Share

You can hear the spirit of Haydn and Mozart in Beethoven’s bright and brilliant first symphony, but his restless individuality shines through in its sudden contrasts and exciting harmonic shifts.

Members of the Abbey Choir, soprano Ailish Tynan and mezzo soprano Katie Coventry sing the solo parts in this glorious missa solemnis.

Join us on a journey from CPE Bach’s perfectly formed 1751 cello concerto, to Steven Mackey’s 2009 work Four Iconoclastic Episodes for violin, electric guitar and orchestra, which was written for Steven and Anthony Marwood to perform together. On the way we take in Shostakovich’s Chamber Symphony – an arrangement by Rudolf Barshai of his 8th string quartet, originally written in 1945 and dedicated “to the victims of fascism and war”. The programme concludes with Tchaikovsky’s iconic Serenade for Strings.

For this opening concert an all-star selection of players pair two groundbreaking pieces of chamber music. Mozart’s beloved quintet was written for the newly-invented clarinet, which captured the composer’s imagination with its unusual ability to mimic the human voice. Thirty-five years later, a 16-year-old Mendelssohn pioneered a new ‘symphony-like’ genre with his virtuosic string octet. Opening this year’s 80th anniversary Festival will be a new commission by Deborah Pritchard, winner of the British Composer Award, who has been hailed by Gramophone for her music which "will take your breath away".

A thrilling programme that weaves together two festival threads — Mealor @50 and La Belle Époque — while marking three major composer anniversaries: the 100th of Eric Satie’s death, Jonathan Dove’s 65th birthday and Paul Mealor’s 50th. Mealor’s Symphony No.2, written after a visit to the Canadian Rockies, reveals the composer at his creative best, extracting extraordinary colour from strings, piano, and percussion.

One of the greatest symphonies in classical music, with a star roster of performers and soloists.

Arvo Pärt’s cult concerto for two violins, Tabula rasa, redefines sound, silence and the relationship between them, while Gavin Higgins’ Rough Voices responds to the pandemic with a musical protest, giving voice to the most vulnerable.

Arvo Pärt’s cult concerto for two violins, Tabula rasa, redefines sound, silence and the relationship between them, while Gavin Higgins’ Rough Voices responds to the pandemic with a musical protest, giving voice to the most vulnerable.

Britten Sinfonia also perform Schubert’s most Mozart-like symphony, filled with grace and invention, Elena Kats-Chernin’s high-tempo opener, and Robin Haigh’s superb Grin, commissioned by Britten Sinfonia and winner of an Ivor Novello Award, which brilliantly conveys “brutality through frivolity”, its light and cheerful music with echoes of Richard Strauss run through a dark “millennial haze”.

Britten Sinfonia and Guy Johnston reprise their acclaimed performances of John Tavener’s intensely beautiful The Protecting Veil, this time taking the piece to St Sophia’s Greek Orthodox Cathedral, London, where John Tavener used to worship.