Report and Accounts 2013–14

Report and Accounts 2013–14 cbso.co.uk Supported by The CBSO receives funding from 94 years of enlightened support facebook.com/cbso twitter.com/cbso Chair’s Report I am delighted to present the annual growing family of CBSO benefactors and report of the City of Birmingham supporters. Symphony Orchestra for the period The public funding continues to play an to March 2014, my second full year essential part, of course, and we were as Chair of the Board of Trustees. pleased to hear this summer that our application to the Arts Council’s National Portfolio for 2015–18 was successful, with It has been another challenging year, but total funding held steady at the same level as once again we have a great deal to show for in the current year. Birmingham City Council, the efforts of our musicians, staff and Board, which has supported the Orchestra since both on the concert platform and in the 1920, has been facing very severe financial important job that goes on behind the scenes pressures of its own, and recently had to as we strive to achieve financial stability to make a significant cut in its funding for all the safeguard the Orchestra’s future. At a time arts organisations it supports, including the of ever-greater pressure on public funds, CBSO. But unlike so many funders elsewhere the Board has to remain focused on the twin in the UK and in Europe, Birmingham allowed strategies of growing our commercial and us to plan for these reductions by giving us fundraising income while also reducing costs plenty of warning, and it remains a committed if we are to be able to see the Orchestra and sympathetic partner in all that we do, as continue to thrive towards our centenary in well as being very proud of the Orchestra’s 2020 and beyond. important ambassadorial role overseas. I am pleased to say that thanks to the efforts The pages that follow demonstrate the wide of all concerned, led by Clive Bawden our range of work undertaken by the CBSO Trustee for Finance and Annmarie Wallis family, and our commitment to building new our Finance Director, we are able to report a audiences for classical music, as well as to result for the year that is well ahead of our finding and indeed creating the performers of original budget. We have had to dip into our tomorrow, which remains absolutely central reserves but to a much smaller extent than to the mission of this organisation. I have we originally thought might be necessary, and personally enjoyed a really diverse series of along the way we were able to record another concerts at Symphony Hall and performances year of excellent ticket sales and strong by the CBSO Youth Orchestra, the adult fundraising income. A new contract agreed and youth choruses as well as joining the last year with our musicians has also helped Orchestra on tour in Brussels, Paris and us reduce the cost of delivering our varied Munich. and ambitious programme. Finally, I would like to extend my own thanks Our fundraising strategies have continued to the staff team, to my colleagues on the to develop, with Simon Fairclough making Board, to all our other volunteers, to our an immediate impact as Director of sponsors and donors and to you our loyal “we were able to Development since his arrival last autumn. audiences. Thanks to all of you I really do Simon and his team, ably supported by the believe that the CBSO adds up to much more record another Board and the CBSO Development Trust, than the sum of its parts. faced the triple challenge of increasing our year of excellent annual giving, growing our endowment (with the £1m challenge funding from the National ticket sales Lottery via Arts Council England still having a year to run) and raising the match funding and strong to enable us to undertake the much-needed transformation of CBSO Centre this summer. Bridget Blow, Chair of Trustees fundraising I’m pleased to say that they have been able to make good progress on all three fronts, income” helped by the outstanding generosity of a Box Office 0121 345 0499 Book Online cbso.co.uk 2 Chief Executive’s Report Looking back over the CBSO’s wide Mendelssohn cycle and associated ranging activities in 2013–14 as we recordings have been very well received and made an important statement about this prepare this annual report has made city’s link to that fine composer. Matching me feel extremely proud and more the artists to the repertoire is one of the than a little exhausted - it was not great pleasures in this job: other conductors who gave very memorable concerts with only our busiest year ever in terms us of music close to their heart included of total orchestra concerts (140) Andrew Manze (Vaughan Williams), Vassily and overseas touring (38 touring Sinaisky (Rachmaninov and Shostakovich), concerts), it also contained a great Alain Altinoglu (Bizet and Ravel), John Wilson (Gilbert and Sullivan) and Ed Gardner again many highlights and a lot of change. (Lutoslawski). First of all, the concerts: this was another The CBSO’s continued skill at attracting year of outstanding performances and top conductors here is of course much in reviews, especially for our work with Andris the spotlight at present as we continue Nelsons. From the War Requiem to mark the search for Andris’s successor as music the Britten centenary, via the climax of director. The members of our seven-strong our Beethoven cycle, to the first part of search committee have been travelling far our celebration of the Richard Strauss and wide to look at potential candidates, as 150th birthday, Andris’s skill in large- well as talking to our extensive network of scale repertoire and the closeness of his friends, colleagues and spies; but ultimately relationship with the outstanding musicians we will only reach decisions as people come of the CBSO were once again highly to work with the CBSO itself, and it is in acclaimed by audiences, promoters and the next season that we will begin to see press alike. The strength and quality of this guest conductors who were booked after team was also a magnet for some of the the announcement of Andris’s departure in world’s great soloists: it was wonderful for the summer 2015. Ultimately it’s the chemistry Orchestra to work with Mitsuko Uchida, Anne- that matters, as well as their overall technical Sophie Mutter, Hilary Hahn, Hélène Grimaud, and interpretive skill, range of musical Kristine Opolais and others. interests and personal qualities. The four overseas tours with Andris were Off the podium it has also been a year of also real highlights of our year, with the War change, as we have said farewell to a number Requiem in Dresden’s Frauenkirche, the four of musicians and staff as well as hello to concerts in Tokyo and the pair of concerts in a number of others. Among the former, we Vienna’s historic Musikverein standing out as were delighted to welcome Amanda Lake particularly memorable. As well as building and Caroline Simon to our violin sections, as its reputation (and by extension that of our well as Emmet Byrne and Rachael Pankhurst home city and nation), touring is such a vital in the oboes. On the staff side, we have a part of the Orchestra’s artistic life, with the senior management team that is almost opportunity to give repeated performances of completely new, following the departures of the same repertoire and play in some of the Alexandra Tomkinson and Simon Webb to senior roles at the University of Birmingham world’s finest concert halls helping us achieve and BBC Philharmonic respectively. Those some of our best performances. It was also who have replaced them are already showing really good to be able to have such a high themselves to be well up to the challenges “another year profile in London during 2013, with concerts that lie ahead: together, we look forward to an in all the main concert halls and appearances equally successful 12 months ahead. of outstanding at some very important festivals. performances Back home, we continued to build strong relationships with a range of other conductors, not least our principal and reviews” Stephen Maddock, Chief Executive guest conductor Edward Gardner, whose 3 facebook.com/thecbso twitter.com/thecbso World-class concerts The CBSO’s programme of 188 concerts – 140 orchestral Edward Gardner was back on the podium for three and 48 non-orchestral – showcased the versatility and concerts featuring the music of Mendelssohn, whose virtuosity of the Orchestra for over 215,000 people in connection with Birmingham was celebrated by recording repertoire ranging from Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 to the all five of the composer’s symphonies at the Town Hall, a music of ABBA. We celebrated the busiest international venue where he had scored such conspicuous success in touring year in our history, and our performance in Tokyo the 1830s and 40s. was selected as Japan’s best concert of 2013 by 44 of the country’s leading music critics. Our commitment to new audiences, and to music beyond the classical mainstream, was again in evidence in our Friday Night Classics series, which featured hilarious The Birmingham season silent movies by Harold Lloyd, the songs of Frank Sinatra and a Gilbert & Sullivan night with John Wilson, The climax of Birmingham’s celebration of Benjamin in addition to the ABBA night. The summer of 2013 also Britten’s centenary, A Boy Was Born, came in May featured ambitious projects centred around Hollywood when our Music Director Andris Nelsons conducted a and Bollywood: a July concert with film critic Mark performance of War Requiem at Symphony Hall with Kermode (below), in which he chose his own favourite the same team who had given such an effective and movie scores and interviewed screen legend Jeremy memorable 50th anniversary performance at Coventry Irons about his career, then a September concert of Cathedral the previous year.

Load more