Aleksei Returns to London! the Oﬃcial Launch of the London Firebird Orchestra

Aleksei Returns to London! The oﬃcial launch of the London Firebird Orchestra

Tuesday 12 June 2012, 7.30pm St Paul's Covent Garden, London

(Pimm's available on the lawn, in the church's private garden, from 7pm)

London Firebird Orchestra Patron: Dame Judi Dench CH DBE Chairman & Ar!s!c Director: Marc Corbe!Weaver Principal Conductor: Achim Holub Solo Cello: Aleksei Kiseliov Soprano: Julie!a Demetriades

Beethoven Overture to the Creatures of the Prometheus, Op. 43 Elgar Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85 Wagner Vorspiel und Liebestod (from 'Tristan und Isolde') Stravinsky The Firebird Suite (1919)

Tickets: £35, £25, £15 To book, please email: [email protected] www.FirebirdOrchestra.com

"I am delighted to travel to London to support my friends Marc Corbe!-Weaver and Achim Holub in their exci"ng new orchestral venture and look forward to playing with many talented friends!" Aleksei Kiseliov Principal Cello of the Royal Sco"sh Na#onal Orchestra "Aleksei Kiseliov's performance was simply sublime. Clearly a great future awaits him." Dame Judi Dench

Those were the words of Dame Judi Dench a"er hearing Aleksei perform in London in November 2007. Now, ﬁve years on, Aleksei is the principal cello of the Royal Sco#sh Na!onal Orchestra and has a world-renowned reputa!on as one of the most exci!ng cellists of his genera!on. Aleksei says "When I heard that my friends Marc Corbe$-Weaver and Achim Holub, - two musicians with whom I have collaborated many !mes over the years - had created a new orchestra, I was delighted to accept their invita!on to travel to London to be with them and support it. I wish them great success with the London Firebird Orchestra and I look forward to playing with many of my friends in June."

The concert opens the Beethoven's vibrant Prometheus Overture. Then, Aleksei Kiseliov will sweep the audience away with his inspired interpreta!on of Elgar's heart-rending Cello Concerto. In the second half, the Firebird is joined by the award-winning soprano Julie$a Demetriades for Wagner's legendary masterpiece, Tristan und Isolde. Julie$a's recent successes in Berlin, Munich, Cairo, Helsinki, Prague, Poland, Greece and Cyprus have been hailed by the interna!onal press and by the UK's Musical Opinion. She is described as an ar!st who keeps ‘the audience hypno!sed with her charm and great ar!s!c skills.' She has appeared in countless roles across the stages of Europe and beyond; broadcast on numerous radio sta!ons, including Classic FM and Radio Israel, and won an array of awards, including at the Panhellenic Compe!!on in Athens, the Académie Ravel in France and the Beethoven, Chamber and Contemporary Music Prizes at the Royal Academy of Music.

Having enjoyed early success with performances at St Paul's Covent Garden, the Queen Elizabeth Hall and St George's Hanover Square in Mayfair, the founders of the recently formed London Firebird Orchestra, Marc Corbe$-Weaver and Achim Holub, have been able to put together an exci!ng 2012/13 season, commencing in September 2012. Their forthcoming season includes performances across London - at Sadler's Wells, the Old Vic, Cadogan Hall, the Southbank, St George's Hanover Square and St Paul's Covent Garden - and in Bath, Stu$gart and various venues in Austria. To celebrate their early success, Firebird has chosen to conclude with a piece close to its name-sake, Stravinsky's magniﬁcent Firebird Suite - a work of kaleidoscopic colour, furious energy and whimsical charm that symbolises the enlightened journey of the mythological bird, which, like the London Firebird Orchestra, aspires to rise into an exci!ng musical future!

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R E P P U WILLIAM IV STREET Prior to this landmark concert, Pimm's will be served on the lawn outside St Paul's Covent Garden, when the garden will be closed to St Paul’s Covent Garden the public. The audience is invited to arrive at 7pm to enjoy drinks Nearest Tube: Covent Garden, Leicester Square or and catch up with friends. Charing Cross