RBC Symphony Orchestra: Shostokovich 5
The Bradshaw Hall, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire
Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, 200 Jennens Road, B4 7XR
£15
£12 under 18s and over 60s
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RBC Symphony Orchestra: Shostakovich 5
Tess Jackson conductor
Walton Spitfire Prelude and Fugue
Vaughan Williams Prelude to 49th Parallel
Carwithen Men of Sherwood Forest Overture
Williams Hymn to the Fallen
Addinsell Warsaw Concerto (soloist Alex Wyatt piano)
Shostakovich Symphony No.5
RBC Symphony Orchestra takes us on a powerful journey of themes of war and propaganda. Music from 1940s war films feature heroic Walton, noble Vaughan Williams and romantic Addinsell, while John Williams’s Hymn to the Fallen is the poignant climax to Saving Private Ryan, and Doreen Carwithen’s swash-buckling music accompanied a 1954 film of Robin Hood’s adventures.
Shostakovich’s brooding, defiant and deeply human Fifth Symphony – the work he wrote as “a Soviet artist’s reply to just criticism” – blends haunting lyricism with explosive orchestral force, reflecting resilience in the face of oppression.
Running time approx. two hours with an interval.
Forthcoming events in RBC Musicians
Forthcoming dates include:
John Coltrane 100th Anniversary Concert and Symposium
Fri 25 Sep 2026 - 2.30pm