Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (BSO) announces an ambitious season of livestreamed concerts and a return to symphonic touring this autumn.
The largest cultural provider in the South West, the Orchestra will tour symphonic performances to resident venues whilst continuing its series of ‘BSO On Your Doorstep’ chamber-scale performances, thanks to support from the Weston Culture Fund, as it reaches out further to communities throughout the South West.
The Orchestra’s Chief Executive, Dougie Scarfe, said, “We’re thrilled to be making a return to symphonic touring this autumn. From full symphonic concerts to chamber-scale performances and workshops we’ll return to our regional venues and expand our reach into the local communities who, whilst connected digitally during the last 18 months, have missed experiencing the BSO in person.
“Building on the global success of our live broadcasts, we’ll also continue to share many of our Poole-based music-making experiences by livestream, enabling us to reach as many people as possible with concerts and workshops.”
Audiences to experience Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra in person as it resumes symphonic touring of the South West alongside its ‘BSO On Your Doorstep’ series of chamber-scale music.
A triptych of new works written by women in 2021/22: a new commission by composer Carmen Ho to premiere this autumn.
Horn player Felix Klieser announced as Artist-in-Residence, marking his UK concerto debut.
Chief Conductor Kirill Karabits opens the season with a Russian and French programme featuring an early work by Prokofiev and Mikhail Pletnev’s version of Bizet’s L’Arlesiennesuite.
Sunwook Kim makes anticipated European conducting debut in an all-Beethoven programme.
Conductor Alpesh Chauhan gives his BSO debut. Return visits for conductors Laurence Cummings, James Feddek, Mark Wigglesworth, Ryan Wigglesworth and Conductor Laureate Andrew Litton.
Pianists Alexandra Dariescu, Steven Osborne, Louis Schwizgebel, and violinists Ning Feng and Valeriy Sokolov return.
The Orchestra’s pioneering livestream broadcasts continue from Lighthouse, Poole,following remarkable online audience figures last season.
Triptych of new works written by women
Three new works written by women will feature in the BSO’s 2021/22 concert year. Carmen Ho’s new work, commissioned by the BSO, will receive its world premiere under the baton of Kirill Karabits (Wed 24 Nov — Poole).
The winner of the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Composition Prize in 2018, Ho was a recent finalist of the Toru Takemitsu Composition Award. Her work has been performed by the BBC Singers, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Ensemble 360, Hong Kong Philharmonic, and Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra.
Ho recently completed her PhD at the University of Bristol; she is the BSO’s Assistant Librarian.
Later in the concert year, the BSO will perform new works by Elizabeth Ogonek and Franghiz Al-Zadeh.
Artist-in-Residence Felix Klieser
Horn player Felix Klieser makes his UK concerto debut this autumn, beginning his tenure as the Orchestra’s Artist-in-Residence. Klieser will be the first German horn player to have a residency with a British orchestra.
He will perform Mozart’s Horn Concerto No.4, K.495 (Wed 17 Nov — Poole; Fri 19 Nov — Exeter) in a programme featuring Bruckner’s Symphony in D minor ‘Nullte’ under the baton of Kirill Karabits. He returns later in the 2021/22 year with further performances, including a chamber music recital.
Klieser is a recipient of both the ECHO Klassik Young Artist of the Year Award and the prestigious Leonard Bernstein Award of the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival. He’s recorded several discs for Berlin Classics, including collaborations with Christiane Karg and Malcolm Martineau.
Felix Klieser says, “I can’t wait to begin my tenure as the BSO’s Artist-in-Residence, working closely with the Orchestra’s musicians through concerto and chamber music performances and outreach activity together. As we re-emerge from the global pandemic, celebrating live music and human connection, it’ll be wonderful to be embedded within such a creative community.”
Chief Conductor Kirill Karabits
The Orchestra’s Chief Conductor, Kirill Karabits, returns with four programmes this autumn.
Karabits opens the season (Wed 6 Oct — Poole; Thurs 7 Oct — Exeter) with Mikhail Pletnev’s version of Bizet’s L’Arlesienne Suite and an early symphonic work by Prokofiev, the Autumnal Sketch. Louis Schwizgebel performs Ravel’s Piano Concerto before Ravel’s arrangement of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition.
An all-American programme (Wed 13 Oct — Poole) of Copland, Barber and Gershwin follows, with Valeriy Sokolov playing Barber’s Violin Concerto. In November, Karabits conducts Mozart and Bruckner — his Symphony in D minor ‘Nullte’ — in a programme that introduces the Orchestra’s Artist-in-Residence, Felix Klieser (Wed 17 Nov — Poole; Fri 19 Nov — Exeter).
Karabits also conducts the lesser-known original version of Schumann’s Symphony No.4 in a programme that also features the world premiere of a new work by Carmen Ho (Wed 24 Nov — Poole). He is joined by violinist Ning Feng, who performs the Brahms Violin Concerto.
Karabits says of the new season, “Performances in the presence of a live audience have a magical quality. There is an exchange of emotion and energy — a kind of alchemy between audience, conductor and musicians — and I can’t wait for the concert hall to come alive once more.
“I’m really looking forward to working with our Artist-in-Residence, the brilliant horn player Felix Klieser, and to sharing three new works written by women, the first of which is by Carmen Ho, a brilliant and rapidly rising composer who is also the BSO’s Assistant Librarian.”
Guest artists and conductors
Sunwook Kim (Wed 20 Oct — Poole; Thurs 21 Oct — Portsmouth; Fri 22 Oct — Basingstoke),makes an anticipated European conducting debut with an all-Beethoven programme. The Orchestra’s former Artist-in-Residence will direct Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No.5 ‘Emperor’ from the keyboard before taking to the podium with the composer’s Symphony No.7.
Conductor Alpesh Chauhan (Wed 8 Dec — Poole) makes his BSO debut with a programme which includes Sibelius’ Symphony No.3. Chauhan is current Music Director of Birmingham Opera Company and Associate Conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.
Pianist Steven Osborne (Wed 10 Nov — Poole; Thurs 11 Nov — Portsmouth) returns to the BSO with a performance of Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No.2. Pianists Louis Schwizgebel (Wed 6 Oct — Poole; Thurs 7 Oct — Exeter) and Alexandra Dariescu (Wed 8 Dec — Poole) also return, with performances of Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G major and Grieg’s Piano Concerto respectively.
Leading violinists Ning Feng (Wed 24 Nov — Poole) and Valeriy Sokolov (Wed 13 Oct — Poole)also return: Feng with Brahms’ Violin Concerto and Sokolov performing Barber’s Violin Concerto.
There are also return visits for conductors Laurence Cummings (Wed 15 Dec — Poole), James Feddeck (Wed 27 Oct — Poole), Mark Wigglesworth (Wed 10 Nov — Poole; Thurs 11 Nov — Portsmouth), Ryan Wigglesworth (Wed 1 Dec — Poole) and Conductor Laureate Andrew Litton (Wed 3 Nov — Poole).
The Orchestra will give two further symphonic concerts, in Somerset and Devon. Violinist Jack Liebeck (Yeovil — Mon 20 Sept; Barnstaple — Thurs 23 Sept) performs Vaughan Williams’s The Lark Ascending and Beethoven’s Romance No.2. The programme also features works by Wagner, Bartok and Beethoven under the baton of conductor Jamie Phillips.
BSO On Your Doorstep
Supported by the Weston Culture Fund, the BSO continues its series of ‘BSO On Your Doorstep’ chamber-scale performances and workshops throughout the autumn season alongside its main season programme and livestreamed concerts.
The touring series follows a summer of musical experiences for all ages, featuring Relaxed and Family concerts, offering communities throughout the South West the opportunity to re-engage with live music and culture.
Livestreamed performances
The BSO’s pioneering livestreamed broadcasts reached greater than concert hall capacity during 2020/21. The Orchestra will continue to offer the streams throughout its coming season, with performances from Lighthouse, Poole broadcast each Wednesday.
Tickets available to purchase from 11am on Thursday 8 July. For full details visit bsolive.com.
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