Page 53 - Final_CBSO's 100th Birthday Celebration

could not have wished for finer advocacy than her piece received from this conductor and
orchestra.

Birmingham is a city that prides itself on its diversity and so it was appropriate that the
programme should include music that references that aspect of the city’s life. We heard a
suite from A.R. Rahman’s music for Danny Boyle’s 2008 film Slumdog Millionaire. For this,
the orchestra was joined by the brilliant young sitar virtuoso, Roopa Panesar, Nottingham-
born but trained in Birmingham. First, the orchestra gave a big-hearted account of what I
think was the Main Title music from the film. (I can’t be sure because I’ve only seen the film
once, quite some time ago). That was followed by a lengthy solo by Ms Panesar – was this an
improvisation? She began slowly and thoughtfully but gradually increased both the speed and
intensity of her playing. Her formidably-played solo led without a break into a vigorous final
dance in which she and the orchestra collaborated. This was exuberant, but it seemed to me
that Rahman made a little musical material go quite a long way. I’m not sure how well
Rahman’s music worked as a standalone concert item divorced from the film, but it was an
appropriate choice for this programme.

Finally, we heard the 1919 suite from The Firebird. This earned its place by right since it was
the very first music that Simon Rattle and the CBSO played in Symphony Hall back in 1991,
even before the hall’s official opening. The music is archetypical Rattle territory; indeed, he
made a splendid recording of the complete ballet with the CBSO back in 1986 (review). The
Rattle magic was in evidence immediately with a hushed account of the Introduction that was
full of tension and promise. The Firebird’s Dance, which followed, glimmered and
shimmered; here was vitality and balletic grace. ‘Ronde des princesses’ featured many
delightful individual solos before the pleasant mood was shattered by Kastchei’s Dance. This
was packed with malevolent energy, the playing incisive. The CBSO’s principal bassoon
distinguished himself in the ‘Berceuse’, as did several of his colleagues. There was another
bit of Rattle magic in the transition to the ‘Final’; here, the strings laid a barely audible carpet
of sound to prepare the way for the horn solo. The orchestra then built this movement
thrillingly to achieve a majestic, celebratory end to the suite and to the concert. This was the
performance of the evening.

Though the music was the main thing, of course, there was much more to this two-hour
celebration of the CBSO’s centenary. In between each of the pieces there were video
messages from a wide selection of members of the CBSO family, including Simon Rattle’s
three successors, Sakari Oramo, Andris Nelsons and Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla. Naturally, there
was quite a bit of congratulation in these messages but as the evening progressed a different
theme became ever more evident. This evening wasn’t about looking back; primarily, it was
about looking forward with confidence and excitement. The CBSO hadn’t played together in
public for nearly six months – though I detected no signs of rustiness on this occasion – and
goodness knows when the Covid emergency will allow them to resume concerts in front of
audiences. However, the mood seemed to me to be summed up by one contributor, David
Gregory, a retired violinist with the CBSO, who referred to the recent disruption as an
‘interruption’ to the orchestra’s history. The CBSO showed great strength of corporate
character and a determination – both among the players and everyone else involved with the
orchestra – to do great things as an orchestra for Birmingham and the West Midlands in the
next 100 years. I thought it was telling how much emphasis was put on the CBSO’s work
with and for young people: that’s where the future lies.

The City of Birmingham Orchestra can legitimately claim that it gave two inaugural concerts.
The September 1920 concert was one of what proved to be a very popular series of Sunday
concerts. However, there was a distinct series of Symphony Concerts. The first of those