Elgar, Birmingham & Worcester

On this tour we will savour the rich and varied classical musical scene to be found in the city of Birmingham, and spend time exploring Elgar country in nearby Worcester and the Malvern Hills. We will enjoy private recitals alongside three outstanding performances at Birmingham’s Symphony Hall, widely considered to be one of the best concert spaces in the world.

Our tour opens with a virtuosic performance from one of the nation’s most celebrated violinists, Nicola Benedetti, who joins forces with rising conducting star Klaus Mäkelä for Bartók’s Violin Concerto No 2, composed towards the end of the 1930s when the threat of war in Europe was looming heavily in the composer’s life. This work is coupled with Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique, an impassioned outpouring of love, obsession and despair over the ideal, unattainable woman.

On our third day we are invited to “Come and celebrate!” as Birmingham marks City Organist Thomas Trotter’s 800th solo recital. “Trotter is surely a prince amongst organists”, says Symphony Hall, “and he’s marking the occasion the way he always does – with effortless artistry, an eye on both the past and the future and an imaginatively chosen programme that ranges from the power of Bach to the sheer, uproarious entertainment of Dukas’s The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.”

Our musical programme concludes with an orchestral tour-de-force from Iceland’s Symphony Orchestra, who will bring us Bizet’s L'Arlésienne Suite No 2, Ravel’s Concerto for the Left Hand, and Sibelius’s Symphony No 1.

Turning to the surrounding region, we will explore the life and music of Elgar through several visits in Elgar Country, including the composer’s birthplace, Worcester Cathedral and St George’s Church, where Elgar and his father were organists. Here, we will enjoy the privilege of an illustrated talk with musical examples given by our Tour Director, Nicholas Wearne, on the organ, whilst sitting in the composer’s choir stalls. We will also take in a performance in Great Malvern’s atmospheric Priory, in the shadow of Elgar’s beloved Malvern Hills.

In Birmingham itself, we will enjoy a visit to the archive of Elgar documents at the Cadbury Research Library and take in a private recital at the city’s new Royal Conservatoire building. Wider cultural visits will include the Museum of the Jewellery Quarter, St Chad’s Cathedral, St Mary’s Convent in Handsworth, and Birmingham’s Museum and Art Gallery.

Our base throughout this tour will be the four-star Hyatt Regency Birmingham Hotel, located in central Birmingham opposite the Symphony Hall.

Please note that while we will endeavour to deliver the below itinerary in full, some elements, including the musical programme, may be subject to change.

This tour will be led by Nicholas Wearne, BA, MPhil, a former ACE Bursary student and a previous organist at St Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square. Nicholas lives in Birmingham, and in addition to leading music tours for ACE, he works as a Junior Fellow at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.