Real Fireworks

A concert will be staged in Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford, on 5 November, 7.45 p.m., in aid of the St.Mary Magdalen Restoration and Development Trust.

St.Mary Magdalen is a well known feature in the daily life and worshipof the ancient university city. Its Lady Chapel dates back 800 years; an early altar commemorates the death of St.Thomas a Becket.

The programme includes Handel's Music for the Royal Fireworks and Purcell's Ode on St.Cecilia's Day, performed by Voces Sacrae choir and the Orchestra at St.Mary Magdalen, directed by Judy Martin.

Voces Sacrae's latest recordings include Michael Finnissy's Seven Sacred Motets (l991), recorded on Metier MSV CD92023, and 'Except the Lord Build the House', recorded in Exeter College Chapel together with the choir of St.Mary Magdalen, and comprising music by Mendelssohn, Byrd, John Rutter and W.S.Lloyd Webber (Metier ..........). The 8-voice choir was recently heard at St. Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney, during a tour of New South Wales.

Voces Sacrae's recording of Michael Berkeley's Eight Motets, together with music by Magnus Williamson, Gabriel Jackson and Bob Chilcott, will be released in the new year.

Voces Sacrae can be contacted by e-mail, or visit their website.

Roderic Dunnett

Storm damage at the Sir Jack Lyons

After storm damage last Christmas, the Sir Jack Lyons concert hall at York University, UK, reopens with many refurbishments on 13 October at 8pm, presenting the University's ensemble-in-residence Capricorn with a programme of music for flute, oboe and strings. Box office: +44 (0)1904 432439.

The Burning Bush

A distinctive integration of traditional musics will be heard at London's Queen Elizabeth Hall on 28 November. Lucie Skeaping, Arab folk musicians and the The Burning Bush, an ensemble specialising in traditional Jewish world music, will present it using a wide array of exotic instruments.

Medieval Feast

York's involvement in early music is increasing progressively through the activities of their Early Music Foundation. On 3 December is held a Medieval Feast for the Archbishop of York, a re-creation of the celebration in 1437, and on 17 December a programme of Christmas music by the group Passacaglia. There is more pre-Christmas and Christmas music. Info boxoffice@yorkearlymusic.org

Epic Journey

Sir Colin Davis conducts a Berlioz Odyssey commencing on 5 December. This is described as an 'epic journey' and will involve the London Symphony Orchestra, various soloists and choirs. Full information on +44 (0)845 60 60 888.

and previously published news ...

Tallis Scholars

The UK-based Tallis Scholars under their founder and conductor Peter Phillips visit the USA 11-17 October (Kansas City 11th; Raleigh/Wingate 12th; New York 14th & 17th; Boston 15th & 16th), Italy 24-28 Nov (Rome, Bolsena, Frosinone, Grotta Ferrata, Milan), and the Netherlands 12-13 January (Rotterdam and Enschede). Full info on their recordings at www.gimell.com.

Albright Tributes

Three free concerts in October pay tribute to Michigan composer William Albright (1944-1998), whose death in September last year has been a great loss for musicians in Ann Arbor and for American music (info: Chris Kim) :

A 'Michigan Composers' concert - 'Music of Bill Albright' - will be held on 11 October, 8pm at Hill, as part of the 39th Conference on Organ Music, with a chance to hear the following works by Albright: Halo for organ and metal instruments, Take That for percussion and Sweet Sixteenths for organ. Music by Theodore Morris, William Bolcom, Calvin Taylor and Larry Visser will also be performed.

Brave New Works, in conjunction with the University of Michigan, present an Albright tribute on 23 October, 8pm at the Britton Recital Hall, Ann Arbor. Albright works performed will be Shadows - Eight Serenades for solo Guitar (played by Matthew Ardizzone), Abiding Passions for woodwind quintet, and the Sonata for Alto Saxophone and Piano (Tim McAllister, alto sax and Kathryn Goodson, piano). Albright by Albright student Carter Pann will also be performed. Donations to the William Albright Scholarship Fund at the door.

A concert of music written by Michigan composers in memory of William Albright will be presented by the School of Music and the Society of Composers Inc. on 24 October, 7pm at the Kerrytown Concert House. Donations to the Scholarship Fund at the door.

Kathryn Thomas and Neil Crossland

Flautist Kathryn Thomas and pianist Neil Crossland will play Prokofiev's Sonata No 2 and a Sonata by Otar Taktakishvilli at a free lunchtime recital at Guys Hospital Chapel, London on 11 October, 1:10-1:50 pm, as part of the Southwark Festival.

A second chance to hear the Taktakishvilli will be at Sheffield's University Drama Studio, Glossop Road, on 4 November, 1:10pm, at another free lunchtime recital by the same performers, during which you can also hear Poulenc's Sonata, a work for solo piano by Ruth Byrchmore, Neil Crossland's Reminiscences and Debussy's Syrinx for solo flute. Thomas and Crossland will also be performing at Bradford's Alhambra Theatre on 9 February 2000.

RFH Classics International

London's Royal Festival Hall's Classic International Series continues with a procession of great orchestras of Europe and one American will dazzle the musical scene on the South Bank: Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra under Claudio Abbado (11 October), Pierre Boulez directing the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra (22 October), the Orchestra and Chorus of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Rome conducted by Myung Whun Chung (21 and 22 November), the Vienna Philharmonic again with Seiji Ozawa (15 March), and the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Wolfgang Sawallisch (19 May).

Song at St John's

The 30th Anniversary Season commencing in October at St John's Smith Square, London, contains Song at St John's, a blossoming of solo song with piano. Four overlapping series commence on 11 October, the first celebrating anniversaries of Richard Strauss and Poulenc. The first recital brings Sir Thomas Allen to the platform. Four Russian evenings commence on 27 November with Galina Gorchakova. A Millennium Song Series, 'Across Time and Space', explores themes of time, culture and society. There will be a Study Day led by Roderic Swanston on 16 January with the first recital on 7 February bringing Susan Bickley and Paul Robinson for a programme drawn from Italy, Spain, Russia and the UK. Finally, on 17 March Rosalind Plowright and the Mastersingers Company introduce a Celebrity Song Series. Box office: +44 (0)20 7233 1618

Sky Maze with Song Shards

Music for mezzo-soprano, harp, oboe and piano is on the menu in the Lord Rhodes Room of Manchester's Royal Northern College of Music on 11 October, 7.30pm. OKEANOS will perform Birdsongs by Beth Wiseman, Under the Water by Jo Treasure, Adagio by Colin Bayliss, Firefinch by Geoffrey Poole, Little Dancers by Christopher Beardsley, Looking East by Geoffrey Kimpton, Whales by David Forshaw, Living - Rain Passing by Keely Hodgson and Sky Maze with Song Shards by Philip Grange. Many of these composers are members of the North West Composers Association.

Del Cuarto Elemento

Music by James Dillon, featured recently at Norway's Ultima Festival, can be heard in several countries during the coming weeks. Spleen will be played by pianist Rene Rzaeva in Baku, Azerbaijan on 11 October; The Arditti Quartet will play the 3rd String Quartet in Köln, Germany on 4 November; cellist Rohan de Saram will play Eos on 9 November in Badenweiler, Germany (and will give the UK première on 23 November at the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival), and in Austria, violinist Irvine Arditti will play Del Cuarto Elemento at Wien Modern on 14 November. Dillon, who is currently working on music for Stuttgart's ECLAT Festival in February, will celebrate his 50th birthday in October 2000. Info: Edition Peters.

Master Singers

The following Britten-Pears School Masterclasses at Aldeburgh, UK this autumn are open to the public: Thomas Allen (Mozart and Britten) 13-20 October (concert on 21 October); Anthony Rolfe Johnson and Ian Partridge (Bach) 23 October - 1 November (concert on 2 November). Email: enquiries@aldeburghfestivals.org.

Musicatreize in October

The French ensemble Musicatreize will perform Office des oracles by Ohana and Prophetiae Sibyllarum by Lassus (with le Choeur contemporain - Eglise de la trinité, Paris, 15 October, 8.30pm); music by De Orador, Marti, Gesualdo, Gouttenoire and Lassus (Rouen, 17 October); music by Kopelent, Janequin, Berio and Ohana (Aix en Provence, 28 October, to be confirmed, and Brucknerhaus, Linz, 30 October, 7.30pm). Info: musicatreize@wanadoo.fr.

Even jazz

'Jazz on the level' will be a series at St David's Hall in Cardiff, Wales on Tuesdays at 8.30: Rickey Woodard Quartet, 12 Oct; Just East of Jazz, 30 Nov; John Etheridge's Sweet Chorus, 25 Jan; Tony Coe Trio, 15 Feb; Marlene Verplank and her Musicians, 7 March. Box Office: +44 (0)1222 878444.

Beethoven cycle

The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment will give a Beethoven symphony cycle at the Royal Festival Hall in London commencing October 14 with conductor Sir Roger Norrington. Info: +44 (0)171 960 4242.

Visiting Symphony Hall

Birmingham's Symphony Hall's autumn season includes the following visiting orchestras: Leipzig Gewandhaus (14 Oct), Slovenian Philharmonic (16 Oct), and Czech Philharmonic (17 Oct). Info: +44 (0)121 212 3333.

Oxford Contemporary Music

Commencing 15 October, Oxford Contemporary Music has a stimulating programme of events opening with Thomas Ades opera Powder her face. Following is a wide range of performers, composers and music - Terry Riley, Poul Ruders, James Wood, and from jazz, Fred Hersch, Myra Melford, Gerard McChrystal, Tommy Smith, and others. Info: oxfordfestival@ofcm.ndirect.co.uk.

Transformation

Major refurbishment to the tune of 2.5 million pounds has transformed St George's Bristol into an arts venue for nearly 600 people. The building's natural acoustic is perfect for music. The relaunch on 15 October brings the resident Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment for a Beethoven programme under Sir Roger Norrington.

A BBC Lunchtime Series entitled Northern Lights will commence on 21 October. Repertory is drawn from Scandinavia for eight concerts. Much of the music will be new to the UK, so therefore UK readers should take note. Amongst composers to be heard are Peteris Vasks, Per Norgard, Tryge Madsen, Tore Rangstrom and Veyo Tormis. The BBC Celebrity series on Friday evenings includes Joanna MacGregor's 'Sound Circus', the Brodsky Quartet and Joshua Rifkin's Bach Ensemble.

St George's new resident chamber ensemble is Zenith, which includes Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time in its inaugural concert on 22 October. Info/box office: +44 (0)117 923 0359.

1999/2000 season in Budapest

The Budapest Philharmonic's 1999/2000 season includes music by Richard Strauss, Mahler and Brahms (18-19 October, conducted by E. Lukacs); Brahms and Dvorak (conducted by Tamas Vasary, with J Achucarro, piano); Liszt, Mozart and Tchaikovsky (13-14 December, conducted by Zuohang Chen, with Barry Douglas, piano); Mozart, Brahms and Beethoven (31 January, with the Beaux Arts Trio); Bach, Mozart and Bartók (28 February); Mahler's 3rd Symphony (20-21 March); Sibelius (3-4 April); Beethoven's Symphonies 1 and 9 (15-16 May).

Budapest Opera premières include Britten's Peter Grimes (staged by Balazs Kovalik - 13, 14, 17, 19, 23, 28 November and 18, 20 January), Three Sisters by Peter Eotvos (based on Chekhov, staged by Istvan Szabo - 2, 5 April) and Bizet's Carmen (staged by Mikos Szinetar - 20, 21, 23, 25, 27, 30 May).

Other events in Budapest include the Nureyev Ballet Competition (16 March finals, 17 March gala. Opera House); Verdi's Requiem (1,3 November. Opera House).

October at Tonhalle Düsseldorf

Highlights at Düsseldorf's Tonhalle include 'Sárka' from Smetana's Ma Vlast, Dvorák's cello concerto (soloist Natalia Gutman) and Glazunov's Symphony 5 (Dresdner Philharmonie / Walter Weller, 19 October at 8pm, großer Saal); Miserae by Karl Amadeus Hartmann (with Peter Nikolaus Kante, speaker), Schönberg's Ode to Napoleon Op 41b (with Peter Nikolaus Kante, speaker and Stefan Litwin, piano) and Beethoven's Eroica Symphony (Düsseldorfer Symphoniker / Leon Botstein, 22 October at 8pm, 24 at 11am and 25 at 8pm, großer Saal); cellist Yo-yo Ma plays Mark O'Connor's Appalachia Waltz, Bright Sheng's Seven Tunes Heard in China, The Cellist of Sarayevo by David Wilde, and the Kodály solo cello sonata (27 October at 8pm, großer Saal). Info: tonhalle@compuserve.com.

Welsh National Opera tour

In Cardiff during October Welsh National Opera will perform Poulenc's The Carmelites (20), Mozart's Don Giovanni (12, 16, 22), and Verdi's Rigoletto (21, 23). Thereafter they tour these operas to Southampton (26-30 October), Bristol (2-6 November), Belfast (9-13 November), Birmingham (16-20 November), Liverpool (23-27 November), and Oxford (7-11 December).

Galliard Ensemble

The Galliard Ensemble Wind Quintet will play in London's Purcell Room as part of 'Fresh Young Artists Platform' on 7 December, 7.30pm. The ensemble will give the world première of a work written for them - Paul Patterson's Westerley Winds, the European première of Philip Bimstein's Casino for quintet and tape, and music by Berio, Briccialid, Pärt and Tinoco. Tickets GBP 10 (GBP 8, concessions) from boxoffice@rfh.org.uk or phone +44 (0)171 960 4242. Other Galliard Ensemble appearances include 20 October (Mozart and Poulenc - Leeds City Art Gallery); 6 November (Arnold, Tinoco, Françaix, Ligeti, Berio and Patterson - West Dean College Chichester); 27 November, 11am (Birtwistle, Olsen, Lindberg, Tinoco and Ligeti - Huddersfield Festival, St Paul's Hall); 6 February 2000, 9pm (Cambini, Briccialdi, Holst, Ibert, Pärt, Ligeti and Patterson - Balliol College Oxford).

A Tale of Three Cities

An international conference is to be held at London University's Senate House, 22-24 October 1999. Entitled, A Tale of Three Cities: Janácek's Brno Between Vienna and Prague, the aim of the conference is to re-assess the self-image of Brno and Moravia between (roughly) 1850 and 1930, using Janácek as a focus. Info from Royal Holloway College.

New dance

The Baldwin Dance Company will present 'Julius Tomb' - one of three works choreographed by Baldwin - as part of a UK national tour this autumn: Queen Elizabeth Hall, South Bank (23 Oct); Wimbledon Theatre (27 Oct); Brunton Theatre, Edinburgh.(6 Nov).

Norwegian Nationals

Norwegian National Opera in Oslo stages Vernon Mound's new production of Andrea Chénier from October 23.

Norwegian National Ballet will present Michael Corder's celebrated production of Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet in its first visit to London, 16-20 November at Sadler's Wells. Booking: +44 (0)171 863 8000.

Forgotten genius of Renaissance Spain

A native of Flanders, Philippe Rogier (c1561-1596) lived and worked mostly in southern Spain, and his music reflects both styles. Magnificat will perform two further concerts of Rogier's music in London this Autumn. Both concerts are at St James, Piccadilly, 7.30pm: Missa Inclina Domine (30 October) and Missa Domine Dominus Noster (10 December, also featuring The Wallace Collection in Rogier's festive polychoral Christmas music).

Uncommon Artistry

The Plymouth Music Series in Minneapolis has announced its 1999-2000 season, called 'Uncommon Artistry'. Handel's Solomon will be performed in Bethel College on 30 October; Witness will be partially African American with a song cycle from John Williams and Dream N. the Hood, a rap symphony by Gregory T.S.Walker to be programmed in Orchestra Hall on 19 Feb; The Kings Singers will present Aha! Cappella at Wooddale Church on 7 April; Czech composer Jan Jiraseks reworking of Bach's St Luke's Passion will be sung on 12 May at the Ted Mann Concert Hall. Info: +1 612 624 2345.

Music to move you

'Music to move you' is an eight-concert season announced for the St David's Hall as the National Concert Hall of Wales from September through to May 2000. Apart from top ranking British orchestras and conductors there will be visits by the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra.

Exploring Mozart

The months ahead for the London Mozart Players include the Mozart Series of four concerts at St John's, Smith Square with an unusual format. Each concert will contain a symphony and a concerto with a rare chamber work, such as the Adagio and Rondo K617 for flute, oboe, viola, cello and glass harmonica. There is a short talk about some aspect of the evening's music at each concert. Email info@lmp.org.

Steel and Gold

'Steel and Gold' is the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra's title for a forthcoming Rachmaninov retrospective. Over October and November, five concerts will contain the three symphonies, Symphonic Dances, and a concert version of his opera The Miserly Knight, as well as works by contemporaries. A series booking will also include a free celebrity concert with Artur Pizarro. Info: bbcso@bbc.co.uk

BBC Concert Orchestra

The BBC Concert Orchestra is unusually focussed in advance publicity for its 1999/2000 season, shared between the Royal Festival Hall and Fairfield Halls, Croydon. Cristina Ortiz plays the Rachmaninov Paganini Variations etc (RFH 2 Nov), and concerts with other celebrities go through to July. Info: concert.orch@bbc.co.uk.

Early Music Vancouver

A highlight of Early Music Vancouver's 1999-2000 season will be the visit of Musica Antiqua Koln to the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts on 8 November, with concertos for one, two, three and four solo violins by Bach, Vivaldi and Telemann.

Biped

A European tour by the Merce Cunningham Dance Company will bring Biped, a new work to a commissioned score by Gavin Bryars to Paris for a season 9-20 November. The work explores a new animation technology of motion capture.

English Fancie Camarada

The English Fancie Camarada presents a retrospective series of 20th century chamber music at the Holywell Music Room, Oxford, UK, all starting at 7.30pm. On 13 November, 'the war years', you can hear the Phantasy for Piano Quartet by Frank Bridge, Fantasy for String Quartet by Herbert Howells, the Quintet for Oboe and String Quartet by Arnold Bax, Alan Rawsthorne's Oboe Quartet, the Delius Cello Sonata, and Britten's Phantasy Quartet.

Further concerts (including many Camarada commissions and first performances) will be held on 4 December - 'War years - the aftermath', 29 January - 'New directions' (with a 6.30pm pre-concert talk by Richard Rodney Bennett) and 3 March - 'towards the millennium' (6.30pm pre-concert talk by Howard Skempton).

Tickets cost GBP 7 (concessions GBP 5) per concert, from The Playhouse, Beaumont Street, Oxford, +44 (0)1865 798600 or at the door. Info: +44 (0)1252 727240.

Judith Lang Zaimont

Forthcoming U.S. performances of the music of Judith Lang Zaimont include the world première of her Piano Sonata on November 14, 1999 at Washington D.C.'s Phillips Gallery by Bradford Gowen.

St Ceciliatide International Festival

The 5th St Ceciliatide International Festival of Music takes place at Stationers' Hall in the City of London 20-28 November. American musicologist Joshua Rifkin and the Bach Ensemble play Bach concertos and the Ouverture in D (minus the oboes, trumpets and drums it later acquired) 24 Nov. Fiori Musicale present Vivaldi's Seasons on 20 & 21 November with new music by Geoffrey Burgon reflecting on the Vivaldi work and interweaving with it. Chapelle du Roi sing Guerrero's Vespers for St Ceciliatide on 22 Nov, and the Finnish Yggdrasil Quartet mark the 150th anniversary of Chopin's death on 25 November with pianist Fumiko Shiraga playing new chamber arrangements of Chopin's two piano concertos. The Lindsay Quartet plays Beethoven on the 26th and Fiori Musicale reappear on 27 and 28 November with James Bowman presenting two choral works by Zelenka and Bach Cantata 54 (Widerstehe doch der Sunde).

About Time in Ely

On Sunday 12 December a BBC Millenium concert will take place in Ely Cathedral presenting The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group conducted by Sir Simon Rattle in a programme including Haydn's Te Deum and Beethoven's Ninth plus the première of Mark-Anthony Turnage's About Time. Info: +44 (0)1353 660349.

Bach Millennium Pilgrimage

From 25 December 1999 to 1 January 2001, The Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists and John Eliot Gardiner will perform all 200 of Bach's surviving church cantatas, each on the precise liturgical date for which it was written, in abbeys, cathedrals and churches throughout Europe. The project will cost more than 5 million UK pounds (approx. 7.5 million US dollars), and will involve Gardiner in 150 air flights. Deutsche Grammophon will record the concerts, and many will be televised.

Danielpour Première

The illustrious Guaneri String Quartet, which has a residency at the University of Maryland, is to première a Concerto for string quartet and orchestra by Richard Danielpour with the National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Leonard Slatkin at Washington's Kennedy Center on 13, 14, and 15 January 2000 then in New York at Carnegie Hall on 25 January.

The Sixteen in sixteen cathedrals

From February to November 2000, The Sixteen will perform in 16 of England's finest cathedrals. Starting in York and ending in Canterbury, the choir will sing some of the best renaissance music by Byrd, Taverner and Tallis - composers connected historically with the cathedrals. Watch out for a new page on The Sixteen website, which (by the end of October) will give further information and booking details.

What Next?

Elliot Carter's recently premièred one act comic opera What Next? is at the Deutsche Staatsoper Unter den Linden, 25 and 31 March 2000. With text by Paul Griffiths (after Jacques Tati's film Traffic), What Next? is conducted by Daniel Barenboim and directed by Nicolas Brieger, with decor by Gisbert Jaekel.