Classical Futures Europe
Classical Futures Europe supports projects that energise and develop the careers of emerging young talent in classical music. Their funded projects construct connections between audiences and the next generation of international performing artists, drive innovation and support the professional development of new talent to enable them to thrive in an ever-changing classical music landscape.
Classical Futures Europe is formed by a collective of 15 concert halls across Europe, funded through a 2 million euro investment by the Creative Partnership of the European Union over 4 years. The platform is managed by the European Concert Hall Organisation.
The Glasshouse enjoys a relationship with ECHO, presenting an annual day-long festival of performances by ECHO’s Rising Stars (young artists under 35) and with CFE funding-enabled special projects.
Read more about Classical Futures Europe.
Read more about the European Concert Hall Organisation (ECHO) and their Rising Stars
Lukas Geniusas, RNS: Chopin, Bacewicz & Schubert
Russian-Lithuanian pianist Lukas Geniušas has firmly established himself as one of the most exciting and distinctive artists of his generation. Praised for his ‘brilliance and maturity’ (The Guardian) he is invited to give recitals in the most prestigious venues all over the world. Known for his innate curiosity and extensive musical interests, Lukas Geniušas explores a wide range of repertoire, from the baroque to works by contemporary composers.
Project Details
Thursday 17 February, Middlesbrough Town Hall
Friday 18 February, The Glasshouse (Live Stream)
Saturday 19 February, Kendal Westmorland Hall
Sunday 20 February, Masterclasses at The Glasshouse
Chopin Piano Concerto No.1 in E minor
Simon Shibambu, The People's Requiem
Rising South African bass baritone Simon Shibambu recently completed the Jette Parker Young Artists Programme at the Royal Opera House. A finalist of the 2018 Operalia competition, his luscious voice is attracting significant international attention. Last season, Shibambu made his debut at the BBC Proms. Other notable performances include productions with the Theatre an der Wein, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, and English National Opera. He was also invited to perform in front of world leaders and the Royal Family at the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey.
Performance Details
Sunday 28 November, The Glasshouse
Verdi Requiem
As well as performing in The People’s Requiem as a bass baritone soloist, Simon will be featured in a short film of the project from a performer’s perspective.
Luis Gomes, The People's Requiem
Portuguese tenor Luis Gomes has been seen in recent seasons as a guest artist at various European opera houses, including the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Den Nordske Opera Oslo, Glyndebourne and Teatro Nacional Sao Carlos Lisbon. Receiving high appraisal from the critics, Mr. Gomes is described as a vibrant, Latin timbre (Gramophone) with thrilling top register (The Guardian). Mr. Gomes is also in demand as a concert and recital soloist at prestigious international venues such as the Dresden Semperoper, Royal Festival Hall, Wigmore Hall, Barbican Hall, DeDoelen Rotterdam, Concertgebouw Amsterdam and Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation Lisbon.
Performance Details
Sunday 28 November, The Glasshouse
Verdi Requiem
As well as performing in The People’s Requiem as the tenor soloist, Luis delivered a masterclass for young musicians as part of The Glasshouse’s Centre for Advanced Training.
Simon Shibambu in concert at The Glasshouse
Luis Gomes in concert at The Glasshouse
Luis Gomes and Simon Shibambu in concert at The Glasshouse
Magnus Holmander, RNS: Nordic Magic
He is the musician who can make a music stand levitate and a clarinet to literally vanish right in front of your eyes. Magnus has, through his unique combination of music and magic, created his very own niche in the world of classical music. His career took off when Swedish superstar Martin Fröst, 2013, invited Magnus to participate as a clarinettist, dancer and magician in the show Dollhouse, which was performed at a number of concert halls around the Nordic region.
Performance Details
Friday 5 November, The Glasshouse
Grieg Holberg suite
Nielsen Clarinet Concerto
Sibelius Symphony No.3
Ksenija Sidorova, RNS: Dance!
Praised as “revelatory” (New York Times) with “breathtaking virtuosity” (The Observer), Ksenija Sidorova is the leading ambassador for the classical accordion. Both a unique and charismatic performer, Ksenija is passionate about showcasing the vast capabilities of her instrument. Her repertoire spans from Bach to Piazzolla, from Efrem Podgaits and Václav Trojan, to Erkki-Sven Tüür and George Bizet, as well as new accordion concertos composed especially for her, plus a multitude of chamber projects.
Performance Details
Friday 1 October, The Glasshouse
Adams Shaker Loops
Piazzolla Bandoneon Concerto ‘Aconcagua’
Beethoven Symphony No.7
Anastasia Kobekina, Opening Night 2021
Being one of the most promising talents of her generation, Anastasia Kobekina debuted with an orchestra at the age of six. Since that time she has had the opportunity to perform with many renowned orchestras, under guidance of Krzysztov Penderecki, Heinrich Schiff, Vladimir Spivakov and Valery Gergiev.
In June 2019 Anastasia won the Bronze medal at the XVI International Tchaikovsky Competition in St. Petersburg. In 2018 she became a New Generation Artist of the BBC 3 Radio Scheme and was also awarded the Prix Thierry Scherz and the Prix André Hoffmann at the Swiss Winter Music Festival “Sommets musicaux de Gstaad”.
Performance Details
Saturday 18 September, The Glasshouse
Mira Calix & Sarah Turner Oot-Ower
Shostakovich Cello Concerto No.1
Dvořák Symphony No.8
Anastasia in Rehearsal with RNS
Anastasia in Concert with RNS
Anastasia Encore with Jude Charlton
Andri Björn Róbertsson, The Glasshouse Residency
Andri studied at the Reykjavik Academy of Singing and Vocal Arts in his native Iceland, the Royal Academy of Music, and the National Opera Studio, London. His operatic work includes appearances at Icelandic Opera in Reykjavik, Staatsoper Hamburg, Opera National de Lyon, English National Opera, and Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. He is also a keen recitalist and has performed at the Oxford Lieder Festival, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence and Wigmore Hall.
Andri was a semi-finalist in the 2015 Queen Sonja International Music Competition and was nominated as the ́Brightest Hope in Classical Music ́at the 2013 Icelandic Music Awards. He is a Samling Artist and was a 2016-18 Harewood Artist.
Residency Details
Andri, who is currently based in Whitley Bay, spent three days at The Glasshouse ahead of the release of his first solo album, rehearsing with an accompanist and undertaking vocal coaching and masterclasses in Lieder and German language. There are also plans for Andri to undertake masterclasses with students of The Glasshouse’s Centre for Advanced Training. We are delighted to be able to support Andri at this important moment in his career development.
Alina Ibragimova, Death and the Maiden
Alina Ibragimova has established a reputation as one of the most accomplished and intriguing violinists of her generation, performing music from baroque to new commissions on both modern and period instruments. Alina has performed with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. Alina is a founding member of the Chiaroscuro Quartet. Together they have toured and recorded extensively since 2005 and have become one of the most sought-after period ensembles.
Read more about Alina here.
Performance Details
Friday 13 November, The Glasshouse
Walker Lyric for Strings
Bach Violin Concerto No.2 in E
Schubert Death and the Maiden
Royal Northern Sinfonia’s performance of Schubert’s Death and the Maiden directed by Alina Ibragimova was to form part of Sage Live 2020, The Glasshouse’s series of reopening concerts in Autumn 2020 with socially distanced audiences. Sadly, after just two weeks for performances, the building was forced to close to the public once again.
However, we were delighted to present the remaining concerts as live stream only events, reaching digital audiences across the North, the UK, and the world.
Royal Northern Sinfonia’s performances within Sage Live 2020 focussed on the music that the orchestra does best, with a little twist of something different too.
Adjusting to stream-only audiences was a challenge for players and conductor alike but provided a wonderful opportunity for personal and professional development.
Watch Alina play/direct the first movement of Bach’s Violin Concerto No.2 with Royal Northern Sinfonia, below.
Dinis Sousa, Beethoven 2020: The Next Generation
London-based Portuguese conductor and pianist Dinis Sousa is Founder and Artistic Director of Orquestra XXI, and has also conducted the Aurora Orchestra, Southbank Sinfonia, Portuguese Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, and the Gulbenkian Choir. Dinis studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama where he was the Conducting Fellow. He studied conducting with Sian Edwards and Timothy Redmond and piano with Philip Jenkins and Martin Roscoe.
Read more about Dinis here.
Performance Details
Thursday 23 January, Middlesbrough Town Hall
Friday 24 January, St Cuthbert’s Church Carlisle
Beethoven Symphony No.1
Abel MGE Beethoven Museum (New Commission, world premiere)
Beethoven Symphony No.3 ‘Eroica’
Beethoven 2020: The Next Generation was to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth with a complete symphony cycle in Carlisle and Middlesbrough. Unfortunately, the concert series had to be curtailed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The project asked emerging conductors and composers (in their 20s and early 30s) why Beethoven still matters today, and to give their personal answers through their interpretations and compositions, thereby creating a contemporary response to the phenomenon that is Beethoven.
“Beethoven’s music is so incredibly varied, and the range of emotions is so great that everybody can find something that they can relate to. It still amazes me that someone so isolated, both socially and physically, could create such wide-reaching music that would inspire the world throughout the last two and a half centuries.” – Dinis Sousa
Each concert was to feature a new commission in response to Beethoven selected from our RNS Young Composers’ Competition. The project was also surrounded by education work in Carlisle and Middlesbrough schools, with students writing and performing their own music in response to Beethoven.
We were delighted to engage award-winning film maker and director Joseph Briffa to document Beethoven 2020: The Next Generation. The series of films were designed to highlight each element of the project and answer the question ‘why is Beethoven still relevant today?’. Whilst the series was curtailed by Covid-19, we were able to produce an introductory film, featuring Dinis Sousa, and demonstrate all aspects of the project including education work and newly commissioned pieces. See the film below.
Chloé van Soeterstède, Sibelius Symphony No.5
Chloé van Soeterstède was born in 1988 in France. After studying viola at the Royal Academy of Music, she studied conducting at the Royal Northern College of Music (2015-2017) with Clark Rundell and Mark Heron where she was awarded the Kennedy scholarship and was also supported by the Derek Hill Foundation. In 2019, she was appointed the Taki Concordia Fellow 2019-21 by Marin Alsop. She has also conducted the Royal Philharmonic, BBC Scottish Symphony, and City of Birmingham Symphony orchestras.
Read more about Chloé here.
Performance Details
Friday 6 November, The Glasshouse
Elgar Serenade for Strings
Ylva Skog They Call Her Love
Tchaikovsky Andante Cantabile
Sibelius (arr. Farrington) Symphony No.5
Watch Royal Northern Sinfonia perform Tchaikovsky’s Andante Cantabile (cello – Steffan Morris), and Ylva Skog’s They Call Her Love conducted by Chloé van Soeterstède, below.
