Mezzo-soprano Catriona Morison and baritone Christian Immler will sing the words of Franz Kafka on Nov. 24, joining the BBC Symphony Orchestra in the U.K. premiere of the Prague Sinfonie, a “song symphony” by Detlev Glanert. Conductor Semyon Bychkov will lead Brahms’ Symphony No. 4 in the second half of the program. https://www.bbc.co.uk/events/eznv9r
Wigmore Hall is celebrating “Laurence Osborn Day” over the course of three short concerts on Nov. 25, including two world premieres and a London premiere by Osborn. The Britten Sinfonia will alternate between works by C.P.E. Bach and Osbourne; the Marian Consort will present his compositions surrounded by pieces from the 16th century; and the […]
Violinist Daniel Hope and pianist Simon Crawford-Phillips will perform the U.K. premiere of Jake Heggie’s Fantasy Suite 1803, a work inspired by Beethoven’s 1803 residency at the Theater an der Wien. Also on the Nov. 27 program are an Impromptu by Enescu and Dvořák’s Sonatina, Op. 100. https://www.wigmore-hall.org.uk/whats-on/202311271300
Rachel Podger will be both soloist and director for the London premiere of Chad Kelly’s new arrangement of Bach’s Goldberg Variations for chamber orchestra. The new instrumentation was inspired by the many ways Bach’s Musical Offering has been reimagined. Brecon Baroque presents the work on Dec. 3 at the London Chamber Music Society. https://www.londonchambermusic.org.uk/concert/brecon-baroque-and-rachel-podger-violin-director/
Making her London Philharmonic debut on Dec. 6, conductor Tianyi Lu, winner of the 2020 Sir Georg Solti Conductors’ Competition, takes on a classic: Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherezade. Pianist Tom Borrow will be on hand to play Beethoven’s Fifth Piano Concerto, the Emperor. https://lpo.org.uk/event/scheherazade/
Robin Ticciati, chief conductor of the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, makes his conducting debut with the Berlin Philharmonic Dec. 7-9, tackling Mahler’s Fourth Symphony with soprano Elsa Benoit. The program opens with Dvořák’s The Noon Witch followed by Ondřej Adámek’s Sinuous Voices. https://www.berliner-philharmoniker.de/en/concerts/calendar/details/55039/
Under director Teodor Currentzis, the SWR Symphonieorchester will premiere a new work by Cremean composer Alexey Retinsky on Dec. 12 at the Elbphilharmonie. The program also includes recent works by Philippe Manoury, Mark Andre, and Jay Schwartz, closing with the Adagio from Mahler’s 10th Symphony. https://www.elbphilharmonie.de/en/whats-on/swr-symphonieorchester-teodor-currentzis/20223
Offenbach’s hilarious Les brigands will be presented in a new semi-staged concert version, Dec. 17-30 at the Komische Oper Berlin. This 1869 work was in part a parody of Schiller’s serious play The Robbers. Max Hopp, who has become known as an Offenbach specialist, directs. https://www.komische-oper-berlin.de/en/what/a-z/les-brigands/
Japanese pianist Yu Kosuge will play the world premiere of a new piano sonata by Dai Fujikura, a composer whose work she has championed in the past. The performance at Wigmore Hall on Dec. 19 will open with Mendelssohn’s Fantasy in F sharp minor Op. 28, called the Sonate ecossaise, and close with Beethoven’s Waldstein […]
In a duo recital at Wigmore Hall on Dec. 30, violinist Tamsin Waley-Cohen and pianist George Xiaoyuan Fu will play the U.K. premiere of Swan Song by American composer David Ludwig. The new work will be bookended by two classics of the violin sonata repertoire: Mozart’s K. 454 and Beethoven’s Op. 47, the Kreutzer. https://www.wigmore-hall.org.uk/whats-on/202312301930
On Jan. 21, Gürzenich-Orchester Köln, music director François-Xavier Roth and stage director Calixto Bieito will present a semi-staged concert production of Bernd Alois Zimmermann’s 1965 opera Die Soldaten at the Elbphilharmonie. This rarely heard work is a largely autobiographical account of Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz, upon whose 1776 play it was based. https://www.elbphilharmonie.de/en/whats-on/zimmermann-die-soldaten/20233
Since 1968, the London Sinfonietta has championed new music, often offering commissions. In a program called Decades on Jan. 24, the ensemble celebrates some of the pieces they’ve helped bring to fruition, including works by Oliver Knussen, Tansy Davies, Hannah Kendall, Tōru Takemitsu, and Thomas Adès. Geoffrey Paterson conducts. https://londonsinfonietta.org.uk/whats-on/decades
Irish composer Charles Villiers Stanford died in 1924, and the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland is marking that centenary by performing some of his works throughout their season. The first Stanford 100 concert takes place Feb. 2 and features his Clarinet Concerto with soloist Carol McGonnell. Mihhail Gerts will also conduct Brahms’ Fourth Symphony. https://bit.ly/45tBrQR
Finnish composer Lotta Wennäkoski’s Om fotspår och ljus (Of Footprints and Light – Helsinki Variations) will receive its U.K. premiere with the London Symphony on Feb. 4. Another Finn is on the program: Jean Sibelius, whose Symphony No. 2 will be conducted by Thomas Søndergård. Leif Ove Andsnes is the soloist for Beethoven’s Fifth Piano […]
The Bavarian State Opera is creating a new production of Tchaikovsky’s Pique Dame, directed by Benedict Andrews and conducted by Aziz Shokhakimov. Brandon Jovanovich stars as Hermann. The production runs Feb. 4-20. https://www.staatsoper.de/en/productions/pique-dame/2024-02-04-1800-14096
Conductor Oksana Lyniv leads the U.K. premiere of the Cello Concerto by fellow Ukrainian Victoria Vita Polevá with the London Philharmonic on Feb. 9. Inbal Segev will be the soloist. The program opens with a suite from Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen and concludes with Dvořák’s Eighth Symphony. https://lpo.org.uk/event/oksana-lyniv-conducts-dvorak/
Roland Wood stars as Karl Marx in the U.K. premiere of the comic opera Marx in London! at Scottish Opera. The production, which covers Marx’s time in London in 1871 will be staged in Glasgow on Feb. 13-17 before moving to Edinburgh Feb. 22-24. Conducted by Stephen Barlow and designed by Yannis Thavoris. https://www.scottishopera.org.uk/shows/marx-in-london/
Eun Sun Kim, music director of the San Francisco Opera, makes her debut with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal Feb. 15-17. She will conduct Ravel’s orchestration of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition as well as two works featuring pianist Louis Lortie: Mozart’s Rondo, K. 382, and Fauré’s Ballade, Op. 19. https://www.osm.ca/en/concerts/mozart-and-faure-with-louis-lortie-and-eun-sun-kim/
Bookended by two Stravinsky works, the London Philharmonic’s Feb. 16 program includes the world premiere of Ciudad sin Sueño, a fantasia for piano and orchestra (featuring Javier Perianes) by Spanish composer Francisco Coll. Under the baton of Gustavo Gimeno, the evening prolongs the Iberian vibe with Villa Lobos’ Nights in the Gardens of Spain. https://lpo.org.uk/event/colour-and-fantasy/
Beta, a world premiere by Deutsche Oper Berlin running Feb. 17-March 2, is investigative music theater exploring not only the potential of digital tools but also the risks inherent in the relinquishing of private data. The opera is by Christiane Mudra (libretto, research, and stage direction and Dariya Maminova (music) and will incorporate CGI and VFX […]
