Mother Russia: Classical Music Series at Tricycle, London

The Tricycle Theatre, London
Classical Music Series 2012
Artistic Director: Tamsin Waley-Cohen
with the Honeymead Ensemble


‘Warm, focused, joyous… a marvellous chamber series’ The Sunday Times
Sunday 20 May, 7pm
Mother Russia


Leading the Classical Music Series into the summer months The Honeymead Ensemble perform two of the great Russian string quartets. Arensky’s ‘Cello’ Quartet No. 2 in A minor  was written in memory of Tchaikovsky and is deeply rooted in Russian folk, this gem of Russian Romanticism has a uniquely rich and dark sound. Tchaikovsky’s String Quartet No. 3 in E-Flat minor was written in memory of his great friend, the violinist Ferdinand Laub. Symphonic in scope, and filled with moments of intense grief and longing, this work is considered the great Russian Romantic quartet.

http://www.tricycle.co.uk/current-programme-pages/theatre/theatre-programme-main/classical-music-series-2012/

LSO: Summer Stravinsky Festival with Valery Gergiev

One of the undeniable highlights of the LSO’s 2011/12 season is right around the corner – a festival of five concerts, spread across three venues (the Barbican, LSO St Luke’s and Trafalgar Square), celebrating the many faces of composer Igor Stravinsky and led by one of the most powerful champions of Russian music today, LSO Principal Conductor Valery Gergiev. With repertoire ranging from the iconic Firebird and Rite of Spring to the hidden curiosities of Stravinsky's jazz miniatures, appearances from guests including Greek virtuoso violinist Leonidas Kavakos and actor Simon Callow, and the chance to choose your setting, this all-encompassing series promises something for everyone




Stravinsky is frequently cast against contemporaries Shostakovich and Prokofiev as an example of a somehow less inherently Russian creator: born in St Petersburg, his 60-year career saw him settle in Switzerland, France and finally the US, where he lived until his death in 1971. His music is, on the surface, similarly cosmopolitan. The early ballets for Diaghilev’s Ballet Russes – The Firebird, Petrushka and The Rite of Spring – and the Russian fairytale-based Renard plus The Soldier’s Tale form a loose ‘Russian’ period; Oedipus Rex and the Violin Concerto are part of his ‘neo-classical’ period which saw a return to the form, order and balance of the late 18th century, and reached an apex whilst the composer was in Paris. Then there is a body of serial works which developed post-1945, once Stravinsky had become a US citizen. But Gergiev insists that Stravinsky’s ‘Russianness’ did not simply cease to be when he left for the West, aged 28...


> Watch Valery Gergiev discuss Stravinsky
http://vimeo.com/21922333


> LSO mini documentary about The Rite of Spring
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dIq_sF1agI


Choral splendour & solo violin frolics
Fri 11 May 7.30pm Barbican
Mass | Violin Concerto in D | The Firebird – complete ballet
with Leonidas Kavakos violin & London Symphony Chorus


Free concert: Stravinsky live in Trafalgar Square
Sat 12 May 6.30pm Trafalgar Square
Fireworks | The Firebird – suite | The Rite of Spring
with Paul Rissmann presenter


Folk tales from Russia
Sun 13 May 7.30pm Barbican
Renard | The Soldier's Tale
with Simon Callow narrator & LSO Chamber Ensemble
PLUS 'Backstage Pass': free pre-concert talk for young people and their families:


The music that rocked the 20th century & neo-classical tragedy 
Tue 15 May 7.30pm Barbican
The Rite of Spring | Oedipus Rex


http://www.lso.co.uk/page/3688/Summer-Stravinsky-Festival-with-Valery-Gergiev

CONCERT: St Petersburg Blagovest Ensemble

Tue 8 May 2012 – 7.30pm
Performance
St Petersburg Blagovest Ensemble
Language: In Russian


The St Petersburg Blagovest Ensemble is bringing part of a rich Russian musical tradition to Pushkin House this May.

Their programme contrasts sublime, intensely spiritual Russian Orthodox church music with the zest for life and humour of Russian folk song.


The Ensemble contributes to a renewal of a tradition of Russian unaccompanied singing going back a thousand years, which with its distinctive melodic patterns holds a unique place in the musical culture of the world.


The singers are trained in the St Petersburg Conservatoire and their five voices fill any auditorium. On previous UK tours they have enchanted audiences with echoing harmonies that appealed to a range of ages and musical tastes. This year they are bringing their music to many places in the UK that have not experienced it before.


Tickets: £12, conc. £10
http://www.pushkinhouse.org/en/events/st-petersburg-blagovest-ensemble

Classic FM Live: Tchaikovsky & Russian composers at Royal Albert Hall, 19 Apr

Classic FM Live returns to London's Royal Albert Hall on Thursday 19 April with a stunning programme of Classic FM favourites as we prepare to celebrate 20 years on air this year.

Sponsored by Nissan, Classic FM Live promises to be an evening of the greatest classical music of all time and stunning performances from internationally renowned musicians, hosted by Classic FM's John Suchet. Buy your tickets now.


The first class line-up features The Orchestra of Opera North alongside a host of star soloists including the up and coming young Uzbek pianist Behzod Abduraimov who powered his way to win the London International Piano Competition in 2009. We're thrilled that he'll be joining us on the Classic FM Live stage for a performance of Tchaikovsky's much-loved Piano Concerto No.1.

The evening's programme also includes one of the world's leading clarinettists Michael Collins, performing the Finale from Weber's Clarinet Concerto No.2, talented Trumpeter Tine Thing Helseth and the acclaimed classical singer Laura Wright. 


The complete programme looks like this:
First half
Copland - Fanfare for the Common Man
Weber - Finale from Clarinet Concerto No.2 Clarinet: Michael Collins
Tchaikovsky - Piano Concerto No.1 . Piano: Behzod Abduraimov


Second half
Shostakovich - Festive Overture
Piazzolla - Libertango Trumpet: Tine Thing Helseth
Delibes - Les Filles de Cadiz Trumpet: Tine Thing Helseth
Laura Wright - The White Cliffs Of Dover and I Vow To Thee My Country
Khachaturian - Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia
Tchaikovsky - 1812 Overture


To buy tickets for Classic FM Live on Thursday 19th April, click here or call the Royal Albert Hall on 0845 401 5034

http://www.royalalberthall.com/tickets/classic-fm-live/default.aspx

Valery Gergiev directs Parsifal at Barbican, London

Mariinsky Theatre / Gergiev / Wagner Parsifal
3 April 2012 / 17:00
Barbican Hall


Tickets:
£15 / 25 / 40 / 50 / 65
Kundry Larisa Gogolevskaya 
Wagner Parsifal


Valery Gergiev will need no introduction to audiences of the Barbican Hall, where he has been principal conductor of the resident London Symphony Orchestra since 2007. But while his work with the Barbican-based ensemble has led to great riches in terms of performance and repertoire, the phenomenally hard-working conductor's relationship with the St Petersburg-based Mariinsky musicians has been a profoundly important part of his life and career for more than three decades. Such a close affinity and rapport is a much-prized thing by all musicians, let alone audiences who are privileged to witness it in person; in the case of Gergiev and and the visitors from the Mariinsky Theatre, it should lead to a uniquely powerful, inspiring and inspired performance of Wagner's epic opera Parsifal.


Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra & Chorus 
Valery Gergiev conductor
Parsifal Avgust Amonov 
Gurnemanz Yury Vorobiev 
Amfortas Evgeny Nikitin 
Klingsor Nikolay Putilin 
Titurel Alexey Tanovitsky 
1st Flowermaiden Viktoria Yastrebova 
2nd Flowermaiden Oksana Shilova 
3rd Flowermaiden Liudmila Dudinova 
4th Flowermaiden Anastasia Kalagina 
5th Flowermaiden Zhanna Dombrovskaya 
6th Flowermaiden Anna Kiknadze
Tiffin Boys Choir
Simon Toyne director, Tiffin Boys Choir
http://www.barbican.org.uk/music/event-detail.asp?ID=11919

Moussorgsky and Rachmaninov concert in Picadilly, London on Dec 3

Composed in 1874, Pictures at an Exhibition is a suite in ten movements, and has become a showpiece for virtuoso pianists as well as a firm favourite with audiences all over the world.


A former BBC Young Musician of the Year semi-finaist, Timothy Sidford enjoys a flourishing career as a freelance pianist and music teacher. He has appeared extensively throughout the UK as well as concerts in Germany, Holland and the Czech Republic. In London he has performed at the Wigmore Hall, Purcell Room, St Martins-in-the-Fields, St James’s, Piccadilly, and Leighton House.


Collegium Musicum of London 
Timothy Sidford (piano) 
Russell Du Plessis (conductor) 
Pictures at an Exhibition - Modest Mussorgsky
Vespers, 'All-Night Vigil' Op 37 - Sergey Rachmaninov


Rachmaninov’s All Night Vigil, or Vespers, was composed in less than two weeks in 1915, and was warmly received at its first performance in Moscow later that year. However, the rise of the Soviet Union led to a ban on all religious music, and in 1918 the Synodal Choir was replaced by a ‘People's Choir Academy’, leading to the observation that "no composition represents the end of an era so clearly as this liturgical work".


Heavily influenced by Russian Orthodox chant, this beguiling masterpiece showcases exactly why Collegium Musicum – under the inspired leadership of BBC award-winning conductor Russell du Plessis – has become one of London’s most exciting chamber choirs.


When
Saturday December 3, 2011 at 19:30
Where
St James's Church, Piccadilly, London
Tickets
12.00 (7.00 concessions); children under 16 free
Phone for tickets: 07812 599340
Phone lines open: all hours
http://www.concert-diary.com/concert/303333376/Moussorgsky-and-Rachmaninov