Volatility unites music by Elgar, Strauss and Takemitsu in Birmingham

By Simon Cummings, 24 February 2020

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“volatility at its most gentle and serene”

Reviewed at Symphony Hall, Birmingham on 23 February 2020

Takemitsu, Dreamtime (14')

Strauss R., Till Eulenspiegel (15')

Elgar, Symphony no. 1 in A flat major, Op.55 (50')

CBSO Youth Orchestra

Kazuki Yamada, Conductor

A heroic attempt: the CBSO YO tackles Mahler’s Fifth in Birmingham

Simon Cummings, 18th February

Jan van Steen and the CBSO Youth Orchestra give a competent, credible account of Mahler’s Fifth Symphony, alongside Robert Horstein’s forgettable percussion concerto Juvenalia.

**111

Just like 1913: CBSO YO taps into the shock of The Rite of Spring

Simon Cummings, 3rd November

The CBSO Youth Orchestra under Andrew Gourlay both succumb to and transcend imperfections in their performances of Prokofiev and Stravinsky.

****1

Gražinytė-Tyla‘s Debussy Festival in Birmingham

Mark Pullinger, 25th March

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.

Energetic evening from the CBSO Youth Orchestra

Katherine Dixson, 22nd February

Exuberant enthusiasm from the CBSO Youth Orchestra in a mighty programme of Lutosławski, Prokofiev and Mahler.

****1

UK première of Turnage's Passchendaele

Katherine Dixson, 2nd November

Mark-Anthony Turnage's Passchendaele, his WWI-themed piece, received its UK première this evening, in a concert given by the CBSO Youth Orchestra.

***11

Hands-down winners: CBSO Youth Orchestra and Bavouzet triumph in Mahler and Ravel

Katherine Dixson, 24th February

Judging by this evening’s performance, the future of music-making in Birmingham is in safe hands. Following an intensive half-term week’s training, including sectional coaching by musicians from the parent orchestra, 100 eager and accomplished 14- to 21-year-olds brought the Symphony Hall stage to life.

****1

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Simon Cummings

Simon Cummings is a composer, writer and researcher based in the Cotswolds. He composes instrumental and electronic music, exploring aspects of algorithmic composition, and has recently completed a Ph.D. in composition at the Birmingham Conservatoire under the supervision of Richard Causton and Howard Skempton. His musical tastes are ludicrously broad but are focused most on contemporary/avant-garde classical and electronic music. When not composing, he writes regularly about new music; Simon is the author of the contemporary music blog 5:4 (5against4.com), and regularly contributes articles for a variety of books, journals and websites. Follow him on Twitter @5against4.

Volatility unites music by Elgar, Richard Strauss and Takemitsu in Birmingham