BPO: Metamorphosis and Transfiguration
The Bradshaw Hall, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire
Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, 200 Jennens Road, B4 7XR
£16 adults
£14 concessions
£6 under 16 and students
£35 families
Conductor Richard Laing
Leader Charlotte Moseley
Brahms Academic Festival Overture
R Strauss Death and Transfiguration
Hindemith Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber
Stravinsky The Firebird Suite (1919)
Brahms and Hindemith are musical alchemists: one arranging student drinking songs to prick academic pomposity; and the other colourfully reimagining Weber’s melodies. Strauss reflects on life’s final transition, while Stravinsky’s ballet combines two Slavic fairy tales to create a new spectacle.
Birmingham Philharmonic Orchestra is one of Britain’s leading non-professional symphony orchestras. BPO draws its members from throughout the West Midlands, and aims to achieve the highest standards of performance for its core repertoire: the large orchestral works from the early 19th century to the present day.
BPO has presented major works by Bartók, Mahler, Shostakovich and Stravinsky, as well as a concert performance in October 2019 of Wagner’s Das Rheingold. In association with the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, the orchestra stages the BPO Concerto Prize to recognise and encourage talented soloists.