The Glasshouse

…quasi una fantasia…Op. 27/1

Introduzione: Largo – Presto minaccioso e lamentoso: Molto agitato – Recitativo: Grave, disperato  – Aria-Adagio molto: Lontano, calmo, appena sentito

Brefs Messages, Op. 47

Fanfare – Versetto: Temptavit Deus Abraham; apokrif organum – Ligatura Y – Bornemisza: Az hit …

Four Capriccios, Op. 9

Paris I ; Musée de Cluny: La Dame à la Licorne – Paris II ; Tour Saint Jacques – Language Lesson – Ars Poetica

Born to Hungarian parents in Lugoj, Romania, György Kurtág is Hungary’s pre-eminent living composer, and one of the most potent and original creative forces in the world today: an artist whose exquisitely-crafted works carry a weight, and an emotional and philosophical power, out of all proportion to their often small scale. He survived Nazi occupation and postwar communist tyranny, but the experience of the 1956 Hungarian Rising sent him to Paris where he studied with Messiaen and Milhaud and grappled with depression before finding creative liberation in the music of Webern and the writings of Samuel Beckett.

Kurtág’s early experiences convinced him that a work of art does not have to be large to contain worlds, and that the simplest games can reveal the most complex truths. Sometimes those games begin with other works of art, even if the direct relationship is not immediately clear. Any pianist knows that Beethoven’s Sonata quasi una fantasia, Op. 27 No. 2. is his so-called “Moonlight” sonata. But Kurtág, in this work for piano and chamber ensemble (composed for the Berlin Philharmonic in 1988) knows some other things, too.

Kurtág typically prefers to let his music do the talking and the titles of the four short movements of Brefs Messages (2011) – though cryptic – offer the only imaginative key that is required for this surprisingly dramatic work, the last two movements of which revisit two of Kurtág’s earlier works. But regarding the Four Capriccios for soprano and ensemble, the composer writes:

Composed in 1970, 4 Capriccios is a setting of poems by István Bálint. The first one bears the title Paris I – Musée de Cluny: La Dame à la Licorne. It is of course a reference to the Renaissance Gobelin [tapestry] in the Cluny Museum showing Queen Mary of England with the mythological unicorn. The Gobelin only serves as a point of departure for a chain of free associations unrelated by any logic but linked with hidden ties inherent in the succession of words. The second capriccio is entitled Paris II – Tour Saint Jacques. The structure of the poem is similar to that of the previous one and its inspiration also comes from a visual experience in Paris. The third movement Language Lesson and the fourth one Ars poetica start out from well-known notions but arrive at ideas in blaring contrast with the accepted meaning of those notions

Symphony No.39 in E flat, K.543

Adagio; Allegro – Andante – Menuetto: Allegretto – Allegro

Mozart wrote wonderful letters about everything except his music. During the six weeks in the summer of 1788 during which he composed his last three symphonies, we know that he’d moved to a new flat in the Vienna suburbs, that he liked its garden and that (as always) he had cashflow problems. But about the process of writing this symphony, which he finished on 26th June: nothing.

A grand chord of E flat opens the symphony – the key that Mozart often used to symbolise the brotherhood and Enlightenment ideals of 18^th century Freemasonry. And in the middle of the orchestra, instead of bright-sounding oboes, he’s put two clarinets. It wasn’t a coincidence that one of Mozart’s fellow Freemasons, Anton Stadler, was a superb clarinettist. (Mozart called him Ribisel – “Old redcurrant-face”). This is a symphony about lofty and generous ideals; it’s also a symphony about warmth and friendship.

So after a majestic introduction – like a portico on a classical building – the woodwinds and horns play a characterful part in a brilliant, swinging first Allegro. The Andante moves at a gentler pace, and Mozart uses his woodwinds to make it glow from within. Next comes the traditional Menuetto – though this one is full of bustling swagger, at least until the central section where the two clarinets play a lilting tune straight out of a Viennese wine garden. And then comes the finale – and although there are still moments of quiet reflection, seriousness is forgotten as the whole orchestra runs laughing for the finish.

Praised for her “seraphically poignant” artistry (Bachtrack) and “bright and buoyant” singing (Houston
Chronicle), soprano Erika Baikoff is quickly emerging as one of the most compelling lyric voices of
her generation

In the 2025/26 season, she returns as a member of the ensemble at the Bayerische Staatsoper,
making a series of role debuts: Pamina (Die Zauberflöte), Clorinda (La Cenerentola), Najade
(Ariadne auf Naxos), Frasquita (Carmen), and Esmeralda (The Bartered Bride). In Munich, she will
revisit her acclaimed Zerlina (Don Giovanni) and Gretel (Hänsel und Gretel), a role she also brings
to Ópera de Oviedo. Further afield, she joins La Cetra Barockorchester Basel as Ginevra (Ariodante)
with performances at the Theater an der Wien, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Teatro Real Madrid,
Stadtcasino Basel, and others.

On the concert stage, Erika appears with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra for Mozart’s
Requiem under Natalie Stutzmann, BBC Symphony Orchestra for Ravel’s Shéhérazade, Mahler’s
Fourth Symphony with the Bremer Philharmoniker, Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater with La Sfera
Armoniosa at Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, and Brahms’s Ein deutsches Requiem with the
Orquesta Sinfónica de Navarra Pamplona.

A passionate recitalist, she returns to Schubertiade Schwarzenberg with Daniel Heide, the Chamber
Music Society of Lincoln Center for an evening of Parisian Delights, and to both the Heidelberg
Festival and Schubertíada with Roman Borisov. Erika also looks forward to debuts at the
Wiener Konzerthaus and Highgate International Chamber Music Festival.

Highlights of recent seasons include house and role debuts at Theater an der Wien (Ofelia, Ambleto), Houston Grand Opera (Zerlina, Don Giovanni), Palm Beach Opera (Four Heroines, Les contes d’Hoffmann), Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra (Das Rheingold), London Symphony Orchestra (Jenufa), Atlanta Symphony (Mozart’s Great Mass in C) and SWR Stuttgart (Bruckner’s Mass No.3).

Erika is an alumna of the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Program, Opéra National de Lyon Studio, Verbier Festival Atelier Lyrique, and Festival d’Aix-en-Provence Académie, she is also a first prize winner of the Helmut Deutsch Liedwettbewerb and the Concours international de chant-piano Nadia et Lili Boulanger. From the 2025/26 season, Erika is a BBC New Generation Artist.

Internationally renowned, calling Gateshead home.

37 musicians at the top of their game. Electrifying music, old and new. All the talent, determination, and creativity of the North East on a worldwide stage. From their home at The Glasshouse International Centre for Music, Royal Northern Sinfonia share the joy and wonder of orchestral music with thousands of people across the North of England – and beyond – every year.

From symphonies to string quartets, film soundtracks to choral masses, and original performances with awesome artists from Sheku Kanneh-Mason to Self Esteem, the orchestra’s members have got one of the most varied jobs there is. They’re always looking for fresh new sounds from up-and-coming composers, inviting local communities to share a stage, and doing everything they can to inspire and prepare the musicians of tomorrow to one day take their place.

They’re also working hard to smash the barriers that can stop brilliant people getting into classical music. They’ve teamed up with national partners to support women conductors to develop their careers, to help global majority musicians get vital experience in the orchestra world, and to celebrate disabled and non-disabled musicians breaking new ground together in inclusive ensemble RNS Moves. And they bring new musical opportunities to the region, headlining the first-ever BBC Proms weekend outside London.

Because they whole-heartedly believe orchestral music is for anyone – big cities and rural villages, tiny babies and life-long listeners, die-hard fans and curious minds – they travel far and wide to make sure there’s top-notch classical music on offer for anyone ready to say “I’ll give that a go”. You’ll find them in churches, castles, and community venues across the North, as well as leading the charge in Carlisle, Kendal, Middlesbrough, and Sunderland.

With 65 years of success to build on, they’ve signed a dynamic artistic leadership – Music Director Dinis Sousa, Artistic Partner Maria Włoszczowska, Principal Guest Conductor Nil Venditti and Associate Conductor Ellie Slorach – to lead the way into a bold, bright future.

Wherever the orchestra play and whoever they share a stage with, every performance is a chance to see, hear and feel the music.