91Èȱ¬

Audiences throughout England, Scotland and Wales will never be far from a concert or learning programme presented by at least one of the 91Èȱ¬'s performing groups. Total immersion in the work of living composers, searching interpretations of key works from the classical canon and fresh artistic collaborations are vital parts of their seasons.

The diversity and breadth extend to the terrific line-up of soloists and conductors set to appear with the 91Èȱ¬ performing groups this season and beyond. Choosing season highlights for the 91Èȱ¬ performing groups involves tough decisions. The following selections are just a few of the headlines. We could add several dozen other standout events to the mix, from the 91Èȱ¬ Symphony Orchestra's strand of new concertos to a series of choral masterworks from the 91Èȱ¬ National Orchestra of Wales in Cardiff and Swansea or the 91Èȱ¬ Concert Orchestra at the 91Èȱ¬ Electric Proms.

Viewed as one super musical team, the six 91Èȱ¬ performing groups will perform everything from Renaissance motets and Handel's Saul to a raft of freshly commissioned works by British composers this season, all broadcast on Radio 3.

You'll also hear their soundtrack contributions to ZingZillas, Doctor Who and a dozen more 91Èȱ¬ television shows and films, from a four-part special about the 91Èȱ¬ Scottish Symphony Orchestra for 91Èȱ¬ Two Scotland to a new film about Parry for 91Èȱ¬ Four.

91Èȱ¬ Symphony Orchestra 80th Birthday Concert
22 October 2010, Barbican

Britain's musical landscape has been transformed by the 91Èȱ¬ SO since its formation in 1930. Its commitment to new work spans eight decades and is celebrated in this 80th birthday concert with principal guest conductor David Robertson.

Wagner's Flying Dutchman Overture, played at the Orchestra's debut, and Stravinsky's The Rite Of Spring are set here in the distinctive company of premieres for Kaija Saariaho's clarinet concerto D'om Le Vrai Sens and British composer Stephen McNeff 's specially co-commissioned percussion concerto.

Total Immersion
26 February, 9 April, 14 May 2011, Barbican

Total Immersion encourages listeners to enter the sound-worlds of three strikingly inventive living composers, offering day-long explorations of their works. The latest Total Immersion days examine the creative worlds of Brian Ferneyhough, Unsuk Chin and Peter Eötvös, with help from the composers themselves, the backing of films and talks and concerts built around key works from their output.

Highlights include the UK premieres of Ferneyhough's Plötzlichkeit for large orchestra, and Chin's Šu, a concerto for Chinese sheng and orchestra and a rare performance of Eötvös's Psychokosmos for cimbalom and "traditional" orchestra, conducted by the composer.

The Bartered Bride
20 May 2011, Barbican

The 91Èȱ¬ SO has built a considerable reputation for opera in concert, winning this year's RPS Music Award for opera and music theatre for its 2009 Barbican concert staging of Martinu's Juliette. With chief conductorJiří BÄ›lohlávek, a cast largely comprising Czech soloists and the 91Èȱ¬ Singers, it now turns to Smetana's The Bartered Bride in May 2011, an opera which has defined the essential spirit of Czech music for almost 150 years.

91Èȱ¬ National Orchestra of Wales
New Music
91Èȱ¬ Hoddinott Hall and St David's Hall, Cardiff

World premieres and contemporary scores belong to the rich mix offered by 91Èȱ¬ National Orchestra of Wales this season. Two portrait concerts focus respectively on music by Swiss composer Michael Jarrell and by Frenchmen Philippe Hurel, Gilbert Amy, Jérôme Combier and Yves Chauris (13 and 27 October 2010).

The first performance of Christopher Painter's 91Èȱ¬ commission, Furnace Of Colours, follows at 91Èȱ¬ Hoddinott Hall (9 March 2011).

Meanwhile, Centauromachy, a double concerto for clarinet and flugelhorn by Composer-in-Association Simon Holt, receives its world premiere at St David's Hall on 12 November 2010.

Visionary Mahler
1 October, St David's Hall

Gustav Mahler conceived his epic Third Symphony as a musical distillation of the whole world. Mezzo-soprano Katarina Karnéus joins forces with the 91Èȱ¬ National Chorus of Wales, the boys' choirs of Gloucester, Hereford and Worcester Cathedrals, the 91Èȱ¬ National Orchestra of Wales and its Conductor Laureate Tadaaki Otaka at St David's Hall to bring the composer's visionary score to life.

John Adams's Harmonielehre
28 January 2011, St David's Hall

Few contemporary compositions have made a greater impression than Harmonielehre. John Adams's three-movement score for large orchestra, completed in 1985, confronts musical modernism, minimalism and the shades of Mahler, Schoenberg, Sibelius and Debussy. Principal Conductor Thierry Fischer and 91Èȱ¬ National Orchestra of Wales perform this modern classic, with its coruscating construction explored the previous evening in a Radio 3 Discovering Music recording.