Birmingham Philharmonic Orchestra – Shostakovich 10
The Bradshaw Hall, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire
Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, 200 Jennens Road, B4 7XR
£16
£6 under 25s
Wheelchair users are entitled to concessionary priced tickets with a complimentary companion seat.
Assistance dogs are welcome at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire venues. If you wish to bring an assistance dog or wheelchair, please let the Events Office know by calling 0121 331 5909.
Birmingham Philharmonic Orchestra – Shostakovich 10
Conductor Michael Lloyd
Elgar Falstaff
Shostakovich Symphony No.10
Edward Elgar’s Falstaff is one of his most imaginative and characterful orchestral works. Inspired by Shakespeare’s larger-than-life knight, the music brims with humour, warmth and poignant reflection. Elgar paints Falstaff not simply as a comic figure, but as a deeply human one – by turns boisterous, nostalgic and ultimately tragic. It is storytelling at its most vivid, full of quicksilver orchestral colour and unmistakable Elgarian charm.
In striking contrast, Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 10 stands as one of the most profound symphonic statements of the 20th century. Written in the shadow of Stalin’s death, the work is often heard as a portrait of oppression, fear, defiance and personal survival. From the bleak, brooding opening to the savage second movement and the coded self-portrait hidden within the music, this is a symphony of extraordinary emotional force – gripping, unsettling and ultimately triumphant.
Together, these two works offer an afternoon of drama, character and deep emotional resonance, performed by the full forces of the Birmingham Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Michael Lloyd.
Running time approx. 120 minutes