City News

BSO new Tuned In Concerts offer Midlands public a guided tour through music

The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and its exciting young Music Director Andris Nelsons launch a new concert format in March called Tuned In – an initiative to encourage more of the Midlands public to enjoy classical music.

The new concerts, on 25 March and 29 April in Symphony Hall, Birmingham, will come with a live “user’s guide” to the music being played.  The aim is to offer an approachable introduction to live classical concerts for new audiences, as well as enhancing the enjoyment of regular concert-goers.  

Andris Nelsons, who was appointed to the revered role of CBSO music director in September 2008, said: “I hope with our new Tuned In concerts we can help even more people than ever to experience the same deep level of satisfaction that I enjoy so much with this wonderful music.”

In these special concerts, Radio 3 presenter Stephen Johnson will take the stage, alongside orchestra and maestro, to share the background stories to the music being performed, and explain how these pieces work.  When Stephen wants to demonstrate how the composer creates a particular sound, the audience will hear it happen live, courtesy of Andris and the full CBSO.

“It’ll be incredible to be part of it,” says Stephen. “I’m excited just at the thought of being on the platform with all those musicians. To be able to take a piece apart on stage, and demonstrate how it works, will be wonderful.”

The works involved are Stravinsky’s fairytale ballet The Firebird (25 March) and Shostakovich’s mighty Fourth Symphony (29 April).  

Andris explains: “One is a journey into a fairytale world, and the other is the product of Soviet politics and the composer’s personal turmoil.”  

“All music for me is about everyday life and human beings, or else about taking us to other worlds, and I hope with these pieces we’ve chosen music that demonstrates this perfectly,” he added.   

The introductions to the music are very much aimed as a guide rather than gospel.  Stephen is adamant that his role in Tuned In is to help listeners find their own way to the heart of the music. And he makes one particular promise: these concerts will be a jargon-free zone.

“A lot of people are put off classical music by the technical language that surrounds it. With a live orchestra there to demonstrate, you don’t need technical language.  It’s just about helping people connect with the music.”

The CBSO’s first Tuned In concert introducing Stravinksy’s Firebird is on Thursday 25 March, 7.30pm and the second which looks at Shostakovich’s 4th Symphony is on Thursday 29 April, 7.30pm at Symphony Hall, Birmingham.  Tickets are £20 in all areas and can be booked by calling Symphony Hall Box Office on 0121 780 3333 or online at www.cbso.co.uk/tunedin.