JAMES GILCHRIST tenor
ENSEMBLE 360
Matthew Hunt clarinet
Benjamin Nabarro and Claudia Ajmone-Marsan violins
Ruth Gibson viola
Gemma Rosefield cello
Tim Horton piano
Howard Skempton The Moon is Flashing
Beethoven An die ferne Geliebte Op 98
Howard Skempton Piano Concerto
Vaughan Williams On Wenlock Edge
The music of Howard Skempton makes a recognizable feature in our Festival programmes, and what a delight to have two works that are new to Leamington audiences this year. Both are works originally scored for soloist and full orchestra, which have been re-scored by the composer for chamber ensemble, giving us a wonderful sense of symmetry to have chamber versions of piano concertos bookending the Festival.
We are pleased to welcome James Gilchrist back to the area after a gap of some six years, and when a tenor of this eminence performs at a Largely Ludwig Festival, having Beethoven’s only song cycle, An die ferne Geliebte, in the programme is an absolute must. Vaughan Williams’ On Wenlock Edge then moves us closer to the delights on 17 May…
Tickets: £25 and £20 reserved central block, £15 unreserved sides.
£1 Student Standby
Concert generously sponsored by Presto Classical
Festival Saver Ticket available – call Leamington Music office on 01926 497000 for more details.
ENSEMBLE 360
Matthew Hunt clarinet
Gemma Rosefield cello
Tim Horton piano
Weber Grand Duo Concertant Op 48
Beethoven Variations on “Bei Männern, welche Liebe fühlen”
Rossini Introduction, Theme & Variations
Beethoven Trio Op 11 ‘Gassenhauer’
Three of the best known members of Ensemble 360 contribute a concert requiring virtuosic playing and featuring variations.
Beethoven’s Gassenhauer Trio dates from 1797 and the Variations on a theme from The Magic Flute from 1801. Weber and Rossini are both best known in the opera world. Weber was inspired by the clarinetist Heinrich Baermann to write concertos and this duo in 1815 and Rossini wrote his Theme and Variations aged 17 in 1809.
Four remarkable works written in a less than twenty years period makes for an awesome lunchtime feast!
Tickets: £16 reserved central block, £13 unreserved sides.
£1 Student Standby
Festival Saver Ticket available – call Leamington Music office on 01926 497000 for more details.
Concert generously supported by Jennifer Lorch
Beethoven Violin Sonata in F Op 24 ‘Spring’
Brahms Violin Sonata in D minor Op 108
Arvo Pärt Fratres
Beethoven Violin Sonata in A Op 47 ‘Kreutzer’
Tasmin Little has firmly established herself as one of today’s leading international violinists; she has performed on every continent in some of the most prestigious venues of the world, in a career spanning more than thirty years.
Imagine our delight when Tasmin told us she had so enjoyed her Festival concert last year, she would like to return to Leamington with Andrey Gugnin and play for us again before she hangs up her concert gowns for good in the summer.
With a programme featuring two of Beethoven’s finest violin sonatas, this will be one of the last chances to hear Tasmin play in the Midlands and is certainly an opportunity not to be missed!
Tickets: £25 and £20 reserved central block, £15 unreserved sides.
£1 Student Standby
Concert generously supported by Diane Holt
Festival Saver Ticket available – call Leamington Music office on 01926 497000 for more details.
KINSKY PIANO TRIO
Lucie Sedláková Hůlová violin
Martin Sedlák cello
Veronika Böhmová piano
Vranický Trio in G Op 32 No 1
Beethoven Trio in C minor Op 1 No 3
Fibich Trio in F minor
The Kinsky Piano Trio makes its third visit to the Royal Pump Rooms, having previously appeared in the 2014 and 2017 Festivals. One of the great Czech ensembles, the Trio records regularly for Czech Radio, and their concerts have also been broadcast in the USA and Mexico. In this concert, Beethoven nestles comfortably amongst a Czech contemporary and a Czech successor.
Tickets: £16 reserved central block, £13 unreserved sides.
£1 Student Standby
Concert generously supported by the Low-Beer Trust
Festival Saver Ticket available – call Leamington Music office on 01926 497000 for more details.
TRIO SHAHAM EREZ WALLFISCH
Hagai Shaham violin
Arnon Erez piano
Raphael Wallfisch cello
Haydn Trio in C Hob XV:27
Beethoven Allegretto in B flat WoO 39
Beethoven Variations on ‘Ich bin der Schneider Kakadu’ Op 121a
Beethoven Trio in B Flat Op 97 ‘Archduke’
Festival favourite, Raphael Wallfisch, brings his Trio back to Leamington for the first time since 2015 when they delighted our audience with all of Brahms’ wonderful piano trios; this time, of course, it is Beethoven’s turn for the Shaham Erez Wallfisch treatment with a little sprinkling of Haydn too.
The greatest of Beethoven’s trios, the Archduke, is accompanied by lesser-known works, which makes for an exhaustive picture of the composer’s approach to the medium throughout his life – the Kakadu Variations being the last piece for piano trio that Beethoven published in his lifetime.
Trio Shaham Erez Wallfisch has performed, broadcast and recorded widely throughout Europe, Canada and Israel including concerts in the United Kingdom, Belgium, Germany, France and Spain. Amongst other recitals the trio enjoys performing regularly at the Wigmore Hall and comes to Leamington direct from there for this visit.
Tickets: £25 and £20 reserved central block, £15 unreserved sides.
£1 Student Standby
Concert generously supported by Paul & Jane Watts
Festival Saver Ticket available – call Leamington Music office on 01926 497000 for more details.
Cherubini Horn Sonata No 2 in F
Beethoven Horn Sonata in F Op 17
Schulhoff Selection from Esquisses de jazz WV90
Rosetti Allegro and Romance from Horn Concerto in E flat C48
Schumann Adagio and Allegro in A flat Op 70
Aged only 21, Ben Goldscheider is a name to watch. He won the Brass Category and was a Concerto Finalist of the BBC Young Musician Competition in 2016, since when he has made his BBC Proms debut as well as concerto performances all over Europe. Richard Uttley won the British Contemporary Piano Competition in 2006; he has since released several recordings to critical acclaim and performed as recitalist and concerto soloist throughout the UK, Europe, Canada, and China.
Tickets: £16 reserved central block, £13 unreserved sides.
£1 Student Standby
Festival Saver Ticket available – call Leamington Music office on 01926 497000 for more details.
Beethoven Piano Sonata in B flat Op 106 ‘Hammerklavier’
Mussorgsky Pictures at an Exhibition
Winner of the 2016 Sydney International Piano Competition and introduced to us last May by Tasmin Little, Andrey Gugnin is now deservedly making his name in the UK. His recently released CD of works by Shostakovich achieved universal critical acclaim – “Gugnin possesses an extraordinarily versatile and agile technique, which serves an often inspired musical imagination.” (Gramophone Magazine).
We knew that, of all Beethoven’s wonderful piano sonatas, Andrey must play the Hammerklavier for us and finding a work to pair with that mighty piece was no mean feat. But as Andrey achieved a roaring standing ovation with his astonishing performance of Pictures at an Exhibition last year, it seemed the only natural choice to give those who missed it a second chance to experience Mussorgsky’s epic work in the hands of this extraordinary Russian pianist.
Tickets: £25 and £20 reserved central block, £15 unreserved sides.
£1 Student Standby
Concert generously supported by Peter Glanfield
Festival Saver Ticket available – call Leamington Music office on 01926 497000 for more details.
Anthony Philip Heinrich (1781-1861) was born in Bohemia but made his name in the United States, where he was dubbed ‘The Beethoven of America’. Heinrich was really the first “full time” American composer and a musician of great influence, chairing the founding meeting of the New York Philharmonic Society in 1842 and bringing Beethoven’s music to the fore across the pond.
Tickets: £8 including tea and cake served from 3.30pm
£1 Student Standby
Festival Saver Ticket available – call Leamington Music office on 01926 497000 for more details.
TOM POSTER piano
SACCONI STRING QUARTET
Ben Hancox and Hannah Dawson violins
Robin Ashwell viola, Cara Berridge cello
ANDREW MARSHALL double bass
Beethoven Piano Sonata in E minor Op 90
Beethoven String Quartet in B flat Op 18 No 6
Beethoven arr. Lachner Piano Concerto No 5 in E flat Op 73 ‘Emperor’
The opening concert of the 2020 Leamington Music Festival sets the scene beautifully for our celebration of Beethoven’s 250th birthday, bringing together the composer’s piano, chamber and orchestral works, although perhaps in a way you have never heard before. The piano sonata with which we begin the Festival was written in 1814 – the year the Royal Pump Rooms was built.
Tom Poster’s superb performance of Shostakovich’s Piano Quintet with the Aronowitz Ensemble in last year’s Festival proved that he is a piano force to be reckoned with. He is joined by the Sacconi Quartet, which embarks on its 20th-anniversary tour next year, and double bassist Andrew Marshall for the Emperor Concerto which should certainly begin the weekend with a bang!
Tickets: £25 and £20 reserved central block, £15 unreserved sides.
£1 Student Standby
Festival Saver Ticket available – call Leamington Music office on 01926 497000 for more details.