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Wednesday 29 Oct 2014

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The ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳'s Big Concert – full schedule

BCC Scottish Symphony Orchestra with chief conductor Donald Runnicles

10.00am: Sunday Morning – as a prelude to The ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳'s Big Concert, Suzy Klein presents a focus on the New Generation Artists, who make up an international performing group supported and showcased by Radio 3.

11.30am: ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Philharmonic at St Philip's Church, Salford, presented by Petroc Trelawny.

As the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Philharmonic prepares to move to its neighboring base in Salford Quays over the next year, the Orchestra is in Sir Robert Smirke's Greek-style designed church in Salford.

Nicholas Kraemer conducts the Orchestra and the Manchester Chamber Choir in two of Bach's finest Cantatas – the intimate No. 159, which showcases the inspiring bass aria Es ist vollbracht, and the ambitious No. 21, Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis, which moves from darkness to a blazing final chorus. Between them is a profound symphony by Haydn, which is perhaps more appropriate to this sacred setting than to the concert hall.

Bach Cantata No. 159 (BWV.159) Sehet, wir geh'n hinauf gen Jerusalem.
Haydn Symphony No. 26 (H.1.26) in D minor, Lamentatione.
Bach Cantata No. 21 (BWV.21) Ich hatte viel Bekummernis.

Julia Doyle (soprano); Tove Dahlberg (mezzo soprano); Nicholas Mulroy (tenor); Halvor Festervoll Melein (bass); Manchester Chamber Choir; and Nicholas Kraemer (conductor).

During the concert there is an opportunity to take a closer look at the Orchestra's learning and outreach work as it gathers momentum ahead of the move to Salford, and to meet members of the recently-created Salford Family Orchestra.

There are also interviews with Salford-based composer Alan Williams, who worked extensively to create a new choral work that reflects a 21st-century take on the true creation of the universe.

1.00pm: ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Symphony Orchestra at Maida Vale Studios, London, presented by Sara Mohr-Pietsch.

Three key aspects of the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Symphony Orchestra's work are reflected in this programme. Firstly, Dvorak's thrilling Scherzo Capriccioso represents the orchestra's commitment to the core Czech repertoire, which it has been performing, broadcasting and recording in authoritative readings under its chief conductor, Jiří BÄ›lohlávek, over the past four years.

Mozart's tuneful Exsultate Jubilate features former New Generation Artist Ailish Tynan as soloist. The Orchestra is committed to fostering young talent and over the past decade has helped Radio 3 New Generation Artists gain vital experience, launching them on starry international careers.

Foerster's Fourth Symphony, his orchestral masterpiece, reflects the Orchestra's exploration of the more unusual corners of the Czech repertoire. It gained its subtitle, Easter, after the composer wrote that he started composing it on Good Friday 1904 "deeply moved by the spirit of Holy Week".

This colourful 20th-century work – whilst popular in its homeland – is rarely heard outside the Czech Republic and demonstrates the Orchestra's dedication to introducing new and neglected music to its audiences.

Dvorak – Scherzo capriccioso (Op.66).
Mozart – Exsultate, jubilate – motet for soprano and orchestra (K.165).
Foerster – Symphony N. 4 (Op.54) in C minor "Easter" (London premiere).

Ailish Tynan (soprano); Jiří Bělohlávek (conductor).

In the short interval, there will be a chance to find out more about the Orchestra's fostering of talent – young and not so young.

The Total Immersion days in this season explored the music of three living composers: George Crumb, Hans Werner Henze and Wolfgang Rihm.

The Orchestra's learning projects involved students of performance and composition from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and – coming together for a special George Crumb event – amateur musicians aged six to 80, from a range of different institutions and backgrounds.

2.30pm: ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Scottish Symphony Orchestra at City Halls, Glasgow, presented by Jamie MacDougall.

The ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Scottish Symphony Orchestra plays a 75th birthday programme close to its heart.

The music of Sibelius has been important to the Orchestra since the composer sent a telegram in the Forties to its founder conductor, Ian Whyte, telling how a broadcast from Glasgow of his Second Symphony was the first time he had heard the work played properly.

Korngold's romantic Violin Concerto is played by one of the Orchestra's favourite visiting soloists, Ilya Gringolts, and there is a UK premiere from local composer Sally Beamish. Her piece is dedicated to Sir Peter Maxwell Davies in his 75th year – a composer who has had a long association with the Orchestra, particularly at the festival he founded in Orkney. It also represents the Orchestra's ongoing commitment to championing new music.

The programme finishes with music by Bartók, who loved Glasgow and the Scottish folk traditions which mirror his use of Hungarian Folk Music. His music has been championed by the Orchestra, particularly during the last 10 years under the tenure of its previous chief conductor.

This celebratory concert is conducted by Scottish-born Garry Walker.

Sibelius – Finlandia (Op.26).
Korngold – Violin Concerto (Op.35) in D major.
Sally Beamish – A Cage Of Doves (UK premiere).
Bartok – The Miraculous Mandarin Suite (Sz.73).

Ilya Gringolts (violin); Garry Walker (conductor).

During the concert there is a chance to hear about some of the Orchestra's wide-ranging outreach work, including Sistema Scotland based in Stirling, which uses music to help build a strong society. Plus there is a report from a "come and sing" Mozart Requiem for amateur singers from Glasgow, which took place the day before as part of the Orchestra's Listen Here! weekend.

Composers Sir Peter Maxwell Davis and Sally Beamish join the Orchestra live in City Halls Glasgow to talk about the UK premiere of Sally's piece, and a number of key individuals explain what the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ SSO has meant, and still means to them, as it reaches its 75th birthday year.

5.00pm: ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ National Orchestra and Chorus of Wales, ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Hoddinott Hall, Cardiff, presented by Sarah Walker.

Listeners can hear a concert from the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ National Orchestra of Wales' new home at the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff Bay.

French music has featured strongly in principal conductor Thierry Fischer's programming with the Orchestra over the past four years, and it's at the heart of this programme, too.

Unbridled imagination and a passion for Shakespeare fired Berlioz to write his dramatic overture, written in a burst of energy in just three weeks. Shakespeare is also the subject of Massenet's suite – three short symphonic poems on the subjects of Ariel, Desdemona and Macbeth.

And Ravel's La Valse, written for Diaghilev, conjures up a vivid and violent picture of pre-First World War Viennese ballrooms.

Naturally, Welsh music is central to the activities of the Orchestra and Chorus, and Adrian Partington conducts a jubilant Psalm of praise by William Mathias.

Contemporary music is also important in the Orchestra's life, and for the opening of this new hall, Composer in Association Simon Holt has created a short work in honour of St. Vitus, patron saint of actors, comedians and dancers – among others.

Berlioz – King Lear – Overture (Op.4).
Simon Holt – St. Vitus in the kettle.
Massenet – Suite No.3, Scenes dramatiques.
Mathias – Psalm 150, Laudate Dominum, for chorus and orchestra (Op.44/1).
Ravel – La Valse.

Thierry Fischer (conductor); Adrian Partington (conductor).

During the concert, Sarah Walker talks to Thierry Fischer as he looks forward to the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Proms and his artistic vision for the Orchestra's new season.

Simon Holt explains what it's like to work closely with the Orchestra and how it influences his music.

Adrian Partington discusses the important role the Chorus plays on the platform alongside the Orchestra – and deeper into the community in Wales.

And animateur Andy Pidcock, who is a workshop leader with the Education and Community Department of the Orchestra, describes an upcoming project taking the Orchestra to work with special needs children throughout Wales.

6.30pm: ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Concert Orchestra at Plymouth Pavilions, presented by Ian Skelly.

As the UK's most versatile orchestra, the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Concert Orchestra has long been at the heart of British music, promoting the quality and craftsmanship of composers who form an indispensible part of British culture and character.

Conducted by MGM Prom star John Wilson, the programme's theme is Best of British and takes its inspiration from the West Country, with Malcolm Arnold's Four Cornish Dances and music from Dorset composer Peter Hope.

Not forgetting Plymouth's long history as a naval city, there's also Lady Barbara from Robert Farnon's Captain Horatio Hornblower Suite, and the concert ends with Vaughan Williams' Sea Songs.

The Orchestra is joined by star of stage and screen the larger-than-life Brian Blessed, to narrate Paul Patterson's musical retelling of Roald Dahl's magnificent Three Little Pigs, during which audiences will have a unique opportunity to join in live on Radio 3, as together they'll huff, and puff, and blow the house down.

And, finally, soprano Charlotte Page recalls the heady days of light music with a selection from Ivor Novello and Noel Coward.

Coates Merrymakers Overture.
Peter Hope – Kaleidoscope.
Farnon – Lady Barbara from the Hornblower Suite.
Paul Patterson – Three Little Pigs.
Arnold – Four Cornish Dances (Op.91).
Delius – A Song of Summer.
Ivor Novello & Noel Coward – a medley of songs.

Brian Blessed (narrator); Charlotte Page (soprano); John Wilson (conductor).

During a break in the concert, there is news of the MusicMix project. In March this year the Orchestra went on a tour of the East of England playing to over 7,000 young people, and a further 300 had the opportunity to be on stage with the Orchestra and have coaching from ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ musicians.

The project is running again tomorrow in the Plymouth Pavilions, with around 4,000 students from Devon and Cornwall.

8.00pm: ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Singers at St Paul's Knightsbridge, presented by Christopher Cook.

The ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Singers have the largest and broadest repertoire of any professional choral group, and their programme at St Paul's shows their versatility, spanning 400 years of the choral repertoire, beginning with William Byrd's Mass – one of the sacred masterpieces of the Tudor period, conducted by chief conductor David Hill.

Then, principal guest conductor Bob Chilcott conducts three works composed by the Singer's Associate Composers over the last six years, plus a piece of his own – which requires audience participation.

And, to conclude the concert, David Hill directs three choral classics which were commissioned for and premiered by the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Singers in the Forties.

Tippett's The Weeping Babe and Britten's Shepherd's Carol are amongst the group's earliest commissions – composed for a programme called A Poet's Christmas which was broadcast in 1944. And Poulenc's monumental wartime cantata for unaccompanied voices, composed as a hymn to freedom in occupied France during the summer of 1943, was given its first performance a few months later by the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Singers in the Concert Hall of Broadcasting House. It is one of the most thrilling and powerful works in the entire choral repertoire.

Byrd – Mass for five voices.
Gabriel Jackson – To Music.
Judith Bingham – Water Lilies.
Edward Cowie – Lyre-Bird Motet.
Bob Chilcott – I am the song.
Britten – A Shepherd's Carol.
Tippett – The Weeping Babe.
Poulenc – Figure Humaine.

David Hill (conductor).
Bob Chilcott (conductor).

In the two intervals there is a montage of reminiscences from the Singers' activities over nearly 90 years of their history, and a bird's-eye-view of the group's present-day outreach and learning initiatives – which include projects with children, young professional conductors and composers, and the amateur choral community at large.

9.30pm: Ulster Orchestra at Ulster Hall, Belfast, presented by Petroc Trelawny.

The Ulster Orchestra, founded in 1966, is Northern Ireland's only full time orchestra. It promotes its own international season and 20 ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ concerts each year in the Ulster Hall.

These range from exploring lesser known classical works, to premiering new works by local composers, from educational concerts to community concerts, and from providing debut opportunities for young musicians to staging the biggest classical music party of the year: Proms In The Park.

Tonight's concert features a new work – a Radio 3 commission for guitar and orchestra entitled Roots. Written by the young Irish composer Ciaran Farrell, it combines classical, folk and pop elements in an orchestral concerto context, and highlights the versatility of the orchestra. This contrasts with the fine lines of Prokofiev's Classical Symphony and the sense of place inherent in Copland's Appalachian Spring, and the concert ends in true Ulster fashion with one of the loveliest of Irish airs.

Prokofiev – Symphony No.1 (Op.25) in D major, Classical
Ciaran Farrell – Roots for Guitar and Orchestra (Radio 3 Commission and World premiere)
Copland – Appalachian Spring (ballet 1945)
Joan Trimble – The Boyne Water

Craig Ogden (guitar); and David Porcelijn (conductor).

During breaks in the concert, several features illustrate the range of work which the Orchestra has undertaken this year, including the Sonorities Festival of Contemporary Music, the Brian Irvine Education project The Pied Piper, Come and Play – a scheme with the Ulster Orchestra and Ulster Youth Orchestra performing together – and Rain Falling Up, an education project for 400 school children and 70 senior citizens.

And, finally, a team from the orchestra go head to head with the audience in a light hearted music quiz.

11.00pm: Jazz Line-Up.

As a postscript to the day, Kevin LeGrand presents a special edition of Jazz Line-Up celebrating the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Big Band with a recorded concert from the Radio Theatre in Broadcasting House, London, under the direction of Barry Forgie, it's principal conductor since 1977.

Music featured is by some of its guest arrangers including Malcolm Lockyear, Alyn Ainsworth, Bob Florance and Robert Farnon, Steve Gray, Billy May and the concert ends with a Barry Forgie masterpiece featuring the music of Oliver Nelson and arranged to include guest vocalist Liane Carroll and presenter Claire Martin.

During the interval, Kevin LeGendre explores the history – including amusing musical moments – of the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Big Band with the help of Barry Forgie, Robin Segley, the former producer and sound engineer of the band Robin Segley and Sheila Tracey, the presenter of the Big Band special for 16 years.

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