Spring symphonies and classical concerts at The Apex
The classical music programme at The Apex, in Bury St Edmunds, starts on January 25, with Attacca Quartet (pictured above).
This two-time Grammy Award-winning quartet is acclaimed as one of the most versatile and outstanding ensembles.
The programme includes Caroline Shaw’s quartet written to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Dumbarton Oaks, musically describing the different parts of the estate’s grounds. You can also hear Beethoven’s String Quartet Op. 132.
East Anglia Chamber Orchestra return on January 31, with Siv Misund, the Norwegian mezzo-soprano whose voice has been described as “heartbreakingly beautiful”.
Siv brings her timbre to the performance of Elgar’s Sea Pictures.
This setting of five poems was written for the Norwich Festival and premiered there in 1899.
Conducted by Jacques Cohen, the programme also includes Wagner’s pompous and joyous Prelude to Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg and Brahms’ Fourth Symphony.
The following day, February, 1, there is music performed by Suffolk Young Strings and the Suffolk Youth Wind Band in Sunday Serenade: Music to Lift Your Afternoon.
Highlighting the talent and dedication of Suffolk’s top level young musicians, this concert brings together a string orchestra with the sound of a wind band.
Academy of St Martin in the Fields are performing on February 4.
Internationally acclaimed cellist Steven Isserlis joins them for Haydn’s Cello Concerto No. 2 in D major – a concerto with Haydn’s signature joy, humour and warmth, which highlights Isserlis’ virtuosic skills.
Also on the programme is Tchaikovsky’s Andante Cantabile, originally from his String Quartet No. 1 and arranged separately by the composer for cello and string orchestra.
The Wolsey Orchestra bring an evening of orchestral music on February 7.
Featuring Saint-Saëns’ Symphony No. 3 ’Organ’, the programme also includes Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture and a selection from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet Suites.
International concert pianist Mark Bebbington returns to town, following his performance with the Czech National Symphony Orchestra in 2024.
Mark has a host of five star recordings to his name and with a gap in his worldwide touring schedule, he comes to The Apex on February 15 with a programme that includes Beethoven’s Pathétique Sonata and two works by Liszt.
The region’s leading Symphonic Wind Band, RAF Honington Voluntary Band bring popular classics, swing and music from stage and screen on February 28. All funds raised will support West Suffolk Council chair’s chosen charities for the year, SARS and Gatehouse.
Bury Friendly Orchestra celebrate their 20th anniversary on March 1, with a concert that features two masterpieces of the romantic repertoire; Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto no 2 (with the young pianist Archie Bonham) and Dvořák’s Symphony No 9 From the New World, The concert will open with the World Premiere of a new fanfare by David Sims, composed to celebrate the BFO’s 20th Anniversary.
Bury Bach Choir perform The Majesty of Handel on March 15.
George Frideric Handel was commissioned to compose four anthems for the coronation of King George ll and Queen Caroline in 1727.
He elected to write all four anthems in a bold and extrovert style, suitable for the grandness and importance of the occasion and for the scale of the venue, Westminster Abbey.
They were instantly popular and remain so to this day. They are still frequently performed at Royal occasions and Zadok the Priest has been performed at every coronation since 1727.
On March 21, Neil Carlson conducts Suffolk Sinfonia and soloist Karolina Csathy in a programme of popular classics that have stories to tell.
A beautiful concerto by Max Bruch that never earned its composer a single penny; a symphony by Shostakovich that was banned by the authorities; a coronation march by Sir William Walton initially savaged by the critics, and some wonderful Brahms that was loved from the off.
Thursday, March 26, sees a Holy Week performance by Britten Sinfonia and Tenebrae.
Some of the UK’s best singers and orchestral musicians perform two pieces – Barber’s Adagio and Allegri’s Miserere, preparing the way for James MacMillan’s intense and emotionally direct 1994 Passiontide setting, which has deservedly become a modern classic.
See www.theapex.co.uk or ring 01284 758000 for more details and to book tickets.