Archive for category: News

It’s ten years since the London Firebird Orchestra was formed on 20 March 2012. So join us as we celebrate our 10th Anniversary Season…

We have a terrific line up of no less than seven concerts to look forward to this season with some of your favourite concertos, symphonies, overtures and much more.

All the orchestral concerts in this season will be conducted by our much-loved conductors, Michael Thrift and George Jackson:

We are also very excited to welcome back wonderful soloists to perform with the Orchestra. These include  George Harliono, Emmanuel Bach, Jamal Aliyev and Yury Revich (pictured below), as well as featuring some of the finest upcoming stars for the first time.

We are also launching the first in a series of concerts entitled Firebird Chamber Platform Concerts. This will give a much needed opportunity for smaller scale ensembles to perform under the Firebird banner.

27 September 2022: Egmont

Music by Beethoven and Mozart and featuring the wonderful soloist George Harliono.

25 October 2022: Pastoral

Emmanuel Bach performs the beautiful Violin Concerto by Brahms along with one of Beethoven’s most memorable symphonies evoking the spirit of a pastoral scene.

7 February 2023: Magic & Mayhem

This concert features Masonic music by Mozart, one of the best-known compositions in classical music by Beethoven, and the great Turkish cellist Jamal Aliyev performing what is considered by many to be the greatest of all cello concertos.

21 March 2023: Trio de Beauvoir

Firebird welcomes this dazzling piano trio in the first of our new Firebird Chamber Platform Concerts, featuring trios by Mendelssohn, Dvorak and Beethoven.

7 May 2023: Garden of Fire

The lyrical orchestral writing of British composer Ruth Gipps opens a concert featuring Haydn’s so-called ‘Fire Symphony’. In between, two glorious works by Mozart.

16 May 2023: Firebird for Schools

Join London Firebird for this new tailor-made concert for schoolchildren introducing young people to the magical world of the orchestra.

13 June 2023: Virtuoso

Two great masterpieces of the 19th century stand sentinel either side of the latest work from virtuoso violinist Yury Revich in this Midsummer Firebird concert.

Fabulous classical masterpieces will be performed in Firebird’s next concert together with Awakening by violinist and composer Yury Revich…

Ravel: Tombeau de Couperin

Ravel’s homage is based on a traditional Baroque suite with each movement dedicated to the memory of a friend who died in WWI. ‘Memorial to Couperin’ began as a six part piano suite.

He started writing the first movement of it, the Forlane, shortly before the outbreak of the First World War, in 1914, as a celebration of the eighteenth century French composer François Couperin.

Completed in 1917, Ravel orchestrated four of the movements two years later which is the version that will be performed by Firebird.

Bruch: Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 26

Virtuoso violinist, Yury Revich performs one of the world’s most popular concertos of all time. A composer and conductor from the German romantic school, Bruch’s Violin Concerto is the first of three which he wrote and one of the most popular and respected concertos for the instrument – with his next two concertos gaining less recognition. 

Completed in 1866, it was premiered by the star violinist of the day, Joseph Joachim. nçois Couperin. Completed in 1917, Ravel orchestrated four of the movements two years later which is the version that will be performed by Firebird.

Schubert: Symphony No. 1 in D. 82

Composed when Schubert was just 16, this youthful symphony was clearly inspired by the later symphonies of Haydn.

Completed in 1813 when Schubert was  receiving tuition from the composer Antonio Salieri, he was introduced to the symphonies of Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven.

The influence of these masters is evident in Schubert’s First Symphony, though it is an impressive and original contribution to the classical symphonic genre in its own right. 

Yury Revich : Awakening

The UK Première of Awakening (The Blue Version) by violinist/composer Yury Revich. Revich’s musical masterpiece is inspired by the sounds and rhythms of nature and of our planet through a series of cinematic soundscapes.

Opening with Dawn on the River with various colours of winds and strings, it is followed by Song of The Moon showcasing the singing abilities of a violin as an instrument, in the best tradition of canzonetta style. Finally, Together We Stand is inspired by the power of unity.

European Classics: Awakening

Tuesday 14 June, 7.30pm 
St George’s Hanover Square, London

Conductor George Jackson
Violin Yury Revich

Ravel   Tombeau de Couperin
Bruch   Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op.26
Schubert   Symphony No. 1 in D major, D.82
Yury Revich   Awakening (The Blue Version) UK Première

Some of the best loved works from the repertoire feature in Firebird’s wonderful summer concert on Tuesday 14 June at St George’s Hanover Square…

---

Ravel Tombeau de Couperin

Ravel’s homage to Couperin is based on a traditional Baroque suite. Each movement is dedicated to the memory of a friend of the composer who died in WWI.

---

Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 26

Virtuoso violinist, Yury Revich returns to perform one of the world’s most popular concertos. Bruch composed two more concertos after this but none equalled the popularity of his first.

---

Schubert Symphony No. 1 in D. 82

Schubert’s youthful first symphony was written when he was just 16, this is an impressive piece of orchestral music for both its time and size, clearly inspired by the later symphonies of Haydn.

---

Yury Revich Prelude

In addition, we are delighted to also be performing Prelude, a work by Yury Revich himself which he recently performed at the World Expo in Dubai.

---

George Jackson returns to conduct the Orchestra for this thrilling concert of European Classics.

Don’t forget to visit our Youtube channel where you can watch videos of past concerts. Just added is this video of musc from Grieg and Dvořák from our latest concert in Oxford ‘From the New World’.

Firebird heads to Oxford on 13 March with pianist Marc Corbett-Weaver and conductor Michael Thrift for a concert which includes Dvořák’s ever popular ‘New World’ Symphony.

Set in the magnificent Grade I listed St John the Evangelist Church (pictured above) designed by Victorian architect George Frederick Bodley, this concert is presented as part of the 2022 SJE Arts International Piano Series.

Now in its ninth year, the Series is well established in Oxford and much further afield with past performers including John Lill, Joaquín Achúcarro, Stephen Hough and Imogen Cooper. 

From the New World
Sunday 13 March 2022, 6pm
St John the Evangelist Church, Iffley Rd, Oxford OX4 1EH

Arvo Pärt Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten
Grieg Piano Concerto in A minor
Dvořák  Symphony No. 9 in E minor ‘From the New World’

This concert is generously sponsored by the Morris-Venables Charitable Foundation

When Estonian Arvo Pärt (pictured above) heard on the radio that the English composer Benjamin Britten had died he dedicated his Cantus to his memory. This has become Pärt’s most popular work and has been used in movies and television documentaries. 

Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg premiered his Piano Concerto in 1869 with himself as soloist. It is considered to be one of the great works of the Romantic period. Grieg’s music also richly evokes a beautiful landscape of his homeland’s fjords and mountains.

Antonin Dvořák’s 9th Symphony From the New World was composed when the Czech composer was director of the National Conservatory of Music of America, and living in New York City. Drawing on native songs and African-American spirituals it evokes a sense of America’s natural beauty, with its wide open spaces and rugged wilderness.

The Orchestra will be conducted by our regular Principal Guest Conductor, Michael Thrift with soloist Marc Corbett-Weaver:

This concert is generously sponsored by the Morris-Venables Charitable Foundation 

Tickets for Firebird’s concerts for 2022 are now on sale with a fantastic programme of your favourite Classical Music…

---

Eroica!
Tuesday 1 February 2022
St George’s Hanover Square, London W1S 1FX

Mendelssohn Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage, Op. 27
Beethoven Symphony no. 3 in E flat, Op. 55 Eroica

London Firebird Orchestra
Conductor Michael Thrift

---

From the New World
Sunday 13 March 2022
SJE Arts, Oxford OX4 1EH

Arvo Pärt Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten
Grieg Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16
Dvořák Symphony No. 9 in E minor, From the New World, Op. 95

London Firebird Orchestra
Conductor Michael Thrift
Piano Marc Corbett-Weaver

Generously sponsored by the Morris-Venables Charitable Foundation

---

Firebird for Schools
Thursday 19 May 2022
St George’s Hanover Square, London W1S 1FX

London Firebird Orchestra
Conductor Michael Thrift

---

European Classics
Tuesday 14 June 2022
St George’s Hanover Square, London W1S 1FX

Ravel Tombeau de Couperin
Bruch Violin Concerto no. 1 in G minor, Op. 26
Schubert Symphony no. 1 in D. 82

London Firebird Orchestra
Conductor George Jackson
Violin Yury Revich

---