Welcome to our 75th anniversary season. We are celebrating this special anniversary by supporting young musicians and we hope you will join us for this wonderful and exciting series of concerts. Each concert in the season includes either outstanding young performers or works by young emerging composers alongside classical masterpieces from the chamber music repertoire. Local schools will have the chance to work with some of the artists, and tickets for students to any concert are only £1. There is much to look forward to! Subscriptions Open. Link below:
Grace Evangeline Mason My Thoughts Fly in at your Window
Schubert Octet
We were thrilled to open our 75th anniversary season with members of Royal Northern Sinfonia.
Review: Well – what a wonderful way to start our very special 75 th Anniversary Season! It’s always a real joy to hear the Royal Northern Sinfonia in Richmond and last night was no exception. The intensity and depth of string sound in Bruch’s rarely heard Octet was truly amazing. Do orchestral players bring something different to chamber music when compared to those who only ever play in smaller groups, I wonder? A point for debate. The second piece by Grace Evangeline Mason was a wonderful contrast with a real lightness and delicacy of sound that portrayed the poetry behind it so convincingly. The second half was taken up by the piece that most people, perhaps, think of in terms of octets – the Schubert Octet. It’s a monumental work and the players did it full justice, clearly showing their own enjoyment of the piece. Photo below, credit Jane Morris Abson
Manchester Collective
19 October 2022
“Arcadiana” is a chamber music show about different paradises featuring a string sextet and gorgeous lighting designs. Led by Guest Director Max Baillie, six Manchester Collective players presented a sparkling programme that included Adès’ brilliant string quartet (and a short exploration of its secrets), Jörg Widmann’s blistering “180 Beats per Minute” and Brahms’ breathtakingly beautiful Sextet in G major. This is music of incredible magnetism, charisma and energy.
Review: What fantastic playing by Manchester Collective last night. These were musicians of the highest calibre, playing extraordinary music with the utmost skill and musicianship. They captured the ethereal beauty of Ades’ string quartet, often using extended techniques (such as wide use of harmonics, or playing very close to the bridge), pushing the sound capabilities of their instruments to the farthest limits. I don’t know about everyone else, but I was very glad of the short exploration of Thomas Ades’ quartet before the main performance. “Spectral”, “kaleidoscope”, “decay” and “disintegration” were words used to describe the music. And if you haven’t already listened again to Jorg Widmann’s 180 Beats per Second, it’s worth it to re-live the experience. Back on more familiar ground with Brahms’ sextet, I just sat back and enjoyed. It was gorgeous.
Generously sponsored by Nick and Sally Reckert
Meliora Collective 16 November 2022
Debra Cheetham Nonet “Ngarrgooroon”
Martinů Nonet no 2
Mendelssohn Symphony no 3, arranged for chamber ensemble
Meliora Collective is a newly established, flexible ensemble of dynamic, creative and spirited recent conservatoire graduates. Formed as a dectet of five wind players and five string players, the Meliora Collective also presents more intimate chamber groupings. They performed two nonets: Ngarrgooroon by Australian Aboriginal composer Debra Cheetham, which was premiered in April 2022 by Chineke! Chamber Ensemble; and Martinů’s Nonet no 2, followed by Mendelssohn’s Symphony no. 3 arranged for chamber ensemble. Generously sponsored by Gale and Phillipson
Tabea Debus (recorders) with Sergio Bucheli (lute)
25 January 2023
Described by The Times as a ‘charismatic virtuoso’ Tabea is much sought after as soloist, collaborator, teacher and communicator. “Neat, unforced, beautifully articulated” – The Times Tabea’s wide-ranging programme entitled ‘Ohrwurm’ explores music for recorder and lute by John Dowland, Henry Purcell, Johann Sebastian Bach, Georg Philipp Telemann, Dani Howard, Gareth Moorcraft, Leo Brouwer and world premiers by composers from The Wells Cathedral School.
We are in for a treat! Generously sponsored by Isabel and Malcolm Tooze
Coco Tomita (violin) with Simon Callaghan (piano)
15 March 2023
Noah Max Silent Spring
Beethoven Kreutzer Sonata
Janacek Violin Sonata
Ravel Pièce en forme de habanera
Ravel Violin Sonata no. 2
Coco Tomita won the BBC Young Musician Strings Category in 2020. Her dazzling debut album ‘Origins’ received rave reviews in The Strad, Gramophone Magazine, BBC Music Magazine and The Observer and was selected as ‘Disc of the month’ by Apple in April 2022. This programme for solo violin and violin with piano combines classical masterpieces with contemporary compositions and promises to be a thrilling evening. Generously sponsored by David and Angelica Carr
Barbican Quartet
12 April 2023
Mozart Quartet in D major K575 Janacek Quartet “Intimate letters” Joy Lisney: a new work Schumann Quartet op.41. no.3
First prize winners of the 2019 Joseph Joachim International Chamber Music Competition as well as the 2018 St Martin in the Fields Chamber Music Competition, the Barbican Quartet are quickly establishing themselves internationally. Based in London, the quartet’s members are violinists Amarins Wierdsma and Kate Maloney, violist Christoph Slenczka and cellist Yoanna Prodanova. They will be playing Mozart's quartet in D major (K575), Janacek’s “Intimate Letters” second quartet written in 1928 which has been described as a manifesto on love, a new piece by Joy Lisney and Schumann’s third quartet opus 41. Generously sponsored by Millgate House