Chamber Music Concerts 2005-2006


This is the 43rd season of chamber music concerts promoted by Bromsgrove Concerts.

All concerts are at 8pm (except for 26 March which is at 2.30pm) and are in Artrix.


Friday 30 September at 8pm
Fujita Piano Trio

Arisa Fujita violin  ·  Honoka Fujita cello  ·  Megumi Fujita piano

Mozart Trio no. 5 in C K548 
Ravel Trio in A minor 
Takemitsu Between Tides 
Brahms Trio no. 3 in C minor op. 101

The Fujita Trio open our first season in Artrix. From Japan, the three Fujita sisters have toured the UK many times since 1999, and also have flourishing solo careers. Unusually amongst chamber ensembles, they play completely from memory. Their programme is an intriguing mix of works from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, including Takemitsu's atmospheric portrayal of the ebb and flow of the tides.

“After hearing the Fujita sisters play Takemitsu's music with such superlative skill and understanding, I now see why I've so often been disappointed by other, less convincing performances. The Fujitas ... are simply magnificent in Takemitsu's chamber music masterpiece, Between Tides.” American Record Guide

£13/£12/£4.50



Wednesday 5 October at 8pm
London Sinfonietta 

Clio Gould violin  ·  Tim Gill cello  ·  Mark van de Wiel clarinet  ·  John Constable piano

Fraser Trainer Motion Pictures
Lutoslawski Dance Preludes 
Debussy Cello Sonata
Messiaen Quartet for the End of Time

As part of a national tour, members of the renowned London Sinfonietta bring to Bromsgrove a programme centred on Messiaen's quartet for violin, cello, clarinet and piano, written while he was a prisoner of war and first performed by the composer and 3 fellow camp inmates in January 1941. The programme will be introduced by composer Fraser Trainer, whose own piece Motion Pictures begins the concert.

“The country's, perhaps the world's, leading modern music ensemble” Sunday Times

£11/£10/£3.50



Friday 21 October at 8pm
Jana Nováková
(violin) and Petr Novák (piano)

Mozart Sonata for violin and piano in C K303 
Brahms Sonata no. 3 in D minor op. 108
Beethoven Violin Sonata no. 10 in G op. 96 
Brahms Scherzo in C minor from 'F-A-E' sonata op. posth. no. 2

The prize-winning Czech violinist Jana Nováková is accompanied by her brother Petr Novák in violin sonatas by Mozart, Brahms and Beethoven. She has already appeared at the Wigmore Hall in London and at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester; this is her first visit to Bromsgrove.

“The music that opened Jana Nováková's recital at St. James was just like her - elegance in black velvet and satin ... the freshness and sensitivity the performers brought to their music delighted and impressed the audience who demanded an encore. It was romantic, Bohemian and exciting” Guernsey Press

£13/£12/£4.50



Friday 11 November at 8pm
Vanbrugh Quartet
and Patricia Rozario (soprano)

Gregory Ellis violin  ·  Keith Pascoe violin  ·  Simon Aspell viola  ·  Christopher Marwood cello

Beethoven Quartet in F op. 59 no. 1 Razumovsky
Tavener Akhmatova Songs 
Schoenberg Quartet no. 2 in F sharp op. 10

Patricia Rozario is world-famous, both as an operatic soprano and an outstanding concert recitalist, and the music of Sir John Tavener is one of her specialities. She joins forces with the renowned Vanbrugh Quartet to perform Tavener's settings of six poems by the Russian poet Anna Akhmatova, followed by Schoenberg's revolutionary second quartet, which includes a part for soprano in the last two movements. The Vanbrughs start the evening with the first of Beethoven's set of three quartets, commissioned by the Russian ambassador in Vienna, Prince Razumovsky.

“Rozario sings divinely and the excellent Vanbrugh Quartet play with magical effect” The Northern Echo

“In these pieces for singer and string quartet [Patricia Rozario] is at her very best, soaring to strenuous heights in the Akhmatova Songs.” Amazon.co.uk

£13/£12/£4.50



Wednesday 16 November at 8pm
Andrew Zolinsky
(piano)

Phillip Neil Martin Two Reflections on Milton
Simon Holt Four Humours (first performance of Bromsgrove Concerts commission)
Simon Holt Black Lanterns
Morton Feldman Palais de Mari
Michael Tippett Sonata no. 2
John Adams Phrygian Gates

Firmly committed to contemporary music, Andrew Zolinsky has been broadcast frequently by Radio 3 and other stations, including his première of David Lang's piano concerto with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales at the 2004 Vale of Glamorgan Festival. His varied and contrasting programme includes the first performance of Simon Holt's set of short piano pieces, commissioned for this concert by Bromsgrove Concerts, as well as two pieces by Phillip Neil Martin, whose new work for piano quartet will be premièred by the Schubert Ensemble at their March concert.

“Zolinsky's virtuosity was at times incredible” Paul Driver, Sunday Times

£11/£10/£3.50



Friday 9 December at 8pm
Galliard Ensemble


Kathryn Thomas flute  ·  Richard Bayliss horn  ·  Owen Dennis oboe
Katherine Spencer clarinet  ·  Helen Simon bassoon

Mozart Fantasie in F minor K594 
Danzi Quintet in B flat major 
Milhaud La Cheminée du Roi René 
Ibert Trois Pièces Brèves
Holst Wind Quintet in A flat op. 14 
Berio Opus Number Zoo

The Galliard Ensemble present a richly varied programme, including arrangements of Mozart's 'mechanical organ' Fantasie, a work by his contemporary Danzi, later pieces by Milhaud, Ibert and Holst, and a wind quintet by Berio which includes text to be narrated by the musicians.

“The young Galliard Ensemble's performances are revelatory. Stunning music and extraordinary playing.” The Observer

£13/£12/£4.50



Friday 27 January at 8pm
Dante Quartet


Krysia Osostowicz violin  ·  Matthew Truscott violin  ·   Judith Busbridge viola
Pierre Doumenge cello

Mozart Quartet no. 20 in D Hoffmeister K499
Rubbra Quartet no. 1 in F minor 
Schubert Quartet no. 15 in G major op. 161 D887

2006 will be the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birth and Bromsgrove Concerts will not fail to mark this great occasion. We welcome first the Dante Quartet, an international quartet in all respects as their members are Polish, French, English and Scottish. Formed in 1995, they have toured extensively and will open our Mozart celebrations with a performance of the Hoffmeister quartet. The concert will also include Edmund Rubbra's first quartet, which the Dantes have recorded for Dutton.

“The [Dante Quartet's] previous coupling of [Rubbra's] Quartets nos 2 and 4 was shortlisted for a Gramophone Award, and if anything this newcomer attains an even greater level of accomplishment and perception.” Andrew Achenbach, Gramophone (reviewing their CD of Rubbra quartets nos. 1 and 3)

£13/£12/£4.50



Friday 17 February at 8pm
Sorrel Quartet


Gina McCormack violin  ·  Catherine Yates violin  ·   Sarah-Jane Bradley viola  ·  Helen Thatcher cello

Mozart Quartet no. 19 in C Dissonance K465
Shostakovich Quartet No. 6 in G op. 101
Debussy Quartet in G minor op. 10

We welcome back the four brilliant musicians of the Sorrel Quartet, who last delighted us with an outstanding concert in 2003. This time, to continue our Mozart celebrations, we shall hear from them his profound Dissonance Quartet, as well as quartets by Debussy and Shostakovich.

“There is an appealing naturalness about the group's music-making which bodes well for future instalments.” Gramophone (reviewing their CD of Shostakovich quartets nos. 6, 7 and 10)

£13/£12/£4.50



Wednesday 15 March at 8pm
Schubert Ensemble

Simon Blendis violin  ·  Douglas Paterson viola  ·  Jane Salmon cello  ·  William Howard piano

Martin Butler Sequenza Notturna
Judith Weir Piano Trio no. 2
Phillip Neil Martin Piano Quartet (first performance of Bromsgrove Concerts commission)
David Knotts Kitharodia
John Woolrich Sestina
Graham Fitkin Touch

Celebrating 22 years at the forefront of British chamber music, the Schubert Ensemble is firmly established as one of the world’s leading exponents of chamber music for piano and strings. They have established a reputation for innovation in the field of new music and all of the pieces in their concert, apart from Judith Weir's trio, have been commissioned by or for them. Bromsgrove Concerts is delighted to further this by bring together the performing flair of the ensemble and the compositional talents of rising star Phillip Neil Martin in the première of Phillip's new piano quartet.

“The Schubert Ensemble of London are a marvellously unified ensemble, imparting their energy and lyricism to anything to which they turn their expert hands” Classic FM Magazine

£11/£10/£3.50



Friday 24 March at 8pm
Feinstein Ensemble

Martin Feinstein recorder, director  ·   Sally Holman bassoon  ·   Catherine Martin violin
Clare Salaman violin  ·   Jane Rogers viola  ·   Jennifer Morsches cello
Cecelia Bruggemeyer double bass  ·   Nicholas Parle harpsichord

Telemann Recorder Concerto in C
Handel Trio Sonata in D op. 5 no. 2
Vivaldi Trio Sonata in A Minor RV86
Vivaldi Bassoon Concerto in A Minor RV498
Telemann Trio Sonata in G minor TWV 42: g9
Vivaldi Sopranino Concerto in C RV443

Our baroque concert this season is given by the Feinstein Ensemble, a brilliant group of eight specialist performers. Their programme is titled 'Blowing up a Storm' and the virtuoso wind music of Handel, Telemann and Vivaldi should be suitably stirring.

“They play with a lightness and delicacy, yet also with a security and force that are a sheer delight. As for Feinstein himself, his flute-playing is beyond praise - I have never heard better.” Fanfare (USA)

£13/£12/£4.50



Sunday 26 March at 2.30pm
Allegri Quartet
with Ross Daly (Cretan lyra) and poet Richard Douglas Pennant

Daniel Rowland violin  ·  Rafael Todes violin  ·  Dorothea Vogel viola  ·  Pal Banda cello

A date for your diary. Celebrate Mothering Sunday in style with a champagne reception, followed by music and poetry, then tea and cakes.

Programme to include music by Shostakovich as well as poetry readings by Richard Douglas Pennant.

“[Their] 50th Anniversary Concert to a packed Wigmore Hall found the Allegri playing in a more intimate, genuinely chamber-music style than ever.” The Independent

£13/£12/£4.50 (not included in the subscription package)

Please note the time of this concert - it is not 3pm as originally advertised.



Friday 19 May at 8pm
Maggini Quartet


Laurence Jackson violin  ·  David Angel violin  ·  Martin Outram viola  ·  Michal Kaznowski cello

The Glory of the English String Quartet

Malcolm Arnold Quartet no. 1 op. 23
Frank Bridge Quartet no. 3
E. J. Moeran Quartet no. 1 in A minor

Following their highly successful concert in May 2004, the renowned Maggini Quartet return to Bromsgrove to give a further concert which forms part of their ongoing project The Glory of the English String Quartet. Within this they are exploring the English string quartet repertoire, both in the concert hall and on their acclaimed CDs for Naxos. In their programme for us, early quartets by Malcolm Arnold and E. J. Moeran frame a later work by Frank Bridge.

“Exposure to these incandescent performances could help substantially in lifting the curtain on a composer of unusual individuality and fire” Geoff Brown, The Times (reviewing their CD of Bridge quartets nos. 1 and 3)

£13/£12/£4.50 (not included in the subscription package)



Bromsgrove Concerts reserves the right to alter dates, programmes, or artists without notice

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