Doric String Quartet

28 September

Haydn String Quartet Op. 33 No. 1
Britten String Quartet No. 1
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​Schubert String Quartet No. 14 in D Minor, "Death and the Maiden"

The Doric String Quartet is Alex Redington (violin), Ying Xue (violin),  Hélène Clément (viola) and John Myerscough (cello). The quartet last came to Richmond six years ago. Since then they have been building a top-quality reputation, with many appearances on air and at large venues in Britain and overseas, and a number of recordings.

Our programme includes Britten's String Quartet No. 1, which has a particularly poignant viola part. The quartet's viola player, Hélène Clément, is privileged to have the composer's own viola on loan from the Britten–Pears Foundation. Tonight, with any luck, we'll hear that famous instrument, which was previously owned by Frank Bridge. (It also features in the Dorics' latest recording, of Britten and Purcell, which will be on sale at the concert.)

Tonight's concert ends with Schubert's astonishing "Death and the Maiden",  often described as one of the pillars of the chamber music repertoire.     

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Generously supported by 

Royal Northern Sinfonia

19 October

Richard Strauss Capriccio Sextet Op. 85
Wagner Siegfried Idyll
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​Mahler Symphony No. 1 (arr. Farrington)

Our favourite local orchestra returns to Richmond under its leader Bradley Creswick, with a superb programme. First comes the sextet which opens Strauss's opera, Capriccio, which brings the composer's rich instrumental textures to a stylized recreation of elegant Rococo chamber music. It's a miniature delight.

Next is Wagner's famous and very recognisable  Siegfried Idyll , which threatens to drown the listener in a warm sea of gorgeousness. Lucky Cosima Wagner. Did any man ever give his wife a better birthday present? 

After the interval, we hear the First Symphony by Mahler, famous for the enormous scale of his instrumentation. Yes, a chamber orchestra can play Mahler, but it does need to be a very good chamber orchestra.

Royal Northern Sinfonia have attracted some of our largest audiences in recent years. With a programme like this one we're bound to get a packed auditorium, so if you don't already have a Season Ticket, please be sure to book early.

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Generously supported by 

Craig Ogden (guitar), Miloš Milivojević (accordion)

23 November

Bach Sonata in E-flat Major BWV 1031
Vivaldi Guitar Concerto in D Major
​Falloni Three Pieces for Accordion and Guitar
Piazzolla Libertango
Boccherini Introduction and Fandango
Albéniz España

The accordion has a distinguished but little-known history as a classical instrument. It is becoming far better known nowadays, thanks in large part to the ambassadorship of Miloš Milivojevic. Craig Ogden records and performs worldwide. Head of Guitar at the Royal Northern College of Music, he has been described by BBC Music Magazine as: “A worthy successor to Julian Bream”.

​The two artists perform regularly together.

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Generously supported by Peter Denison-Edson and Hazel Smith 

The Bach Players - Pour le Souper du Roi

Wednesday 22 January, 2020 

Music by Rameau, Jacquet de la Guerre, Marais, Rebel, Anglebert, Clérambault and other composers of the age of Louis XIV, the 'Sun King', performed on violin, viola da gamba, theorbo and harpsichord.

The Bach Players are known for their engaging programmes of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century music, played on original instruments. Their concerts are lively, informal events in which the musicians engage actively with their audiences.

​Tonight's programme paints a musical picture of the chamber music presented to Louis XIV by his favourite composers. Composers who were allowed into the inner circle of the king were given the title ‘musicien pour la chambre du Roy’: their tasks included providing music for the king in his private rooms. Some of the best chamber music of the period was written for these occasions. 

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Generously supported by David and Angelica Carr in memory of Tom and Katherine Carr 

Solem Quartet

Wednesday 19 February

Haydn String Quartet in D Major Op. 64 no.5, "The Lark"
Bartók Quartet No. 5
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Brahms Quartet in A minor Op. 51 No. 2

The Solem Quartet is Amy Tress (violin), William Newell (violin), Alistair Vennart (viola), Stephanie Tress (cello). Founded in 2011 at the University of Manchester, the group has accumulated more prizes and distinguished mentors than would seem possible, and is currently Quartet in Residence at the University of Liverpool. 

​The quartet is particularly excited to have been privately commissioned to undertake a complete Beethoven and Bartók cycle, which starts in 2020 and will take place in London and Aberystwyth over a three year period.
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Generously supported by Mike Baker in memory of Pat

The Carice Singers - 'Tis Nature's Voice

Wednesday 18 March

Songs by Howells, Bax, Ireland, Janáček, Elgar, Berg, Ross Edwards, Grieg, Finzi

The Carice Singers - named after Edward Elgar's daughter - are professional performers who are  known for a pure sound and an imaginative approach to a wide spectrum of choral music.​ Under its Director, George Parris, the ensemble has recorded no fewer than three discs for Naxos, which feature music by English twentieth-century composers, and which have been highly praised by reviewers. In the words of Gramophone magazine,  "Few can match the Carice Singers for musicality and beauty of tone".

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Generously supported by Judy Moorhouse