Birmingham reopens to live audiences

The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra will resume concerts at Symphony Hall from 19 May – 7 July.

An acoustic screen has been installed at the rear of the stage, allowing a larger number of musicians to play together, which may mean the CBSO is the largest orchestra performing anywhere in the UK at this time.

Concerts will be performed twice, at 2pm and 6:30pm.

They include Mirga’s world premiere of Thomas Adès’ The Exterminating Angel Symphony (16 June) and a programme of Weinberg and Mahler with mezzo-soprano Karen Cargill (23 June); the UK premiere of Julian Anderson’s new cello concerto Litanies with Alban Gerhardt conducted by Kazuki Yamada (30 June); Shostakovich 5 conducted by Nicholas Collon (26 May); Beethoven’s 2nd Piano Concerto with Paul Lewis and conductor Chloé van Soeterstède (2 June); a programme of English music with tenor Ian Bostridge conducted by Michael Seal (9 June); and a special Friday Night Classics programme of Summer Classics with conductor Michael Seal and violinist Jonathan Martindale (Friday 2 July).

Stephen Maddock, Chief Executive of the CBSO, said: ‘We are so thrilled to be able to welcome audiences back to our home at Symphony Hall and to be able to share the joy of live orchestral music with them once more. Today we’re announcing our programme for eight weekly pairs of concerts from May onwards and we feel sure that the people of Birmingham and the Midlands will want to rush back to enjoy the glorious sound of full-scale orchestral music after more than a year in which we have all been denied this opportunity.’