City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra is the first British orchestra to be funded by a city council. Its opening concert was conducted by composer Edward Elgar. Since then, the orchestra has thrived as a bastion of musical culture in the Midlands. It has also gained a reputation for adventurous programming, underlined by the long, fruitful appointment of Simon Rattle as music director.
The City of Birmingham Orchestra was founded in 1920 by, among others, Neville Chamberlain, a prominent citizen who later became prime minister of the U.K. The orchestra's first conductor was Adrian Boult, who was quickly snapped up by the newly formed BBC Symphony Orchestra in London. Boult was replaced by one of his pupils, Leslie Heward. In 1932, Harold Gray was named associate conductor, a post he held for nearly 50 years. In 1944, the musicians were hired on a full-time basis, and George Weldon was appointed music director to replace Heward, who had succumbed to tuberculosis.
The orchestra was renamed City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) in 1948, the name it retains to this day. It began to expand its dominion with tours and London performances, including a debut at the Royal Albert Hall in London in 1951. An interesting appointment came in 1957 when composer Andrzej Panufnik was named principal conductor. He lasted until 1960, when he returned to composing, but the emphasis on new music took hold. In 1962, the CBSO gave the first performances of Benjamin Britten's War Requiem at nearby Coventry Cathedral. Louis Frémaux was named principal conductor in 1969 and led the orchestra through a series of well-received recordings for EMI. In 1980, Simon Rattle, just 25 years old but already a major talent, was appointed Frémaux's successor. He remained with the CBSO for almost 20 years. In that period, Rattle established himself as one of the world's top conductors, and the orchestra solidified its international reputation through tours and an impressive series of recordings. Rattle oversaw a number of interesting innovations during his tenure: one was the establishment of the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group (BCMG), a subset of the orchestra dedicated to performing the music of its time.
In 1990, Mark-Anthony Turnage was appointed composer-in-association, and he created a series of successful scores, such as Three Screaming Popes. He was succeeded in 1995 by Judith Weir, who followed up Rattle's knighthood (still in his thirties!) with her own Companionship of the British Empire. Along with new British music, the CBSO commissioned works by international composers such as Luciano Berio, Tristan Murail, and Toru Takemitsu. When Rattle moved on to the Berlin Philharmonic in 2002, the CBSO continued its reputation as a forward-looking, world-class orchestra rooted in a community proud of its independence. Conductor Sakari Oramo led the orchestra into the new millennium with enthusiasm and dedication. Andris Nelsons succeeded Oramo as music director in 2008, staying until 2015. Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla was named music director in February 2016, becoming the orchestra's first female director.
The CBSO has been featured on well over 100 albums, with the bulk of its output being on the EMI label. It also has recordings on many other labels, such as Chandos and Warner Classics. In 2019, Gražinytė-Tyla, in her debut recording, led the CBSO on the album Weinberg: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 21 on Deutsche Grammophon, earning a Grammy nomination. Gražinytė-Tyla and the CBSO returned in 2022 with Weinberg: Symphonies Nos. 3 & 7, once more presenting two of Weinberg's symphonies and his Flute Concerto No. 1. After serving as principal guest conductor since 2018, the CBSO announced that Kazuki Yamada would be its next chief conductor and artistic advisor beginning in 2023.
© James Harley & Keith Finke /TiVo
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Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 & Hamlet Overture
City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Andris Nelsons
Symphonies - Released by Orfeo on 28 May 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert: Symphonies, Vol. 1
Edward Gardner, City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Symphonies - Released by Chandos on 1 Feb 2019
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mendelssohn: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 etc. (Hyperion Romantic Piano Concerto 17)
Stephen Hough, City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Lawrence Foster
Classical - Released by Hyperion on 1 Aug 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Adams: Orchestral Music
City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Sir Simon Rattle
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 31 Mar 1994
The Qobuz Essential Discography16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 18 & Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43
Cécile Ousset, City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Sir Simon Rattle
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 22 Apr 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Œuvres pour clarinette (Intégrale)
Janet Hilton, City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, The Lindsays, Keith Swallow, Neeme Järvi
Classical - Released by Chandos on 1 Jan 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mahler: Symphony No. 7
City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Sir Simon Rattle
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 1 Aug 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mendelssohn in Birmingham, Vol. 3
City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus, Benjamin Hulett, Mary Bevan, Edward Gardner, Sophie Bevan
Symphonic Music - Released by Chandos on 1 Feb 2015
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Meurtre par hypothèse
City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Signum Records on 28 Jun 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Through the Lens of Time
Francisco Fullana, City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, David Fung, Carlos Izcaray
Classical - Released by Orchid Classics on 2 Mar 2018
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Bartók : Double concerto pour piano - Double sonate pour piano
Katia Labèque, Marielle Labèque, Sylvio Gualda, Jean Pierre Drouet, City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Sir Simon Rattle
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 1 Jan 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Grainger - In a Nutshell
Sir Simon Rattle, City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 1 May 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
John Adams : Harmonielehre - The Chairman Dances - Two Fanfares
City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Sir Simon Rattle
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 31 Mar 1994
The Qobuz Essential Discography16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stravinsky: The Firebird, Petrushka, The Rite of Spring, Pulcinella, Apollon musagète & Symphonies
Sir Simon Rattle, City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 2 Feb 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rattle conducts Britten
Sir Simon Rattle, City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 5 Jun 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
R. Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier Suite & Ein Heldenleben
City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Andris Nelsons
Symphonic Music - Released by Orfeo on 25 Nov 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mahler: Symphony No. 8 "Symphony of a Thousand"
Sir Simon Rattle, City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 14 Apr 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra - British Composers. Britten, Vaughan Williams, Elgar, Walton...
City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 18 Mar 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Khatchaturian: Cello Concerto in E Minor & Violin Concerto in D Minor
Daniel Müller-Schott, Arabella Steinbacher, City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Sakari Oramo
Classical - Released by Orfeo on 9 Mar 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Saint-Saëns: Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 22 - Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 1, S. 124
Cécile Ousset, City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Sir Simon Rattle
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 8 Apr 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert: Symphonies, Vol. 2
Edward Gardner, City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Symphonies - Released by Chandos on 28 Feb 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo