Women’s History Month
Saturdays in March
Inspired by the annual celebration of International Women’s Day on March 8, countries across the globe have declared the full month of March dedicated to women’s contributions to history and contemporary society. Stingray Classica joins the celebration of Women’s History Month, presenting a female-centered classical performance each Saturday night in March. The series commences on March 6 with conductor Marin Alsop leading the Britten-Pears Orchestra in a performance of Camille Saint-Saëns’s suite 'Carnival of the Animals'. The following week brings a ballet adaption of one of the most famous female-centered narratives of the stage, as the Norwegian National Ballet dances its take on Henrik Ibsen’s 'Hedda Gabler' in a 2017 performance that brims with psychological intensity. On March 20, the documentary 'Going for the Impossible' follows rising star conductor Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla on her way to the top of the classical music world. Last but not least, Women’s History Month on Stingray Classica concludes with a spectacular performance by Irish conductor and composer Eímear Noone and the Danish Symphony Orchestra, freshly interpreting the most-heard classical music of today: video game soundtracks!
Saint-Saëns - Carnival of the Animals
Saturday, 6 March | 21:00
Marin Alsop conducts the Britten-Pears Orchestra in a performance of Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals. Recorded at Snape Maltings Concert Hall, Snape Bridge in the UK, 2018.Saint-Saëns composed the work in a small Austrian town in 1886, following a disastrous concert tour. It is originally scored for two pianos, two violins, violas, cellos, double bass, flutes, piccolos, clarinets, glass harmonica, and xylophone. From the beginning, Saint-Saëns regarded the piece as an amusing work. It has become one of his best-known works and is played in various adaptions for different ensembles.
Hedda Gabler
Saturday, 13 March | 21:00
After the world premiere of autumn 2017, Seeing Dance describes this ballet adaptation of "Hedda Gabler" of the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet as burning with "intensity". Hedda Gabler is one of world theatre’s best-known characters – an icon created by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. Here, this deeply psychological play is transformed into a ballet, created by director Marit Moum Aune and performed by The Norwegian National Ballet to music by Nils Petter Molvær. The star of this performance is Grete Sofie Borud Nybakken, portraying the main character Hedda. Recorded 2017 in Oslo, Norway.
Going for the Impossible: Mirga Gražinyte-Tyla
Saturday, 20 March | 21:00
This is a documentary about an extraordinary conductor. Mirga Gražinyte-Tyla ranks highly amongst today’s shooting stars of the classical music scene. At the age of only 30, the Lithuanian was unanimously selected by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) to be their musical director; succeeding Andris Nelsons and Sir Simon Rattle. Gentle, strong, calm, and self-confident, she says. “The only thing that could ever stop me is my own lack of imagination.”
Gaming in Symphony
Saturday, 27 March | 21:00
Eímear Noone conducts the Danish National Symphony Orchestra and Concert Choir in a spectacular performance of some of the most well-known video game soundtracks of the last forty years. This programme showcases the depth and breadth of the video game music genre, featuring pieces from Nintendo legend Koji Kondo, DOOM veteran Mick Gordon and a whole host of contemporary game composers including Noone herself. Key soundtracks featured include Call of Duty, Final Fantasy, Assassin's Creed, Halo and World of Warcraft. Soloists for this performance are Tuva Semmingsen (mezzo) and Christine Nonbo Andersen (soprano). Recorded at the DR Koncerthuset in Copenhagen, Denmark in 2018.
