Passion, deception, prostitution, seduction, mugging, stabbing, hanging, murder and sexual ecstasy - and that's just the first half of tonight's classical concert at The Sage Gateshead! These dark themes in The Miraculous Mandarin, Hungarian composer Béla Bartók's "pantomime ballet", outraged the first-night audience in Cologne back in 1926, many of whom fled the concert hall, and further performances in the city were promptly banned. Fear not, tonight's audience at The Sage will be spared such graphic atrocities - but will be introduced to some of the most dramatic and dynamic music of the 20th Century, in the form of the orchestral suite Bartók extracted from his controversial ballet. The story tells of three thugs who force a young girl to attract male punters up to her room, where they are pounced upon and robbed. But things take a more violent and sinister turn when a mysterious Chinaman comes through the door. He resists the robbers' brutal attacks and refuses to die - until he is allowed to embrace the girl. The music could not be in better hands than those of the Philharmonia Orchestra under the direction of the charismatic Finnish conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen, with the orchestra and Salonen making their Sage debut. Salonen, music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, said this week: "I look forward to hearing the now-much-acclaimed acoustics of The Sage Gateshead". The second half of tonight's concert abandons the madness and mayhem for a performance of Mahler's spectacular Seventh Symphony, an epic work that traces a journey from darkness to light with all the familiar Mahlerian devices that never fail to prompt an emotional response. Michael Nyman, one of Britain's most celebrated contemporary composers, is perhaps most widely recognised for his compelling film music, from the multi-Oscar-winning The Piano to Wonderland. He will be giving a solo piano concert in Hall One of The Sage Gateshead next Monday, revisiting these iconic soundtracks and others besides. The second half of Nyman's concert will include his scores to two silent films, which will be screened simultaneously in the hall. To lovers of vocal music, it was Jeremy Jackman's face that was known around the world as a member of the King's Singers. Now it's the counter tenor's back that is more familiar to audiences as he pursues a busy international career as a conductor and choral director. Jackman is also a much-sought-after director of workshops and summer school courses - and his latest, organised by the North region of the Association of British Choral Directors, will be a Choral Singing Day later this month at Hexham's Queen Elizabeth High School. Anyone who has an interest in choral singing and wants to improve his or her technique is invited to join the event on Saturday, November 19. The repertoire will include Bob Chilcot's Singing By Numbers, one of Jackman's own pieces, Who Shall Hold the Heart of Man - featuring local baritone John Kirk - and Henry Leslie's Charm Me Asleep. Registration at the school is at 9.30am and the event is expected to end at 4pm. To secure a place call Glenn Davis on (0191) 257 7790 or e-mail gdavisbass@hotmail.com | 
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