kids. Children two and under go free sitting on a knee.

RNS at Home

Tickets £14, £22, £31, £38 Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

35

36

Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

Saturday 22 - Sunday 23 February // Sage One

All nine Beethoven symphonies in one weekend.

Saturday 22 February 12 noon

Saturday 22 February 7.30pm

Sunday 23 February 7pm

John Suchet presenter

Kirill Karabits conductor

Vasily Petrenko conductor

Sir Mark Elder conductor

Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra

Giselle Allen soprano

Beethoven Symphony No.1

Beethoven Symphony No.5

Stuart Jackson tenor

Beethoven Symphony No.3 ‘Eroica’

Beethoven Symphony No.6 ‘Pastoral’

Neal Davies bass

Two centuries after his death, Beethoven’s nine revolutionary symphonies continue to define the way we hear classical music.

Now, over one extraordinary weekend at Sage Gateshead, hear all nine in one single thrilling rush, played by five of the UK’s finest orchestras under conductors guaranteed to show this world-changing music at its very best. From the youthful rebellion of the first symphony through to the Ode to Joy that crowns the ninth, it’s the greatest story ever told in music, and whether you dip in and out or dive headlong into the full, epic experience, expect music-making that’ll refresh both heart and soul.

Tickets Weekend tickets £60 Day tickets £35 (from 1 October) Single concert tickets £20 (from 1 January 2020)

Sarah Castle mezzo soprano

The Hallé The Hallé Choir

Saturday 22 February 3.30pm

Sunday 23 February 3pm

Ilan Volkov conductor

Lars Vogt conductor

BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra

Royal Northern Sinfonia

Beethoven Symphony No.9 ‘Choral’

Beethoven Symphony No.8 Beethoven Symphony No.2

Beethoven Symphony No.7

Beethoven Symphony No.4

Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

37

Friday 28 February 7.30pm // Sage One

Brahms’ First Symphony opens with the pounding of a broken heart, and ends with the kind of melody that comes once in a lifetime. Forget the image of Brahms as an old man with a big beard: this is the fullblooded music of a young genius, unhappy in love, and under RNS Principal Guest Conductor Julian Rachlin it’ll summon up truly mountainous emotions. Dvořák’s Cello Concerto is - if anything - even more passionate; inspired by Niagara Falls and a long-forgotten romance, it’s a piece that wears its heart unashamedly on its sleeve.

Perfect, in other words, for the awardwinning Russian cellist Alexander Buzlov.

Julian Rachlin conductor Alexander Buzlov cello Royal Northern Sinfonia Dvořák Cello Concerto Brahms Symphony No.1

RNS at Home

Tickets £14, £22, £31, £38

38

Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

Saturday 29 February 7.30pm // Sage One

Need a hero? Then join the adventure, in this spectacular salute to the biggest, boldest and baddest heroes of the silver screen. Superman, Indiana Jones and Harry Potter... they’re all here tonight.

From the streets of Metropolis to the towers of Hogwarts, relive their adventures and feel the tingle down your spine as maestro Stephen Bell and Royal Northern Sinfonia give them the High-Res treatment in this real Hollywood blockbuster of a concert - live, in full symphonic sound.

There isn’t a sound system in the world to match it.

Stephen Bell conductor Royal Northern Sinfonia

RNS Nights Out

Tickets £16.50, £26, £32.50, £40

Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

39

Friday 13 March 7.30pm // Sage One

The horns throw down the gauntlet: the piano strides forward to take the challenge.

And with one of the greatest melodies in Russian music, Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto is on its way. Thrilling stuff - it’s no wonder that this is one of the best loved of all romantic masterpieces for piano and orchestra, and played tonight by the inimitable Gabriela Montero, it should be gripping. Guest conductor Alexandre Bloch sets the scene with the Nordic freshness of Grieg’s irresistibly tuneful Norwegian Dances, and crowns the concert with a bracingly original take on the symphony from the razor-sharp imagination of Igor Stravinsky.

Alexandre Bloch conductor Gabriela Montero piano Royal Northern Sinfonia Grieg Norwegian Dances Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No.1 Stravinsky Symphony in C

RNS at Home

Tickets £14, £22, £31, £38

40

Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

Sunday 15 March 3pm // Sage One

Flamboyant, imaginative and irrepressible, the Venezuelan pianist Gabriela Montero is a virtuoso in a class of her own: a pianist whose unique gift for improvisation put creativity back at the heart of classical performance, and whose outspoken ethical principles mean that her music-making is about infinitely more than just the notes on the page. ‘For me, music is a purposeful art’, she says, and tonight, the winner of the 2018 Beethoven Prize celebrates three fellow free spirits - Beethoven, naturally, but also Mozart, before throwing herself into the exuberantly romantic fantasyworld of Schumann’s Kreisleriana: a musical portrait of the artistic spirit at its most unbuttoned.

Gabriela Montero piano Mozart Sonata No.10 in C major K330 Beethoven Sonata No.21 in C major ‘Waldstein’ Schumann Kreisleriana

Piano Greats

Tickets £18, £22 10% off when you book all 4 Piano Greats

Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

41

Friday 27 March 7.30pm // Sage One

Thomas Zehetmair conductor Steven Hudson oboe Royal Northern Sinfonia Sibelius Symphony No.7 Mozart Oboe Concerto Nielsen Symphony No.1

RNS at Home

Tickets £14, £22, £31, £38

42

Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

Thomas Zehetmair © Pablo Faccinetto

‘Other composers mix colourful cocktails’ said Jean Sibelius. ‘I offer pure, cool water’ and his elemental Seventh Symphony seems to draw its strength from nature itself. No false modesty for the young Carl Nielsen: he asked the orchestra to play his explosive First Symphony ‘proudly’! Royal Northern Sinfonia Conductor Laureate Thomas Zehetmair loves both these very different Scandinavian masterpieces, the two poles of a concert that revolves around the wit and energy of Mozart’s Oboe Concerto, played by RNS’ own Steven Hudson. Power, pride and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: a concert to recharge mind and spirit.

Saturday 28 March 7.30pm // Sage One

My gift is my song, and this one’s for you.

Some hits are forever, and over 50 years in the business, Sir Elton John has released classic after solid gold classic. Thrill to Rocket Man or sob along to the unbridled emotion of Candle in the Wind: either way, the artist formerly known as Reginald Dwight has written the soundtrack to all our lives. Everyone’s got a favourite Elton John song, and when Royal Northern Sinfonia joins an all-star West End cast for this spectacular symphonic tribute, you’re sure to hear yours.

Richard Balcombe conductor Royal Northern Sinfonia

RNS Nights Out

Tickets £16.50, £26, £32.50, £40

Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

43

Thursday 2 April 8pm // Wylam Brewery

It starts on the streets of South London, with a homeless old man singing quietly to himself. It becomes…well, there isn’t really any way to describe what you’ll think or feel next, as Gavin Bryars weaves that broken scrap of human feeling into a sonic experience unlike anything else in 20th century music. Like the serenely unfurling soundscape of Arvo Pärt’s Summa and the dancing, ever-renewing sonic patterns of Steve Reich’s groundbreaking Vermont Counterpoint, Jesus’ Blood Never Failed Me Yet is a true modern classic: music with the power to provoke, to move, and to leave you transformed. Try it.

Arvo Pärt Summa Steve Reich Vermont Counterpoint Gavin Bryars Jesus’ Blood Never Failed Me Yet

RNS @ Wylam Please note this concert is at Wylam Brewery, Exhibition Park, Newcastle upon Tyne.

Steve Reich © Jay Blakesberg

Tickets Standing £15, Seated £20

Royal Northern Sinfonia

44

Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

Thursday 9 April 7.30pm // Sage One

Cast out, and facing a terrible fate, a broken man prays for the strength to endure his destiny. The solitary figure is Christ, but you don’t need to be a believer to see why Beethoven identified with Christ’s vigil on the Mount of Olives, or to respond to the heartfelt emotion - and very human drama - with which he set it to music. A tale of soldiers and angels, God and man, early music specialist Harry Bicket and three outstanding British soloists bring their all to this special preEaster performance: visions of timeless spiritual beauty by Bach and Mendelssohn prepare the way.

Harry Bicket © Dario Acosta

Tickets £14, £22, £31, £38

Harry Bicket conductor Eleanor Dennis soprano Barry Banks tenor David Soar bass Royal Northern Sinfonia Chorus of Royal Northern Sinfonia Bach Ricercar a 6 from The Musical Offering Mendelssohn Psalm 42 ‘Wie der Hirsch schreit’ (As Pants the Hart) Beethoven Christ on the Mount of Olives

RNS at Home

Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

45

Wednesday 22 April 8pm // Sage Two

Take a string quartet, add one extra player, and something magical happens.

Mozart played the viola himself, so it’s no surprise that his fourth String Quintet contains some of the most intimate, and poignant music even he ever wrote. James MacMillan, on the other hand, added a clarinet and suddenly found himself in a realm of ancient Celtic laments and calling seabirds: his 'Tuireadh' is an unforgettable requiem for 1988’s Piper Alpha disaster.

The programme opens with another British work and another quintet, this time comprising five wind instruments, playing the gentle, warm and lyrical Wind Quintet

by Gustav Holst.

Royal Northern Sinfonia Holst Wind Quintet James MacMillan Clarinet Quintet ‘Tuireadh’ Mozart String Quintet No.4

Small is Beautiful

Amy Yule © Michael Olatunjiw

Tickets £14.50

46

Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

Christian Zacharias © Constanze Zacharias

Nicola Benedetti © Simon Fowler

Sunday 26 April 7.30pm // Sage One

There’s something refreshing about the Scandinavian way of making music. Some say that Sibelius’ Second Symphony draws its strength from the rivers and forests of his native Finland. Others hear it as the epic drama of a nation awakening to freedom.

But either way, you’ll never hear it played with more conviction than by the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra under its Finnish chief conductor Sakari Oramo, on this rare UK tour. What else would you expect from a concert that begins with Victoria Borisova-Ollas’ orchestral earthquake Open Ground, and features the UK’s favourite violinist Nicola Benedetti in the world’s favourite violin concerto?

Tickets £16.50, £26, £32.50, £40

Friday 1 May 7.30pm // Sage One

Sakari Oramo conductor Nicola Benedetti violin Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra Victoria Borisova-Ollas Open Ground Bruch Violin Concerto No.1 Sibelius Symphony No.2

RNS Presents

For Christian Zacharias, playing the piano is all about finding a connection. ‘It is the essence of the music that I am trying to convey’ he says. ‘I want to present music as a language and a means of story-telling. I want to show other people what amazes me, what is hidden beneath the notes’.

Imagine the wonders that he’ll find tonight, in a programme devoted to two supreme masters of the keyboard. Each of Haydn’s piano sonatas creates a little world of fantasy and invention. In Zacharias’ hands they’re the perfect foil for the timeless genius of Johann Sebastian Bach.

Christian Zacharias piano Haydn Sonata in G minor HobXVI:44 Bach French Suite No.5 in G major BWV816 Haydn Sonata in A flat major HobXVI:46 Bach Partita No.3 in A minor BWV827 Haydn Sonata in E flat major HobXVI:52

Tickets £18, £22 10% off when you book all 4 Piano Greats

Piano Greats

Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

47

Louise Mather Š 48

Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

Saturday 9 May - Sunday 10 May // Sage One

Beethoven like you’ve never experienced it before.

Saturday 9 May 7.30pm Performance One (Prelude - skydiving from a dream) Beethoven’s Grosse Fuge: an epic titan of a piece that was simultaneously lauded and derided in his lifetime. Now, in his 250th anniversary year, virtuosic musicians from innovative string orchestra Scottish Ensemble reunite with Swedish choreographer Örjan Andersson to perform their critically-acclaimed co-production exploring the composer’s complex work, as well as music by Lutosławski and Bach.

Musicians and dancers blur their roles and break the rules as they explore the very human paradox at the root of all three pieces: our need to seek out order amongst disorder, and the urge to tear apart our self-imposed rules and restrictions and embrace the adventure of what lies beyond.

Scottish Ensemble and Andersson Dance

Sunday 10 May 7.30pm

Prelude - skydiving from a dream

Performance Two (Alae)

Örjan Andersson choreography Jonathan Morton musical direction Örjan Andersson and Tobias Hallgren set and light design Bente Rolandsdotter costume design Bach The Art of Fugue (extracts) Lutosławski Preludes and Fugue for 13 solo strings (extracts) Beethoven Grosse Fuge Made possible with support from Creative Scotland, The Swedish Arts Council, Stockholm Stad and Region Stockholm.

Three dancers, three sonatas, one exceptional pianist, and a presiding genius: Ludwig van Beethoven. 250 years after Beethoven’s birth, and drawing on years of interdisciplinary exploration, choreographer Örjan Andersson has chosen three Beethoven sonatas and illuminated them in new ways through clashes and encounters with the moving human body. Awardwinning Swedish pianist Per Tengstrand is in-demand across the globe as a soloist, described by The Washington Post as “technically resplendent, powerful, intuitively secure,” and by The New York Times as “a superb pianist.”

Per Tengstrand and Andersson Dance Alae Per Tengstrand piano Örjan Andersson choreography Chrisander Brun set and light design Bente Rolandsdotter costume design

Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

49

Saturday 16 May 7.30pm // Sage One

Jiří Rožeň conductor Francesca Dego violin The Hallé Dvořák Carnival Overture Glazunov Violin Concerto Rimsky-Korsakov Scheherazade

RNS Presents

Tickets £16.50, £26, £32.50, £40

50

Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

Francesca Dego © Davide Cerati

A cruel sultan, a beautiful princess and a thousand and one nights of pleasure: Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade might sound like a box of Turkish Delight, but make no mistake, it’s one of classical music’s most sensuous treats. So let Manchester’s Hallé Orchestra and its charismatic guest conductor Jiří Rožeň show you a world of glittering excess, swashbuckling thrills and pure silken seduction, all painted in sumptuous orchestral technicolor. First though, enjoy Dvořák’s riotous dance through a Czech carnival, and savour the ‘delectable’ (The Sunday Times) sound of Italian violin star Francesca Dego in the luscious melodies and glittering fireworks of Glazunov’s hugely underrated concerto.

Trevor Pinnock © Peer Lindgreen

Jane Nossek © Michael Olatunji

Friday 22 May 8pm // Sage Two

In his music, as well as his personality, Beethoven was larger than life - and when he tried to out-Mozart Mozart in his youthful Quintet for Piano and Winds, the result simply bubbled over with energy, colour and fun. It’s a terrific contrast to the poetry and sophistication of his Piano Trio No.6: music for elegant salons which constantly, unexpectedly subverts your expectations. Well, this is Beethoven, after all! He’s one of the many composers ridiculed, revered and generally turned inside out in Alfred Schnittke’s astonishing String Quartet No.3: pitch-black comedy from Russian music’s modern master of irony.

Tickets £14.50

Friday 29 May 7.30pm // Sage One

Alasdair Beatson piano Royal Northern Sinfonia Beethoven Quintet in E flat for Piano and Winds Schnittke String Quartet No.3 Beethoven Piano Trio No.6 Op.70 No.2

Small is Beautiful

Trevor Pinnock is one of those conductors who brings a special enjoyment to everything he does, and his first visit to Royal Northern Sinfonia promises to be a memorable occasion. We’ve given him carte blanche to curate a unique programme of personal favourites, which includes the baroque grandeur of Handel, the divine inspiration of Mozart, the featherlight Gallic je-ne-sais-quoi of Poulenc’s Sinfonietta and Fauré’s ravishing Cantique.

This is going to be a lot of fun - and true to form, Pinnock’s finishing off with an all-out celebration from Joseph Haydn: another great musician who always seems to have a twinkle in his eye.

Tickets £14, £22, £31, £38

Trevor Pinnock conductor Royal Northern Sinfonia Chorus of Royal Northern Sinfonia Handel Zadok the Priest (Coronation Anthem No.1) Poulenc Sinfonietta Fauré (orch. Rutter) Cantique de Jean Racine Mozart Ave verum corpus Mozart Symphony No.39 Haydn Te Deum for the Empress Maria Therese

RNS at Home

Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

51

Royal Northern Sinfonia Š Ville de Menton

52

Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

Saturday 13 June 7.30pm // Sage One

Lots of composers have been given honorary degrees - but only Johannes Brahms responded by writing an overture full of student drinking songs. His friend Robert Schumann, meanwhile, began his third symphony with a sweeping Rhineland vista but ended it at a beer festival.

Well, the last concert of Royal Northern Sinfonia’s season calls for a bit of a celebration, and Lars Vogt is going out in the grandest possible style: as both soloist and conductor in Beethoven’s mightiest piano concerto. Beethoven never actually called it ‘The Emperor’ - but with music this magnificent, you can see why the name stuck.

Tickets £14, £22, £31, £38

Lars Vogt conductor/piano Royal Northern Sinfonia Brahms Academic Festival Overture Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 5 ‘Emperor’ Jörg Widmann Fanfare Schumann Symphony No.3 ‘Rhenish’

RNS at Home

Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

53

How do you listen?

Portrait photography Š Michael Olatunji

Ken

Malcolm, viola

Tchaikovsky The Snow Maiden

Schubert Fantasia in F minor Op.103

Adjami

Amy, flute

Steven

Mozart Symphony No.40

Bach Christmas Oratorio

Berg Violin Concerto

Thursday 5 December - Wednesday 11 December 7.30pm

Thursday 5 December // St Cuthbert’s Church, Darlington Thursday 5 December // St Cuthbert’s Chapel, Ushaw, Durham Friday 6 December // St Michael’s Church, Alnwick Friday 6 December // St Mary the Virgin, Richmond Saturday 7 December // Stockton Parish Church, Stockton Saturday 7 December // All Saints Church, Rothbury Sunday 8 December // St Cuthbert’s Church, Carlisle Tuesday 10 December // Hexham Abbey, Hexham Wednesday 11 December // St George’s Church, Cullercoats Wednesday 11 December // Sunderland Minster, Sunderland Our seasonal tour of some of the region’s beautiful churches has become a sell-out staple of the calendar. Enjoy the gorgeous candlelit atmosphere, and listen to virtuosic Baroque solo concertos showcasing our marvellous musicians, including ‘Winter’ from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, alongside contrasting classical favourites.

Tickets £15, Under-18s £5

56

Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

Inpiration Choir © Mark Savage

Inspiration is a large community choir based in Newcastle, Leeds and Southampton. It came about through a passion for singing and a belief in the power of song. The name itself has a double meaning - ‘breathing in’ and ‘being inspired’.

Founder Gary Griffiths has sung in and conducted choirs all his life, and truly believes that singing in a large group is life-affirming and fulfilling in a way that few other activities can be. It is almost impossible to describe unless you experience it.

Inspiration’s ethos is simple - anyone can sing. That’s it! If you want to sing, then you can. There are no auditions to join - they are just too scary for some people - you don’t even have to read music, you just have to enjoy it.

For information on how to join Inspiration visit inspirationuk.com

Next concert at Sage Gateshead with Royal Northern Sinfonia: Sunday 14 July 2019 4pm // Sage One

A recreation of Inspiration’s very first concert from 10 years ago, with choral blockbusters such as Bridge Over Troubled Water, O Fortuna and the Hallelujah Chorus, as well as beautiful unaccompanied gems Fields Of Gold and Goodnight My Angel.

There are many singers in the choir now who performed in that sellout concert. Whether you were in the audience that night or you’ve recently discovered Inspiration, come along and help us celebrate 10 magnificent years of joyous singing.

Tickets £10, £19 Concessions and Family tickets available Further concerts at Sage Gateshead on Sunday 15 December 2019 and Sunday 19 April 2020. Watch out for details on sagegateshead.com Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

57

We want everyone to be able to learn and enjoy classical music, at any age, at any time of day, in all kinds of spaces.

Many of the concerts in this brochure are available to under-17s for just £5, and we also offer some very special concerts over the course of the year for our younger audiences.

Classics 4 Kids © TyneSight Photographic

For families

Saturday 12 October 2pm // Sage One

Experiencing music as a family can be one of the most enjoyable, stimulating ways to spend quality time together. And encouraging your children’s interest in music can have all sorts of developmental benefits as well as helping to strengthen social and emotional skills.

Royal Northern Sinfonia’s Classics 4 Kids concerts are a great familyfriendly way of introducing children to classical music. They are aimed at children aged five and upwards but all are welcome, and little ones under the age of two can sit on your lap and go free!

Royal Northern Sinfonia’s Music Director, Lars Vogt, delights us with his wizardry on the piano and conducts the orchestra too in this concert especially for young RNS fans.

Saturday 8 February 2pm // Sage One They are the perfect length (just 45 minutes), with bite-sized sections of classical pieces performed live by our world class orchestra.

The orchestra and instruments are introduced by a fun, lively and experienced presenter with plenty of opportunities for the audience to join in.

And to top it all off we have lots of music activities to enjoy on the Concourse beforehand, including crafts, demonstrations, and the chance to have a go at playing a variety of orchestral instruments.

58

Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

Classics 4 Kids presents an all-time family favourite, Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf. Cuddly cats, dippy ducks, bossy birds and grumpy grandfathers all welcome!

Tickets Children £5.50, Adults £11 10% off when you book both Classics 4 Kids.

Children two and under go free sitting on a knee

Classics 4 Kids

Tuesday 24 September 2019 11am and 1.30pm // Sage Two Thursday 9 January 2020 11am and 1.30pm // Sage Two Tuesday 21 April 2020 11am and 1.30pm // Sage Two

For tiny listeners (and you of course) our Baby Sinfonia concerts are a real treat.

Classical music can have a calming effect and help babies feel more relaxed.

So immerse yourself and your little one in 45 minutes of wonderful music played by members of Royal Northern Sinfonia in the intimate, warm surroundings of Sage Two. Bounce to the playful dance movements, relax/nap(!) in the more serene moments or simply sit back and enjoy the music.

Tickets Children £3.30, Adults £5.50 Sunday 22 December 2pm (relaxed) and 5pm // Sage One Monday 23 December 11am, 2pm and 5pm // Sage One

© Snowman Enterprises Ltd. 1982, 2019

Tuesday 24 December 11am and 2pm // Sage One

Our hugely popular annual screening of this festive classic features live orchestral music and has become a Tyneside tradition. Book early for this one!.

Tickets 22/23 Dec £19.50, Family £60, 24 Dec £22, Family £65 Family ticket: Four tickets to include at least one adult and one child. 16 and under £2 off. Children two and under go free sitting on a knee.

RNS Christmas Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

59

Photo Š Mark Savage

Samling Institute for Young Artists

60

Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

Samling Institute for Young Artists - through performance and learning opportunities - nurtures young classical singers and piano accompanists. Its thriving Academy here in the North East attracts the finest 14-21 year old singers annually and its Artist Programme for emerging young professionals is widely acknowledged internationally as being both unique and exceptional.

This season will see the ‘best of the best’ brought together in a series of masterclasses and concerts. Audiences will get the chance to enjoy outstanding performances and see and hear in masterclass great singers, directors, actors, pianists and coaches - people who have ‘made it’ at the highest professional level - and crucially know how to pass on what they have learned to the next generation.

Sunday 20 October 7.30pm // Sage Two

Saturday 23 November 1.30-4.30pm & 5.15-6.15pm // Sage Two

Saturday 7 March 1.30-4.30pm & 5.15-6.15pm // Sage Two

Thirty of the North East’s finest classical singers, selected by audition, will present a concert of songs, arias and ensembles showcasing their work over six intensive days at the start of their year with Samling Institute’s inspirational leaders.

German Soprano Anne Schwanewilms performs to great acclaim at the world’s major opera houses and concert venues. She will be joined by Samling Artist pianist James Baillieu and actor James Garnon to lead eight rising stars in an afternoon of masterclasses and musical discovery. This will be followed by a short concert; the climax of their residential week with Samling Institute.

North East born Samling Artist Anna Stéphany is emerging as one of the world’s most exciting mezzo sopranos on stage and in the concert hall, and has been described as 'vocally superb and dramatically convincing'. She joins Samling Institute's leadership team for the first time to lead eight young artists through a week of musical discovery as they work towards this public masterclass and concert.

Tickets Masterclass and Concert £16.50 Under 25s £5

Tickets Masterclass and Concert £16.50 Under 25s £5

Tickets £14

Photo: Filipe Manu, tenor and Marija Stručkova, pianist.

Samling Masterclass, Sage Gateshead 2018

Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

61

Heath Quartet Š Simon Way

Newcastle International Chamber Music Series

62

Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

Newcastle Chamber Music Society presents six wide-ranging concerts featuring, in Beethoven’s 250th anniversary year, the great ‘Archduke’ and ‘Ghost’ piano trios alongside some of his lesser-known chamber works.

We are delighted to programme several exciting ensembles new to our series, and also to welcome back the ever-popular Endellion Quartet, in its 40th Anniversary season.

Wednesday 22 January 7.30pm Sage Two

Wednesday 6 May 7.30pm Sage Two

Leonore Piano Trio with Rachel Roberts (viola)

Trio Shaham-Erez-Wallfisch

Beethoven Piano Trio in D 'Ghost'

Beethoven Piano Trio in C minor, Op.1 No.3

Judith Weir Piano Quartet (2000)

Brahms Piano Trio in C minor, Op.101

Dvořák Piano Quartet No.2 in E flat

Beethoven Piano Trio in B flat, ‘Archduke’

Wednesday 11 March 7.30pm Sage Two Endellion Quartet

Wednesday 23 October 7.30pm Sage Two Divertimenti Ensemble Mozart Fantasia in F minor Sally Beamish Divertimenti (2018) Bax Lyrical Interlude

Beethoven String Quartet in F, Op.14 No.1 Sally Beamish Quartet - A Myndin' Mendelssohn String Quartet No.4 in E minor, Op.44 No.2

Subscriptions for all 6 concerts (with a substantial saving) are available now from the Newcastle Chamber Music Society's Secretary on 0191 281 6446, email ncmsoc@gmail.com, or download a subscription form from ncmsoc.webplus.net.

Tickets for individual concerts available from Sage Gateshead Box Office from Saturday 15 June.

Puccini Crisantemi Ravel String Quartet in F

Boccherini Rondo from String Quintet Schubert String Quintet in C

Wednesday 8 April 7.30pm Sage Two

Wednesday 13 November 7.30pm Sage Two

Heath Quartet with Max Baillie (viola)

Tickets £9, £13, £21 Concessions available

Boccherini String Quartet in G minor, Op.32 No.5 Arcadia Quartet Mozart Adagio and Fugue in C minor Bartók String Quartet No.6 Brahms String Quartet Op.51 No.2

Stravinsky Concertino Beethoven String Quartet in A, Op.18 No.5 James MacMillan Memento (2014) Beethoven String Quintet in C Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

63

Royal Northern Sinfonia Julian Rachlin Principal Guest Conductor Thomas Zehetmair Conductor Laureate Karin Hendrickson Assistant Conductor, Royal Northern Sinfonia and Music Director, Young Sinfonia

Royal Northern Sinfonia, Orchestra of Sage Gateshead, is the UK’s only full-time chamber orchestra. Founded in 1958, RNS has built a worldwide reputation for the North East through the quality of its music-making and the immediacy of the connections the musicians make with audiences.

The orchestra regularly flies the flag for the region at major festivals, including the BBC Proms, most recently performing Handel’s Water Music at Stage @theDock in Hull - the first Prom performed outside of London since 1930. They appear frequently at venues and festivals in Europe, and in recent seasons have toured to Vienna, Budapest, Istanbul and Tokyo.

64

RNS has worked with many international conductors and soloists including Christian Tetzlaff, Sir Roger Norrington, Reinhard Goebel, Nicholas McGegan, Mahan Esfahani, Viktoria Mullova and Jessica Cottis, and also collaborated with leading popular voices such as Sting, Ben Folds, John Grant, Mercury Rev, Field Music and Maxïmo Park.

RNS has commissioned new music by David Lang, John Casken, Tansy Davies, Errollyn Wallen and James Weeks amongst others, and runs an annual Young Composers Competition.

RNS has always been actively involved in local communities and in education. This season the orchestra will perform across the region in Kendal, Middlesbrough, Carlisle, Berwick and Sunderland, and will once again take their Christmas by Candlelight tour to regional churches. Musicians support young people learning musical instruments through Sage Gateshead’s Centre for Advanced Training and through In Harmony, an immersive orchestral music-making programme that improves the life chances of children and young people in the West End of Newcastle, by increasing confidence, wellbeing and resilience.

Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

Heath Quartet © Simon Way

Lars Vogt Music Director

First Violin

Viola

Clarinet

Leader The Huntington Chair Kyra Humphreys The Christine Swales Chair Katerina Nazarova Iona Brown The Voigt Chair Jane Nossek Alexandra Raikhlina Sarah Roberts Tijmen Huisingh

Michael Gerrard Malcolm Critten The Merle Rewcastle Chair Tegwen Jones James Slater

Section Leader Clarinet Jessica Lee The Bragg Family Chair

Cello

Stephen Reay The Pyman Family Chair

Second Violin Section Leader Second Violin GaĂŤlle-Anne Michel The Anonymous Chair Jenny Chang Sophie Appleton Alanna Tonetti-Tieppo Marie Schreer

Steffan Morris The Share Family Chair Daniel Hammersley James Craig Gabriel Waite

Double Bass

Bassoon

Horn Peter Francomb The Friends of Royal Northern Sinfonia Chair Jonathan Quaintrell-Evans

Section Leader Double Bass Siân Hicks

Trumpet

Flute

Richard Martin The Alan Johnson Chair Marion Craig

Amy Yule The Rossiter Family Chair Eilidh Gillespie

Timpani Section Leader Timpani

Oboe Steven Hudson The Richardson Family Chair Michael O'Donnell The Sylvia Fuller Chair

Alasdair Beatson Chamber Pianist-in-Residence Tristan Gurney Chamber Music Curator

Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

65

RNS 60th Birthday Gala © TyneSight Photographic

66

Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

Chorus of Royal Northern Sinfonia Hugh Brunt Chorus Director

Chorus of Royal Northern Sinfonia is proud to perform a broad range of repertoire as part of the RNS musical family. While classic choral masterpieces form the core repertoire for the Chorus (this season hear them perform Haydn’s Creation and Beethoven’s Christ on the Mount of Olives), more ambitious programming includes performances of film scores - watch out for Star Wars in November - and new work.

Recent seasons have included a performance of the tour de force that is James MacMillan’s St Luke Passion, and the world premiere of James Weeks’ Venetian Sky, a site-specific piece commissioned for Sage Gateshead’s Concourse space.

In the coming season the Chorus is delighted to be performing Mahler’s Third Symphony with the Prague Symphony Orchestra conducted by Pietari Inkinen.

Founded in 1973 by Royal Northern Sinfonia timpanist Alan Fearon, the Chorus has worked with many guest conductors and with every RNS Music Director. They performed for the first time with Lars Vogt in 2016, and Hugh Brunt was appointed as Chorus Director in the same year.

Catering to a range of musical tastes, and with a singing membership of more than 50 individuals, Chorus of Royal Northern Sinfonia is made up of amateur musicians who work to professional standards. Members are drawn from all walks of life and from across the North of England.

If you would like to join the Chorus we would be delighted to hear from you.

Membership is by audition and prospective singers may arrange to attend a rehearsal before auditioning. Email chorusrns@sagegateshead.com for more details.

Chorus of RNS © TyneSight Photographic

Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

67

Level 1

Booking dates Saturday 27 April Priority Booking and Subscription Renewals* Friday 10 May Booking opens for New Subscriptions Saturday 15 June General On Sale Booking opens 12 noon. *Priority booking available for existing Subscribers, Friends of Royal Northern Sinfonia and Sage Supporters.

You can book online at sagegateshead.com, in person at our Box Office, or by calling 0191 443 4661 (from 12.00 daily). If you would prefer to book by post please request a booking form from the Box Office, or download a form from sagegateshead.com/bookingform

68

We regret that no refunds can be given except when an event is cancelled. However, Ticketplan refund protection is available at £2 per ticket (see website for more details).

We will always attempt, where possible, to resell unwanted tickets for sold-out concerts if we have the tickets returned to us at least 24 hours prior to the performance, for an administration fee of £2.50 (this fee does not apply to subscribers exchanging within the same season).

Please note that if you require postage a fee of £1.50 will be applied.

Access Requirement Register Should you require the support of a carer or companion, you can join our Access Requirement Register. You can do this online at sagegateshead. com/your-visit/access-information/ or by contacting Box Office on 0191 443 4661.

Full terms and conditions available on our website.

Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

Sage One Seating Map

Booking and Travel

Level 2

Address

Free Metro Travel St Mary’s Square, Gateshead, NE8 2JR

Take The Bus Catch the bus to selected concerts at Sage Gateshead, for just £8 return.

Bar 5 for 18-30s

Thanks to the generosity of Nexus, you can travel on the Metro to and from Gateshead for free, 2 hours before and after the concert.

Simply retain your concert ticket for inspection on the Metro.

If you are aged 18-30 our Bar 5 scheme entitles you to a ticket for just £5 plus a FREE bottle of beer or soft drink. Available in advance for RNS at Home and on the day for RNS Presents and RNS Nights Out. 17 and Under and Unemployed (in receipt of benefit)

Car Parking

Buses run from:

There is a car park at the rear of the building with lift access and priority spaces for blue badge holders. Charges apply.

Hexham via Chollerford, Wall, Acomb, Eastwood and Corbridge

See your orchestra for less

Groups come for less

Alnwick via Amble, Warkworth, Felton, Morpeth, Wideopen and Gosforth

We have a range of different ways to save, giving everyone the chance to experience RNS.

Buy 10 tickets and get one free!

Carlisle via Brampton

Gateshead residents

To book, call the Box Office on 0191 443 4661 or visit sagegateshead.com. Please note that bus tickets are not refundable.

FREE tickets available for any concert in our RNS at Home series if you live in Gateshead and have never been to an RNS concert before.

Gateshead classical first-timers - come and hear your orchestra! Two tickets per customer.

This concession not available online.

Eating & Drinking For details of our food and beverage offer please visit sagegateshead.com

Tickets available for £5 in advance for RNS at Home and on the day for RNS Presents and RNS Nights Out.

Limited tickets for all discounts - subject to availability. Please bring relevant ID. Children under 14 must be accompanied by an adult. Children aged 2 and under come for free if sitting on a knee.

Full details of all discounts from the Box Office and on our website.

The information in this brochure, including repertoire and artists, is correct at the time of printing, but may be subject to change without notice.

Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

69

Concert Diary September 2019

December 2019

Saturday 14 September, 7.30pm, Sage One, Opening Night

p.12

Sunday 1 December, 3pm & 7.30pm, Sage One, E.T. in Concert with RNS

p.25

Wednesday 18 September, 8pm, Wylam Brewery, RNS @ Wylam 1

p.13

Thursday 5 December, 7.30pm, Darlington, RNS Christmas by Candlelight tour

p.56

Friday 20 September, 7.30pm, Sage One, Piano Greats: Lars Vogt

p.14

Thursday 5 December, 7.30pm, Ushaw, Durham, RNS Christmas by Candlelight tour

p.56

Tuesday 24 September, 11am & 1.30pm, Sage Two, Baby Sinfonia

p.59

Friday 6 December, 7.30pm, Alnwick, RNS Christmas by Candlelight tour

p.56

Friday 27 September, 7.30pm, Sage One, Natalie Clein Plays Saint-Saëns

p.14

Friday 6 December, 7.30pm, Richmond, RNS Christmas by Candlelight tour

p.56

Friday 6 December, 7.30pm, Sage One, The Sixteen

p.26

October 2019 Friday 4 October, 7.30pm, Sage One, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra

p.15

Saturday 7 December, 7.30pm, Stockton, RNS Christmas by Candlelight tour

p.56

Friday 11 October, 7.30pm, Sage One, Vogt’s Dvořák 7

p.16

Saturday 7 December, 7.30pm, Rothbury, RNS Christmas by Candlelight tour

p.56

Saturday 12 October, 2pm, Sage One, C4K: All About the Piano

p.16

Sunday 8 December, 7.30pm, Carlisle, RNS Christmas by Candlelight tour

p.56

Saturday 19 October, 8pm, Sage Two, Brahms' Piano Quintet

p.17

Tuesday 10 December, 7.30pm, Hexham, RNS Christmas by Candlelight tour

p.56

Sunday 20 October, 7.30pm, Sage Two, Samling Academy Concert

p.61

Wednesday 11 December, 7.30pm, Cullercoats, RNS Christmas by Candlelight tour

p.56

Wednesday 23 October, 7.30pm, Sage Two, NICMS: Divertimenti Ensemble

p.63

Wednesday 11 December, 7.30pm, Sunderland, RNS Christmas by Candlelight tour

p.56

Friday 25 October, 7.30pm, Sage One, Haydn’s Creation

p.18

Saturday 14 December, 7pm, Sage One, Messiah

p.27

Tuesday 17 December, 8pm, Sage Two, Philharmonix

p.28

November 2019 Friday 1 November, 7.30pm, Sage One, Piano Greats: Anna Vinnitskaya

p.19

Thursday 19 December, 7.30pm, Sage One, Christmas on Broadway

p.29

Saturday 2 November, 7.30pm, Sage One, Star Wars Spectacular

p.21

Sunday 22 December, 2pm & 5pm, Sage One, The Snowman

p.30

Sunday 3 November, 3pm, Sage One, Star Wars Spectacular

p.21

Monday 23 December, 11am, 2pm & 5pm, Sage One, The Snowman

p.30

Friday 8 November, 7.30pm, Sage One, Rachlin’s Prokofiev

p.22

Tuesday 24 December, 11am & 2pm, Sage One, The Snowman

p.30

Wednesday 13 November, 7.30pm, Sage Two, NICMS: Arcadia Quartet

p.63

Thursday 14 November, 7.30pm, Sage One, Prague Symphony Orchestra

p.22

Friday 22 November, 7.30pm, Sage One, Music of the Night

p.23

Saturday 23 November, 1.30pm & 5.15pm, Sage Two, Samling Masterclass & Concert

p.61

Thursday 28 November, 8pm, Sage Two, The Italian Job

p.23

70

Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

January 2020

April 2020

Wednesday 1 January, 3pm, Sage One, New Year’s Day Concert

p.31

Thursday 2 April, 8pm, Wylam Brewery, RNS @ Wylam 2

p.44

Thursday 9 January, 11am & 1.30pm, Sage Two, Baby Sinfonia

p.59

Wednesday 8 April, 7.30pm, Sage Two, NICMS: Heath Quartet

p.63

Friday 10 January, 8pm, Sage Two, Welcome to the Roaring Twenties 1

p.31

Thursday 9 April, 7.30pm, Sage One, Christ on the Mount of Olives

p.45

Friday 17 January, 7.30pm, Sage One, Welcome to the Roaring Twenties 2

p.34

Tuesday 21 April, 11am & 1.30pm, Sage Two, Baby Sinfonia

p.59

Wednesday 22 January, 7.30pm, Sage Two, NICMS: Leonore Piano Trio

p.63

Wednesday 22 April, 8pm, Sage Two, Mozart String Quintet No.4

p.46

Thursday 30 January, 7.30pm, Sage One, Orchestre National de Lille

p.34

Sunday 26 April, 7.30pm, Sage One, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra

p.47

February 2020

May 2020

Friday 7 February, 7.30pm, Sage One, Equilbey’s Schubert

p.35

Friday 1 May, 7.30pm, Sage One, Piano Greats: Christian Zacharias

p.47

Saturday 8 February, 2pm, Sage One, C4K: Peter and the Wolf

p.35

Wednesday 6 May, 7.30pm, Sage Two, NICMS: Trio Shaham-Erez-Wallfisch

p.63

Saturday 22 - Sunday 23 February, Sage One, Big Beethoven Weekend 1

p.37

Saturday 9 - Sunday 10 May, Sage One, Big Beethoven Weekend 2

p.49

Friday 28 February, 7.30pm, Sage One, Rachlin’s Brahms

p.38

Saturday 16 May, 7.30pm, Sage One, The Hallé

p.50

Saturday 29 February, 7.30pm, Sage One, Hollywood Heroes

p.39

Friday 22 May, 8pm, Sage Two, Beethoven 2020

p.51

Friday 29 May, 7.30pm, Sage One, Pinnock’s Choice

p.51

March 2020 p.61

June 2020

Wednesday 11 March, 7.30pm, Sage Two, NICMS: Endellion Quartet

p.63

Saturday 13 June, 7.30pm, Sage One, Vogt’s Emperor

Friday 13 March, 7.30pm, Sage One, Montero plays Tchaikovsky

p.40

Saturday 7 March, 1.30pm & 5.15pm, Sage Two, Samling Masterclass & Concert

Sunday 15 March, 3pm, Sage One, Piano Greats: Gabriela Montero

p.41

Friday 27 March, 7.30pm, Sage One, Nordic Symphonies

p.42

Saturday 28 March, 7.30pm, Sage One, The Music of Elton John: 50 Years of 'Your Song'

p.43

Book now at sagegateshead.com/classical or call 0191 443 4661

p.53

71

In association with

Priority Booking - Saturday 27 April Subscriptions - Friday 10 May

@royalnorthernsinfonia @RNSinfonia

General On Sale - Saturday 15 June royal_northern_sinfonia

sagegateshead.com 0191 443 4661

North Music Trust (Sage Gateshead) is a registered charity (No. 1087445) and relies on your support