Everything about The City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra totally explained
The
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) is a British orchestra based in
Birmingham,
England.
The orchestra first performed as the
City of Birmingham Orchestra in September 1920, with Appleby Matthews conducting its first concert. The programme included
Overture: Saul by
Granville Bantock, a strong supporter of the orchestra's foundation. However, its official foundation is generally reckoned to have been the "First Symphony Concert" in November
1920, when
Edward Elgar conducted a programme of his own music in Birmingham Town Hall. The orchestra's founder was
Neville Chamberlain, who later became
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and declared
war on
Germany in
1939.
Appleby Matthews was the orchestra's first chief conductor.
Adrian Boult was chief conductor from 1924 to 1930.
History
The CBO became a full time organisation in 1944, changing its name to the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in 1948. Chief conductors since then included Rudolf Schwarz, the
composer Andrzej Panufnik, Boult in an emergency return for a season after Panufnik's sudden resignation, Hugo Rignold and Louis Frémaux. During this time, the orchestra made recordings and gave regular concerts.
The CBSO began to gain greater international renown after
Simon Rattle became chief conductor in 1980. Under him, the orchestra increased its recording profile and became one of the leading ensembles in Europe, and gained a name for its interpretations of late
romantic and
20th century works, especially those of
Sibelius and
Gustav Mahler. During this period, the orchestra moved from
Birmingham Town Hall to a new home venue,
Symphony Hall, inside Birmingham's
International Convention Centre. The nearby
CBSO Centre, a converted factory, houses management offices, rehearsal facilities, and is a concert venue in its own right, for more intimate performances.
Rattle was named music director of the CBSO in 1990. That same year, the post of Radcliffe Composer in Association was created, with
Mark-Anthony Turnage filling the role. In 1995
Judith Weir became Fairbairn Composer in Association, followed in 2001 by
Julian Anderson.
After Rattle relinquished his posts with the CBSO, the
Finnish conductor
Sakari Oramo became chief conductor in 1998, and music director in 1999. His CBSO work has included the Floof! festival of contemporary music. He has also championed the music of
John Foulds in concerts and recordings. In 2006, the orchestra announced that Oramo is scheduled to step down in 2008 and take the title of principal guest conductor.
In October 2007, the orchestra named the
Latvian conductor
Andris Nelsons as the CBSO's 12th music director, effective with the 2008-2009 season. Nelsons' initial contract is for 3 years. The appointment is unusual in that Nelsons hadn't conducted the CBSO publicly prior to his appointment, but only in a private concert and in a recording session.
In 2001, the players rejected a contract that would have stopped extra payments for broadcasts and recordings, in the context of financial crisis at the CBSO. In addition, other controversy arose from the CBSO's demands from the Arts Council for a greater share of the Council's stabilisation fund, because of its reputation compared to other British orchestras.
The CBSO has recorded substantially for EMI Classics and Warner Classics, as well as smaller labels. The Orchestra's chief executive, appointed in 1999, is Stephen Maddock.
Leadership
Other notable employees
Stephen Maddock - Chief Executive
Sir Michael Lyons - Chairman
Wally Francis - Deputy Chairman
Michael Adams - Elected TrusteeFurther Information
Get more info on 'City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://city_of_birmingham_symphony_orchestra.totallyexplained.com">City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
