TICKETS are now on sale for the Royal Northern Sinfonia’s 2015-16 classical season which will feature a complete cycle of Sibelius symphonies, a reassessment of music by Mozart and a focus on early music, writes Peter Bevan.

This is the first programme put together by Thorben Dittes, director of the Sinfonia’s classical programme, and Lars Vogt, who becomes its music director in September. They revealed details at a preview before a recent concert.

Vogt started things off in dramatic fashion by walking over to the Steinway and launching into the start of Grieg’s Piano Concerto – one of the works in the opening concert which he will conduct on Friday, September 18. Other works will be by Sibelius, Mozart and Estonian composer Erkki-Sven Tuur.

There will be more than 40 concerts between then and June next year, including orchestral and choral works and solo and chamber pieces ranging from Bach’s B minor Mass to Terry Riley’s In C.

In his 150th anniversary year, it’s not surprising that Sibelius provides one of the main features with performances of all seven symphonies and his Violin Concerto.

Sinfonia performances of the symphonies will be conducted by Christian Lindberg, Mario Venzago, Thomas Zehetmair, Olli Mustonen and Vogt, and will be complemented by the Halle Orchestra under Sir Mark Elder and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic under Vasily Petrenko.

Other composers in the Musical North strand include Grieg (Peer Gynt Suites), Nielsen (Flute Concerto), Arvo Part (Fratres etc) and a Late Mix concert featuring New Music from the North.

Dittes and Vogt both spoke enthusiastically about reclaiming Mozart from his “cuddly” representation, so this new season will include some of the more dramatic pieces, such as the later symphonies and piano concertos, the Exsultate Jubilate with Elizabeth Watts, the Great Mass in C minor and the Requiem.

In addition, there will be two Mozart matinees and concerts featuring Mozart’s Vienna conducted by Vogt, and Mozart and His Contemporaries conducted by Robert Levin.

There will also be a welcome focus on early music with distinguished specialist ensembles.

The Charles Avison Ensemble will naturally feature work by Avison and his contemporaries, The Dunedin Ensemble with John Butt will play Handel and J S Bach and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment will play an hour of Purcell in a Late Night Shift concert, not to mention the Sinfonia’s own performance of Handel’s Messiah under Harry Bicket.

This round-up barely touches on the wide ranging programme which will include, for example, cello concertos by Elgar, Dvorak and Walton, violin concertos by Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky, piano concertos by Chopin and Tchaikovsky and, more unusually, Beethoven’s violin concerto arranged for piano (by Beethoven himself).

Other highlights include Mahler’s Kindertotenlieder, Shostakovich’s Chamber Symphony and the completion of Saleem Ashkar’s piano sonata cycle.

Other soloists and conductors will include Julian Rachlin, John Wilson, Paul McCreesh, Roderick Williams and Christian Tetzlaff and many of the Sinfonia’s own principals including flautist Juliette Bausor and clarinetist Timothy Orpen.

Concerts and recitals will take place in Halls One and Two in the Sage but, in a brief conversation with me at a reception during the concert interval, Thorben Dittes mentioned that they will be looking to present more concerts in Stockton and Darlington in future years.

Tickets for the 2015-16 season are available in various packages including discounts of between ten and 25 per cent, a six-month payment plan and free exchanges. Details are available in a new brochure available at the Sage or online at sagegateshead.com or by phone on 0191 443 4661.