![2007_10_11mahler[1]](https://intermezzo.typepad.com/.a/6a00d834ff890853ef013483693354970c-400wi)
Every orchestra in the country seems to be doing a Mahler cycle this year, and the CBSO are no exception, with what might turn out to be the best of the lot.
Their 2010-11 season begins with a bang on 16 September when Andris Nelsons conducts the supersized Symphony No.8 (repeated on 18 September). I haven't heard Nelsons' Mahler yet, but how's this for a review, from Hilary Finch in the Times:
"Birmingham has scarcely been without memorable Mahler experiences in the past couple of decades. Yet this Second Symphony was in a class of its own, surpassing almost every performance of the work in my own living memory".
Later in the year Nelsons conducts No's 5 and 9, and the remainder of the symphonies are shared by Sakari Oramo, Vassily Sinaisky and Jac van Steen. Sir Charles Mackerras conducts Kindertotenlieder, and the Mahler cycle rounds off on 12 June 2011 with a visit from Simon Rattle for Das Lied von der Erde, with Magdalena Kožená and Michael Schade.
There's more to life than Mahler of course, and I'm going to be checking out some of Nelsons' other concerts if I can find the time to whizz up to Birmingham. Unlike some of today's younger conductors, Nelsons is emphatically not coasting on charm or enthusiasm, nor is he being overhyped by an industry in search of the next cash cow. He's the real thing, and Birmingham is lucky to have him.
Be warned that the Mahler 8 and the Simon Rattle concert are selling well, so don't leave booking these too late.
There are also a few tickets left for this Saturday's concert performance of Lohengrin, conducted by Nelsons (and featuring Kostas Smoriginas as Schaunard if you believe the website), in case you need to escape the football.
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