PROGRAMME Chamber Music at its Best

Transcription

1 PROGRAMME Chamber Music at its Best Concerts at Pittville Pump Room and Prince Michael Hall, Dean Close School Cheltenham Music Society

2 Ellipsis Ensemble (flute, oboe and piano) James Gilchrist (tenor) Quantz Trio Sonata in C minor QV 2 Fauré Sicilienne op.78 Roxanna Panufnik The Generation of Love Telemann Fantasia no.6 in D minor TWV 40 Plus songs by Quilter, Dubery, Warlock, Dring and Gershwin Tuesday 16 October 2018 James Gilchrist is one of the UK s leading tenors and has performed in major concert halls throughout the world. He is recognised as the finest Evangelist of his generation. Ellipsis performed their inaugural concert in 2009 as part of the St John s May Festival in Notting Hill and have relished making music together ever since. Their concert programmes are original and varied including combinations of solos, duos and trios for oboe, flute, and piano. fresh and invigorating a committed and persuasive performance from Ellipsis Seen and Heard International 23 & 18

3 Thursday 15 November 2018 With their new leader, the Pražáks provided a reminder that they are one of the world's leading quartets. La Baule 2017 Pražák Quartet Smetana String Quartet no.2 in D minor Jiří Gemrot String Quartet no.2 Dvořák String Quartet in C major op & 20 We welcome again the accomplished Pražák Quartet with their new leader, Royal College of Music graduate, Jana Vonášková. They bring an appealing all-czech programme with quartets by Smetana and Dvořák framing an exciting and virtuoso work by the contemporary Czech composer, Jiří Gemrot (b.1957). This was premiered by the Pražáks in March 2015.

4 The Marian Consort A Very English Christmas? A selection of songs on Christmas themes by Orlandus Lassus Thomas Tallis Alfonso Ferrabosco Christopher Tye John Sheppard William Byrd Nicholas Ludford Tuesday 4 December 2018 fluid, vivid and, crucially, daring T he Guardian performances that glow with golden purity and soul T h e Scotsman exquisite the ensemble sings with eloquence and expressive finesse Sunday T i m e s Details will be on the CMS website Taking its name from the Blessed Virgin Mary, a focus of religious devotion in the sacred music of all ages,the Marian Consort is a young, dynamic and internationallyrenowned early music vocal ensemble, recognised for its freshness of approach and innovative presentation of a broad range of repertoire. Julie Kim 25 & 20

5 Thursday 17 January 2019 Alasdair Beatson s highlights of 2017 included concerts in London s Wigmore Hall and Kings Place, Zurich s Tonhalle, and collaborations with Adrian Brendel, the Doric String Quartet, Meta4 and the Nash Ensemble among many. Adrian Brendel (cello) Alasdair Beatson (piano) Fauré Élégie in C minor op.24 Bach Gamba Sonata in G BWV 1027 Widor Sonata in A op.80 Bach arr. Moscheles 3 Preludes from the Well- Tempered Clavier Saint-Saëns Sonata in C minor op.32 Joanne Green Adrian Brendel is one of the most versatile and original cellists of his generation. His discovery of contemporary music through the works of Kurtág, Kagel and Ligeti opened a new and vital avenue that he continues to explore with huge enthusiasm alongside Joanne Green his passion for jazz and world music. 20 & 15

6 Louis Schwizgebel (piano) Schubert Allegretto in C minor D.915 Schubert 4 Impromptus D.935 Chopin 24 Preludes op.28 Wednesday 13 February 2019 Swiss-Chinese pianist, Louis Schwizgebel, has won major prizes at a number of international piano competitions including the Geneva and Leeds competitions. He clearly has a prodigious technique as can be seen from his recent recording of Ravel s Gaspard de la Nuit. Seen and Heard 23 & 18

7 Wednesday 20 March 2019 The unflinching integrity of their interpretation and the excitement of their playing were consistently superb. The Guardian Dante Quartet Haydn String Quartet in G op.33 no.5 Howells String Quartet no.3 In Gloucestershire Beethoven String Quartet in E minor Op.59 no.2 23 & 18 The Dante Quartet, one of the UK s finest ensembles, is known for its imaginative programming and impassioned performances. The Dante Quartet has been honoured with the Royal Philharmonic Society Award for Chamber Music and has also received international awards for its recordings. The wide age-range of the Dante Quartet s members helps to create a harmonious and exciting blend, marrying youthful enthusiasm with richness of experience and consummate technical skill.

8 Castalian Quartet Haydn String Quartet in D minor op.76 no.2 Fifths Britten String Quartet No.2 in C op.36 Schubert String Quartet no.13 in A minor D.804 Rosamunde Wednesday 24 April 2019 They seize motives with the core of their sound and press them into a service of thematic contiguity that is enviable, like an orator who knows how to convince with both passion and persuasion. Calgary Herald 20 & 15 The Castalian Quartet is without doubt one of the most exciting new voices on the international chamber music scene. In 2015 they won 1st Prize and three special awards at the Lyon International Competition. In 2016, as the only European ensemble to progress to the live rounds, they won 3rd Prize at the Banff International String Quartet Competition, and were selected as YCAT artists. In 2018 they received a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship Award.

9 Cheltenham Contemporary Concerts At Prince Michael Hall, Dean Close School, Cheltenham GL51 6EP Acclaimed guitarists Andrey Lebedev and Jack Hancher perform solos and duos from England, Spain and Australia. Australian classical guitarist Andrey Lebedev is a laureate of top international competitions including the 2017 ARD Music Competition and the 2017 Guitar Foundation of America Competition. Jack Hancher studied at the Royal College of Music and received the RCM guitar prize in Both have performed across the UK at venues including King s Place and Wigmore Hall. 10 free Pixels Ensemble is a collective of established chamber music players with a shared passion for performing the finest repertoire, from the classical period to the present day. Vastly experienced and versatile, the group appears in a wide range of combinations and line-ups, lending itself to innovative programming and enabling huge variety within individual concerts. Sunday 28 Oct 2018 at 3pm Andrey Lebedev (guitar) Jack Hancher (guitar) Works by Isaac Albéniz Malcolm Arnold Benjamin Britten Bill Lovelady Heitor Villa-Lobos Astor Piazzolla Phillip Houghton Ralph Towner Sunday 17 Feb 2019 at 3pm Pixels Ensemble Hildegard of Bingen O viridissima virga (voice) O virga ac diadema (voice) George Crumb Vox Balaenae - Voice of the Whale (flute, cello and piano) Luciano Berio Sequenza III (voice) Hafliði Hallgrímsson Verse I (flute and cello) Maurice Ravel Chansons Madécasses (voice, flute, cello and piano)

10 How to book Chamber Music Concerts at the Pump Room Series tickets To purchase seats for the whole series, please apply to the Membership Secretary using the application form attached. This gives a substantial discount compared with ticket prices charged for individual concerts. Purchasers become members of the Society and in place of tickets we issue membership cards showing the seat number for the whole series. Please remember to bring membership cards for admission to the concerts. For priority booking, please add a donation of at least 10 per person. The Society relies on members donations to maintain the quality of its programmes. The priority booking period runs until 31 July 2018 and the non-priority booking period continues to 31 August, when sales of series tickets close. Seat allocation starts on 1 June but non-priority bookings will not be handled until the end of the priority booking period. Individual series concert tickets for individual concerts will be available from 1 June 2018 at the Town Hall Box Office (tel: or ) but the choice of seats will be limited until the allocation of series tickets is complete. are also available at the Pump Room on the day of the concert. Those buying tickets for four or more series concerts at the same time get a 10% discount. Members who have purchased a series ticket can purchase up to two additional single tickets for each Pump Room concert at a discount of 50%. series tickets for those under 26 are for individual concerts, and 20 or 15, depending on seating area, for the whole series. Contemporary Concerts at Prince Michael Hall Members subscribing for the Chamber Music series at the Pump Room can buy tickets for both concerts for a total of 15 using the application form. Individual tickets cost 10 and can be purchased at the door. for those under 26 are free.

11 Name(s) Application Form Address Postcode Telephone required.... Pump Room A block full price seats at Pump Room B block full price seats at Pump Room A block under 26 seats at Pump Room B block under 26 seats at Contemporary series seats at 15 Donation Enclose cheque for total amount payable to Cheltenham Music Society Indicate preferred seating area Rows A-H Rows J-L Rows M-X Please return with cheque and stamped addressed envelope to the Membership Secretary: Mr M. O Connell, 49 Painswick Rd, Cheltenham GL50 2EP (Tel ). Please also complete the declaration below if appropriate. I wish all my donations to the Cheltenham Music Society from this date onwards to be treated as Gift Aid donations. I am a UK taxpayer and understand that if I pay less Income Tax and/or Capital Gains Tax than the amount of Gift Aid claimed on all my donations in that tax year it is my responsibility to pay any difference. Signed. Date..

12 Members tickets for the whole concert series are available via the membership secretary Mr M. O Connell, 49 Painswick Rd, Cheltenham GL50 2EP (Tel ). for individual Pump Room concerts are available through the Cheltenham Town Hall box office, Imperial Square, Tel , or , or at the door. for individual Contemporary Concerts are available at the door. Venues The Pittville Pump Room is at East Approach Drive, Cheltenham GL52 3JE. Prince Michael Hall is at Dean Close School, Hatherley Road, Cheltenham GL51 6EP. Facilities are available for disabled patrons at both venues. Please make your requirements known when booking. More details at Cheltenham Music Society promotes a winter season of varied chamber music with an emphasis on string quartets and also a contemporary music series. The Society is a registered charity (No ) and relies on donations to maintain a high standard of programme and support young musicians. The artists include some of the finest performers in the world as well as outstanding young musicians. We will use personal information supplied by members and nonmembers only to mail and these individuals about concerts, events and programme changes, and we will not share it with any other organisation. Details of our Data Protection Policy are on our website. Photo credits are acknowledged on our website.