There are 17 live broadcast concerts across our 2024/25 season and if you sign up before the end of October you can save £20 on the Digital Season Subscription. Here are a few highlights coming up this autumn…
The Planets [Wed 2 Oct] with Karl-Heinz Steffans and Paul Lewis
The season kicks off with Holst’s most popular work, The Planets, a piece which is one of the great colouristic showpieces of the 20th century. Following that the Orchestra will be joined by Paul Lewis, one of the leading musicians of his generation, for Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No.3. Paul Lewis is internationally renowned for his recordings of Beethoven Sonatas which have been described by The New York Times as “distinguished”. He’ll be playing Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No.3 which showcases the composer’s own amazing pianistic talents and is revolutionary in its scale, drama and intensity. Vaughan Williams In the Fen Country, meanwhile, is a beautifully written masterpiece which like the fenland landscape doesn’t impose itself, but evokes the wide-open skies over the flat countryside, dark clouds pierced by shafts of sunlight.
Paul Lewis
Clarinet Bliss [Wed 13 Nov] with Enyi Okpara and Julian Bliss
We’re delighted to be being joined by our new Calleva Assistant Conductor Enyi Okpara in November as he makes his main season debut at Lighthouse, Poole. Enyi conducts a concert of music from Rossini, Mozart and Mascagni and Mendelssohn. Julian Bliss, one of the world’s finest clarinettists, joins him for Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto. This glorious work was written in only 10 days at the height of Mozart’s powers, and only two months before his tragically early death.
Enyi Okpara
Wigglesworth Conducts Walton [Wed 20 Nov] with Mark Wigglesworth and Nicholas McCarthy
Mark Wigglesworth makes his debut as Chief Conductor this November in a concert of music from Wagner, Ravel and Walton. Pianist Nicholas McCarthy joins Mark and the Orchestra to play Ravel’s Piano Concerto for the Left Hand. Having been described as a “Left-hand Virtuoso of our time” by [Pianist Magazine], Nicholas performs widely on the world stage and is also an inspiring motivational speaker (you can watch his TEDX talks here). Meanwhile, Walton’s Symphony No.1 was a landmark of English composition and represents the peak of his symphonic thinking. This is sure to be a thrilling concert.
Nicholas McCarthy
Mad over Mendelsohn [Wed 27 Nov] with Chloé van Soeterstède and Alena Baeva
In two more exciting debuts, the BSO’s new Principal Guest Conductor, Chloé van Soeterstède, joins us on stage in Poole alongside our new Artist-in-Residence, Alena Baeva. The exciting programme they’ll present includes Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto, a piece that is perhaps the most beloved in the violin repertoire. It journeys from darkness to light, ending in a blaze of colour and is full of joy and exhilaration. Chloé van Soeterstède is an exciting French conductor who Bachtrack has described as “clearly someone to watch”, while Luxembourgish violinist Alena Baeva has been described by New York Classical Review as “a constantly fascinating sound technician”.
Chloé van Soeterstède
Nutcracker Magic [Wed 4 Dec] with Mark Wigglesworth and Boris Giltburg
We herald in the festive season with a concert featuring Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker (Act II) under the baton of Mark Wigglesworth. Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker is a magical piece which has charmed audiences over the years with its range of gorgeous music and romantic imagery. It includes pieces such as the elegant Waltz of the Flowers to the witty Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy and the Dance of the Reed Flutes. The score is a feast of wonderful melodies and the music tinkles in the memory like a lost music box – enchanting for young and old alike.
The BSO’s incoming Chief Conductor Mark Wigglesworth conducts the BSO
And there’s much more available too in our full Digital Season! Click here for full listings