Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in 90th birthday event
- Published
The orchestra had Symphony added to its name in 1948
A special birthday concert is taking place to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO).
The event at the city's Symphony Hall will be held to mark the anniversary of Sir Edward Elgar conducting its inaugural Symphony concert.
The CBSO will perform his Violin Concerto as part of Wednesday evening's event.
The charity is core funded by Arts Council England and the city council.
'Next generation'
The special concert will include Strauss's Suite from Der Rosenkavalier and Haydn's Symphony No. 90.
Audience members have been invited to join the music director, Latvian Andris Nelsons, and the orchestra for a special birthday party.
Mr Nelsons became music director in 2008, following in the footsteps of Adrian Boult, Louis Fremaux and Sir Simon Rattle.
He will continue Birmingham's Mahler cycle with four performances of the composer's Symphony No. 5.
Two will be held in the city on 23 and 24 November with two taking place in his home city of Riga on 26 and 27 November on the CBSO's first ever trip to Latvia.
The orchestra, which had Symphony added to its name in 1948, held its first concert at Birmingham Town Hall and performed the majority of its concerts there from 1920 to 1991.
The CBSO has five choruses, a youth orchestra and an education and outreach programme which "reaches out to the next generation of music lovers", it said.
Birthday celebrations started with more than 30 concerts being held at schools in October. Wednesday evening's concert will be repeated on Thursday.