Sage Gateshead waltzed into the new year with Royal Northern Sinfonia ’s traditional homage to Vienna but the pace quickens this weekend.

The orchestra takes centre stage on Saturday (January 13) for the eagerly-awaited Brandenburg Fest.

It features Bach’s six Brandenburg Concertos, sprightly instrumental masterpieces which, for many, characterise the Baroque era.

In the Sage’s classical season brochure, David Kettle calls them “probably the most mellifluous job applications in musical history”.

Bach presented them to a music-loving military leader and aristocrat, the Margrave Christian Ludwig of Brandenburg-Schwedt, in 1721, along with a dedication which today sounds grovelling but was probably the way things had to be done back then if you wanted a patron.

City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra

The music, on the other hand, has stood the test of time and is a classical banker.

This concert, directed by RNS co-leaders Bradley Creswick and Kyra Humphreys, is a highlight of this season’s Bach and Sons & Daughters strand, featuring the music of Bach’s real children (he fathered 20) and some of his ‘spritual’ offspring.

The Brandenburg Concertos, giving various RNS musicians a chance to shine, will be performed with other pieces by the likes of Mozart, Gorecki and Bruckner.

And if you fancy good food with good music, this is the last of this season’s concerts to be complemented by fine dining.

For £60 you can enjoy the concert plus a seven-course meal with wine.

RNS musicians will be in the smaller Sage Two on January 17 for what looks like a gem of a concert.

It’s a double bill featuring Schnee (Snow), by the Danish composer Hans Abrahamsen (born in Copenhagen in 1952 and still with us), and Quartet for the End of Time by Olivier Messiaen who died in 1992.

A scene from the video game Dear Esther
A scene from the video game Dear Esther

The Frenchman composed this now famous piece when he was a prisoner-of-war.

It was premiered in Stalag VIII-A on January 15, 1941, outdoors in the rain and before an audience of fellow prisoners and Nazi guards.

Next Wednesday’s concert starts at 8pm.

If you’re a baby – which you’re probably not, but you might know one – and you like classical music, there’s a rather unusual RNS offering at 11am and 1.30pm on January 18.

It is a 45-minute “classical treat” with RNS musicians.

Bring your adult and “sway, rock, dance and bounce – or just sit back and enjoy the music, advise Sage staff. RNS Baby Sinfonia is in Sage Two.

More classical music is on the agenda on January 19 when City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra is in Sage One performing works by Sibelius (The Swan of Tuonela), Brahms (Violin Concerto in D) and Bartók (Concerto for Orchestra).

A big and stirring sound is guaranteed by the big orchestra under conductor Mirga Grazinyte-Tyla, Lithuanian music director of the CBSO.

It’s not all classical at the Sage in January, however.

In Sage Two on January 19 (8pm) there’s a Folkworks concert by String Sisters, a sextet of ace fiddlers from around the world accompanied by a band consisting of piano, guitar, bass and drums.

The following morning at 10am the six women will be hosting workshops at intermediate and advanced level for local people interested in sharpening their skills.

Sunday afternoon (January 14) is a good time for brass and the esteemed Glenn Miller Orchestra, directed by Ray McVay, will be performing at 3pm this Sunday (January 14).

And if homegrown brass takes your fancy, you can catch the excellent Jambone, one of the region’s top youth jazz ensembles, at 7pm on January 18 in Sage Two.

A scene from the video game Dear Esther
A scene from the video game Dear Esther

For something completely different – and groundbreaking for the Sage – there’s Dear Esther on January 21 at 8pm.

It is billed as the first live play-through and performance of a video game, featuring the live score by Jessica Curry, a Bafta-winning composer, and live game play by Dan Pinchbeck.

Dear Esther was first released in 2008 and then re-released in 2012. In 2016 it was made available again for PlayStation 4 and XBox One.

It’s not exactly Grand Theft Auto. The player’s objective is simply to explore an island in the Hebrides while listening to a troubled man read a series of letters to his deceased wife. All is revealed as the player moves around the island.

But could this be the start of a whole new concert genre?

More details of all these concerts at www.sagegateshead.com where you can also buy tickets (or go to the venue or tel. 0191 4434661).