Nottingham Classics sets the stage for orchestras’ welcome return
Tickets for 2021-2022 season go on general sale on Monday 23 August
On Friday 1 October, a year and a half after an orchestra last performed in the Royal Concert Hall, the Nottingham Classics 2021-2022 season will begin with a spirit-raising programme from the Hallé led by conductor Sir Mark Elder.
Concert-goers can look forward to a full season of 12 concerts, featuring returns from favourite orchestras, including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra with its inspirational new Music Director, Vasily Petrenko, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, and the BBC Philharmonic. Newcomers to the season include the China Symphony Orchestra of Shenzhen, the Russian Philharmonic of Novosibirsk, and London’s convention-defying Aurora Orchestra, who will be performing Beethoven’s 7th Symphony entirely from memory.
Neil Bennison, Music Programme Manager for the Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall, said: “The lockdown has been a huge challenge for the classical music world, and many of us have got used to hearing orchestras through streamed performances, but we’re delighted to be able to host live concerts again and to feel the buzz of thrilling performances enjoyed by thousands of people in the concert hall. Because of the pandemic, it’s taken longer to put a season together but we’re really pleased with the result, which feels just right for the first season back after such a long closure.”
A glance through the 2021-2022 season reveals Nottingham Classics’ winning mix of orchestral classics and rarer gems to discover, with a stellar cast of performers. Audience favourite Nicola Benedetti makes two appearances, one of them with the violin concerto specially written for her by acclaimed jazz trumpeter, Wynton Marsalis. Other eagerly-anticipated violinist visits include the legendary Vadim Repin and free-spirited Patricia Kopatchinskaja. Leading pianists Boris Giltburg, Sunwook Kim and Pavel Kolesnikov will be treating the audience to timeless classics by Beethoven, Rachmaninov and Grieg, and the season finale brings a return from fast-rising star saxophonist Jess Gillam as part of a spectacular transatlantic programme with the Hallé.
Complementing the orchestral series is Nottingham Classics’ informal and popular Sunday Morning Piano Series, which this season includes former BBC New Generation Artist, Elisabeth Brauss and exciting Italian virtuoso Giuseppe Guarrera. Four of the orchestral concerts also feature late-night After Hours performances of contemporary and world music. The Hallé also offer cinematic musical thrills with a performance of the greatest themes and songs from the James Bond movies.
The season opener is graced with classical music royalty as Dame Imogen Cooper, one of the UK’s greatest pianists in the last half century, joins Sir Mark Elder for Ravel’s jazz-tinged Piano Concerto in G, before Sibelius’s uplifting Second Symphony sets the tone for a return to unforgettable music-making at the Royal Concert Hall.
Booking opens at 10am on Monday 23 August. Tickets are £11.50 – £37.50 for the orchestral series and £12 for the Sunday Piano Series Full details of all concerts can be found at trch.co.uk/nottinghamclassics.
East Midlands Theatre. 