City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra

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Wed 15 Oct 2025

On Wednesday 15th October 2025, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra rolls into Nottingham's Royal Concert Hall for an evening that kicks off at 7.30pm. Michael Seal is waving the baton, with Marie-Christine Zupancic on flute and Katherine Thomas handling the harp duties. The lineup starts with Benjamin Britten's The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, a cheeky 1945 film score that parades every instrument like a who's who of the orchestra, all riffing on Henry Purcell's Rondeau from some old play called Abdelazar. It's basically orchestral show and tell that still holds up without feeling stuffy. Then there's Mozart's Flute and Harp Concerto from 1778, written for a duke who played flute and his harp-strumming daughter, though Mozart grumbled about not being a fan of either instrument. Still, he whipped up something graceful and tuneful, letting the two principals here get their spotlight moment.

The big finish is Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, originally a piano workout from 1874 inspired by his mate Viktor Hartmann's art show, but it's Maurice Ravel's 1922 orchestral makeover that turned it into a hall-filler. Expect a parade of quirky scenes, from gnome-like oddballs and bickering kids to a plodding ox cart and the witch Baba Yaga, all capped by booming bells and brass evoking a grand march through Kiev's gates. Tickets run from 12.50 to 42.50 if you're interested. There's a free pre-concert chat at 6.20pm in the auditorium, where Michael Seal chats about the evening.

More information at www.visit-nottinghamshire.co.uk/engine/referrer.asp?web=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.trch.co.uk&src=fb04db62a23b74e137f83157fee07312




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