
Past concerts
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24 June 2021
Britten Simple Symphony, Op.4 Haydn Symphony No.45 in F sharp minor, "Farewell" Mozart Symphony No.29 in A major, K. 201/186a Thursday 24 June 2021, 7:30pm
St James's Church, 197 Piccadilly, London, W1J 9LLMichael Seal, conductor
Tickets: £15, £10
Buy tickets online nowWhilst this is a smaller-scale programme than the orchestra often presents you can be assured the players' delight at being able to perform again will ensure it is a night to remember!
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13 March 2020
Stravinsky Pulcinella Suite Prokofiev Symphony-Concerto in E minor, Op. 125 Dvořák Symphony No.8 in G major, Op. 88, B. 163 Friday 13 March 2020, 7:30pm
St James's Church, 197 Piccadilly, London, W1J 9LLJohn Warner, conductor
Peteris Sokolovskis, celloTickets: £18, £15 & £12 (concessions £3 off).
We're delighted to welcome John Warner to direct CCO for the first time. Joining John is the brilliant Russian-born, Latvian cellist Peteris Sokolvskis for Prokofiev's Symphony-Concerto, a rarely performed gem of a work.
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3 February 2020
Tchaikovsky Cappricio Italien, Op. 45 Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto Concerto in D major, Op. 35 Berlioz Symphonie fantastique Op. 14 Monday 3 February 2019, 8:00pm
Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank CentreMichael Seal, conductor
Nicola Benedetti, violinTo reserve tickets
Phone: 0844 847 9910
Southbankcentre.co.ukCorinthian Orchestra returns to Southbank Centre's Queen Elizabeth Hall with a popular programme of Tchaikovsky and Berlioz.
Tchaikovsky's joyful Capriccio Italien - a fantasy for orchestra written when the composer spent three months in Rome in 1880 - sets the performance off in high spirits.
Unfortunately due to ill health and upon the advice of her doctor, soloist Alexandra Dariescu has regrettably had to withdraw from her performance with the Corinthian Chamber Orchestra as previously advertised. We are sorry for any disappointment Dariescu's absence may cause, but we are delighted to announce that Nicola Benedetti joins the orchestra to perform Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto. This work replaces Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No.1 on the repertoire. The occasion marks Benedetti's first performance post her Grammy victory earlier this month.
Bewitching images abound in Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique - a wild musical ride that takes us from bucolic landscapes to the furious dances of a witches’ sabbath.
Composed in 1830, the spine-tingling piece - the 27-year-old composer’s first symphony - was inspired by his experience of opium and obsession with the actress Harriet Smithson; the fourth movement, he claimed, completed over the course of a single night.
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7 December 2019
Sibelius Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47 Copland Appalachian Spring Ravel Ma mère l’Oye Saturday 7 December 2019, 7pm
St James's Church, 197 Piccadilly, London, W1J 9LLLeonard Elschenbroich, conductor
Nicola Benedetti, violinTickets: £25, £20, £15 (concessions £3 off)
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4 October 2019
Prokofiev Symphony No.1 in D major 'Classical', Op.25 Dvořák Cello Concerto in B minor, Op.104, B.191 Sibelius Symphony No.5 in E-flat major, Op.82 Friday 4 October 2019, 7:30pm
St James's Church, 197 Piccadilly, London, W1J 9LLMichael Seal, conductor
Richard Harwood, celloTickets: £18, £15, £12 (concessions £3 off)
Ahead of our concert on Friday, 4 October, which includes Sibelius’s ear-worm-inducing Fifth Symphony, in this Q&A, conductor Michael Seal describes some of the highlights and challenges of the piece – and what he will be thinking about as he takes to the podium:
For someone who hasn’t heard Sibelius’s Symphony No.5 before, what might they experience?A real journey! Each movement has such trajectory and shape, plus this symphony has one of the greatest – and most unexpected – endings in all classical music.
What is the most exciting moment of the work for you?
The last few minutes: it’s just a joy to stand in front of an orchestra playing that music – simply amazing.
What is the biggest challenge of the work for you as a conductor?
The biggest challenge is one that you encounter in other symphonies by Sibelius (No.1 and especially No.7): the whole of the second half of the first movement is one very long accelerando. As the conductor you must constantly consider the following questions over a 5 or 6 minute period: Is this tempo correct? Where must I be in 20, 30, 40 bars’ time? How much do I push and when must I not ‘overcook’ it? In this case, if you do overcook it, the last più presto becomes extremely difficult for the strings, and the timpani part becomes virtually unplayable.
How has your interpretation of the work changed since you first conducted it?
Firstly, a quiet word from the timpanist of the CBSO enlightened me as to what speed was possible at the end of the first movement and what was not. One would be stupid as a conductor to ignore such advice! Secondly, I have become much freer in tempo in the ‘slow’ movement than I was when I first learnt it. I have come to think of it as much more of a story than I ever did before.
When you were playing in the CBSO, what was the most revelatory thing any conductor said about the work?
Nothing specific to this work but much more about the approach to playing Sibelius. I was lucky enough to have played virtually every note Sibelius wrote with either Paavo Berglund or Sakari Oramo, two Finnish violinist–conductors. Both encouraged us to play in low positions, play the music cleanly and honestly, and with rigorous rhythm. Neither ever over-romanticised Sibelius’s music, and both paced the music to perfection. This was a real education for any budding conductor.
Are there any good stories associated with it, either for you personally, or for Sibelius writing it?
The famous tune in the horns in the last movement is inspired by Sibelius seeing 16 swans flying over the lake by house in the country outside Helsinki – it has been known as ‘the Swan theme’ ever since. I have discovered over the years that it is a theme that drives my wife mad as she then gets it in her head as an ear worm for days afterwards!
What does Corinthian Chamber Orchestra bring to the work?
With every concert I do with CCO, I can expect an energy onstage that is unique. With this particular piece, one must know when to keep that energy bottled up and then when to allow it to be released. If we go at it 200 miles an hour from the start, some of the poise and grace might be lost, so we must be controlled and disciplined. I know that when we do this, we can expect fireworks later at the appropriate points!
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11 June 2019
Janáček arr. Seal On an Overgrown Path Haydn Trumpet Concerto in Eb major Beethoven Symphony No. 3 in Eb major, Op. 55 Tuesday 11 June 2019, 7:30pm
St Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 4JJMichael Seal, conductor
Alan Thomas, trumpetBuy tickets online now
Tickets: £24, £22, £20, £18 (concessions 10% off)
Beethoven’s monumental Third Symphony "Eroica," forms the centrepiece of our annual summer visit to St-Martin-in-the-Fields with Michael Seal.
Our final concert in London of our 2018-2019 season begins with a performance of Michael Seal’s arrangement of Leoš Janáček’s "On an Overgrown Path," followed by Alan Thomas, Principal Trumpet of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, performing Haydn's majestic and ever-popular Trumpet Concerto.