Sheffield-born conductor Ryan Wigglesworth points the baton toward Austria; prepare to be swept along the river with Johann Strauss’s masterpiece The Blue Danube, whilst Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No 4 sees Sheffield soprano star Elizabeth Watts join the orchestra, singing of a child’s vision of heaven. Also featuring a selection of music by Richard Strauss.
This performance forms part of the opening day of the Classical Sheffield Festival Weekend that takes place 17-19 March across the city.
Other highlights include two UK premieres, traditional Chinese music, a massed choir of Sheffield singers, interactive Beethoven, new opera, concerts for babies and lots for families to do and hear.
Among the opening concerts on Friday 17th March will be a programme of traditional Chinese music presented by some of Shanghai’s finest performers. Zhan Yong Ming, Huo Yonggang, Dai Xialian and Li Jingxia appear at Upper Chapel for an uplifting concert that will be a perfect introduction to Chinese classical music for curious new listeners.
Saturday 18th March sees another UK premiere, ‘Canticles of the Sky’, by American composer John Luther Adams for a choir of 40 cellos. One of the hot tickets of the weekend, the piece will be led by star cellist and Radiohead collaborator Oliver Coates.
Coates makes another appearance the following day, joining one of Sheffield’s talented youth orchestras for an emotional performance of Shostakovich’s Cello Sonata and work by local composing and performing group Platform 4.
Saturday night will see an otherworldly singing spectacular as a massed choir of singers from across Sheffield blast out a powerful rendition of Carl Orff’s famous cantata, Carmina Burana, at Firth Hall to celebrate the bone-rattling piece’s 80th anniversary.
On Sunday 19th, Hallam Sinfonia and Sophie Redfern will present a unique concert suitable for all ages, titled ‘Der Der Der Derrrrrr!’ This interactive show gives the audience an up close and personal experience, in amongst the orchestra, of Beethoven’s famous Symphony No. 5.
Other performers appearing across the weekend include the Marmen Quartet, Head Over Reels, Sheffield Philharmonic Chorus, Opera on Location, Sheffield Symphony Orchestra, Vivacity Choir, Sheffield Bach Choir, Sterndale Singers, Sheffield Music Academy and more.
As if that wasn’t enough music to pack into one weekend, the Winter Garden and The Moor will host a series of free pop-up events, with a range of performances on offer for curious ears!