Chamber Music Concerts 2010-2011


This is the 48th season of chamber music concerts promoted by Bromsgrove Concerts.

All concerts are at 8pm and are in Artrix.

Tickets for all concerts cost:
£16 (full price)
£15 (senior citizen 60+ or registered disabled)
£6 (full-time student or registered unemployed)
(see ticket prices)

Click on any photograph to see a larger version of it. Click on an artist name in blue to view their home page or biography.




Rivoli Quartet Friday 8 October 2010 at 8pm

Rivoli Quartet

Amelia Jones violin
Helen Tonge violin
Amy Wein viola
Helen Downham cello

Mozart Quartet in E flat, K.428
Bridge Quartet No. 2 in G minor
Britten Quartet No. 3, op. 94

The Rivoli Quartet was formed at the University of Manchester in 1999 where it was coached by the Lindsay Quartet. It takes its name from the building which (until autumn 2003) housed the music department there - the converted ‘Rivoli’ cinema. They subsequently studied at the Royal Northern College of Music where they were prize-winners in various competitions. They won the Prix-Ravel at the Academie Internationale Maurice Ravel 2006 and have reached the finals of the Royal Over-Seas League Competition.




Timothy Orpen Friday 29 October 2010 at 8pm

Timothy Orpen clarinet

Gemma Rosefield cello

Simon Lepper piano

Beethoven Clarinet Trio, op. 11
James Francis Brown Prospero’s Isle (for cello and piano)
Jörg Widmann Fantasie (for solo clarinet)
Brahms Clarinet Trio, op. 114
Nino Rota Clarinet Trio

Gemma Rosefield and Simon Lepper gave us a delightful duo recital in March 2009, and now return with their regular trio partner Timothy Orpen. As well as the standard works by Beethoven and Brahms for this combination, they will also play the tuneful Trio written towards the end of his life by Oscar winning film composer Nino Rota (The Godfather is one among his many, many scores). Prospero’s Isle was specifically written for Gemma Rosefield, while Jorg Widmann (a virtuoso clarinettist as well as an increasingly well known composer) originally wrote Fantasie to demonstrate his own talents.

Photo by Benjamin Harte



Leon McCawley Friday 19 November 2010 at 8pm

Leon McCawley piano

Janáček In the Mists
Brahms Variations and Fugue on a theme by Handel, op. 24
Chopin Impromptu in A flat, op. 29
Chopin Impromptu in F sharp, op. 36
Chopin Impromptu in G flat, op. 51
Chopin Fantasie Impromptu in C sharp minor, op. post
Barber Nocturne (Homage to John Field), op. 33
Barber Piano Sonata, op. 26

Since 1993, when he won both 2nd prize in the Leeds International piano competition and 1st prize in the 9th Beethoven International piano competition in Vienna, Leon McCawley has been in the top rank of British pianists. He is in constant demand as concerto soloist, recitalist and chamber music player, all over the world. His programme for us has been devised to reflect both the Chopin bicentenary and the Samuel Barber centenary.

Photo by Sheila Rock



London Harpsichord Ensemble Friday 3 December 2010 at 8pm

London Harpsichord Ensemble

Graham Mayger flute
Frances Mason violin
Sarah Francis oboe
Margaret Powell cello
Ian Clarke harpsichord

Telemann Quartet in G (Tafelmusik 1)
J S Bach Sonata in A, BWV 1015
Quantz Trio in C minor
Handel Concerto a Quattro in D minor
J S Bach Trio Sonata in G, BWV 1038
J C Bach Quintet in D, op. 22 no. 1

The London Harpsichord Ensemble is one of the longest-established instrumental groups in Britain. Since Sarah Francis took over the direction of the Ensemble, it has continued to play at festivals and music clubs and regularly on the South Bank. The players are especially praised for their musical insight, joie de vivre, and stylish interpretation of 18th century music. The Ensemble's recordings of Albinoni, Handel and Telemann concertos, now available on Regis Records, have received international acclaim.




Brodowski Quartet Friday 14 January 2011 at 8pm

Brodowski Quartet

with Terry Barfoot presenter

David Brodowski violin
Catrin Win Morgan violin
Felix Tanner viola
Vanessa Lucas-Smith cello

Schnittke Quartet No. 3
Schulhoff Five Pieces for String Quartet
Introduction to Shostakovich’s 8th Quartet
Shostakovich Quartet No. 8, op. 110

In a new venture for Bromsgrove Concerts, the second half of this concert will consist of an introduction to Shostakovich’s 8th Quartet by presenter Terry Barfoot, illustrated with live music examples played by the Brodowski Quartet, who will then conclude the concert with a complete performance of it. In the first half, the Brodowskis, winners of the 2008 Royal Over-Seas League Chamber Music Competition, will perform classic 20th Century Quartets by Schnittke and Schulhoff.




Royal Quartet Friday 4 February 2011 at 8pm

Royal Quartet

Isabella Szalaj-Zimak violin
Elwira Przbylowska violin
Marek Czech viola
Michal Pepol cello

Mozart Quartet in D minor, K.421
Górecki Quartet No. 1, op. 62 ‘Already it is Dusk’
Schubert Quartet in D minor, D810 ‘Death and the Maiden’

Former BBC Young Generation Artists, the Royal Quartet, from Warsaw, last visited Bromsgrove in October 2006. Since then their international career has continued to blossom – in 2007 they were shortlisted for the prestigious Royal Philharmonic Society Chamber Music Award, and they have a recording contract with Hyperion. On their return to Bromsgrove they are including a quartet by their Polish compatriot Górecki, whose quartets they are scheduled to record.

Photo by Blow Up Agency, Poland



Boult Quartet Friday 25 February 2011 at 8pm

Boult Quartet

with John Humphreys piano

Christopher Rutland violin
Catalin Chelaru violin
Philippa Lodge viola
Philip Handy cello

Schubert Quartet Movement in C minor, D703
Joe Cutler Slippery Music
Shostakovich Quartet No. 1, op. 49
Brahms Piano Quintet in F minor, op. 34

The Boult Quartet, Quartet-in-Residence at Birmingham Conservatoire, are joined by their Conservatoire colleague Chen Chen in performances of Joe Cutler’s new Piano Quartet, premiered at the 2010 Cheltenham Festival, and Brahms' mighty Piano Quintet. On their own, the Boults give us a performance of Shostakovich’s delightful, but often overlooked, 1st Quartet while Chen Chen, winner of the first Leamington Music prize in 2009, will play one of Messiaen’s Catalogue d’Oiseaux.

(Chen Chen has unfortunately had to withdraw from this concert and his place in the Cutler and Brahms works is being taken by John Humphreys, Tutor at Birmingham Conservatoire. The Messiaen piano piece, which was originally announced, will be replaced by a performance by the Boults of Schubert's well known "Quartettsatz")




Atrium Quartet Friday 25 March 2011 at 8pm

Atrium Quartet

Alexey Naumenko violin
Anton Ilyunin violin
Dmitry Pitulko viola
Anna Gorelova cello

Arensky Quartet No. 2 in A minor, op. 35a
Shostakovich Quartet No. 10, op. 118
Beethoven Quartet in A minor, op. 132

The Atrium Quartet from Russia, winners of the 2003 London International String Quartet Competetion, gave us such a wonderful concert when they came to Bromsgrove in March 2009 that we immediately invited them back. The novelty in their programme is Arensky’s 1894 2nd Quartet which was originally written for a combination of violin, viola and 2 cellos, but is being played here in the composer’s own later version for ‘normal’ string quartet.




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

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