Featured Project
In the first 2 months since reopening the Bristol Beacon has hosted several orchestral events, and programmed several more in the next few months. After the opening night extravaganza with the amazing and versatile Paraorchestra, Bristol Choral Society performed Handel’s Messiah on 16 December 2023. On December 19th the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra tested the range of the acoustics with a new commission “Fanfares for Beacon” by Mark Anthony Turnage (and dedicated BMT CEO Louise Mitchell), Shostakovich Festive Overture, Beethoven Piano Concerto No 5 and Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring. The hall acoustic handled these beautifully — the piano and strings were clear and warm, and the Stravinsky was spatially expansive, yet crisp in time and warm in timbre.
The Strasbourg Philharmonic visited on 13 February, and the next few days/weeks will see concerts at “The Beacon” by the Royal Northern Sinfonia, London Symphony Orchestra, Dresden Philharmonic, more Bournemouth, the Halle and RPO. I’m looking forward to attending as many of these as possible. — Bob Essert.