Light and shade, playfulness and pain: contrasting moods from the CBSO in Birmingham

Carlos Rizzi believes that Puccini’s orchestrations are good enough to stand alone, without their vocal lines, but can the drama compete with the romance of Respighi?

The CBSO present the work of three European émigré composers of the 1930s and 40s, who reimagined their musical influences with contrasting approaches and results.

In Hamburg, Kazuki Yamada and the CBSO navigate the thorny brilliance of Walton’s First Symphony, proving that ‘difficult’ music can offer an evening’s most profound human connection.

In the CBSO Benevolent Fund concert, the orchestra tells the timeless story, set in Persia, of Scheherazade who, through her storytelling, brings about peace.

The CBSO’s Birmingham’s Town Hall matinee sets forth a curious mix of Baroque, Classical, and modern music, sandwiching a lesser-known concerto between some familiar tunes.