Past performances

6 January 2022

Anna le Hair & Arwen Newband

The duo will play pieces from Beethoven and Franck

• Beethoven Violin Sonata no 8 in G Major op.30 no.3
• Franck Violin Sonata in A Major

13 January 2022

Emma Abbate & Julian Perkins piano duet

Four hands on one piano Music Ho!

• Amy Beach Summer Dreams op.47
• Edward MacDowell Moon Pictures op.21
• Constant Lambert Trois Pièces nègres pour les touches blanches
• Samuel Barber Souvenirs op.28

27 January 2022

Lance Mok & Wong Ka Wing

Pianist/Composer Lance Mok is joined by flautist Wong Ka Wing (Karen)

• Lance Mok – Pastorale and Fioritura, Op. 14a (2021, World premiere)
• Richard Stoker – Sonatina (1984)
• Samuel Barber – Canzone (Elegy), Op. 38a
• Ian Clarke – Orange Dawn (1992)
• Mel Bonis – Sonate in C-sharp minor, Op. 64
• Paul Reade – Victorian Garden Kitchen Suite (1987)
• Ian Clarke – Touching the Ether (2006)

3 February 2022

Marsyas Trio

Olga Stezhko returns with her trio!

• Eugene Goossens, Five Impressions of a  Holiday’ Op. 7
• Chen Yi, Night Thoughts
• Fanny Mendelssohn, Piano Trio in D minor, Op.11 (1847)

10 February 2022

Reiko Fujisawa

Pianist performing Bach, Weber and Schubert

• Bach/Busoni, Chaconne in D minor BWV 1004
• Weber, Rondo Brillant op.65 (Invitation to the Dance)
• Schubert, Four Impromptus D.899

17 February 2022

Aylesbury Opera

Philip Hayes and the Aylesbury Opera perform arias and ensembles from the 19th Century Operatic Repertoire

24 February 2022

Ida Pelliccioli

Pianist Ida Pelliccioli shares music to inspire people to achieve their aspirations, to give hope, to defend culture and art and beauty, the things that we believe in and love.

• Beethoven: an example of his inspiration and influences
• C.P.E. Bach, Sonata in E minor, Wq 52/6, H129
• Beethoven, Sonata No.12 in A flat Major, Op. 26
• Schubert, Impromptus Op. 142 (D.935) Nos 2 and 3
• Prokofiev, Dumka

3 March 2022

Nafis Umerkulova

Passionate pianist Celebrating Scriabin’s 150th birthday!

• Schubert, Sonata in G major D894
• Scriabin, Sonata no 5
• Feinburg
• Lourie, Phoenix Park Nocturne

10 March 2022

Nicola Tait Baxter & Mina Miletic

Cellist Nicola and pianist Mina perform fairy tales: music inspired by stories

• Schumann: 5 Stücke im Volkston, op.102: with humour ‘Vanitas vanitatum’
• Janacek: Pohadka – 1st movement
• Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherezade op.35:  Tale of the Young Prince & Princess
• Rachmaninov: Oriental Dance Op.2, No.2
• Beethoven: Rage over a lost penny Op.129
• Piazzolla: Oblivion
• Paganini: Variations on one string on a theme by Rossini
• Popper: Wie einst in Schonern Tagen Op.64 No.1
• Franck: Sonata in A: iv Allegretto poco mosso
• Traditional Catalan Folk Song: The Song of the Birds

17 March 2022

František Brikcius

Cellist Brikcius steps up with a wonderful programme to replace the cancelled Kanae Furomoto concert

• Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 – 1750): Cello Suite no. 5 in C minor, BWV 1011
• Irena Kosíková: Veselka for Solo Cello (2018) – Aylesbury premiere
• Ernest Bloch (1880 – 1959): Suite No. 1 for cello solo (1956)
• Bedřich Smetana (1824 – 1884): Z domoviny / From my homeland* – Aylesbury premiere
• Eugen Suchoň (1908 – 1993): Aka si mi krasna …* – Aylesbury premiere
• Zdeněk Fibich (1850 – 1900): Poem* – Aylesbury premiere

24 March 2022

The Kassia Trio

A modern reinvention of the piano trio made with two saxophones and a piano!

• Carter Pann (1972 – present), Vultures
• Mikhail Glinka (1804 – 1857), Trio Pathétique in D minor for (trans. for soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone & piano; originally Clarinet/ bassoon/ piano)
• Lucy Armstrong (1991 – present), The Other Dust
• Louis Adolphe Mayeur (1837 – 1894, Récréation sur des motifs du 
• George Gershwin (1898 – 1937), Promenade “Walking the Dog”
• Louise Farrenc (1804 – 1875), Trio for flute, cello and piano, Op. 45 (trans. for two saxophones and piano)
• Pedro Iturralde (1929 – 2020), Pequeña Czardas

31 March 2022

Adam Khan & Clarissa Payne Duo

Bringing together the guitar and flute for an amazing duet

• Katherine Hoover, Canyon Echoes and works by women composers, including Elisabeth-Claude Jacquet de la Guerre, Chiquinha Gonzaga, and Libby Larsen.

7 April 2022

Tyler Hay

Leeds International Piano Finalist comes to play

• Bach ‘Allemande’ from Partita no. 6
• Rachmaninov Etudes Tableaux Op.33
• Beethoven Piano sonata No.30 in E, Op.109
• Liszt Grosses Konzertsolo S.176

14 April 2022

Friern Ensemble

The Friern Ensemble return to Aylesbury Lunchtime Music for a Maundy Thursday special

• Haydn Seven Last Words from the Cross. A short introduction (quartet) followed by seven episodes with scriptural references.

21 April 2022

Antonio Oyarzabal

La Muse Oubliée – a selection of works by women composers including Amy Beach, Clara Schumann, Ethyl Smyth and Lili Boulanger.

28 April 2022

Daryl Giuliano & Guy Murgatroyd

Cellist Daryl is an expressive soloist and avid chamber musician. She works with a variety of ensembles and performs for recitals and events.

• Brahms – cello sonata No.2 in F Major Op.99
• Franck – Sonata in A Major for cello and Piano 

5 May 2022

Bela Hartmann

Bela comes to the rescue again! Pianist

• Chopin: Ballade No 1 Op.23
• Beethoven: Sonata Op. 27 No.2
• Schubert: Impromptu in G Flat D 899 No. 3
• Strauss/Schulz-Evler: Arabesques on the Waltz “An der schönen blauen Donau”

12 May 2022

Kirsten Jenson & Neil Crossland

The Duo return to wow us once again with Shostakovich and Chopin

• Shostakovich Cello Sonata in D minor op.40
• Chopin Cello Sonata.

19 May 2022

Anna le Hair & Arwen Newband

Anna and Arwen step up to replace Maria Stratigou who is unable to attend

• Schubert Sonata in A major D574, 
• Rebecca Clarke Midsummer Moon, 
• Kreisler /Corelli La Folia, 
• Beethoven Sonata opus 30 no. 3.

26 May 2022

Friern Ensemble

Nigel Blomiley returns with pianist Richard Shaw

• Beethoven Cello Sonata in A Major Op 69
• Brahms Cello Sonata No 2

2 June 2022

Fibonacci Quartet

Luna de Mol returns with her quartet to honor Janaćek (a Czech programme celebrating 150 years)

• Janaćek (a Czech programme celebrating 150 years)
• Smetana, 2nd String Quartet No. 2
• Suk, Meditation on the Old Czech Chorale Saint Wenceslas
• Janacek, String Quartet No. 1 ‘Kreutzer Sonata’

9 June 2022

Neil Crossland

Neil comes to the rescue following a last-minute cancellation

16 June 2022

Rachel Appel

Cellist Rachel Appel and pianist Ilya Chetverikov perform Dvořák, Beethoven and Schumann

• Dvořák Waldesruhe (Silent Woods) Op 68 for cello & piano, B.173 
• Beethoven Sonata in A-major Op 69 for cello & piano
• Schumann Adagio and Allegro Op 70 for cello & piano

23 June 2022

Jessica Summers

Soprano Jessica Summers sings alongside pianist Jelena Makarova

30 June 2022

Judith Choi-Castro

Violinist Judith Choi-Castro plays with John Paul Ekins

• Grieg Violin sonata no. 1 in F major
• Ravel Sonata in G major

7 July 2022

Adriana Cristea & Mina Beldimanescu

Violin and piano duo

• Mozart Sonata for Piano and Violin No. 5 in A Major, KV305 
• Beethoven Sonata for Piano and Violin No 1 in D Major Op.12 
• Ysaÿe Rêve d’enfant for Violin and Piano Op.14 
• Enescu Impromptu Concertant for Violin and Piano 
• Paganini La Campanella for Violin and Piano

14 July 2022

Valentin Schiedermair

Piano

• Bach – Prelude & Fugue in E major WTC I, BWV854
• Beethoven – Sonata in A major Op.2 No.2
• Chopin – Ballade in F minor Op.52
• Rachmaninov – Prélude in B flat major Op.23 No.2

21 July 2022

Kanae Furomoto

Piano

• Grieg – Peer Gynt Suite, Morning Mood
• Liszt – Jeux d’eau à la Villa d’Este
• Gerschwin (arranged by Fazil Say) – Summertime variations
• Beethoven (arr Liszt) – Symphony no. 5 in C minor

28 July 2022

Jessica Wise & Guy Murgatroyd

Clear, focused soprano with a brand new programme accompanied by Guy Murgatroyd

• Claude Debussy (3 Mélodies de Verliane)
  • I. La mer est plus belle que les cathédrales
  • II. Le son du cor s’afflige vers les bois
  • III. L’échelonnement des haies moutonne à l’infini
• Sergei Rachmaninov
  • Never Sing to me Again op.4/4
  • Lilacs op. 21/5
  • Loneliness (Fragments of A. Musset) op. 21/6
  • Here it is so fine op. 21/7
  • Spring Waters op. 14/11
• Frank Bridge
  • Golden Hair
  • Come to me in my Dreams
  • Love went a riding
• Francis Poulenc (5 Poemes de Max Jacob)
  • Chanson Brettonne
  • Cimetiere
  • La Petite Servante
  • Berceuse
  • Souric et Mouric
• Gustav Mahler (Rückert Lieder)
  • Ich atmet einen Lindenduft
  • Liebst du um Schönheit
  • Um Mitternacht 
  • Blicke mir nicht in die Lieder
  • Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen
• Guy Murgatroyd Ecce Puer

8 September 2022

Ormonde Ensemble

Clarinet, Flute, Bassoon, Oboe and Horn make up the Ormonde Ensemble.

• Jacques Ibert Trois Pièces Brèves:
• Grazyna Bacewicz Quintet for Wind Instruments:
• Amanda Harberg Suite for Wind Quintet:
• György Ligeti Six Bagatelles
• Florence Price Adoration (arr. Isaac Prince)

15 September 2022

Anthony Friend & Antonio Oyarzábal

Clarinet and piano recital of works all written by women

22 September 2022

Yuzhang Li

Piano

• Beethoven  – Piano Sonata Op 101
• Schumann –  Kreisleriana

29 September 2022

Viv McLean

Piano

• Chopin recital

6 October 2022

Lance Mok

Piano

• Beethoven – Fantasia in g minor Op. 77
• Scriabin – Selected Poèmes
• Stoker – A poet’s notebook Op. 19b
• Scott – 5 Poems
• Schubert (arr. Liszt) – Lieder transcriptions

13 October 2022

Adam Heron

Adam Heron is swiftly earning a reputation as one of the most exciting, innovative, and thoughtful pianists of his generation

• Arne Sonata No. 3 in G major
• Schumann Arabeske Op. 18
• Chevalier de Saint-Georges Adagio in F minor
• Vaughan Williams Suite of Six Short Pieces
• Haydn Sonata in C major Hob.XVI:50
• Frédéric Chopin Ballade No. 1 in G minor Op. 23

20 October 2022

Amadeus Piano Duo

Famia Choi Castro and Sharon Barnea are dedicated soloists and versatile chamber musicians, much in demand as part of the Amadeus Piano Duo, and establishing an exciting career that has already taken them all over the world.

• Bach Four chorales transcribed by Gyorgy Kurtag
• Mozart Sonata for Piano duet in F, K 497
• Schubert Fantasie in F minor D 940
• Brahms Souvenir de la Russie, Anh. 4/6

27 October 2022

Spencer Klymyshyn

Named by the Canadian Broadcast Corporation in 2020 as one of Canada’s 30 top classical musicians under 30, pianist Spencer Klymyshyn is known for his beautiful and nuanced sound.

• Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 28, in A Major, Op. 101 (TBC)
• Janacek “In the Mists”
• Debussy Prelude “Feux d’artifice”
• Liszt “Vallée d’Obermann

3 November 2022

Mikhail Lezdkan & Bela Hartmann

Cellist Mikhail is joined by one of our favourite pianists, Bela Hartmann.

• Bach Cello sonata No. 1 in G BWV1027 
• Schumann Fantasiestucke Op.73 
• Shostakovich Cello sonata in D Minor Op.40 

10 November 2022

Amber Emson & Leah Nicholson

Prize-winning violinist Amber Emson is joined by pianist Leah Nicholson

• Clara Schumann – Romances for Violin and Piano
• Johannes Brahms – Sonata No.2 in A major
• Cesar Franck – Sonata in A major

17 November 2022

Vincenzo Delli Noci

Piano

• Chopin – Ballade no.1 in G Minor op.23, Ballade no.2 in F op.38, Ballade no.3 in A flat op.47, Ballade no.4 in F Minor op.52; 
• Ravel – La valse; 
• Gershwin – Rhapsody in blue

24 November 2022

Patrick Hemmerlé

World class piano

• Chopin – Barcarolle  
• Liszt – Jeux d’Eau à la Villa d’Este  
• Debussy – Reflets dans l’Eau  
• Ravel – Jeux d’Eau  
• Roger Ducasse – Second Barcarolle  
• Severac – Baigneuses au soleil  
• Dupont – le Soleil se joue dans les Vagues

1 December 2022

Rebecca Speller & Imma Setiadi

Flute and piano recital

• Debussy Six Epigraphes Antiques arr. for flute and piano
• Muczynski Sonata for flute and piano, Op.14
• Reinecke Undine sonata, Op.167

8 December 2022

Timothy Peake

Piano

• William Croft  ” Ground in C minor”
• Alberto Ginastera  “Sonata no’1 “
• Edvard Grieg  “Notturno”
• Ludwig van Beethoven  “Sonata in D minor op 31 no2  (Tempest)

​16 January

IAN BYRNE BRITO (viola) & SIU CHUI LI (piano)

​The performance of the Shostakovich Viola Sonata offered here has been a difficult project, with the original violist becoming, as the euphemism has it, ‘indisposed’; however, there is every hope he may be able to attend this concert. Ian, a superb musician, well known to us through the Anern Trio and the Friern Ensemble, stepped in, and – with Siu Chui, who has an international reputation as a chamber pianist [she has visited us before, in the Trout Quintet] – has learnt this incredibly demanding work especially for us. It is the composer’s last, composed while he was dying, with two meditative movements framing one of his great ironic ‘scherzos’. The finale features a Beethoven quotation that everyone will recognise. Ian and Siu Chui will also play an arrangement by Forbes Watson of Mozart’s E minor Violin Sonata K304. We owe both our guests a debt of gratitude for this concert.

23 January

UEDA / RINALDO DUO

Lisa Ueda, violin; Daniele Rinaldo, piano.

​Japanese-born Lisa first played for us over a decade ago as a student, making a huge impression. Since she has appeared as a violinist in the Anern Trio and Friern Ensemble, but – at last – we have her with Daniele Rinaldo in one of the finest international duo partnerships of their generation. Daniele is anyway one of the foremost younger Italian pianists and has played as a soloist all over the world. They are stepping in for a cancellation, and their programme contains works they will have prepared for their second CD, due to be recorded just before our concert: the sonata by Reynaldo Hahn from 1926/7, a neglected lyrical masterpiece, and the Divertimento by Stravinsky, arranged from his Tchaikovsky-inspired ballet, The Fairy’s Kiss. From their first CD, which hopefully will be on sale, comes the fiery Violin Sonata by Janáček. Allow over the hour for this world-class concert. 

30 January

NATASHA SACHSENMEIER, violin; JENNIFER HUGHES, piano.

Natasha, as well as a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music, has a degree in philosophy from Trinity College Cambridge, and a mathematics degree from the OU. She has played widely, not least once before at Aylesbury. Her pianist was then, and is now, Jennifer Hughes, a superb and versatile chamber musician, and a welcome visitor to St Mary’s for well over a decade. The programme promises nothing but enjoyment: Bartók’s First Rhapsody, evoking Balkan folk music, Brahms’ most dramatic Violin Sonata, the D minor, and the violin version of Prokofiev’s delightful D major Sonata, usually heard on the flute (as we did in back in November). And in case anyone thinks that’s poor value for your fiver, Natasha (especially) and Jennifer will take deep breaths and play Antonio Bazzini’s La Ronde des Lutins / Dance of the Goblins. You may not believe it.

​6 February

CONSTANCE CHOW, piano.

​Constance was trained at King’s College London and Guildhall, and now enjoys a reputation as a concert pianist across the UK and Europe and in her native Hong Kong. In this, her first recital at Aylesbury, she is playing Schumann’s evergreen Kinderszenen, Ravel’s Valses nobles et sentimentales and the Fifth Sonata in F minor by the English composer York Bowen, first performed in 1924. Bowen – who has a considerable following – is often lazily called the ‘English Rachmaninov’, but this gives a sense of his Romantic style. His music has certainly been requested, and for some this will be a highlight.   

13 February

AYLESBURY OPERA

Louisa PETAIS, Eva Gheorghiu, sopranos; Rachel FARAGO, mezzo-soprano; Philip Hayes, tenor;  Alistair Sutherland, baritone.; Kelvin Lim, piano.

​AO’s annual visit, and how good they are under their brilliant music director Kelvin! A feast from verismo operas – Puccini, Leoncavallo, Mascagni, Cilea. More information is likely to appear on the website.

​20 February

ADRIANA CRISTEA, violin; MINA BELDIMANESCU, piano.

Two newcomers – exciting prize-winning Romanian musicians who are bringing an hour-long programme called Romania with Love, an anthology of short pieces by various composers, mostly unknown beyond the Carpathians. The selection has been made with emphasis on the folk roots Balkan music. Adriana calls herself a passionate violinist, and that is the quality needed for this earthy colourful repertoire. Let’s see if she and Mina can set the church on fire (so to speak). You might be sorry if you miss this one.

27  February

MIKHAIL LEZDKAN, cello; BÉLA HARTMANN, piano.

Mikhail is a distinguished Russian-born cellist, now living and working in the UK. He has toured Asia with Vanessa Mae, worked with orchestras such as the St Petersburg and Moscow Philharmonic, and is a chamber musician and teacher. Béla’s connection with St Mary’s go back to the early years of the century, and it’s wonderful to have him back. He is Czech-German, but lives in the UK, and has played all over Europe and at the Carnegie Hall in New York. This is the first of two concerts to commemorate Beethoven’s 250th birth anniversary with all his cello sonatas. You will hear Opus 5 no 1 in F, and the great A major Sonata Opus 69. The series will be concluded on 4th June.

5 March

ANNA LE HAIR, piano.

The versatile Tring-based pianist (see 9th January) – her repertoire, and her energy, seem inexhaustible – is returning for a solo recital. She is to play Beethoven’s first published sonata (we are celebrating his 250th birth anniversary), Janáček’s beautiful set of atmospheric miniatures On an overgrown path, and Debussy’s ebullient L’isle joyeuse. A beautifully constructed programme.  

12 March

A Handel On Jazz Trio:

TOM RIDOUT, amplified recorder; BILLY MARROWS, guitar; FLO MOORE, double bass.

This is one of our rare ventures into jazz, bringing to St Mary’s three outstanding musicians of the younger generation. Tom Ridout was a finalist in the 2016 BBC Young Musician Jazz Award, and has since graduated from the RAM and won the Lancaster Festival Youth Jazz Competition. His album, No Excuses (hopefully on sale) features Tom on tenor and soprano saxophones and alto and bass recorders with a 13 piece band. For us, we have two other stars of the young jazz scene, Billy Marrows, named the 2019 Eddie Harvey Jazz Arranger of the Year, and bassist Flo Moore. The programme includes a reworking of a Handel sonata.

​17 September

Adriana Cristea and Mina Beldimanescu (violin and piano)

Two brilliant Romanian musicians play a wonderfully attractive selection of music, Leclair’s Sonata no. 3; the popular ‘Meditation’ by Thais; and two of the greatest violin sonatas ever written: Beethoven’s Spring Sonata and Brahms, Sonata no. 1.

24 September

Adam Parrish (piano)

Adam plays music from Beethoven and Schubert, together with arrangements of music by Gershwin, Freddie Mercury, G&S and Russ Conway.

1 October

Henri Hill + Emma Purslow (violin and viola)

Bartok and Mozart Duos and some other treats, including jazzy numbers by Benedict Brydern.

8 October

Joana Ly + Martin André (violin and piano)

Two masterpieces: the youthful, dramatic sonata by Strauss (i.e. Richard; not Johann from Strictly Come Waltzing)

And the wonderful second sonata of Brahms.

15 October

Julia Wallin (piano) 

Erkki Melartin: Rain- Barcarole-Salome’s Dance

Toivo Kuula: Mutton Dance

Ilmari Hannikainen: Feux follet- Evening -A la Fontaine

Sibelius: Selection from the Trees op.75

Sibelius: Finlandia

22 October

Jelena Makarova (piano)

Beethoven (1770-1827). Sonata No. 15 in D Major, Op. 28 “Pastorale”

Bružaitė (b. 1966). “Be Moon” (World Premiere) (2020)

Chopin (1810-1849). Polonaise in C sharp Minor, Op. 26 No. 1

Riley (b. 1963). “Hook, Line and Sinker” (2019)

Medekšaitė (b. 1979 ). “Textile 6” (2020)

Ustvolskaya (1919-2006). Sonata No. 6

29 October

Gerard Cousins (guitar) 

A reflective programme of Gerard’s own compositions including a homage to the great jazz guitarist John McLaughlin as well as my transcriptions of music by Arvo Part and Philip Glass (CD of Glass out on 16th October).

10 January
ARTISTI CON BRIO
Joana Ly, Ed McCullagh violins; Rebecca Breen, Johan Höglind, violas; Davina Sham, cello.

We welcome 2019 auspiciously with five string-playing members from a huge flexi-ensemble of internationally like-minded performers, formed in order to create a ‘platform where European-based musicians have the freedom and inspiration to explore music, try out their ideas and ultimately continue their never-ending development ’. The main work in their programme is Dvořák’s E flat String Quintet Op 97, written – like the better known symphony – to record his musical impressions of the ’New World’. The hour is filled out with Mozart’s beautiful Duo in G for violin and viola and Schubert’s String Trio Allegro in B flat D471. The programme and the quality of the playing makes this a ‘not to be missed’ occasion.

17 January
ORIOLE QUARTET
Poppy Beddoe, clarinet; Emma Purslow, violin; Florian Belbeoch, cello; Roelof Temmingh, piano.

Brought together especially to perform Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time on Armistice Day 2016 (we have a performance here by a different group on 5th September), this impressive ensemble has remained successfully together. So not the Messiaen, but we have another major piece for this combination: Hindemith’s 1938 Clarinet Quartet, with its beautiful slow movement; also a late Brahms masterwork, the A minor Trio for clarinet, cello and piano.

24 January
MELISSA DAVIES, soprano; MADELAINE JONES, piano.

Melissa has local connections, but is now living in London, studying Vocal Performance at Trinity Laban. She has worked extensively as a soloist in oratorio and opera, but as a recitalist likes to pursue contemporary repertoire. Madelaine is a prize-winning pianist and composer, active across the board – a recent commission was from Carlisle-based Dance Ahead for a large-scale community dance work; her intriguing Exposure for nude pianist was premiered in Paris in 2017. The recital is dominated by Jonathan Dove’s incredibly evocative The Tempest-based Ariel for unaccompanied soprano, but also includes Madeleine’s own Barcarolle, concert arias by Mozart, Lieder by Brahms, Debussy’s Verlaine settings Fétes galantes and a piano piece by Louise Farrenc. Texts/translations will be provided. A musical feast, full of variety!

​

31 January
KEVIN AYESH, piano.

North Carolina based prizewinning virtuoso, ambassador for the piano, and teacher. Kevin has played and given master-classes throughout the world, and we are on his schedule for a UK visit. He has crammed his programme with some great music for us: Mozart’s elegantly extrovert concerto-style B flat Sonata K333, Brahms’ Intermezzo in A major from Op 118, one of his loveliest pieces, and Chopin’s most ambitious work, the Sonata in B minor Op 58.

7 February
KYMIA KERMANI, clarinet; BELINDA JONES, piano.

Dutch clarinettist Kymia, who now mainly works in Hamburg and Berlin, is one of the finest of her generation. She played with us as a student and liked us, so she is back, bringing a hugely welcome newcomer in Belinda, a pianist who has likewise garnered no mean reputation, The Times saying she is cultivated and versatile, with a significant musical personality. Quite a duo! They also have CDs, which might be on sale. The programme is very much on the lighter side of the repertoire, and will make for a most enjoyable concert: John Ireland’s Fantasy Sonata, Leonard Bernstein’s Clarinet Sonata (just too late for his centenary), Malcolm Arnold’s Sonatine and a good injection of Richard Rodney Bennett and Gershwin. Kymia is returning to open our 2019/20 season with Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time.

​​

​14 February
AYLESBURY OPERA
Ilana Jacobs, soprano; Christie Cooke, mezzo; Brian Smith-Walters, tenor; Andrew Mayor, baritone; Derek S Henderson, bass; Kelvin Lim, piano.

Regulars will need no urging to come to this presentation, as vocal standards at Aylesbury Opera are so high these days, and their musical direction right on the button. On this occasion they will be singing excerpts from French Opera:

Saint-Saens, Samson et Dalila; Bizet, Carmen; Massenet, Heliodade; Gounod, Faust; and including some piano solos.

​​

21 February
PAUL WILKINSON, piano.

Paul is journeying down from Leeds, where he lectures at the Music College and University there. In another of our more adventurous concerts, our guest is an improviser, especially in the field of jazz. Paul will create some of his one-off compositions as well as showing artistic flair for interpreting and exploring the music of others, including some you will be sure to recognise. As the concert will be completely improvised it is impossible to predict what will happen, or where the music will take Paul and indeed his audience. It is worth saying that improvisation is the essence of all musical cultures except our own. Another open invitation to open minds.

​

28 February
THE HERMES EXPERIMENT
Héloïse Werner, soprano; Anne Denholm, harp; Oliver Pashley, clarinet; Marianne Schofield, double bass.

French-born Héloïse, one of the rising figures in the contemporary music scene [The Stage], has been given rave reviews for her singing and acting powers, and the group, winners of the Tunnell Trust Awards 2017, Park Lane Young Artists 2015/16 and victors in the Nonclassical Battle of the Bands in 2014, is an ensemble which revels in its idiosyncratic make-up. It commissions new works (from more than fifty composers to date), creates its own arrangements (for our concert Ravel and Double Fiesta by the great magician of the voice, Meredith Monk), and ventures into live free improvisation. They are also deeply into musical education and various projects promoting contemporary music: in short the Hermes is energetically proactive in the up-to-the-minute music scene. We have works by well-regarded composer Errollyn Wallen, and by those seeking to establish themselves – Joseph Davies (born 1887), Robin Haigh (1993) and Josephine Stephenson (1990).

​​

7 March
ENGLISH PIANO TRIO
Timothy Ravenscroft, piano; Jane Faulkner, violin; Pal Banda, cello.

A second appearance of this distinguished international trio, now in its 27th year – quite a privilege for us. The English Piano Trio have been requested by Ian Rutland Boughton, grandson of the composer Rutland Boughton, to perform the world premiere of the 1948 Piano Trio. Rutland Boughton was born in Aylesbury in Bicester Road. His Celtic music drama The Immortal Hour (1912-13) and Christmas choral drama Bethlehem (1915) were immensely popular in their day, and it was he who brought music to Glastonbury – but after the 1920s fashion was disdainful of him. The trio, we are told, only lasts 10 minutes, and is very tonal and very English; we can expect quite a few of the many admirers of the composer to attend (and on 11th April). We shall hear also a trio by Haydn (no 31 in E flat) and the Beethoven E flat Trio Op 70 no 2, the companion piece to the Ghost Trio – much less played, but just as fine.

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14 March
CARLA SANTOS, JOANA LY, violin.

Two terrific musicians from Portugal (you will have heard Joana on 10th January, and Carla is a member of the Dryads Duo, frequent visitors), playing music from the heart of Europe, some of the earthy, very short Duos Bartók wrote in 1931, based on folk songs from Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Serbia… – not all 44 of them, but a generous selection. They are also including a baroque sonata by Leclair, and Prokofiev’s Sonata for Two Violins. A feast for violin lovers!

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21 March
FITZROY STRING QUARTET
Stefano Mengoli, Laura Custodio Sabas, violins; Emily Pond, viola; Michael Newman, cello.

One of the finest young quartets, with many awards and prizes, and worldwide experience – so where else should they come but Aylesbury? This is an ensemble not daunted by ‘difficult’ works, and they are playing for us one the most difficult, and for all its brevity, perhaps the most important and influential twentieth century quartet, Bartók’s Third. This is framed by two very contrasting pieces: an early quartet by the immensely productive Boccherini, paralleling Haydn as the founder of modern chamber music; and Mendelssohn’s E minor Quartet, Op 44/2, written just after his marriage, and with a finale composed, as one commentator has it, with the invigorating energy of a honeymooner. To quote Barry Millington in the Evening Standard, This prizewinning quartet is one to look out for.

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28 March
ANTONIO OYARZABAL, piano.

Born in Bilbao, now resident in London, Antonio has a career as a recitalist, playing with orchestras and as a chamber musician, and tours widely – and finding a generous response to his musicianship. What has been called his ‘magical touch’ will be clearly evident in our programme, which he calls The Inner Child: Schumann’s evergreen Kinderszenen, Debussy’s Children’s Corner, the Spaniard Mompou’s Scènes d’enfants and Ravel’s Ma Mère l’Oye Suite. His of CD of The Inner Child won the Spanish Golden Melomano Prize, and will hopefully be on sale. It can be sampled on his website.

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4 April
OLIVE MURRAY, soprano, CHRISTOPHER FOREMAN, piano.

Olive has considerable experience as a versatile singer of opera and oratorio as well as a recitalist, appearing in many London venues as well as elsewhere in the UK and abroad. Christopher is perhaps better known as a church musician, and has a working repertoire of three thousand organ pieces; he has also been Olive’s duo partner since 2001. We are going to have songs by Mozart, Haydn, Liszt, Poulenc, Richard Strauss, Bizet – and perhaps a few more. In short, a very enjoyable occasion.

11 April
ARWEN NEWBAND, violin; ANNA LE HAIR, piano.

Two professional musicians with local connections who are good friends of our concerts, both as a duo and as members of the Icknield Trio; they can also be relied upon to be adventurous in their programming. Following our premier of the Rutland Boughton Piano Trio (7th March), we have a very rare outing for the Violin Sonata, which is also likely to see interest beyond the Vale. Almost as rare is Joaquín Turina’s 1924 four movement fantasy, El poema de una sanluqueña, in which he expresses his love for the resort of Sanlúcar, and its beautiful Andalusian girls… living in a sad and never-ending dream. Stravinsky’s more familiar Divertimento, drawn from his ballet The Fairy’s Kiss, fills out an extremely varied programme, lasting around 65 minutes.

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18 April
AYLESBURY CONSORT OF VOICES
Kelvin Turner, director.

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Our brilliant Consort returns with a beautifully programmed Maundy Thursday concert: Of Birds and Bees. We’ll hear favourite madrigals such as Sweet Honey-Sucking Bees, The Suffolk Owl, The Silver Swan, Ah Robin, Dainty Fine Bird, and some Chansons. Also two sublime Responsories for Maundy Thursday by the great Spanish master, Victoria. Some simply wonderful music.

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25 April
SIMON WATTERTON. piano.
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Our replacement guest is one of the finest UK Beethoven pianists of his generation, and he is going to play for us that composer’s E major Sonata Opus 109. Not only that, but also another masterpiece, the twenty short pieces comprising Schumann’s Carnaval, mainly virtuoso character portraits. This is an experience quite unmissable, especially with a pianist such as our guest (see his website). He also promises one or two extra bon mots – so likely to go beyond the hour.

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2 May
JAMES NEWBY, baritone; PANARETOS KYRIATZIDIS, piano
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Beethoven – An die ferne Geliebte – complete (6 songs)

Liszt – Die drei Zigeuner

Mahler – Revelge

Duparc Extase and Phidyle

Warlock – The night and Yarmouth Fair

Butterworth – On Wenlock Edge – Excerpts:

Loveliest of trees

When I was one-and-twenty

Look not in my eyes

Think no more, lad

The lads in their hundreds

Is my team ploughing?

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We are sorry not to be able to provide texts for this concert but you may wish to download them for yourselves.

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9 May
CANTABILE
Sophie-Anne Chaplin, violin; Andrew Liddell, guitar.

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By coincidence, this week’s guests are also from Trinity Laban, but their duo premier last year was in Scotland. Both are very versatile (we are not sure whether Sophie-Anne will display her vocal skills; she is also involved in theatre; and Andrew is pursuing a career as a violinist).This is pure enjoyment, with a diverse and entertaining programme, ranging from baroque Germany, Spain and Latin America to Scarborough Fair.

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16 May
NING HUI SEE, piano.
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Trained in her native Singapore and at the Royal College of Music, London-based Ning Hui has won international acclaim and many prizes: The Straits Times praised her refined touch and all-round musical personality.

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She will play for us: Scarlatti, Sonatas in B flat major, K 551 and in E flat major, K 474;

Beethoven, Sonata No. 27 in E major, Op. 90; Chopin, Preludes nos 1-15 + 17; Clara Schumann (on whose music our guest is something of a specialist), Romanzen Op. 11 No. 1 and Robert Schumann, Schlummerlied.

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23 May
CHARLOTTE ROWAN, violin; CHARLOTTE STEVENSON, piano.
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The third visit of the ‘two Charlottes’, this is a pairing of musicians from Scotland about as compatible as one can hear. That said, Charlotte Rowan is an unashamed virtuoso on the violin, and revels in the most difficult show pieces the repertoire has to offer; her technical adroitness and flare have impressed audiences all over the UK (see comments on her website). However as well as Wieniawski and others, we have the hugely enjoyable C minor Sonata Op 45 of Grieg (also being played on 6th June: having asked for this work for ages, two performances come along – but such is the quality of the piece we didn’t seek a programme change). Connoisseurs of the violin shouldn’t miss this.

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30 May
FILIPPO DI BARI, GIULIA SEMERANO, piano four-hands.
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A well-established duo of energetic and enterprising pianists from Italy based in London. The programme for Aylesbury they call Looking back, looking forward: piano duets of the 1900s. It contains a fascinating novelty: the original version of War Pages by Alfredo Casella, an influential figure in Italian music in the first half of the last century: four miniatures which, in effect, are soundtracks to war newsreel clips. Also Debussy’s enigmatic Six épigraphes antiques, Poulenc’s early all-too-brief and irrepressible Sonata for Four Hands, and selections from György Kurtág’s endlessly inventive and diverting Játekók (Games), and some of his beautiful Bach transcriptions. Something for most tastes, even the intrepid.

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6 June
OLIVER NELSON, violin; VASILIS RAKITZIS, piano.

A welcome return of this fine duo. Oliver has appeared as a concerto soloist throughout the UK and abroad, including in Muscat with the Royal Oman Symphony Orchestra, playing privately for the Sultan afterwards. He was also the body double in the crucial ‘violinist’ scenes in François Girard’s film The Song of Names. Vasilis is likewise enjoying an international career, retaining particularly strong links with his native Greece, where he won the prestigious Eleni Mykoniou Prize awarded by the Academy of Athens. Both are also heavily involved in teaching. Mozart and Schubert accompany a second performance of the Grieg C minor Sonata (see also 23rd May), a thoroughly Romantic, tuneful work, embodying the spirit of its composer’s genial brand of musical nationalism.

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13 June
ANERN TRIO AND FRIENDS (sextet)
Lisa Ueda, Nao Sakai, violins; Ian Byrne Brito, Natalia Solis Paredes, violas; Nigel Blomiley, Madeleine Ridd, cellos.

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Three outstanding musicians form the core trio itself: Lisa is a concerto soloist and recitalist world-wide, and is a member of the prize-winning Ueda/Rinaldo Duo. Her husband, Ian, is a soloist, chamber musician, teacher, and – as an expert on historical instruments – manager at Stringers; and Nigel occupied the first cello desk at the BBC Concert Orchestra for many years. Karen and Naomi both play in the Royal Opera House Orchestra, and Joe is a freelance pupil of Ian’s. The programme consists of an anonymous 1802 arrangement of Mozart’s great Violin and Viola Sinfonia Concertante in E flat K364, and one of Tchaikovsky’s most joyfully exhilarating works, Souvenir de Florence, in its original sextet version. Around 70 minutes. This feast of fine string playing is the last concert of the 2018/19 season largely paid for by our audience donations.

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20 June
PASSEPARTOUT PIANO DUO
Alexandra and Nathan Tinker, piano four hands.

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Alexandra, from Romania, and Nathan, from Japan, formed the duo in 2011. It is very flexible, performing a wide repertory wherever music is needed. Outreach programmes and teaching are very important to both our guests, as are their independent careers as solo and collaborative musicians: Nathan is particularly in demand as an accompanist. We are also going to hear one of his compositions, but the bulk of their programme is taken over by arrangements of two of the key works in western music: Debussy’s exotic and erotic Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune, based on his own two-piano adaptation, and Stravinsky’s own four-hand version of the elemental The Rite of Spring – another audience request fulfilled. But will our piano survive to play another tune?

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27 June
DUO GIULIANO-MIKELEIZ
Daryl Giuliano, cello; Iñigo Mikeleiz, accordion.

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Canadian cellist Daryl has impressed us on several visits, but Spanish accordionist Iñigo is a new guest, with an instrument rarely heard at our concerts. Both cello and accordion are able to maintain sound for a long period of time and vary their colours and intensity with the same note: as no less a figure than Mstislav Rostropovich said, If cellists want to discover the possibilities of the cello, they should play the accordion… He might well have been thinking of the astonishing music Sofia Gubaidulina has written for the bayan, the Russian button accordion – and we have an example dominating our concert, In Croce, in which two strands of sound form an aural cross; this is another audience request. Also Locatelli, Granados, Bloch (From Jewish Life) and Piazzolla (Le Grand Tango).

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4 July
AMADEUS PIANO DUO
Sharon Barnea; Famia Choi Castro, piano four hands.

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Many of our regulars will remember Sharon and Fami very well, and now they are back on the road having taken three years off touring to look after their daughter, with Aylesbury high on their schedule. They are going to play one of their specialities, Schubert’s towering F minor Fantasie D940, as well as his Andantino varié D823, an arrangement of Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto no 3, and a selection of Brahms’ Hungarian Dances. Finely honed professionals to the core, Sharon and Fami first featured in our series as students in 2008, and many times afterwards; it will be good to renew our connection with them.

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11 July
RIDGEWAY ENSEMBLE
Judith Sheridan, voice; Margaret Richards, cello; Daniel King Smith, piano.

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A highly regarded and popular trio specialising in themed concerts, with readings (not at St Mary’s – we are going for music only). Our concert is called New Horizons – Diverging Paths: Cello, piano and vocal music 1900-1930. It is described thus: As the twentieth century dawned, composers all over Europe were seeking new ways to express themselves, some reacting against the high Romantic style which had been dominant for so long by turning to the traditions of their native countries, while others pushed beyond the limits of accepted tonality. We explore the different paths that developed in the early years of the century, and the effect of the First World War, in a programme ranging from Richard Strauss to Weill and Gershwin.

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18 July
ALBERT LAU, piano.
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Steinway Artist Albert returns to Aylesbury, even though he is now based in Cologne and playing all over Europe and Asia, not least in sell-out concerts with violinist Paola Delucchi as the Apeiron Duo, also at St Mary’s in its earlier days. Albert is a musician of great versatility (his Purcell Room debut was devoted entirely to John Cage), and is anxious to open up the repertoire, and not always the contemporary. Thus we have in our hour music by two of the most important female composers of the nineteenth century: selections from Fanny Hensel’s Lieder aus Pianoforte (she was Mendelssohn’s sister, and yielded to a family injunction not to publish her music for almost all of her short life), and Clara Schumann’s Variations on a theme of Robert Schumann; and her husband’s own little-played First Sonata in F sharp minor. As far as we know Albert is coming from Cologne just for our concert, indicating the respect our series has achieved.

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25 July
SALLY QUANTRILL, flute; LYDIA BOSWORTH, piano.
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After a break last year Sally and Lydia resume their end-of-season slot, and they are already booked for 2020. Their programmes are always pleasurable, beautifully played, blending (hopefully) with some summer sunshine. Sonatas from CPE Bach and Charles Koechlin, and novelty items by the Azerbaijani composer Fikret Amirov and John Wilson.

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5 September
CONSONE STRING QUARTET
Agata Daraskaite, Magdalena Loth-Hill, violins; Elitsa Bogdanova, viola George Ross, cello.

This replaces the advertised concert, cancelled because of a family tragedy. Our 2019/20 season now begins with a wonderful opportunity to hear a superb young string quartet, just selected by the BBC as New Generation Artists, having already won the 2016 Royal Overseas League Ensemble Prize and other plaudits. The quartet was formed at the Royal College of Music in 2012 with the aim exploring of the Classical and early Romantic repertory on period instruments, with a special focus on the neglected teenage Schubert quartets. We are having one of these, the C major D32, in our programme, along with two of Haydn’s most adventurous and exciting quartets, the D major Op 20/4, and the so-called Rider Quartet in G minor Op 74/3. It is worth noting that they are flying back from Hungary after playing in the Haydn Room at the Esterházy Palace, where the great man was in charge of music for years, a day or two before our concert. Do check the Consone Quartet website, and also read the rave reviews of their debut CD, which will be on sale. We would like to openly thank the quartet for stepping into the breech after the sad cancellation of the Messiaen.

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12 September
PANARETOS KYRIATZIDIS, piano.

Popular with our ‘regulars’, popular with his fellow-musicians, Panaretos’s versatility is a hugely appreciated asset to the contemporary London musical scene; at the moment he is working towards founding his own opera company. Although better known as an accompanist he is a fine solo pianist, and as such he is launching our two-year celebration of Beethoven’s 250th birth anniversary with sonatas in sunny major keys. It took a while to choose – they’re all so wonderful, says Panaretos. But we have the beautifully contrasted selection of the quirky F major, Op 10/2, the Pastoral in D Op 28 – one of Beethoven’s own favourites – and the epic Waldstein in C Op 53.

19 September
ADRIAN OLDLAND, piano.

Since winning the Alfred Kitchin Prize in 2010, Adrian has become of the UK’s most sought after younger pianists, with further multinational prizes and a busy career throughout Europe, as well as at home. He is an unashamed Schumann specialist, and for his second visit will be playing for us Kinderszenen and Arabeske, as well as Chopin’s great E major Scherzo, Brahms’ two evergreen Rhapsodies Op 79, and a Liszt/Schumann arrangement.

26 September
GENEVIÈVE USHER, soprano, and friends
Iona Voicu-Arnautoiu, Jane MacSween, violins; Elizabeth Hart, viola; Rosalind Laher, cello; Alan Thomas, cello; Norman MacSween, organ continuo.

Versatile and enterprising soprano Geneviève has assembled this ensemble for a performance of a particularly treasurable setting of the Stabat Mater – a medieval poem on Mary’s suffering as she witnesses Christ’s crucifixion – composed by Boccherini, a pioneer of chamber music who influenced Haydn, and whose honourable place in musical history is only now being given its due. This work belongs to 1781, and although composed in Spain reflects the composer’s Italian origins. A combination of baroque echoes in a classical world, it is of exquisite poignancy. As a contrast members of the instrumental group are playing a vigorous Trio Sonata in G by another pioneer, CPE Bach. Notes, the Latin text and translation will be available. Thanks again to our audience for making this possible.

3 October
DRUCKER PIANO QUARTET
Maria Kouznetsova, violin; Henrietta Hill, viola; Toby White, cello; Ryan Drucker, piano.

With the exception of Maria (see Wikipedia), these musicians have memorably been to Aylesbury before, and we know how good they are! By the time we hear this newish combination – coming together in 2017 at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama as postgraduate students and a Junior Fellow – they will have had their debut at the 2019 Lake District Summer Festival. As Henrietta says, we believe in exploring the wonderful piano quartet repertory already well loved, and lesser known contemporary works.

STOP PRESS!!!! Ryan Drucker has sustained an injury, and cannot play. The excellent pianist GAMAL KHAMIS is taking his place, and the programme is now: MOZART, Piano Quartet in E flat and FAURÉ, Piano Quartet in C minor. To echo our illustrious Webmaster, both ‘belters’!

10 October
CLARE DENIZ, cello.

‘More Bach!’ has been a consistent demand, and this concert is a major response (see also 7th November). Cellist Clare, one upon a time in the Strawbs rock band, and now – after studying under Jacqueline du Pré and mentorship by Paul Tortelier – having a busy international career in classical music as a performer and teacher, is coming to Aylesbury to play nothing but JSB. We are going to hear no less than three of the solo Suites written around 1720 – no 2 in D, no 4 in E flat, and no 6 in D. These are collections of contrasted dances, introduced by a free-form Prelude, and at the heart of western instrumental music. In the St Mary’s acoustic they will sound particularly fine. There was a stillness which allowed Bach’s music to speak across the centuries to the audience (report of Clare at the Dawlish Festival). See also 21st November.

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17 October
MASAYUKI TAYAMA, piano.

A rare and extraordinary virtuoso, with musicianship like no other – an enthusiastic blast from Moscow directed at Masayuki, but anyone fortunate to have been at his previous recital in Aylesbury would not have dismissed this as hyperbole: ‘Get him back!’ was the clear instruction, and here he is. Born in Japan, he has been drawn to London, initially to complete his studies, and then as a base for an international career. His Wigmore Hall debut was a sell-out. A Rachmaninov specialist (he is recording the piano music for a Japanese label – CDs on sale), Masayuki is intriguingly playing some of the composer’s transcriptions: Mussorgsky, Bizet, Schubert, Tchaikovsky, Behr, as well as Chopin (including the Revolutionary Etude), and – as the main work – Beethoven’s sublime last sonata, the C minor, Op 111, for many the greatest piano sonata ever written.

24 October
HELOÏSE WERNER, soprano; NATALIE BURCH, piano.

Is there a more vital and dynamic soprano working in the UK at the moment than Paris-born Heloïse, or a more versatile enterprising accompanist than Natalie? Both are involved, with Hermes Experiment and SongSpiel respectively, at the cutting-edge of creating new musical and performing possibilities. We are having a performance of Britten’s rapturous song-cycle Les Illuminations, with a text from Rimbaud, and then what are likely to be world premieres of two works written in response to the Britten, by Jonathan Woolgar and Heloïse herself – a programme which is going to tour the country. We hope Hermes Experiment itself will return in 2021; Anne Denholm, their amazing harpist, is booked for 30 April next year.

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31 October
KAPSETAKI TWINS. Stephanie and Marianna Kapsetaki, solo and four-hands piano.

On their first visit to Aylesbury, here we have professional musicians with a Europe-wide reputation who are also scientists: a neurologist (Stephanie) and evolutionary biologist (Marianna). One can only look at their website and Wikipedia with something like awe. Anyway, as pianists between them they have won 1st prize in ten international competitions, and four-hand prizes also. Just as they seem to move tirelessly between music and science, their music-making smoothly rings the changes particularly between their native Greece (specifically Crete) and the UK, piling up recitals and appearances for charity. We have solos (Scarlatti, Chopin warhorses: Fantasie Impromptu, Ballade no 3), a four-hand Liszt warhorse (Hungarian Rhapsody no 2) and ‘surprises’.

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7 November
ANYSSA NEUMANN, piano.

When Anyssa included Bach at her previous Aylesbury recital you could have heard a pin drop. Someone mentioned the Goldberg Variations, and here she is to play what is arguably Bach’s keyboard masterpiece. The newspaper of her native Sacramento put it perfectly: Clarity, charm equipoise… liquid grace, live-wire tautness… a pianist who has established a deep connection with the Bach repertoire. Anyssa divides her time between the USA and London, as a bridge to Europe. She has written about the pianist Glenn Gould and on the use of music by the great Swedish film director Ingmar Bergman: she has just spent the summer as Artist in Residence at the Bergman Estate, Fârö. Any performance of the Goldberg is an event, and this should not be missed.

14 November
POPPY BEDDOE, clarinet; HENRIETTA HILL, viola; RACHEL WATSON, cello.

These three splendid musicians were last together at Aylesbury as members of the Scordatura Women’s Music Collective, and all have diverse and interesting careers – Rachel, for example, was a founder of the London Street Orchestra, and Henrietta has already appeared this autumn (see 3rd October). Poppy is one of the brightest and best of the UK’s young clarinettists. Their programme, featuring six female composers, four of them very much alive, is as interesting as one would dare to hope. It begins with Rebecca Clarke’s lovely 1941 Prelude, Allegro and Pastorale, for clarinet and viola, followed by Rhiannon Randle’s 2019 Duo, commissioned to be played with the Clarke. Amy Bryce’s The House that Man Built was composed for our players for the Suffrage Centenary last year, and makes use of contact mics. A transcription of a chant by Hildegard von Bingen leads us into a piece which quotes another chant by the medieval abbess, Hilary Tann’s Kilvert’s Hills. Caroline Shaw’s limestone+ felt (‘good fun’) ends the concert.

21 November
TRIO PIERNÉ
Ana Rodriguez, flute; Clare Deniz, cello; Alan Brown, piano.

The trio tells us that its repertory ranges from Baroque to the present day, but its core repertory is the sparkling and effervescent compositional oeuvre which transports the listener to the romanticism of the nineteenth century music salon. So: Friedrich Kuhlau was a Danish contemporary of Beethoven, and we are going to hear his Grand Trio in G minor; Weber was another Beethoven contemporary, and his substantial G minor Trio concludes the concert. The central work is an arrangement of the Piano Trio in G the young Debussy composed in 1880, but unpublished until 1986. The performers (including Clare Deniz, 10th October) are all prize winners of a calibre to make this a really delightful occasion.

28 November
MEERA MAHARAJ, flute; DOMINIC DEGAVINO, piano.

Formed in 2017, the duo has enjoyed considerable success, not least as the winners of the Royal Academy of Music Flute Prize. Both musicians have now completed their Masters at RAM and Guildhall respectively, and are looking forward to developing their duo partnership and other individual music ventures. Between them they have already played at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and many big London venues. They are playing two of the most treasured works in the repertoire, Bach’s E major Sonata, with its lovely Siciliana, and Prokofiev’s tuneful D major Sonata, which is also well known in its violin version, tailed by the 2017 Sonata by Andy Scott, more familiar in the world of the saxophone (an instrument featuring next year).

3 December
CARLA SANTOS, violin; SAUL PICADO, piano; JOANA LY, NUNO CARAPINA, violins; SOFIA SILVA SOUSA, viola; MIGUEL FERNANDES, cello.

This concert not only owes a debt to our audience generosity, but to those members of the Portuguese musical community in London who have come together to present the wonderful Ernest Chausson Concert for us. This is an event! Named after the baroque French concert, it is a kind of concerto for violin and piano, with a string quartet instead of an orchestra, and full of the kind of powerful emotional language one would expect from a piece of 1890; in the St Mary’s acoustic with these players it cannot fail to make an impact. Also, Carla and Saul will conclude our little Clara Schumann bi-centennial celebration with the exquisite Three Romances, written for the great violinist Joseph Joachim, and the quartet, hair down, will play Piazzolla’s Four for Tango. Carla and Saul are well known to us as the Dryads Duo; Joana is a member of Artisti con Brio (their year-opening performance of the Dvorak E flat String Quintet had a huge ‘thumbs up’) and will be adding to her appearances at Aylesbury in Beethoven quartets 2020/1; Nuno is an ex-member of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and now plays in the Philharmonia, Sofia is a prize-winning violist and Artist-in-Residence in the Belgian Chapelle Musicale Reine Elisabeth, and Miguel is a cellist in the City of Birmingham SO.

12 December
AERIS BRASS
Ian Sankey, Martin Lee Thomson, Ali Goodwin, Adam Crighton, trombones.

We don’t often feature the trombone at Aylesbury, and to have four of them is a real treat, especially as they bring along such innovation and enterprise. Aeris Brass, which won this year’s British Trombone Society Quartet Competition, was formed in 2015 to make music with friends and to take that music to places they loved… The four commission new music, as well as make arrangements of pieces across the musical spectrum, some of which we shall hear, sending new sonorities around the church. A special pleasure should be a new piece by Laura Jurd, the brilliant jazz trumpeter. We are promised a little tinsel dusting, but even without it a most unusual and entertaining hour is guaranteed.

11 January
RIDGEWAY ENSEMBLE.
Judith Sheridan, voice; Margaret Richards, cello; Daniel King Smith, piano.

From Salon to Cabaret. We launch 2018 with an enjoyable and potent potpourri of music and words from the salons of the 19th century, and the cabarets of Vienna and Berlin and cafés of Paris in the last century. The ‘Ridgeway’ bring their magic touch to this nostalgic, light-hearted and tuneful repertoire of the familiar and less well known: Gounod, Fauré, Bernstein, Britten, Gershwin, Piaf and others. Notes and sung texts are included in the hand-out. Different, but we like to be.

18 January
KARIS STRETTON, piano.

Karis is a very active participant in the contemporary British music scene, as pianist, experimenter, organiser and lecturer. On her last visit she played a piece by the American composer, Frederic Rzewski, best known for his huge set of variations, The People United Will Never be Defeated. This – Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues – was such a ‘hit’ we invited Karis back to play the whole set of four pieces to which it belonged; and several years later, here she is with the North American Ballads, which succeed in being both quirkily original and memorably enjoyable. Also some tango from Astor Piazzolla. Karis will introduce the programme using the new sound-system.

25 January
ARENSKY TRIO
David Gaster, violin; Julian Ogilvie, cello; Anna Le Hair piano.

This trio is the brainchild of Tring-based Anna, a tireless musician without whom the musical life for miles around would be greatly diminished. We have two big pieces which speak Russia, and Romanticism: Rachmaninov’s Cello Sonata and (unsurprisingly) the work with inspired the ensemble’s formation, Arensky’s D minor Trio.

Big tunes in abundance, and a love song from Rachmaninov… wallow and enjoy.

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1 February
GIRLS IN THE MAGNESIUM DRESS.
Anna Quiroga, harp; Valentina Scheldhofen Ciardelli, double bass.

Any ageing hippies among you will immediately think with joy of Frank Zappa. Well, the Girls are Zappa fans and love Mozart too. Anna, from Spain, and Valentina, from Italy, came together at LSO rehearsals and fell in love with the sounds produced by this extraordinary combination, and invite you to share their excitement. And be assured they are top-notch on their respective instruments. Totally intriguing – how could you miss this? The kind of concert we love to present! See also 22nd March if you like the unusual.

8 February
AYLESBURY OPERA
Demelza Stafford, soprano; Urszula Bock, mezzo-soprano; Philip Hayes, tenor; Derek S. Henderson, bass; Kelvin Lim, piano accompaniment.

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Aylesbury Opera returns to St Mary’s to present a recital of arias and ensembles based on the bel canto repertoire. The programme will include popular highlights from the early nineteenth century Italian school of Bellini, Donizetti and Bellini, including numbers from Norma, L’elisir d’amore and Lucia di Lamermoor.

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15 February
BUKOLIKA PIANO TRIO
Anna Szałucka, piano; Roma Tic, violin; Joanna Gutowska, cello.

A trio based at the RAM comprising three friends from Poland and part of the prestigious St Johns Smith Square Young Artists Scheme. The trio has played at various venues throughout Europe, and each of the musicians is pursuing a successful international career. Again we are in for a remarkable hour of music-making. The programme consists of two works by the short-lived and miraculously talented Lili Boulanger, D’un matin de printemps and the extended D’un soir triste, perhaps better known in their orchestral guises, and the great Schubert E flat Trio. The cello recital by Joanna Gutowska originally posted for this date will now take place on 10th May.

22 February
FILIPPO DE BARI, GIULIA SEMERANO, piano four hands.

Two Italian musicians both holding postgraduate degrees at Trinity Laban are now pursuing active careers both as soloists and as a duo. Their programme includes perhaps the greatest of all works for piano-four hands, Schubert’s Fantasy in F minor, but also included are early Rachmaninov gems, the rarely played but delightful 6 Morceaux for four hands, and two of Dvořák’s evergreen Slavonic Dances. A beautifully put-together recital.

Cancelled due to bad weather

1 March
MELISSA DAVIES, soprano; MADELAINE JONES, piano.

A really exciting recital, by a young soprano (based and well-known locally) and composer, featuring a world premiere of a piano piece composed for the occasion. Melissa is a busy solo, ensemble and choral singer who has appeared in some prestigious venues. Her interest in new music and enterprise is reflected in that she’ll sing the Ariel cycle for unaccompanied soprano by Jonathan Dove. Madelaine, who studied and now teaches at Trinity Laban has responded energetically to some interesting commissions, and has earned plaudits as a solo pianist as well. The exquisite Fêtes galantes mark the centenary of Debussy’s death. A beautifully thought-through programme, so don’t miss this.

8 March
EMMANUEL BACH, violin; JENNY STERN, piano.

St Mary’s seems to host quite a few musicians who are particularly singled out as outstanding in their generation, and Emmanuel is certainly one of them. Come and hear for yourselves as he plays with Jenny Stern, who has also garnered much praise in Europe and her native South Africa. The ‘big’ work is Enescu’s Sonata in popular Romanian style, only a few years ago rarely heard but now hugely enjoyed, not least by our audience. It is framed by Beethoven’s E flat Sonata op 12/3 and the virtuoso Fantasy brillante on themes from Rossini’s Otello, by the wonder violinist of the mid-19th century, Heinrich Ernst.

15 March
LEONA CRASI, piano.

A prize-winning pianist who has studied in her native Romania, the USA and is currently at the RAM in London. As a solo and chamber musician she has played extensively on both sides of the Atlantic, but particularly in Hungary: she is something of a Bartók specialist, and will be playing his terrific 1926 Sonata, along with Beethoven’s revolutionary Appassionata and several of the ‘Looks’ from Messiaen’s Vingt regards sur l’enfant Jésus, one of the peaks of twentieth century piano music.

22 March
DUO BRIKCIUS
Anna Brikciusová, František Brikcius, cellos.

A sister-and-brother duo of two very distinguished Czech cellists who, as well as playing as soloists all over the world (František has his own festival), delight in exploring, commissioning and arranging music for the hidden potential of two cellos. Their intention is to present Czech music culture abroad and bring to other people the joy of music – and to this end the duo has played throughout Europe, and in Algeria and Turkey. So we have Offenbach (who surprisingly wrote a Duo for two cellos), Gideon Klein, Irena Kosiková, Janáček. The playing will be stunning – cellists will be levitating.

29 March
AYLESBURY CONSORT OF VOICES
Kelvin Turner, director

Our Maundy Thursday concert, in which the Consort – originally a madrigal group in the 1950s, but now a performance choir of sixteen hand-picked musicians – will offer a hint of the intensity and passion of the music inspired by Holy Week for hundreds of years. The main work is a Mass by the great sixteenth century Spanish composer, Cristobal Morales, based on a popular song of the day, Mille Regretz. Also included are a number of motets from the 16th to 20th centuries. If you haven’t already we strongly recommend you hear this local ensemble – you might well be in for a delightful, and very moving, surprise.

5 April
MAITE AGUIRRE, piano.

A versatile prize-winning Spanish pianist and conductor, based in London. As a pianist she has toured all over Spain, in France, Germany, Italy and Norway and has played in all the prestigious London venues. Her programme, called Debussy’s Spain: Inspiration. Friendship and Collaboration, was sparked by the composer’s centenary. As Maite says, The sounds and colours of Spain constitute undoubtedly a huge source of inspiration for Debussy. Albéniz and Falla are the others adding to the dazzling musical palette. Brilliant playing with a truly authentic touch.

12 April
OLIVER NELSON, violin; VASILIS RAKITZIS, piano.

Both Oliver and Vasilis are very busy as recitalists and teachers, and bring along with their experience a programme which cannot fail to give pleasure: Schubert’s A minor Sonata (or Sonatina), Vaughan Williams’ rapturously beautiful A Lark Ascending, a wave to Vasilis’ native Greece in Yiannis Konstantinidis’ Suite on Dodecanese Themes and the last of Brahms’ great sonatas, the D minor.

19 April
KEVIN CAHILL, guitar.

Scottish-born, now London-based, Kevin is an enterprising presence in the contemporary British guitar world. He is including in our recital All in Twilight, a piece written in 1987 for Julian Bream by the greatest Japanese composer of the last century, Toru Takemitsu; this short three movement work is an evocation through pure sound. The other items are more aligned with tradition, the Spaniard Mompou’s vignettes of the pilgrimage city of Santiago de Compostela in his Suite Compostelana, written for Segovia in 1962, and a selection of Preludes and Études from the seemingly bottomless treasure chest of the Brazilian Villa-Lobos.

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26 April
MASAYUKI TAYAMA, piano.

A Japanese pianist already with an enviable international reputation. He has been particularly acclaimed for his Rachmaninov, and a complete recorded survey of his piano music is underway on a Japanese label. He has chosen, though, to play two Beethoven sonatas, the Pathétique and the Appassionata, which are framing two of Chopin’s extraordinary Scherzos, no 2 in B flat and no 3 in C sharp minor. A high octane programme of great music, with spectacular playing – quite an hour!

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3 May
ALICE BISHOP, soprano, SIMON MARLOW, piano.

A musical partnership of many years standing, noted for exploratory and original programming. This recital is no exception. Alice writes: The music of women composers contains a wealth of talent and a panoply of beautiful compositions. Neglected, even suppressed in their time, their present day discovery presents us with wonderful musical delights and insights. And to prove her point she and Simon will perform songs by Fanny Mendelssohn, Alma Mahler, Amy Beach, Rebecca Clarke and Madeleine Dring. Piano solos will vary the texture.

10 May
BUKOLIKA PIANO TRIO
Anna Szalucka, piano; Roma Tic, violin; Joanna Gutowska, cello.

There are two reasons why this concert should be in any chamber music lover’s diary. Firstly, these exceptional young women are really going places, and their recent performance at St Mary’s of the Schubert E flat Trio stunned the most knowledgeable amongst us; they are currently participating in the prestigious St John’s Smith Square Young Artists Scheme. Secondly, the centrepiece of the programme is the Frank Bridge Piano Trio, composed in 1929. One of the finest British chamber works, but daunting to perform, it’s a fair bet these Polish musicians will show us how it should be done. The Bridge is framed by two contemporary works, the Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho’s Light and Matter (she is a remarkable magician of sound), and Australian Paul Stanhope’s Pulses, a test piece for the upcoming Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition, in which the ‘Bukolikas’ are participants.

17 May
GIULIA GRASSI, piano.

Giulia is currently studying at the RCM, and as soloist and chamber musician she has played extensively in her native Italy, the UK, Hungary and China. As a musician, she is resourceful and adventurous: another musician to make sure you hear! Her concert is ambitious and wide-ranging. It begins with Bach’s great Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue, which is an opener to Schubert’s A minor Sonata D784, in which the grimness of the first movement evaporates in an invigorating finale. Three of Ravel’s exquisite Miroirs come next, and the concert concludes with the virtuoso patchwork of Rachmaninov’s Variations on a theme of Corelli. Allow 70 minutes for this.

24 May
ENSEMBLE MIRAGE
Matthew Scott, clarinet; Gareth Humphreys, bassoon; Timothy Ellis, french horn; Rosemary Hinton, violin; Emily Pond, viola; Michael Newman, cello; Giuseppe Ciraso, double bass.

The brainchild of the brilliant clarinettist, Matthew Scott, this is an exciting, flexible ensemble of London-based musicians rapidly establishing itself on the British musical scene. This is the first of two visits to Aylesbury for concerts which simply could not have happened without our audience’s enthusiasm and generosity – the second is on 22nd November, featuring Schubert’s Octet. Here we have two wonderfully vibrant and entertaining works: the Septets of Beethoven (a work he grew to hate because it was so popular!) and the Swede Franz Berwald, who was inspired by the Beethoven when it was played in Stockholm. With repeats (which might not all be played) this could run to 75 minutes. Total enjoyment, and not to be missed!

31 May
VASILIS RAKITZIS, piano.

The April appearance of this international prizewinning Greek pianist with violinist Oliver Nelson stands as one of our most popular concerts, and it will be a treat to hear him as a soloist in such an appealing programme. Vasilis begins with Chopin’s Four Mazurkas op 24, the fourth of which, in B flat minor, is one of his finest; and then Brahms and Beethoven flexing their muscles in the Four Ballades op 10 and the Piano Sonata in A op 2/2 respectively.

7 June
HAMPSTEAD PIANO TRIO
Jennifer Carter, piano; Hannah Simons, violin; Molly Parsons-Gurr, cello.

The members of this newish trio have energetically honed their graduate and post-graduate skills in master-classes from leading instrumentalists, and all have careers as soloists as well as chamber musicians. Jennifer has the distinction of being a Fellow of the Royal College of Music for her prowess as an accompanist, which puts her in a strong place for Beethoven’s early G major Trio opus 1/2, with its virtuoso piano part. You will also hear Schubert’s hauntingly beautiful Notturno, and Jennifer and Molly will play the tuneful Eight pieces for violin and cello by the Russian Reinhold Glière.

13 June
HELEN VIDOVICH, flute, OLGA STEZHKO, piano.

It is doubtful if you will hear a finer flute and piano duo than this one, a fairly recent coming-together. Australian Helen has visited us before both as a student at the RAM and then as a founder member of the distinguished Marsyas Trio. Olga is from Belarus, but now firmly based in London. This is her second St Mary’s visit, and a remarkable pianist she is! She is a Scriabin expert, and some of you bought her CD, Eta Carina, the title indicating her familiarity with astrophysics. Debussy is another passion, and her second CD is out this year for his centenary. The programme consists of (no surprise) Debussy’s seductively sensual Bilitis, the bright-eyed, lyrical Prokofiev D major Sonata, Cape Cod from the Japanese master Toru Takemitsu’s Toward the Sea trilogy, commissioned by Greenpeace and originating in Melville’s Moby Dick, and Agrestide, a test piece by the French composer Eugène Bozza.

21 June
FRIERN ENSEMBLE
Paul Willow, Colin Callow, violins; Ruşen Günes, viola; Nigel Blomiley, tbc, cellos.

If you hear string players talking of the ‘holy of holies’, they mean Schubert’s C major String Quintet; indeed this is for many the greatest of all chamber compositions, the slow movement especially a transcendental experience. The Friern Ensemble is made up of leading retired orchestral players (here we have ex-principals from the LPO, the LSO, and the BBC Symphony and Concert Orchestras) who informally play as friends – so a lot of love and experience will go into our performance. Ruşen Günes is in fact regarded as one of the great viola players, and much honoured in his native Turkey. [Raphael Wallfisch, anything but retired, has expressed a desire to join in this performance, but cannot confirm until nearer the day; check the website.]

28 June
ANYSSA NEUMANN, piano.

Born in California, but currently based in London via New York, Berlin, Oxford and Montréal, Anyssa is a concert and chamber pianist, musicologist and a specialist in the films of Ingmar Bergman. Noted for the clarity, charm and equipoise of her playing, she is a Bach specialist, and we are promised something by him. The Italian Luigi Dallapiccola has also been mentioned, but at the time of printing nothing is confirmed. Keep an eye on our website. As you will see from her own site her musical experience is certainly vast and wide-ranging.

5 July
AURORA TRIO
Emma Halnan, flute; Jordan Sian, viola; Heather Wrighton, harp.

Founded in 2012 at the Royal Academy of Music, this trio has become a national delight which we have been allowed to share several times, although it’s Jordan’s first visit as their new violist. Emma first hit the musical world as the winner of the woodwind category of BBC Young Musician 2010, and has since had a career not only in the Aurora, but as a concerto soloist and principal in the European Union Youth Orchestra and guest principal in the BBC Scottish Orchestra. Jordan is a prizewinner in many international competitions and has appeared as a chamber musician across Europe. Heather freelances as a solo, orchestral and chamber musician; she also plays Celtic, Baroque Triple and Paraguayan Harps. We have a mixed programme, including Luciano Berio’s amazing Sequenza for solo flute, and crowned with Debussy’s late, exquisite Sonata for Flute, Viola and Harp, being played for his centenary.

12 July
JUDITH CHOI CASTRO, violin; JOHN PAUL EKINS, piano.

This will be a stunning recital, these two performers having established a firm international reputation. The main work in their programme is an old St Mary’s favourite, but not heard for some time – and this performance will be special: Franck’s warm and sensual Violin Sonata. The opener is Schubert’s delightful D major Sonata/Sonatina, and this will be followed by Smetana’s two-part From my Homeland. This replaces the originally advertised concert.

19 July
AN-TING CHANG, piano.

Our season ends with two truly ‘fantastic’ themed piano recitals. An-Ting we know to be brilliant – she studied chemistry at the National Taiwan University, but has turned to the piano and drama, combining the two in her Concert Theatre. She has visited Aylesbury several times, and never fails to impress: we cannot recommend her highly enough. She has chosen the theme Fantasia for her ambitious programme, noting in her introduction both freedom of form and capriciousness as common factors for the music she has chosen. This ranges from the 17th century Orlando Gibbons to her own music, by way of two Bachs (JS and CPE), Schumann, Chopin, Tchaikovsky and Scriabin. This will last around 70 minutes. Her own illuminating programme notes will be provided as an integral part of the occasion.

26 July
JANICE FEHLAUER, piano.

Although now based in Houston, Texas, Janice hails from British Columbia and must be counted among the most versatile Canadian pianists of her generation. She has won numerous awards, including the Gold Medal at the Wideman International Piano Competition, works for the Dallas Opera and is also a violinist; she plays throughout North America, including concerts for children and the homeless. We are delighted to welcome her as part of her UK visit. Janice’s energy will surely be exhibited in her colourful and resourceful programme, based around the theme of Carnival or Mardi Gras. Her review of the piano’s greatest classical party music (her words) begins with an intriguing baroque suite by François Couperin, and continues with music by Schumann (Carnival Jest in Vienna), Liszt, Stravinsky and another suite, Children’s Carnival, by the Brazilian Heitor Villa-Lobos. Again, allow around 70 minutes.

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6 September
LIPATTI PIANO QUARTET
Amy Tress, violin; Jenny Lewisohn, viola; Auriol Evans, cello; Gamal Khamis, piano.

This prizewinning ensemble was formed in 2013 and goes from strength to strength – hardly surprising when its members are individually so active and prominent in the UK musical scene. Amy and Jenny play in the Solem and Hieronymus String Quartets respectively, and Auriol has a base for her solo and chamber activities in the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. As for Gamal, he has been praised by both The Times and The Telegraph, and Classical Source has declared he has the world literally at his fingertips. Our ‘regulars’ will be nodding with recognition as all four have been to St Mary’s over the past few years, and now they have arranged a generous feast for us: two of the greatest of all piano quartets, the sublime Mozart E flat and the dramatic Brahms C minor, plus the short 2012 Piano Quartet by the Welsh composer and pianist Huw Watkins. There will be a brief interval, and we advise you to allow 80 minutes.

13 September
JOHN BREESE, guitar

Guitar enthusiasts know some of the best around have played at St Mary’s, and we are delighted to add John (also known beyond our shores for his dexterity on the banjo and double bass) to the roster. Promised is a pleasing selection of favourites from the standard classical repertoire as well as lesser known contemporary works by Vincent Lindsey-Clark, John’s distinguished teacher, and Nikita Koshkin. A CD is hopefully going to be ready in time.

20 September
BÉLA HARTMANN, piano.

This German-Czech pianist was a favourite visitor to St Mary’s in earlier years, and now – with an enhanced reputation across Europe and the USA (utterly magical… maybe the best I’ve heard, was the verdict of Fanfare on his Schubert) – he is returning for what we hope will not simply be a one-off, especially in view of this striking programme. It begins with one of those rare works in which Mozart seems to be offering us something intimately personal, the great A minor Rondo K511, followed by a Schubert movement from an abandoned sonata – but in the Allegro moderato in F sharp minor D571 we have a highly original and memorable anticipation of his later music. Béla is a great advocate of the piano music of the contemporary German composer Jörg Widmann, and he is going to play his 2009 Idyll und Abgrund [Abyss]: Six Schubert Reminiscences; the recital concludes with Beethoven’s powerful and rousing Eroica Variations.

27 September
SHONA BEECHAM, violin; MARIA TARASEWICZ, piano.

In this concert we introduce Shona, the youngest musician to appear in our series, and Maria Tarasewicz, a distinguished pianist who not only collaborates with the famous but self-evidently maintains a strong commitment to developing special new talent. Shona, who lives in Aylesbury, is a 15-year-old who has been playing the violin since she was 7, making her debut at 9 and playing her first concerto publicly at 12. She has performed not only in the UK, but also in New York (at the Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall), Switzerland, France, Austria and Germany, and currently attends the Royal College of Music Junior Department. The recital consists of varied solo and accompanied virtuoso pieces and – after a short interval – a duo arrangement of the fiercely demanding A minor Fifth Violin Concerto by the 19th century Belgian Henri Vieuxtemps. This should not be missed, and not only for the local connection.

4 October
GWENLLIAN LLŸR, harp

Yes, two harpists in one month, but so very good, and offering such different programmes and styles we hope you will happily make both concerts and discover more about an instrument which generally makes too few solo appearances, and deserves more than its casting as the orchestral angel. Award-winning Gwenllian, praised on her debut CD [on sale] for her liquid legato and magnificent playing, will present a varied selection demonstrating the harp’s incredible capabilities. Firm favourites by Elias Parish-Alvars (an English contemporary of Mendelssohn) and André Caplet will be paired with gorgeous (Gwenllian’s word) transcriptions of Liszt and Debussy, as well as our guest’s own compositions. Don’t miss this international ambassador for her fascinating instrument.

11 October
KANAE FUROMOTO, piano

Kanae has played at St Mary’s since her RAM student days in the’90s, and remains one of our most popular performers. Visiting England from her native Japan, she is returning after a year or two’s gap – established ‘regulars’ will be delighted to see her. We have a typically enterprising programme called Preludes, with examples by Warlock, Ginastera, Rachmaninov, Gershwin and not least Debussy – part of our celebration of his centenary (see also 9th December).

18 October
ANNA QUIROGA, harp

Spanish-born Anna made quite a stir with her previous appearance at St Mary’s as half of the celebrated Frank-Zappa-inspired duo, Girls in the Magnesium Dress, with double bassist and composer Valentina Ciardelli. This is enough to indicate that Anna – like the musicians appearing on the 6th and 29th November – stretches boundaries. She uses her vast orchestral, chamber and solo experience to champion contemporary music, and she will confound expectations with her novel approach to the harp with various arrangements and what she calls mild electronics.

25 October
RAPHAELA PAPADAKIS, soprano; HELEN VIDOVICH, flute; OLGA STEZHKO, piano.

Voyage à Paris. This will be a wonderful concert: French song and instrumental music by Caplet, Saint-Saëns, Delibes, Poulenc, Ravel, Georges Hüe…with musicians who won’t put a foot wrong in music brimming with colour, wit and sensuality. Raphaela is a rising star of the opera stage and the recital room, with thorough involvement in this repertory. Helen, a founder of the famous flute/violin/piano Marsyas Trio, will doubtless deliver a superb account of Poulenc’s piquant and good-humoured Flute Sonata with her duo partner. Olga in turn is an extraordinary pianist in the French/Russian spectrum, and her performance of Ravel’s Alborada del gracioso will be keenly anticipated; jaws were visibly dropping when she last played here with Helen in June.

1 November
ICKNIELD PIANO TRIO
Arwen Newband, violin; Sarah Boxall, cello; Anna Le Hair, piano.

This trio, which had its successful debut at the 2015 Trunch Festival in Norfolk, is the brainchild of the indefatigable Tring-based pianist Anna Le Hair, without whom musical life in the whole Chiltern area would be greatly diminished. The best-known work in our concert is Beethoven’s Ghost Trio, so-called because of its distinctly eerie slow movement. And there are two English works possibly new to you: the short Phantasie Trio by John Ireland, transporting us to the Edwardian era and the attempts to create a definably national style, and the substantial 1921 Piano Trio by Rebecca Clarke (why isn’t it in the core repertory? – because it’s by a woman?), contrasting a both powerfully and exquisitely expressed post-war introspection with earthy English folkdance.

8 November
SHIRLEY SMART, cello; PETER MICHAELS, guitar.

The welcome return of an unorthodox duo. Shirley – classically trained under no less than Raphael Wallfisch and Janos Starker – is one of the UK’s most innovative and versatile cellists. Ten years of studying and living in the Middle East gave her a taste for improvisation (after all, only the western tradition notates its music), and she has also brought the cello firmly into the domain of jazz. Moreover, her flexibility and resourcefulness extends to collaboration with many of the major world music ensembles. Peter is a brilliant jazz and flamenco guitarist and composer, working across genres, especially in the world of television, film, dance and theatre. Come along for an unpredictable encounter with two very creative minds.

15 November
CARLA SANTOS, violin; MIGUEL FERNANDES, cello; SAUL PICADO, piano.

Three seriously good musicians from Portugal, resident in the UK. Carla and Saul are well known to us as the Dryads Duo – a combination which has given St Mary’s audiences some splendid and greatly appreciated music-making. And now they are bringing their friend Miguel, who plays in the CBSO, to introduce us to their new piano trio. This is another lengthy, essentially two-part concert, with a short interval – so, as with 6th January, allow 80 minutes. The 1923 one-movement Trio Opus 8 by Shostakovich is sandwiched between two major works, Brahms’ B major Trio Opus 8, but in his 1889 tidying of the follies of 1854, and the Smetana Piano Trio in G minor, written in 1855 in memory of his first child, Bedřiška (Fritzi) – a work which is simply loved by all who know it. We anticipate total pleasure!

22 November
ENSEMBLE MIRAGE
Matthew Scott, clarinet; Matthew Kittteringham, bassoon; Timothy Hill, horn; Alexandra Lomeiko, Rosemary Hinton, violins, Emily Pond, viola; Michael Newman, cello; Toby Hughes, double bass.

Clarinettist Matthew Scott formed this ‘flexi ensemble’ in 2015, incorporating the talents of some of the finest of younger musicians working in the UK. In May they visited us with huge success for the Beethoven and Berwald Septets (as one of the audience said, as good as it gets), and now we have Schubert’s great Octet, a leisurely hour-long six movement outpouring of glorious melody, countering the melancholy of much of his other late music. It seems appropriate that in this most affirmative of works the musicians’ fees are being entirely met from donations from our generously loyal audience.

29 November
Cellists of the SCORDATURA WOMEN’S MUSIC COLLECTIVE
Corinna Boylan, Daryl Giuliano, Polly Virr, Rachel Watson.

Scordatura, another ‘flexi ensemble’, is the creation of Oxford-based Rachel Watson, and promotes and commissions music by women composers. But it is also more than that: all four of our guests – as well as possessing watertight ‘classical’ credentials – have involvement in radical and diverse projects aimed at breaking down musical boundaries, both local (Polly is Manchester-based) and national. You may well have had a surprising encounter with the pop-up Street Orchestra London, which is another of Rachel’s ideas. But – four cellos? Well, they are playing the Quartet by the remarkable Polish composer, Grażyna Bacewicz, and works by two contemporary Americans, Gabriela Lena Frank and Tina Davidson, as well as Chant by the Scottish composer and double bassist Marie Dare – all fairly easy on the ear, fear not. But meeting these energised young women should be as stimulating to open minds as listening to them.

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6 December
EMILIE CAPULET, piano.

A warm welcome back to this international concert pianist, lecturer, writer and musicologist – she has recently been playing throughout the Netherlands and France, and in Ottawa and Quebec (broadcast on the CBC Radio Canada), as well as the UK. Her second CD, on the Toccata label, is in progress. For us she will present Claude Debussy: a Centenary Celebration, and she will play and entertainingly introduce a selection of this endlessly fascinating, game-changing music, including the popular La Cathédrale engloutie and La Fille aux cheveux de lin.

13 December
BUCK BRASS TRIO.

Daniel Walton, trumpet; Timothy Ellis, French horn; Richard Buck, trombone. One of the UK’s leading young brass ensembles, formed in 2012 by graduates of the Royal Academy of Music. The trio has pioneered a large amount of new repertoire, collaborating with young and established composers, as well as preparing transcriptions from the classical repertory. We shall have lots of interesting arrangements for virtuoso brass, including something seasonal. It is quite a while since we had anything like this in our series – and the ‘Buck’ stand among the best!

15 December
GRIER PIANO TRIO
Savitri Grier violin; Indira Grier, cello; Francis Grier, piano.

Over the years we have seen the two daughters of the distinguished composer and organist Francis Grier, Savitri and Indira, mature into internationally regarded musicians of a high order, and playing a Christmas family reunion concert for us has become an annual event. We couldn’t be happier, as the music-making is so special. This year, Savitri will perform Beethoven’s Spring Sonata, Indira Chopin’s Cello Sonata, and all three will come together in Beethoven’s first opus, the E flat Trio, Opus 1 no 1. It really will be worth taking the trouble for this, even at such a hectic time of the year!