RBC Symphony Orchestra: Firebird Suite
The Bradshaw Hall, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire
Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, 200 Jennens Road, B4 7XR
£15
£10 for under 25s
FREE TICKETS FOR BCU STUDENTS AND STAFF
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Please note that balcony seats are accessible by stairs only. If you require step-free access, please ensure you select seats on the ground floor.
Some performances may contain flashing lights or strobe effects. If you wish to discuss your seating requirements or have concerns about a specific performance, please call a member of our team on 0121 331 5909.
Michael Seal conductor
RBC Symphony Orchestra
Gemma Peacocke White Horses
Beethoven Egmont Overture
Stravinsky Firebird Suite (1919 version)
Vivid orchestral music, played by RBC’s flagship Symphony Orchestra, fills tonight’s concert with contrasting works of heroism, fantasy and mystery.
Beethoven’s Egmont Overture, written for Goethe’s play, is gripping and dramatic – the 16th century Flemish count and his heroic fight against oppression must have resonated with the composer, writing while Napoleon’s troops occupied Vienna. Stravinsky’s Firebird ballet music follows a prince’s mission to release princesses from the captivity of an evil ogre, which he achieves with the help of the mythical firebird. It’s music that’s saturated with orchestral colour, as mesmerising as the fairy tale itself.
To begin, Gemma Peacocke’s evocative White Horses was inspired by the mystery of Viva Waud Farmar, one of New Zealand’s first female pilots, who leapt without warning from a biplane into the foaming seas below.
This concert is part of ‘Beethoven and More’, RBC’s season celebrating the music, influence and enduring legacy of Ludwig van Beethoven to mark the bicentenary of the composer’s death in 2027.