This afternoon Vassily Sinaisky was in charge of the CBSO for a matinee performance which began with Wagner’s overture, ended with a Sibelius symphony and had siphoned between them an ever-popular piano concerto by Mozart.
Conductor Alpesh Chauhan and pianist Pavel Kolesnikov returned to Birmingham with an Italian themed programme. Could they build on the success of their previous performances with the CBSO?
It was Omer Meir Wellber’s turn to conduct the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in its first concert of the new season, a programme of music by Dvořák and Bartók which promised to be the perfect antidote to the Daily Grind.
Colour and light from Ludovic Morlot and the CBSO in Debussy and Ravel, but it was the power and depth of Lili Boulanger’s Psalm 130 that shone the brightest.
Alisa Weilerstein delivered an amazingly raw performance of Shostakovich’s Second Cello Concerto, whereas Ilan Volkov and the CBSO’s renditions of Simon Holt and Brahms (reimagined by Schoenberg) proved alienating and overblown.
A triumphant night for the CBSO, Harish Shankar and Boris Giltburg, with the mighty Saint-Saëns’ “Organ Symphony” and an inspired performance of Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto no. 3.
With concerts and recitals imaginatively programmed, this second weekend in the CBSO's Debussy Festival was a model of how to make classical music accessible to the widest possible audience.
After star pianist Gabriela Montero unfortunately withdrew due to injury, the young Russian Pavel Kolesnikov stepped forward with inspired conductor Joana Wallmitz to save the day.
In her first appearance with the CBSO at Sage Gateshead, Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla switches between energy and tranquility with Sibelius, Brahms and Bartók.
The Lithuanian conductor made Beethoven really sing while violinist, Vilde Frang's spirited interpretation of Elgar's Violin Concerto did not seem quite the finished article.
Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra brought a fresh approach to Mahler's Fourth Symphony and the harp took centre stage for a change with a concerto première.
Mirga's approach to Beethoven's Fifth showed a flair for innovation, the highlight of a strong programme that also featured a virtuosic performance from Leila Josefowciz of Stravinsky's Violin Concerto.
With a Francophile programme of Berlioz, Chopin and Franck, conductor Fabien Gabel had the constant challenge of exploring the orchestra for fresh insights into each of these Romantic works.
Steven Osborne consults the audience on the choice of encore following a fine performance of Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto no. 2, part of an all Russian programme which the CBSO played with zealous committment.
New Music Director, Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla reminded Birmingham audiences just how much they have to be proud of with an exciting combination of Lithuanian music and symphonic masterpieces.
A pair of auspicious debuts marked the CBSO's Prom: MirgaGražinyte-Tyla was making her London debut, plus it was the first time that Hans Abrahamsen's song cycle let me tell you was to be heard in the capital.
Laughter is indeed the best medicine. As we try and make sense of the continuing political fallout post EU referendum, the CBSO offered the perfect prescription in the ample form of Verdi's Falstaff.
Kazuki Yamada combines Japanese deference with full control of his players to lead he CBSO to fine performances of Beethoven and Sibelius, with a relatively laid back performance of the Elgar Cello concerto.
Mendelsohn's Italian Symphony is a perenial and popular favourite, but perhaps one with which we are over-familiar. Could young Alpesh Chauhan do something fresh with it?
CBSO sparkled in the all Russian programme; Tchaikovsky' Fifth and the Glazunov Violin Concerto brilliantly delivered, full of oustanding individual performances.
A programme based around aquatic themes visited the choppy waters of Scandinavia and the calmer tides of the Mediterranean before plumbing the shallows of an unfathomable recent work.
Sandwiched between Debussy’s charming Children’s Corner and Mahler’s invitation to heaven, Abrahamsen unveiled his piano concerto for left hand. It was certainly a night for stark contrasts in tone and theme.
