Article pubished in Manchester Evening News 16 September 2016 (full version)

BOTH the Hallé and BBC Philharmonic open their autumn concert schedule

at the Bridgewater Hall next week, and in the Hallé’s case it’s the first programme of the Opus One series, in which the young British pianist Benjamin Grosvenor is soloist in Liszt’s first piano concerto and Hallé music director Sir Mark Elder conducts Beethoven’s ‘Pastoral’ symphony.

That’s performed three times over – September 22 (2.15pm) and September 25 and 28 (7.30pm).

The BBC Phil have their opening concert on 24 September, beginning under music director Juanjo Mena with Haydn’s The Creation (aka Die Schöpfung, as they’re doing it in the German version).

It’s the first of three major choral works in their season, each with a different choir: for Haydn it’s the City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus, and the others are Bach’s St Matthew Passion (next Good Friday) with Manchester Chamber Choir, and Schoenberg’s Gurrelieder next June – a joint project with the Hallé when both orchestras together and the Hallé Choir are joined by a starry soloists’ team.

Simon Webb, BBC Philharmonic general manager, was understandably thrilled at the treats in store for his Bridgewater Hall audience.

“We’re trying to present music that’s changed things – in particular changing music itself,” he said. “Great music always has an important impact. In our 2017-18 season we’ll focus on music that had a political impact, but this is about revolutionary masterpieces in a musical context.”

That’s the idea behind starting with Haydn, and also the Bach and Schoenberg works to come, but it also shows in two programmes later this year, conducted by Mena, that include Stravinsky’s The Rite Of Spring, Ravel’s Daphnis And Chloé ballet music and the UK premiere of Magnus Lindberg’s Vivo (November 19), and Berg’s violin concerto (soloist Michael Barenboim) and Bruckner’s Symphony no. 7 (December 10).

“The former will show the colours and brilliance of the orchestra, and the latter has a lot to do with how Juanjo approaches his own artistic identity,” says Webb.

There’s also a stream of British music, with Elgar and Walton on October 9 (Mena conducts, and Jennifer Pike is soloist in Sibelius’ violin concerto) via Sir Peter Maxwell Davies’ trumpet concerto on October 22 (soloist Håkan Hardenberger, conductor John Storgårds) and Britten’s Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes on November 5 (Storgårds conducts again).

And there’s much more in the New Year, including a world premiere … but more of that another day.