A week in the life of an orchestra. From Lewis Capaldi to Mozart, Manchester Camerata redefines what an orchestra can do
Posted on October 2, 2019
Manchester Camerata’s activity knows no bounds. In one week they presented an extraordinary selection of concerts, videos and workshops, ranging from Mozart to Lewis Capaldi.
A video of Manchester Camerata’s recent performance with break out star of 2019 Lewis Capaldi, featuring the Lewis Capaldi Symphony, was broadcast on BBC Radio 1 as part of BBC Music Day 2019 and was the final performance of Live Lounge Month. The performance captivated a crowd of over 12,000, his biggest headline show to date at Croxteth Park Liverpool, and was broadcast in full on BBC One on Friday 27 September.
Lewis Capaldi said: “Massively honoured to be asked to play for Radio 1 and the Manchester Camerata Orchestra this year. I remember watching The 1975 in Blackpool and being blown away! Buzzing to work on arrangements of the tunes with a full orchestra.”
Following the success of the concert, the orchestra joined forces shortly after to record Bruises, a music video with Lewis Capaldi which was released on YouTube on the 27 September and will be released as a single.
Other exciting projects included the latest in the Mozart, Made in Manchester series, continuing an ambitious project to perform and record Mozart’s complete piano concertos and opera overtures in Manchester for the first time. A quartet of Chetham’s students joined the orchestra onstage in concert and rehearsal to benefit from the expert guidance of Music Director, Gábor Takács-Nagy and pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet. Last week’s concert and recordings comprised Mozart Overture to Il ré pastore K. 208, Mozart Piano Concerto No. 8 in C major K. 246, Mozart Symphony No. 29 in A major K. 201, Mozart Overture from Zaide K. 344 and Mozart Piano Concerto No. 9 in Eb major ‘Jeunehomme’ K. 271.
As part of the BBC Music Day 2019 celebrations, Manchester Camerata’s outreach team took part in So Many Beauties, a dementia-friendly music festival at Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall. The project offers creative music-making opportunities for people living with dementia and was featured on BBC Radio 2’s Good Morning Sunday.