City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra

Usher Hall
Edinburgh
Scotland

City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra

Andris Nelsons Conductor

Baiba Skride Violin



Often considered to embody the spirit of Finnish nationalism, Sibelius’s Second Symphony is one of the composer’s warmest pieces, emerging from forest murmuring at its opening to the blazing light of its grandiose conclusion’s triumphant fanfares.

The violin concerto Offertorium by Tartar-born composer Sofia Gubaidulina has become a modern classic, its profound spiritual message conveyed in music of glowing transcendance. Written in defiance of Soviet oppression, its score was smuggled out of the USSR for its 1981 premiere in Vienna. It is just the piece to showcase the lyricism and emotional depth of Latvian-born violinist Baiba Skride’s playing to the full.

‘Andris Nelsons is six-and-a-half feet of pure energy’ The Daily Telegraph

‘there really is something going on between Nelsons and the CBSO… an alchemy that makes the combination irresistible in concert.’ The Guardian



Sofia Gubaidulina : Offertorium, Concerto for Violin and Orchestra
Jean Sibelius : Symphony No 2