Hallé Orchestra announces Digital Winter Season with nine online concerts (3 December 2020-25 March 2021)

The Hallé is delighted to announce its Winter Season: nine concerts streamed from the Hallé’s Manchester homes, The Bridgewater Hall and Hallé St Peter’s in Ancoats.

 

The orchestra’s Music Director, Sir Mark Elder, who has been such a leading advocate for music during this time, will conduct five concerts alongside the family of Hallé conductors. They include Assistant Conductor and winner of the 2020 Siemens Hallé International Conductors Competition Delyana Lazarova, former Assistant Conductor Jonathon Heyward, Associate Pops Conductor Stephen Bell and Artist in Residence Henning Kraggerud. Special guest artists will include Jess Gillam, Isata Kanneh-Mason, Roderick Williams, Boris Giltburg and director Annabel Arden.

 

This exciting new filmed format enables the orchestra to adventure into new ways of presenting the orchestra and enhancing the music. There is a diverse array of repertoire, including large scale orchestral works by Shostakovich and Wagner, concertos and string masterpieces by Beethoven and Strauss, a new staging of Stravinsky’s The Soldier’s Tale and importantly, world premieres by Hannah Kendall and Huw Watkins, as well as introductions, interviews and insights from, for example, Poet Laureate Simon Armitage. The full set of concerts can be found at www.halle.co.uk/winter-season-2020.

 

Hallé Music Director Sir Mark Elder said: “We cannot overstate our joy at being able to make music once again. Everyone at the Hallé is thrilled at the prospect of being able to broadcast our work, as a first step towards bringing musicians and audiences back together. We know how much our supporters have been looking forward to this moment, and we owe a huge debt of gratitude to all those who have been so kind and generous over these past months. We have all worked hard to put together a series of wonderful concerts – impressive in any context – and we hope you get much enjoyment from them.”

 

Hallé Chief Executive David Butcher said: “This is a particularly happy moment for me personally, having joined the wonderful Hallé family in September. In spite of these extraordinary and unprecedented times, with concert halls currently closed and live audiences sadly excluded, we are thrilled to be able to present a Winter Season of nine unique concerts. These specially curated performances will be filmed and recorded to the very highest quality for everyone to watch at home, and experience a vast array of music and performance styles, demonstrating the pioneering spirit of the Hallé. We are deeply grateful to ACE, GMCA, Manchester City Council, our sponsors, patrons and donors. We are especially grateful to our partners at The Bridgewater Hall who have worked so hard to ensure their success.”

 

This digital season is only one element of the Hallé’s exciting winter season plans. Announcements will soon be made about a series of chamber concerts in Hallé St Peter’s with the hope to play to a small live audience. Schools will also be able to enjoy Goddess Gaia – a magnificent twenty-minute educational resource featuring full animation, original music by Steve Pickett performed by Hallé players, based on a story by Tony Mitten.  Detailed announcements about this and the Hallé Chamber Concert Series will be made soon.

The information in this press release is correct at the time of sending. Please check the orchestra’s website and social media for the latest updates.  

For press enquiries, please contact:
Elena Dante at Valerie Barber PR elena@vbpr.co.uk  / www.vbpr.co.uk

LINKS
Hallé Digital Winter Season www.halle.co.uk/winter-season-2020
Hallé main website www.halle.co.uk
Hallé latest biography www.halle.co.uk/about-us

 

From Thursday 3 December 2020
Broadcast from The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester

Sir Mark Elder conductor

Huw Watkins Fanfare for the Halle´ (world premiere)
Wagner Die Meistersinger: Suite
Brahms Symphony No.1

 

From Thursday 10 December 2020
Broadcast from Hallé St Peter’s, Manchester

Sir Mark Elder conductor | Roderick Williams baritone

Britten Russian Funeral
Arvo Pärt Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten
Butterworth Six Songs from a Shropshire Lad orch. Roderick Williams (world premiere)
Strauss Metamorphosen

 

From Thursday 14 January 2021
Broadcast from Hallé St Peter’s, Manchester

Jonathon Heyward conductor?| Simon Armitage poet laureate | Jess Gillam saxophone

Simon Armitage the event horizon
Copland Quiet City
Hannah Kendall Where is the Chariot Of Fire? (world premiere)
Glazunov Concerto for Alto Saxophone
Ravel Mother Goose Suite

 

From Thursday 28 January 2021
Broadcast from The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester

Sir Mark Elder conductor | Isata Kanneh-Mason piano

Strauss Serenade
Beethoven Piano Concerto No.3
Sibelius Symphony No.3

 

From Thursday 11 February 2021
Broadcast from Hallé St Peter’s, Manchester

Henning Kraggerud (Hallé Artist in residence) violin/director

Bull La Mélancholie arr. Henning Kraggerud
Grieg Violin Sonata No.3 arr. Henning Kraggerud and Bernt Simen Lund (UK premiere)
Bull/Svendsen The Herd-girls’ Sunday
Halvorsen Maiden’s Song
Henning Kraggerud Equinox: Postludes
Brahms String Sextet No.1, Andante, ma moderato

 

From Thursday 25 February 2021
Broadcast from The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester

Delyana Lazarova conductor

Bacewicz Overture
Copland Appalachian Spring: Suite
Shostakovich Symphony No.1

 

From Thursday 11 March 2021
Broadcast from The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester
MOVIE CLASSICS

Stephen Bell conductor | Petroc Trelawny presenter | Sergio Castelló-López clarinet | Nardus Williams soprano

Verdi Overture: The Force of Destiny (Jean de Florette / Manon des Sources)
Dvorak Rusalka: ‘Song to the Moon’ (Driving Miss Daisy / Departure)
Tchaikovsky Sleeping Beauty: Waltz (A.I. / Sleeping Beauty)
Handel Arrival of the Queen of Sheba (Four Weddings and a Funeral)
Ponchielli Dance of the Hours (Fantasia)
Mozart Clarinet Concerto: Slow Movement (Out Of Africa)?
Strauss On the Beautiful Blue Danube (2001: A Space Odyssey)
Puccini ‘O mio babbino caro’ (Captain Corelli’s Mandolin)?
Elgar Enigma Variations: Nimrod (Dunkirk)?
Verdi La Traviata: ‘Sempre libera’ (The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert / Pretty Woman)?
Offenbach Overture: Orpheus in the Underworld (Peter’s Friends / Moulin Rouge)

 

From Thursday 18 March 2021
Broadcast from Hallé St Peter’s, Manchester

Sir Mark Elder conductor | Annabel Arden director

Stravinsky The Soldier’s Tale

 

From Thursday 25 March 2021
Broadcast from The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester

Sir Mark Elder conductor | Boris Giltburg piano

Debussy Prélude à l’apres-midi d’un faune
Rachmaninov Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
Huw Watkins Symphony No.2 (world premiere)