Classical Music in Manchester and the North

Berlioz/Saariaho at The Bridgewater Hall, City Centre, 26 October 2018, from £12.5 - Book now

One of modern music’s most daring and brilliant voices, Kaija Saariaho will be joining us in person for this concert featuring two of her compositions, both written in the last decade. The first half of the programme is dedicated to another superb orchestral colourist: Hector Berlioz.

The Ligeti Quartet: Reich and Crumb at The Leadmill, City Centre, 31 October 2018, from £5 - Book now

Modern and contemporary music specialist The Ligeti Quartet presents a one-off concert in Sheffield, featuring two of the 20th Century’s masterpieces: Steve Reich’s Grammy Award-winning Different Trains and George Crumb’s iconic Black Angels. With a diverse programme of works by John Adams, John Zorn and Tanya Tagaq completing the programme, this looks set to be an exciting and unique evening at The Leadmill.

Ravel | Elgar | Stravinsky at The Bridgewater Hall, City Centre, 1 November 2018, from £12.5 - Book now

Two years after winning BBC Young Musician, Sheku Kanneh-Mason makes his Bridgewater Hall debut with perhaps the greatest cello concerto of all: Elgar’s reflection on the First World War, performed tonight to mark this month’s centenary of the Armistice. Also this evening, a wartime suite from Ravel and a thrilling ballet by Stravinsky.

RNCM Symphony Orchestra at Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM), Manchester, 2 November 2018, from £5 - Book now

A wonderful concert featuring some of Richard Wagner and Sergei Prokofiev’s most original works. All before the concept of ‘originality’ is turned its head, with Ravel’s incredible arrangement of Mussorgsky’s ‘Pictures at an Exhibition’, as well as a brand new response from RNCM composer Aaron Breeze.

Will Gregory Moog Ensemble at Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM), Manchester, 6 November 2018, from £20 - Book now

Performing works by Bach, John Carpenter, Burt Bacharach and Oliver Messiaen, The Will Gregory Moog Ensemble will dazzle an RNCM audience with the possibilities of the analogue synthesiser.

Carpe Vitam world premiere at The Stoller Hall, 15 November 2018, from £14.17 - Book now

This new audiovisual work marks 100 years of votes for women with live video, electronic and acoustic music and Chetham’s Chamber Choir. The concert also features a discussion of the making of Carpe Vitam, plus The Pankhurst Anthem – based on words by Emmeline Pankhurst – and other vocal works, performed by the choir.

Christian Marclay at Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival at Huddersfield Town Hall, 16–22 November 2018, from £15 - Book now

Christian Marclay has spent the last 35 years exploring the fusion of fine art and audio cultures, transforming sounds and music into a visible, physical form through performance, collage, sculpture, installation, photography and video. From a thrilling programme of Marclay’s work, we’ve selected what we feel are the most exciting events.

Manchester Collective: Pierrot Lunaire at Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM), Manchester, 16 November 2018, from £18 - Book now

Intimate, immersive and utterly thrilling, Manchester Collective’s concerts consistently bowl audiences over. At RNCM they will deconstruct Pierrot Lunaire and delve deeper into the inner world of the female protagonist. BBC 6’s Elizabeth Alker will be a calm voice of guidance before the madness ensues.

Stephan/Walton/Howells/Shostakovich at The Bridgewater Hall, City Centre, 16 November 2018, from £12.5 - Book now

To mark 100 years since the Armistice, the BBC Philharmonic reflects on war. Following a work by Rudi Stephan, who died on the Eastern Front, there’s Herbert Howells’s tribute to a fellow composer killed at war, Walton’s haunting Viola Concerto and Shostakovich’s Ninth, written as the Second World War drew to a close.

Ensemble Musikfabrik: Saunders 1 at Huddersfield Town Hall, 16 November 2018, from £19 - Book now

Joined by renowned soprano Juliet Fraser and conductor Enno Poppe, the pioneering Ensemble Musikfabrik will perform Rebecca Saunders’ new work, Yes. A meditation on the ambiguities of language and expression, the piece was inspired by Molly Bloom’s infamous time-warping stream-of-consciousness monologue that concludes James Joyce’s masterpiece, Ulysses.

Temko: Riley at St Paul's Hall, Huddersfield, 18 November 2018, from £15 - Book now

In Sanskrit the word ‘shri’ means ‘diffusing light, radiance and beauty’. Terry Riley’s Shri Camel does just this. Combining minimalist explorations with Far-Eastern atmospherics, it’s a transcendental work made up of four movements. Using purpose-built instruments, Temko will tackle Riley’s notoriously difficult score in a boldly unique way.

Sō Percussion at Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM), Manchester, 20 November 2018, from £18 - Book now

Sō Percussion are all about innovation and re-invention. Armed with plant pots and brand new instruments, they will perform a hypnotic array of works ranging from Steve Reich to Caroline Shaw to The National’s Bryce Dessner.

Harriet at Lawrence Batley Theatre, 20 November 2018, from £15 - Book now

Hilda Paredes’ Harriet is a chamber opera about the African-American freedom fighter and former slave Harriet Tubman. Its ambitious and powerful narrative details Tubman’s journey from captivity into activism, depicting both the suffering she endured and the spiritual experiences that spurred her onward.

Sciarrino: Carnaval at St Paul's Hall, Huddersfield, 24 November 2018, from £19 - Book now

Explore Ensemble joins forces with the world renowned EXAUDI Ensemble to present the UK premiere of Salvatore Sciarrino’s grand song cycle, Carnaval. Written in 12 movements for five voices, piano and ensemble, it requires meticulous and attentive players in order to achieve the disquieting and dramatic atmosphere contained within the score.

The Hallé - The Rite of Spring at The Bridgewater Hall, City Centre, 29 November 2018, from £14 - Find Out More

This concert features three highly contrasting masterpieces: ‘The Rite of Spring’ by Igor Stravinsky, ‘Verklärte Nacht’ by Arnold Schoenberg, and ‘Parade’ by Erik Satie, each of which represents a significant landmark in our cultural history.

RNCM Opera: Suor Angelica / Gianni Schicchi at Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM), Manchester, 7–15 December 2018, from £21 - Book now

Featuring some of Puccini’s most famous arias, Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi are beautifully linked by a common thread – a tragic opera about death, followed by a witty farce that explores the same theme.

Rachmaninov/Holst at The Bridgewater Hall, City Centre, 8 December 2018, from £12.5 - Book now

In the mountain range of piano concertos, Rachmaninov’s Third is the Everest – intense and immense, technically demanding and emotionally overpowering. Few pianists prove equal to the task – but, as his acclaimed performance of the work at the BBC Proms last year made clear, Alexander Gavrylyuk is more than a match for it.

The Hallé - Finlandia at The Bridgewater Hall, City Centre, 13 December 2018, from £15.50 - Book now

Perfect for winter, this concert by the Hallé celebrates the two towering figures of Scandinavian classical music – Sibelius and Grieg. The programme includes Grieg’s much-loved Peer Gynt Suiteas well as Sibelius’ stirring tribute to his homeland, Finlandia.

A Christmas Carol at The Stoller Hall, 15 December 2018, from £26.16 - Book now

Neil Brand’s adaptation of Charles Dickens’ festive classic gives it a dark and atmospheric twist – helped along by Chester Philharmonic Orchestra, Manchester Chamber Choir and actors from Manchester School of Theatre. The leading role of Ebenezer Scrooge is played by Timothy West for this one-off staging.

The Hallé - The Snowman at The Bridgewater Hall, City Centre, 15–16 December 2018, from £17.50 - Book now

Would it even be Christmas without The Snowman? At the Bridgewater Hall this December, screenings of this festive staple will be accompanied live by the Hallé, who will perform Howard Blake’s beautiful score. It’s the perfect way to get kids excited about orchestral music!

Hallé Christmas Extravaganza at The Bridgewater Hall, City Centre, 21 December 2018, from £15.50 - Book now

If you’re finding that the Christmas spirit still eludes you, then look no further than the Hallé Christmas Extravaganza. Joined by guest artist Noah Stewart, the Hallé will perform a programme filled with Christmas classics.

Casino Royale In Concert With The Hallé at The Bridgewater Hall, City Centre, 29 December 2018, from £32.50 - Book now

Casino Royale in Concert: For the first time ever, experience Bond on the big screen accompanied by the full force of the Hallé performing David Arnold’s thrilling musical score live and in sync to picture!

Symphonic Cinema - Stravinsky/Ravel at The Bridgewater Hall, City Centre, 19 January 2019, from £12.5 - Book now

The BBC Philharmonic, in association with The Bridgewater Hall, presents a very special event marrying sound with vision, bringing classic works by two of the 20th century’s greatest composers to vivid musical and cinematic life.

Gould Piano Trio & Robert Plane at The Stoller Hall, 22 January 2019, from £17.44 - Book now

One of the country’s most acclaimed and recognised trios performs Shostakovich’s Second Piano Trio and Sally Beamish’s Piobaireachd for this visit to The Stoller Hall. The group will also be joined by regular collaborator, clarinettist Robert Plane, for the North West premiere of a new work by Huw Watkins – with the programme completed by Plane’s performance of Boulez’s Dialogue de l’ombre double – accompanied by taped electronics.

Stravinsky/Mozart/Tchaikovsky at The Bridgewater Hall, City Centre, 26 January 2019, from £12.5 - Book now

Born in Liverpool and a former pupil at Chetham’s School of Music, pianist Paul Lewis returns to the North-West for a performance of one of Mozart’s most elegant and expressive piano concertos. Also tonight, Ben Gernon conducts the BBC Philharmonic in a sparkling Stravinsky work and Tchaikovsky’s tempestuous, gripping Fourth Symphony.

The Hallé - The Damnation of Faust at The Bridgewater Hall, City Centre, 10 February 2019, from £14 - Book now

Part opera, part oratorio, Berlioz’ ‘The Damnation of Faust’ is an epic retelling of the Faust story. Celebrated for its orchestral brilliance, this tempestuous work will be performed by the Hallé for the first time in seventy years.

Berlioz - Beatrice et Benedict at The Bridgewater Hall, City Centre, 16 February 2019, from £12.5 - Book now

As merry as the day is long, Hector Berlioz’s captivating comic opera is one of the most joyful operatic translations of Shakespeare from page to stage. Béatrice et Bénédict slims down the plot of Much Ado About Nothing to focus on the will-they-won’t they romance between the title characters, whose attraction to each other is the living, breathing antithesis of love at first sight.

Schumann/Robin Holloway/Valentin Silvestrov at The Bridgewater Hall, City Centre, 23 February 2019, from £12.5 - Book now

The BBC Philharmonic celebrates Robin Holloway’s 75th birthday with a brand new work by the treasured English composer, given its world premiere by guest soloist Håkan Hardenberger. Also tonight, a rare performance of Valentin Silvestrov’s transcendent Fifth Symphony, one of the best-kept secrets in contemporary music.

The Hallé - Prokofiev's Fifth Symphony at The Bridgewater Hall, City Centre, 28 February 2019, from £14 - Book now

The Hallé are joined by conductor Jamie Phillips for Mozart’s ‘Paris’ Symphony, John Casken’s ‘Madonna of Silence’, and the centrepiece of the evening, Prokofiev’s ‘Fifth Symphony’.

Stravinsky/Dvořák/Martinu at The Bridgewater Hall, City Centre, 23 March 2019, from £12.5 - Book now

Bohuslav Martinů and Igor Stravinsky both fled Europe during the Second World War – and tonight’s concert is centred on two works they composed in the USA: Stravinsky’s expressive ballet and Martinů’s inspiring Fourth Symphony. Dvořák’s Cello Concerto was also part-written in America, but it sings of the composer’s Bohemian homeland.

Thomas Adès | Prokofiev | Schubert at The Bridgewater Hall, City Centre, 6 April 2019, from £17.5 - Book now

The final symphony completed by Franz Schubert before the composer’s death at just 31, the epic Ninth is ‘Great’ in both nickname and nature. Before it, Clemens Schuldt directs the brilliant Alina Pogostkina in Prokofiev’s riveting First violin concerto. Also this evening – a homage to French Baroque music from Thomas Adès.

Bax/Walton/Vaughan Williams at The Bridgewater Hall, City Centre, 13 April 2019, from £12.5 - Book now

BBC Philharmonic favourite John Wilson returns to The Bridgewater Hall to celebrate our green and pleasant land with this all-English programme, taking in Vaughan Williams’s impassioned Fourth Symphony, Bax’s reflections on autumn and Walton’s iconic Violin Concerto – performed by acclaimed Canadian soloist James Ehnes.

Sibelius | Tippett | Stravinsky at The Bridgewater Hall, City Centre, 25 April 2019, from £12.5 - Book now

Steven Osborne made the definitive recording of Tippett’s masterpiece several years ago – and tonight, conducted by Sir Andrew Davis, he joins the BBC Philharmonic to perform it live. Also on the programme, two symphonies by 20th-century pioneers: Sibelius’s brilliant Sixth, and a vital work written by Stravinsky ‘to the glory of God’.

James MacMillan/Britten/Tippett at The Bridgewater Hall, City Centre, 2 May 2019, from £12.5 - Book now

Either side of Sophie Bevan’s performance, conducted by English National Opera’s Music Director Martyn Brabbins, two epic fourth symphonies by great Britons, each a single movement: James MacMillan’s kaleidoscopic masterpiece, premiered at the 2015 BBC Proms to huge acclaim, and Michael Tippett’s punch-packing odyssey from birth through life to our inevitable end.

Elgar/Rachmaninov at The Bridgewater Hall, City Centre, 18 May 2019, from £12.5 - Book now

Edward Elgar was a violinist as well as a composer – and his soaring Violin Concerto opens this evening’s concert. Following Christian Tetzlaff’s performance of this towering work, John Storgårds conducts the BBC Philharmonic in Rachmaninov’s Third Symphony, a wonderful homage to his native Russia.

The Hallé - Symphonie fantastique at The Bridgewater Hall, City Centre, 16–22 May 2019, from £14 - Book now

Sir Mark Elder brings the 2018–19 Opus One Series to a triumphant close with Berlioz’ best-known work, ‘Symphonie Fantastique’. Also in the programme is the brilliantly virtuosic overture to Smetana’s ‘The Bartered Bride’, as well as Dvorák’s beautiful ‘Violin Concerto’.

Mahler/Shostakovich at The Bridgewater Hall, City Centre, 1 June 2019, from £12.5 - Book now

Dmitry Shostakovich lived much of his enigmatic life in the shadow of Stalinist Russia – and turbulence in his homeland led him to keep his magnificent, Mahlerian Fourth Symphony under wraps until Stalin’s death. Before it, conductor Mark Wigglesworth is joined by British baritone Roderick Williams for some of Mahler’s most romantic songs.

Mozart | Mark Simpson | Mahler at The Bridgewater Hall, City Centre, 15 June 2019, from £12.5 - Book now

A previous winner of both the BBC Young Musician and BBC Young Composer of the Year awards, Mark Simpson is both the soloist and composer of tonight’s world premiere – his Clarinet Concerto. Either side, leading British soprano Elizabeth Watts joins the BBC Philharmonic for three Mozart arias and Mahler’s majestic Fourth Symphony.

The Bridgewater Hall, Lower Mosley Street, Manchester, Greater Manchester, M2 3WS - Visit now

Home to the Hallé and the BBC Philharmonic orchestras, the Bridgewater Hall attracts some of the biggest names in classical music. Purpose-built to the tune of £42m, the hall was designed around its acoustic needs; it floats on 280 earthquake-proof isolations springs that mute all external noise, perfect for shielding around 250 performances a year from the trams outside.

Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM), 124 Oxford Road, Manchester, Greater Manchester, M13 9RD - Visit now

The Royal Northern College of Music is both a music venue and an academic institution training up some of the country’s finest music students.

The Stoller Hall, Hunts Bank, Manchester, M3 1DA - Visit now

Manchester’s new kid on the concert hall block, the Stoller Hall, opened its doors in April 2017 to further enhance the city’s already enviable live music provision.

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Hope Street , Liverpool, Merseyside, L1 9BP - Visit now

The 1930s Art Deco Philharmonic Hall, home to the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, gives no hint of the sensuous curves of the auditorium inside from its hard exterior.

Hallé St Peter’s, 40 Blossom Street, Ancoats, Manchester, Greater Manchester, M4 6BF - Visit now

Hallé St Peter’s is a deconsecrated Grade-II listed church, once a theatre prop store, then a knitting factory, before being restored and becoming home to the Hallé orchestra.