BBC Radio 3’s Manchester Week features concerts from Stephen Hough, Hallé Orchestra and Manchester Collective among others, from the city’s most prestigious concert halls and venues.
Ten live and pre-recorded performances as part of New Music Show, BBC Radio 3 in Concert & BBC Radio 3 Lunchtime Concert slots.
Saturday 16 to Friday 22 January 2021
BBC Radio 3 broadcasts a week of live and pre-recorded concerts from Manchester, featuring performances from some of the city’s best-known concert halls and venues: Bridgewater Hall, The Stoller Hall at Chetham’s School of Music, and Media City in Salford, home of the BBC Philharmonic.
Highlighting the station’s continued commitment to connecting listeners and performers with broadcasts of music performed all over the UK – especially during the current global pandemic, when audiences have been able to enjoy live concerts only in reduced numbers or remotely and artists have struggled to work – the Manchester Week gives a snapshot of the city’s vibrant music scene, with appearances by established and up-and-coming artists, presenting well-known as well as experimental repertoire.
The week kicks off on Saturday 16 January with a special edition of the New Music Show from The Stoller Hall. Here, Tom Service introduces a set by Manchester’s own Psappha ensemble, specialising in 20th and 21st century repertoire, and featuring music with a strong Manchester connection. Psappha present work by Ninfea Cruttwell-Reade, Lucy Armstrong, Anna Thorvalsdottir and John Casken. The programme also profiles recordings and interviews with other composers and musicians on the Manchester scene including Larry Goves, Emily Howard and electronic music from Ricardo Climent.
From Monday 18 to Friday 22 January, BBC Radio 3 in Concert and Radio 3 Lunchtime Concert slots feature live and pre-recorded concerts. Highlights include:
- Acclaimed pianist Stephen Hough performing music by Schumann, Chopin and Bach live from The Stoller Hall
- Manchester’s Hallé Orchestra, led by the ensemble’s Assistant Conductor Delyana Lazarova, live from Bridgewater Hall in a programme of works by Bacewicz, and Shostakovich, with violinist Callum Smart joining the group for Glazunov’s Violin Concerto
- Trailblazing home-grown experimenters Manchester Collective live from The Stoller Hall with a programme featuring a brand new work by Freya Waley-Cohen, plus music by Górecki, Mahler and Dowland
- A pre-recorded performance by the city’s chamber ensemble Manchester Camerata, in Dobrinka Tabakova’s Dawn, Copland’s Appalachian Spring, and Michael Nyman’s Where the Bee Dances (with rising star saxophonist and broadcaster Jess Gillam) and Daniel Kidane’s new work Be Still (world premiere), from The Stoller Hall
- Manchester-based BBC Philharmonic in two concerts from Media City, with the ensemble led by Mark Wigglesworth in a repertoire ranging from Haydn to Beethoven, Schoenberg, and Mahler’s Des Knaben Wunderhorn with tenor Roderick Williams
- Lunchtime Concerts featuring recitals by up-and -coming Chetham’s alumnus violinist Jennifer Pike, acclaimed British baritone Marcus Farnsworth, and bassoonist Amy Harman.
BBC Radio 3 Controller Alan Davey says: “As restrictions on live performances accompany us into the new year, we at BBC Radio 3 continue to connect our audiences with the very best music-making from around the UK, enabling artists to perform and earn a living whilst bringing great live performance to a national and indeed global audience. Here we take a moment to celebrate inspiring talent and world-class venues and put the spotlight on one of the UK’s most creative and culturally vibrant cities, Manchester.”
