Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra announces its 2019/20 season with over 140 performances across the South West and beyond.

Kirill Karabits launches the season – his eleventh as Chief Conductor of the BSO – with a Weimar-themed programme featuring the UK premiere of Liszt’s melodrama Vor hundert Jahren. Kirill said, “I’ve been looking forward to bringing this unpublished work by Liszt to the BSO after finding the score in Weimar last year, and I can’t think of a better way to open the season. Written for actors, orchestra and effects, no one knew that Liszt wrote music like this – it’s going to be really exciting.”

Another source of excitement is the announcement of Venezuelan pianist/composer, Gabriela Montero, as the BSO’s 2019/20 Artist-in-Residence. Known for her outstanding talent and sensational improvisations, she’ll certainly delight audiences. She said, “I’m really looking forward to returning to play with Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and to audiences across the South West. To perform alongside my dear friend Carlos Miguel Prieto is always a treat, and I can’t wait to perform alongside Kirill Karabits and in recital with the BSO Soloists.”

A concert staging of Richard Strauss’s opera Elektra will take place at Symphony Hall, Birmingham and Lighthouse, Poole under the baton of Karabits, with a star-studded cast including Catherine Foster, Allison Oakes and Susan Bullock. Karabits explained, “I’m particularly excited about conducting Strauss’ Elektra – in order to perform this complex and visceral score you need an orchestra at the top of its game, and I have no doubt that the BSO will be able to deliver. After our huge success with Salome four years ago, Elektra will surely be a highlight of the season!”

The Orchestra celebrates the second year of Marta Gardolińska’s tenure as BSO Leverhulme Young Conductor in Association. Dougie Scarfe, Chief Executive of the BSO, said “We’re thrilled to continue working with Marta Gardolińska as she enters her second year as the BSO’s Leverhulme Young Conductor in Association. During her first outstanding year with the Orchestra, in which she garnered international interest, Marta impressed our audiences across the South West with her emotive and collaborative style of music-making, as well as engaging with communities through her work with BSO Participate.” Throughout the 2019/20 season, Marta will conduct BSO performances across the region, working with soloists including Leonard Elschenbroich [7, 8, 9 Nov] and Soraya Mafi [1-11 Jan]. Alongside these concerts, Marta will continue her work with BSO Participate to deliver outreach work across the BSO’s region of 10,000 square miles.

The BSO is delighted to welcome an array of world-class artists, including pianist Sunwook Kim, the BSO’s Artist-in-Residence during its 2014/15 season, who will be making his professional conducting debut in an all-Beethoven programme. There are welcome returns for Leonard Elschenbroich, Ning Feng, Alexander Gavrylyuk, Steven Isserlis, Simone Lamsma, John Lill, Carlos Miguel Prieto, Robert Trevino and more. Plus, a number of artists will make their main season debuts, including: Jake Arditti, Stephen Barlow, Andreas Bauer Kanabas, Jeremy Denk, Tobias Feldmann, Andrei Korobeinikov and Valentina Peleggi.

The Orchestra continues its Voices from the East series with a rare performance of Chary Nurymov’s Symphony No. 2 and the release of its celebrated Terterian performance on Chandos. The Orchestra will also mark Beethoven’s 250th anniversary, with performances by conductors Kirill Karabits, Sunwook Kim and Reinhard Goebel.

There will be performances given at the Barbican Centre, Sage Gateshead, Cadogan Hall and Birmingham Symphony Hall in addition to the Orchestra’s regular venues across a 10,000 square mile region in the South West.

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