Bold Tendencies

The Live Programme opens with the Philharmonia Orchestra performing The Planets by Gustav Holst, a spectacular astrological portrait of the celestial world, and closes with Gustav Mahler’s psychologically disruptive Symphony No.1, Titan, a powerful meditation on human life and its meaning, the cry of a wounded heart.

There will be presentations of Galina Ustvolskaya’s Day of Wrath and Oliver Leith’s good day good day bad day bad day by GBSR Duo; and Strauss’ Four Last Songs and Metamorphosen by Manchester Collective. We welcome the return of The Multi-Story Orchestra for three new performances led by Kate Whitley, and opera director Polly Graham’s production of The Silly Little Mouse, a cartoon-opera for children by Dmitri Shostakovich written under the suppressive thumb of a brutal state, starring a beautiful but dangerous black and white cat played by soprano Claire Booth.

Irish choreographer Oona Doherty, American bass-baritone Davóne Tines, Japanese pianist Maki Namekawa, Finnish conductor Emilia Hoving, Swedish-Norwegian violinist Johan Dalene and British pianist Nicola Eimer join us for the first time. Returning with new programmes are James McVinnie, George Barton & Siwan Rhys, Jeneba Kanneh-Mason and Isata Kanneh-Mason.

We celebrate the voices and work of Jay Bernard, Caleb Femi, Derek Jarman and Paul B. Preciado in new live productions. Our ‘Slope Stage’ opens with a programme dedicated to the organ. Perhaps better known in the cathedral or concert hall, the spatial conditions at Bold Tendencies are perfect for its vast, powerful sound and it is inaugurated with music by iconic American composer Philip Glass.

The ambition and reach of the live programme has gained momentum in the last three years and it was awarded the prestigious Royal Philharmonic Society “Gamechanger” Award for its transformative contributions to the landscape of live performance in the UK and internationally.

The programme aims to challenge and expand established boundaries between audience and artist, stage and seat, and provide access for everyone through innovative programmes and affordable ticket prices. It attracts interest from and creates empowering experiences for local residents, children and young people by offering Public Rehearsals, “Backstage Pass” and ‘Ask the Artist’ sessions as well as a Community Ticketing scheme.

Bold Tendencies has a committed history of supporting fledgling performing arts organisations – The Multi-Story Orchestra (since 2011), Loud Crowd Opera (since 2018) – as well as working with international practitioners and companies at a pivotal moment, and with the most adventurous artists of the younger generation, bringing to audiences radical practice and sought-after disciplines at a world-class level.