<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<rss xmlns:itunes="http://www.itunes.com/dtds/podcast-1.0.dtd" version="2.0">
<channel>
	<title>Music Chamber Podcasts</title>
	<link>http://www.music-chamber.com/concerts/</link>
	<language>en-uk</language>
	<copyright>Copyright (c) 2010 Music Chamber</copyright>
	<itunes:subtitle>Music Chamber - London's Classical Music Cornerstone</itunes:subtitle>
	<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
	<itunes:summary>Our mission is to bring the solo and chamber works of under-exposed contemporary composers to a wider audience. To release the lesser known repertoire of established composers and Jazz musicians.</itunes:summary>
	<description>Listen to our concerts online.</description>
	<itunes:owner>
		<itunes:name>Richard Carruthers</itunes:name>
		<itunes:email>contact@music-chamber.com</itunes:email>
	</itunes:owner>
	<itunes:explicit>no</itunes:explicit>
	<itunes:image href="http://www.music-chamber.com/img/feeds/mc-podcasts.jpg" />
	<itunes:category text="Music"></itunes:category>
	<itunes:category text="Music"/>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Zielinski Quartet  at St. John's Church Notting Hill]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Zielinsky Quartet at St. John's Church Notting Hill 1-2pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)           String Quartet No 6 in B-flat Major Op 18

	Allegro con brio ~ Adagio, ma non troppo ~ Scherzo (Allegro) &amp; Trio ~ Adagio (La Maliconia) / Allegretto quasi Allegro

	 

	Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)                         String Quartet in F 

	Allegro moderato - Très doux ~ Assez vif - Très rythmé ~ Très lent ~ Vif et agité

	 

	Canadian Warren Zielinski studied at the Rotal College of Music (RCM) winning an Exhibition scholarship, Concerto trials and numerous prizes while studying modern and Baroque violin. He has been working professionally since 1996 and has performed and recorded with the English Chamber Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Britten Sinfonia, BBC Symphony &amp; Concert Orchestras, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the John Wilson Orchestra. As a Baroque violinist, Warren has performed with ensembles such as the New London Consort, La Serenissima, Gabrielli Consort, Musicians of the Globe, Avison Ensemble and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. Warren is also in demand for session work. He has played on 500+ Pop tracks and over 100 of the biggest and well-known Hollywood film scores.

	 

	Patrick Kiernan studied at the Royal College of Music where he founded the Brindisi Quartet, which appeared at many of the world’s great concert halls and broadcast regularly on BBC radio. The Quartet’s CD recordings achieved international acclaim, winning a Gramophone award. Patrick has studied chamber music with the Prague, Guarneri and LaSalle Quartets and has coached ensembles at the Britten-Pears School, the University of Ulster and the Royal College of Music. He has played frequently with the Nash Ensemble and was a principal player with both the Academy of St Martin in the Fields and the London Sinfonietta. He has appeared as guest leader with the City of London Sinfonia. Patrick plays on an early 19th century violin by Ceruti.

	 

	Martin Loveday was born in Zimbabwe and began his musical studies soon after moving to England in 1964. He was awarded a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music where he won numerous prizes for solo and chamber music performances as well as a scholarship to continue his studies with Pierre Fournier in Geneva. Martin was a founder member of the Hanson String quartet making several recordings – one of which was voted “record of the year” by the Guardian newspaper. He then joined the Hartley Piano Trio and now divides his time between his session work and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields. His cello was made in 1724 in Naples.

	 

	Bruce White graduated from the Royal Academy of Music a major prize winner both in chamber music and solo studies. Since leaving the R.A.M , Bruce has played or been a member of many ensembles including the BBC Symphony Orchestra, The Michael Nyman Band, ‘Nigel Kennedy does Hendricks’, Ballet Rambert and the London Session orchestra. Bruce is a regular faculty member at the Apple Hill Centre for chamber music in New Hampshire, aiding the continuing efforts of 'Playing for Peace’.

	 

	Programme Notes:

	 

	Beethoven devoted his first years in Vienna to mastering the genres popular in that city including piano sonatas, trios and duets. No doubt Beethoven's apparent trepidation when approaching the string quartet medium was a result of the immense shadow cast by Haydn, whose opp. 71 and 73 were composed in 1793, the year Beethoven began to study with the older master. To prepare himself for his eventual foray into the genre, Beethoven studied the works of others. In particular, he copied Haydn's op. 20, no. 1 in 1793-94, and Mozart's K. 387 and 464 while he was beginning work on op. 18. Beethoven's reinterpretation of movement roles is at its most substantial and forward-looking in the last of the op. 18 set. It is tempting to consider No. 6 as a work in five movements, but it becomes clear that "La Malinconia," the slow chromatic labyrinth preceding the Allegretto quasi Allegro finale, is actually part of the finale. "La Malinconia" twice insinuates itself into the lightweight Allegretto, and the point seems to be the great contrast between the two atmospheres, not any kind of thematic relationship. Such sudden changes in mood may depict the nature of melancholy.

	The similarities between Maurice Ravel's only work for string quartet, the String Quartet in F major, and Claude Debussy's only work for string quartet, the String Quartet in G minor, Op. 10, can hardly be avoided or ignored. During the early years of his career, Ravel was frequently and sometimes vehemently criticized for having copied Debussy, and it was only later that musical society began to realize that, in the realm of piano music at least, it was equally possible that Debussy had imitated his younger colleague. With the String Quartet in F, composed in 1902 and 1903 and then revised up to 1910, however, Ravel seems more certain to have relied on Debussy's 1893 Op. 10; as emotionally, psychologically, and even structurally different as the two works are, one could never accuse them of having a language barrier. But, whereas Debussy's quartet is the work of a headstrong progressive still on his way to developing a mature, personal style, Ravel's is the work of an already mature artist more concerned with craftsmanship and traditional structure than with innovation. Not surprisingly, given their relative places in their careers when the two composers wrote their string quartets, Ravel's is the sounder piece of music and Debussy's is the more groundbreaking. Incidentally, Debussy, by all accounts, adored Ravel's piece, and though it makes the cut by just a couple of years, it is probably the most oft-played string quartet of the twentieth century. Ravel dedicated it to his teacher, Gabriel Fauré. The opening movement's pianissimo second theme is as hollow and melancholy as the first theme is warm and inviting. In the second movement, which serves as the Quartet's scherzo, Ravel moves into the pizzicato world already explored by Debussy in the scherzo movement of his String Quartet; the central portion (one hesitates to call it a "trio section") calls for the players to put mutes on their instruments. Bits of music from earlier in the Quartet can be heard, wearing new clothes, in the slow movement; likewise in the finale, which plunges straight into a frantic 5/4 meter bombast at its start, lightens up in the middle, and then ends in a blaze of zeal. 

	 ]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Zielinski Quartet.mp3" length="55301541" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/zielinski_quartet_at_st_john_s_church_notting_hill/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Thu, 14 Jan 2010 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>57:20</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[IAN STEWART AT NOTTING HILL COMMUNITY CHURCH]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[IAN STEWART AT NOTTING HILL COMMUNITY CHURCH 7-9PM]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Born in 1964, Kyle Horch is one of Britain’s leading saxophonists. After studying at Northwestern University (Chicago) with Frederick Hemke and at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (London) with Stephen Trier, he made his London solo debut in 1989. Since then he has performed as a soloist at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room, British and World Saxophone Congresses, and numerous other venues in Britain and abroad. His two CD recordings on the Clarinet Classics label, ChamberSax and AngloSax, have received international praise from reviewers. He has a long-held interest in Ian Stewart’s music, and their collaborations have resulted in the creation of numerous solo and chamber works for saxophone, two of which he recorded on Ian’s CD, San Gejtanu. Apart from solo performing, Kyle’s work as a freelance musician has involved him in performing across a wide range of music: Royal Philhamonic Orchestra, Royal Opera House, Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Rambert Dance Company, Counterpoise, his own ensemble ‘Flotilla’, and the Piccadilly Dance Orchestra. He is saxophone professor at the Royal College of Music in London.
Guillem Calvo Martínez de Albéniz (Barcelona, 1985) started his musical career with the Suzuki method and directed by Albert Sarria. He studied with Evelio Tielen and Heriberto Fonseca at the Conservatori Superior de Música del Liceo and he obtained the degrees of Violin and Chamber music. During those years he also received several prizes for chamber music with the Quartet Yes "and" Quartet Gaudí. He also has worked with the JUNCO, Germany Interregional Orchestra and the Orchestra of the Academy of Liceu. In 2003 he entered to the Royal College of Music in London to study violin with Yossi Zivoni and in 2008 he made an advanced soloists Master with Shmuel Ashkenasi the Musikhochschule in Lübeck (Germany). He has been member of the RCM Symphony Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra and he has collaborated with the BBC Symphony, the European Camerata and the London Symphony. In these formations he had teachers like Bernard Haitink, Sir Strain Davis, Sir Neville Marriner, Sir Charles Makerras, Valery Gergiev and Sir Roger Norrington, among others. At the same time, Guillem Calvo is member of several chamber groups and has worked with pianists such as Pau Casan and Mercè Roca-Ritook. Other stable formations with which he has worked are Altissimo Ensemble of London, the Ensemble Barcelona Martin and Company Artistic Cre.Art Project, with which he has performed all over Spain and England, and has recorded several CDs and DVDs.
Pavel Timofejevsky, pianist and composer, began his music studies at the age of six at the Gnessin Music School in Russia. In 1995 he joined the Purcell School where he was a full scholar and won a number of prestigious awards and national competitions including the BBC Proms/Guardian Young Composer of the Year award. Pavel studied at the Royal Academy of Music from 2002 where he received the Leslie England Award for his final recital. Following his graduation, Pavel was invited to perform solo in the Queen Elizabeth Hall as part of the Shostakovitch centenary festival. At RAM, he was awarded the John Ireland prize, the Michael Head prize for best accompanist, a special prize at the Jacques Samuels Piano Competition, as well as a prize at the Beethoven Society Intercollegiate Competition, with a resulting performance at St. James, Piccadilly. In 2005, Pavel recorded the soundtrack and starred as young Tchaikovsky in the documentary film “Tchaikovsky” for the US “Biography TV” channel. Two years later he was commissioned to compose the soundtrack for the feature-length documentary “Le fin de la belle époque” for Russian TV. During Pavel’s time on the Postgraduate Diploma in Performance course at RAM, he was the recipient of the Musician Benevolent Fund Award, the 2007 Myra Hess Award, and the Philharmonia Orchestra Martin Musical Scholarship Fund Award. Pavel also received RAM 2008 Janet Duff Greet Prize for the best performance of twentieth century music, for his performance of Prokofiev Piano Sonata No 4. In September 2007, Pavel was invited to join the ‘Live Music Now’ concert scheme with his Philomel Duo partner, violinist Kokila Gillett and has subsequently performed in a variety of community venues throughout the UK.

 ]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Stewart Sax Trio MP3.mp3" length="35998823" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/ian_stewart_at_notting_hill_community_church/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Thu, 17 Sep 2009 19:09:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>37:19</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Mendelssohn and Beethoven String Quartets]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Idomeneo Quartet at St. John's notting hill 1-2pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Mark Derudder (violin) Eugene Lee (violin) Reinoud Ford (cello) Matthias Wiesner (viola) 

	Performing Mendelssohn: String Quartet No 2 in A minor, Op 13
	Beethoven: String Quartet No 11 in F minor, 'Serioso', Op 95

	The Idomeneo Quartet was formed this year by post-grad students of London's Guildhall School, where they have been awarded a Fellowship. In association with the Park Lane Group, they recently performed a string quartet by Peter Maxwell-Davies in the Festival Hall with the composer in attendance to high acclaim. In September they won the prize of 'most convincing newcomer ensemble' awarded by the Friends of the Jeunesses Musicales, Germany. In October the foursome won the Tunnell Trust Award which entitles them to tour Scotland next year.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Idomeneo MP3.mp3" length="49026085" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/mendelssohn_and_beethoven_string_quartets/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Thu, 17 Dec 2009 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>50:50</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[ Beethoven Sonata Cycle Concert Four]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Simon Watterton at the Notting Hill Community Church]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[This is the fourth concert in Simon's Beethoven Sonata Cycle. 

	Programme: Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827):

	Sonata No. 3 in C Major Op 2/3

	Allegro con brio ~ Adagio ~ Scherzo: Allegro ~ Allegro assai

	 

	Sonata No. 6 in F Major Op 10/2

	Allegro ~ Allegretto ~ Presto

	 

	Sonata No. 8 in C Minor Op 13 (Pathetique)

	Grave: Allegro di molto e con brio ~ Adagio cantabile ~ Rondo: Allegro

	 

	Sonata No. 28 in A Major Op 101

	Etwas lebhaft und mit der innigsten Empfindung (Somewhat lively and with the most intimate sentiment)

	Lebhaft. Marschmassig (Lively, March-like)

	Langsam und sehnsuchtvoll (Slow and full of yearning)

	Geschwinde doch nicht zu sehr und mit Entschlossenheit (Not too fast, and with determination)

	 

	Simon studied at the Purcell School of Music with Patsy Toh, and at the Royal College of Music with Yonty Solomon. At the RCM he won a number of prizes, including the Marmaduke Barton Piano Prize, and the annual Beethoven Competition. In his final year he won the Hopkinson Silver Medal at the Chappell Medal Competition, where he was also awarded the Esther Fisher Prize for best undergraduate performance. In his final recital he achieved the highest mark in his year, for his performance of Bach's Goldberg Variations. Simon is a regular recitalist at venues across the UK. Past appearances include performances at Wigmore Hall, St. John's Smith Square, St. Martin's In-the-Fields and Kettle's Yard, amongst others. In 2005 he won the piano prize at the Haverhill Sinfonia Soloist Competition. In May 2006, as result of further competitive success at the Marlow Music Festival, he performed Mozart's Piano Concerto in A Major, K488, at Cadogan Hall, with Southbank Sinfonia. Simon is a current Concordia Foundation artist. He has recently been studying with Martin Roscoe, and lives in London.

	 

	The sonata in C Major op.2 no.3 is the last of the opus 2 sonatas, the previous two of which have been played in this cycle. This is a large-scale work, and its brilliant character make it one of his more popular sonatas. The first movement is written with a string quartet texture in mind – the music is divided into four parts, and it would be easy to imagine the opening phrases played by a quartet. However, there are also burst of orchestral tuttis, and figuration which may have come from a piano concerto. Indeed, there is even a cadenza towards the end of the movement, an idea that Mozart had explored in one of his sonatas. The beautiful and hymn-like theme of the second movement – in the relatively distant key of E Major - soon breaks down with mysterious and almost pleading figuration, and the whole has an introverted sound at odds with the other three movements. After a riotous Scherzo, the finale returns us to the virtuosity of the first movement, as Beethoven throws down many technical challenges and makes novel use of trills, octaves and chords.

	
		 
	
		The sonata in F major op.10 no.2 was written some time between 1796 and 1798, and is the second of a set of three sonatas. The work opens with a humorous and concise phrase, which is immediately contrasted with a more lyrical answer. These two brief ideas, one essentially rhythmic and the other melodic, form the bedrock of the movement. The music never seems to settle down, and several times seems to be searching for the right key. In this movement we get an idea of how Beethoven may have improvised. The second movement is much more languid – we stay in the key of F, but this time F Minor. It’s second section is in D Flat Major and sounds almost Schubertian. The good-natured finale removes any traces of pathos heard in the second movement, and brings the work to a rollicking close.
	
		 
	
		The sonata in C Minor op.13 is one of Beethoven’s most famous works. Written when he was 28 years old, the subtitle is not his, but was added by the publisher apparently with Beethoven’s consent. The title does in this case seem an apt one – the struggles in the opening measures give way to a stormy and exciting Allegro, which itself surges on until interrupted several times by the opening material. The haunting second movement is one of Beethoven’s more lyrical slow movements. Contrast this with the second movement of the earlier C Major sonata, where the mood was never allowed to settle. Here the mood is constant, and serves as a beautiful respite before the finale, which returns us to the heroic and defiant key of C Minor. Again there is a searching quality to this music, big leaps in the right hand and stretches in the left make the music sound troubled. At the very end the work breaks down and we hear a brief reminder of the second movement, before a scale brings the work to a defiant close, still in the minor key.
	
		 
	
		The sonata op.101 was written many years after the previous three we’ve heard tonight, in 1816. Gone are the strict forms and traditional devices – save for a fugue towards the end. Beethoven by now was almost completely deaf, and it is interesting to hear how often his late piano music is played at either end of the keyboard. Scholars are unsure as to whether this was because he could hear these frequencies better, but the fact is his late music has a mysterious sound-world all of its own. The style of op.101 is almost like one continuous fantasia. This is clear from the outset of this beautiful sonata – the first movement is lyrical and questioning and perhaps a little unsettled. This was Richard Wagner’s favourite piece of Beethoven, and he was inspired by the idea of ‘endless song’ – indeed, when this music begins (which it does in the key of E Major, even though we should be in A!) it sounds as if it has already begun somewhere else. The contrast with the second movement is immediate – a strident and jolting march, which at times sounds like the music of Schumann. The second section of the march is canonic and a little strange – evidence of the strict counterpoint that Beethoven introduces more and more into his later music. The third movement serves as a link to the fourth, and is wonderfully hushed and gentle. The cyclical nature of the sonata is proved by the introduction of material heard in the first movement, which leads us into the triumphant but awkward finale. You may have noted that Beethoven’s tempo markings are in German, an attempt by him make his directions as clear as possible. He did the same in the previous sonata, Op.90, but thereafter abandoned the idea and went back to Italian. However, his use of the word ‘determination’ gives a large clue as to how this music should sound. It is not easy to play, but it serves as an essential contrast to what has gone before. After a section of fugal writing the theme returns and, eventually, the music comes to a triumphant and satisfactory conclusion. As the great German pianist Edwin Fischer wrote: “This sonata demands everything: lyrical feeling, rhythm, absorption and virtuosity.” 
	
		 
	
		programme notes by Simon Watterton
	
		 ]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Beethoven Sonata Cycle Concert Four.mp3" length="83253224" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/beethoven_sonata_cycle_concert_four/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Thu, 4 Dec 2008 19:12:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>1:26:19</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Beethoven Sonata Cycle Concert One]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Simon Watterton at the notting hill community church]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[This is the first concert in Simon's Beethoven Sonata Cycle.

	 

	Programme: Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827)

	
		 
	
		Piano Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op 2/1
	
		Allegro ~ Adagio ~ Menuetto - Allegro ~ Prestissimo
	
		 
	
		Piano Sonata No. 12 in A flat major, Op 26
	
		Andante con variazioni ~ Scherzo, allegro molto ~ Maestoso andante, marcia funebre sulla morte d'un eroe ~ Allegro
	
		 
	
		Piano Sonata No. 27 in E minor, Op 90
	
		Mit Lebhaftigkeit und durchaus mit Empfindung und Ausdruck (With liveliness and with feeling and expression throughout)
	
		Nicht zu geschwind und sehr singbar vorgetragen (Not too swiftly and conveyed in a singing manner (cantabile)
	
		 
	
		Piano Sonata No. 21 in C major, Op 53 (Waldstein)
	
		Allegro con brio ~ Introduzione. Adagio molto - attacca ~ Rondo. Allegretto moderato - Prestissimo
	
		 


	Simon Watterton studied at the Purcell School of Music with Patsy Toh, and at the Royal College of Music with Yonty Solomon. At the RCM he won a number of prizes, including the Marmaduke Barton Piano Prize, and the annual Beethoven Competition. In his final year he won the Hopkinson Silver Medal at the Chappell Medal Competition, where he was also awarded the Esther Fisher Prize for best undergraduate performance. In his final recital he achieved the highest mark in his year, for his performance of Bach's Goldberg Variations. Simon is a regular recitalist at venues across the UK. Past appearances include performances at Wigmore Hall, St. John's Smith Square, St. Martin's In-the-Fields and Kettle's Yard, amongst others. In 2005 he won the piano prize at the Haverhill Sinfonia Soloist Competition. In May 2006, as result of further competitive success at the Marlow Music Festival, he performed Mozart's Piano Concerto in A Major, K488, at Cadogan Hall, with Southbank Sinfonia. Simon is a current Concordia Foundation artist. He has recently been studying with Martin Roscoe, and lives in London.

	 

	The three sonatas op.2 were composed in 1795, soon after the young Beethoven had left his home town of Bonn to further his career in Vienna. The first, dedicated to Joseph Haydn, is the shortest and asserts immediately his individuality and range. Strangely for a four movement work of the period, all of the movements are in the tonality of F – three in the minor and the second in the major. The first recalls the finale of Mozart’s Symphony no.40 in G Minor, and this is indeed the most ‘Mozartean’ of all his sonatas. He had briefly taken lessons with Mozart as a boy of twelve, but by the time he reached Vienna, in 1792, Mozart was dead and so instead Beethoven turned to Haydn. The op.2 sonatas are dedicated to Haydn and throughout show his influence most consistently. An example can be found straight away where the rising arpeggio of the main theme is reversed and played in an opposite style to serve as the second subject. Haydn was a master at using small ideas and building his movements around them, whereas Mozart frequently introduced new and unrelated themes. The abrupt and stormy first movement is followed by a languid second movement in F Major – again there are hints of Mozart, perhaps in the peotic minor section. The minuet and trio is followed by the Prestissimo finale, full of youthful violence. This is the most virtuosic movement and gives us a hint of Beethoven’s famed skill as a pianist. The work closes in the minor with no conciliatory movement to the major.

	 

	The sonata in A Flat Major op.26 shows Beethoven entering a new phase. Written in 1801, the work has four movements, none of which are actually in sonata form. One could say this was the first sonata of Beethoven’s middle period – in this same year he wrote the two sonatas op.27, which include the ‘Moonlight’, and op.28, the ‘Pastoral.’ Again each of the movements is in the same tonality. The first is a theme and variations. After a wonderfully melodic opening Beethoven uses the full range of the keyboard to present five variations each contrasting in touch and texture. Throughout the work Beethoven is very exact with his dynamic instructions, and the subtleties of nuance and shade are maintained throughout. After an energetic and exhuberant Scherzo and Trio comes something unique in Beethoven’s sonata output, a Funeral March. This work was the only sonata that Chopin publicly performed, and his fondness for it manifested itself in his famous Sonata in B Flat Minor, which has a famous Funeral March of its own. The subtitle of Beethoven’s march is ‘On the death of a hero’. Who that may have been is open to debate, but it is most likely a descriptive title and not a homage to a contemporary. Interestingly Beethoven orchestrated this movement for brass and winds, and it was performed at his own funeral. In the middle we can hear what may be drum rolls and trumpets, although they have also been descriptively described as canon shots. The finale again influenced Chopin, who wrote a similarly unpreposessing finale for his sonata. The great German pianist Edwin Fischer described this as being: “…like autumn rain falling quietly on the grave.” The subtleties of melody and harmony make this a difficult movement to play, and there is no dramatic ending, just a quiet dying away. This is not a work written for effect.

	 

	The Sonata in E Minor was written in the summer of 1814 and was dedicated to Count Moritz von Lichnowsky. This could be described as the first of the late sonatas, and contains many of the elements which characterise Beethoven’s final offerings for the piano. The work consists of only two movements, and there is an apocryphal story that the work is a battle between the head and the heart. The first movement is abrupt and brusque and any lyricism is often curtailed by heavy chords and clangerous sonorities. The second has been called ‘conversation with the beloved,’ and is completely different, a beautiful melody dominating which returns five times. The end is particularly interesting – the sonata seems to evaporate into thin air. Beethoven was the first composer to dispense with the ‘frame’ around his works which was a part of the classical ideal. As this work seems to melt away, with no obvious invitation to applaud, so the next sonata he wrote, Op.101, begins, tentatively, in the wrong key. These techniques heavily influenced the Romantic generation of composers. At this point in his life Beethoven was seeking a greater definition in his instructions on how to play his works, hence the German indications at the opening of each movement. Perhaps this search for clarity had to do with his by now almost total deafness, but he soon abandoned the practise and returned to Italian markings.

	 

	The Piano Sonata No. 21 in C major, Op.53, dedicated to Count Waldstein, is considered to be one of Beethoven's greatest piano sonatas, as well as one of the three particularly notable sonatas of his middle period (the other two being the Appassionata sonata, Opus 57, and Les Adieux, Opus 81a). The sonata was completed in the summer of 1804. The work has a scope that surpasses Beethoven's previous piano works, and notably is one of his most technically challenging compositions. The score is unabashedly exuberant in its bravura, yet it has the soul of a poet, as can be heard in the beautiful slow movement which links the first and the third. Beethoven originally wrote a larger scale slow movement, but was persuaded that it was too long and imbalanced the work – its pensive quality seems to perfectly complement the movements either side. The opening Allegro con brio is marked by thematic material of a highly dramatic character. Beethoven constantly explores the range of the piano, the opening being a good example, where low chords are contrasted with an answer high in the register. The principal melody of the Rondo: Allegretto moderato finale is like a sunburst - at once positive and sweeping with a sense of musical inevitability. Count von Waldstein was one of Beethoven’s staunchest supporters. He had known the composer for many years, and when Beethoven left Bonn for Vienna to study with Haydn, had written: “…you will receive from Haydn’s hand the spirit of Mozart.” It is fitting that such a generous and worthy patron is remembered through one of Beethoven’s finest works. Also worth noting is the subtitle by which this piece was known in France for many years -  'L'Aurora' (The Dawn).

	 

	Programme Notes by Simon Watterton

	 ]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Beethoven Sonata Cycle Concert One.mp3" length="76627381" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/beethoven_sonata_cycle_concert_one/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Thu, 3 Jul 2008 19:07:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>1:19:27</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Will Butterworth Trio]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Will Butterworth Trio at st john's church notting hill 1-2pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Will Butterworth was born in Edinburgh were the first musical instrument he was taught on was the cello. Whilst studying for a degree in Genetics, Will started gigging in the Scottish capital and was drawn to a career in music. Largely self taught as a pianist – He now lives in the capital where has worked with many of Britain’s leading Jazz artists like Dylan Howe and Bill Bruford and can be found most nights playing at venues with his trio. Peter Ibbetson plays with Barry Green, Dave Mannington, and Rory Simmons and Selwyn Harris of ‘jazzwise’ called him a brilliant young drummer for the future. Adam King is much in demand and is part of Leon Greening’s trio.

	 ]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Butterworth Trio at St. Johns Notting Hill.mp3" length="56324459" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/will_butterworth_trio/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Sun, 27 Jun 2010 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>58:24</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Saxophone Quartet Lunchtime Recital]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Flotilla Sax Quartet St John's 1-2pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Flotilla: Kyle Horch (soprano and alto saxophones) Naomi Sullivan (soprano and alto saxophones) Andy Tweed (alto and baritone saxophones) Alistair Parnell (alto &amp; tenor saxophones, synthesizer)

	Programme:

	 

	Canonic Suite                                                                Elliott Carter

	Fanfare ~ Nocturne ~ Tarantella

	 

	O Magnum Mysterium                                                  Tomás Luis de Victoria trans. Dana Perna

	                                 

	La meva anima magnifica al Senyor (Magnificat)         Ian Stewart (first performance)

	 

	Trio Sonata n.1 in F major                                            Jan Dismas Zelenka trans. Kyle Horch

	Adagio ma non troppo ~ Allegro ~ Larghetto ~ Allegro assai

	 

	Petites Litanies de Jesus                                             Gabriel Grovlez  arr. G. Lewin

	 

	Leabhar Gahbala                                                           Sean McWilliam

	Cesair  ~ Partholan ~ Nemed  

	 

	

	 

	Programme Notes:

	 

	Elliott Carter (b.1908) is internationally recognized as one of the leading American voices in the classical music tradition. Twice winner of the Pulitzer Prize, he was the first composer to be awarded the United States National Medal of Arts. The 2008 celebration of his centenary year, during which he continued to compose new works, was one of the inspirations that led to the creation of this ensemble. The Canonic Suite, scored for four alto saxophones, was composed in 1945 and revised in 1981. A comparatively early work written in tonal style, the rhythmic spirit and intellectual rigour of his later works is already abundantly in evidence in this bold, effervescent piece. Each movement is a disciplined example of pure canon, the technique of strict imitation between lines which was used by composers of the Renaissance and Baroque times. The score defines the parameters of each canon succinctly: “The Fanfare is a canon in four parts at the unison; the Nocturne, a four-part canon in inversion (saxophone 2), retrograde (saxophone 3), and retrograde-inversion (saxophone 4); the Tarantella a four-part canon at the second above.” 

	 

	The Spanish composer and organist Tomás Luis de Victoria (c.1548-1611) was one of the major figures of Renaissance music associated with the Counter-Reformation. As a boy he was a chorister at the cathedral in Avila, and his entire compositional output was sacred music. Much of his career was spent in Rome, where it is believed he studied with the Italian master, Palestrina. Most of his works were published during his lifetime, which is evidence of the strength of his patrons and the high regard in which his music was held by his contemporaries. O Magnum Mysterium is a relatively early work, from a motet published in 1572; it is a beautiful example of the pure emotional intensity Renaissance counterpoint can convey.

	 

	Jan Dismas Zelenka (1679-1745) was a Czech contemporary of J.S. Bach, born in Bohemia, and trained in Prague and Vienna. He was a double-bass player in the court orchestra in Dresden for much of his life, but also had a large output of compositions which remained hidden from general performance because the Dresden court forbade any publication of them. Rediscovered in the mid-20th century, his cycle of six trio sonatas for oboes, bassoon, and continuo are now recognized as being among the most important wind chamber works of the Baroque. The Trio Sonata n.1, arranged here for two soprano saxophones, baritone saxophone, and synthesizer, is one of his finest works. Each of the four movements is a glorious web of interweaving, echoing lines, lyricism, and monumental architecture. 

	 

	La meva anima magnifica al Senyor, by the British composer Ian Stewart, is an adaptation, made especially for Flotilla, of an earlier vocal setting of the Magnificat text in Catalan. In this version, the work presents a solo soprano saxophone over a simple synthsizer drone, rather like plainsong; the solo part is purposely set in the plangent low register of the soprano saxophone – the other two saxophones join in to enrich the melody, sometimes in unison, at other moments slightly out of phase. The overall effect is one of timelessness, of reaching back in time to ancient Mediterranean music. Ian Stewart is a professional composer and arranger who grew up in England, Scotland, and Malta. He plays electric keyboards and produces both electronica and concert music. His acoustic compositions, which often include the saxophone, embrace a variety of styles and have been performed in classical concerts, radio broadcasts, and used in television documentaries. They have been performed by artists such as John Harle with the Brodsky Quartet and Smith Quartet, the Paragon Saxophone Quartet, Kyle Horch, Carole Sutherland, the Altissimo Ensemble, and the Cre.Art Ensemble. In 2008 the Music Chamber label released a CD of Ian’s music, which included four recent compositions reflecting his main influences: psychedelic music, early music, and Celtic music. A second recording of Ian’s music, featuring Kyle Horch, is being prepared on the same label for release later this year. 

	 

	Petites Litanies de Jesus is another work that captures the atmosphere of the monastery, although in a gentler, impressionistic language. A miniature gem, it was originally written in 1911for piano, as part of a collection entitled L’almanach aux images; it was arranged for the Krein Saxophone Quartet by Gordon Lewin. Gabriel Grovlez (1879-1944) studied composition with Faure at the Paris Conservatoire before beginning a long career as a composer and conductor. In addition to works for piano, he wrote a considerable quantity of vocal music, recital pieces for woodwind instruments, and chamber music.

	 

	The final work in today’s programme, Leabhar Gahbala by Sean McWilliam, shows a strong influence from Celtic music and is inspired by the “Book of Invasions”, 12th-century manuscript telling of the pre-Christian mythologies about ancient invasions of Ireland. McWilliam writes that “each of the three movements relates to a character in the book: ‘Cesair’ was the first invader, though all her people were killed in the biblical flood – the music is marked ‘to be played aggressively’. ‘Partholan’ came from Greece and made Ireland into a pleasant, fertile land, though he and his people died of a plague – here the music takes the form of a lament. The final, lively jig represents the ‘Nemed’, the final invaders who continued to cultivate the land until they divided and fled Ireland.”

	- notes compiled by Kyle Horch

	 

	Flotilla are a unique ensemble of saxophonists performing music with a variety of soundworlds: trios and quartets for saxophones, often in unusual combinations, and also including piano or synthesizer. A consort of saxophones, rather than a traditional saxophone quartet. Flotilla’s all-star cast brings together four highly respected instrumentalists with vast experience in saxophone chamber music, as well as strong individual profiles in solo, orchestral, and commercial music. They began working on this project in 2007, and released a CD recording on the Big Shed Music label in March 2009.  The ensemble’s poetic repertoire of multilayered compositions – by turns clever, thoughtful, vibrant, haunting, elegiac – is a meditation on melody with themes of reflection, echo, and memory at its centre. Their programmes evoke a strong sense of mirroring, not just between the musicians who are placed on an equal footing by the thread of  contrapuntal writing which runs through much of their repertoire, but also between the modern and ancient as contemporary works draw upon a variety of antecedents ranging from liturgical polyphony to folk music. 

	After studying at Northwestern University (Chicago) with Frederick Hemke and at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (London) with Stephen Trier, 

	 

	Kyle Horch made his London debut in 1989 on the Park Lane Group series. Since then he has performed as a soloist at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room, British and World Saxophone Congresses, and numerous other venues in this country and abroad. His two CD recordings on the Clarinet Classics label, ChamberSax and AngloSax, have received international praise from reviewers; he has also recorded John Carmichael’s Aria and Finale on ABC Classics, and the 2006-7 Grade 8 saxophone syllabus for the Associated Board. Kyle’s work as a freelance musician has involved him in performing across a wide range of orchestral, contemporary, chamber, and light music. He has worked with many well-known ensembles including the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, Royal Opera House, Philharmonia Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony, London Musici, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Mistral and Paragon Saxophone Quartets, Counterpoise, and Piccadilly Dance Orchestra. He is saxophone professor at the Royal College of Music in London. 

	 

	One of the finest of Britain’s younger generation of saxophonists, Naomi Sullivan studied at Chethams School, the Royal College of Music, and Northwestern University. She has won numerous awards and prizes in the UK, Europe, and the USA, including with the Countess of Munster Trust which supported her postgraduate studies in Chicago and with whom she is a regular performer on the Trust’s recital scheme. She is also a regular recitalist on the Live Music Now! scheme. Naomi is a member of the Paragon Saxophone Quartet, with whom she has appeared on three CD recordings, Tuning In, Les Quatuors, and Byrdland. She is also a member of Zephirus, which won the chamber music section at the Royal Over-Seas League competition in 2007. Other chamber and orchestral playing has included engagements with the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, Halle Orchestra, and Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. She teaches saxophone at Birmingham Conservatoire and the Purcell School.

	 

	Born in 1963, Andrew Tweed studied clarinet and saxophone at Birmingham Conservatoire. Upon leaving his studies he joined the groundbreaking group Saxtet, which since 1988 has taken him all round the UK, Europe, three times to the USA and a six-week world tour in between TV and radio appearances. As a soloist, Andrew released his debut CD, Spiritualise, in 2005 on the Big Shed Music label. A versatile freelance musician, Andrew has also worked with the CBSO, Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, English Symphony Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony Orchstra, London Musici (Rambert Dance Company), Theatre Alibi, Piccadilly Dance Orchestra, The Pasadena Roof Orchestra and The Syd Lawrence Orchestra as well as performing regularly with Britain’s premier accordionist, Karen Street. His compositions are published by Saxtet Publications and Boosey &amp; Hawkes and appear on the Associated Board syllabus. He was Artistic Director of the 2005 British Saxophone Congress and endorses Keilwerth Saxophones. He teaches saxophone at Birmingham Conservatoire and Wells Cathedral School.

	 

	Alistair Parnell was a semi-finalist in the BBC Young Musician of the Year in 1984 and subsequently entered the Royal College of Music, London, where he studied saxophone with Stephen Trier and piano with David Ward. During his time there he won many prizes including the College Woodwind Prize and the Concerto Prize. He formed and led the Mistral Saxophone Quartet, which became one of the UK’s most successful saxophone ensembles and performed at the Purcell Room and several British Saxophone Congresses. In 1997 he released his first solo compact disc Going Solo which features Alistair playing saxophone, piano, keyboards and electronic wind instrument. He followed this with another solo recording, Winter Solstice, in 2005. Freelance work has included engagements with City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, the Tribune Saxophone Octet, the Equinox Sax Ensemble. Alistair is guest conductor of the Nottingham Symphonic Wind Orchestra, and he is Visiting Scholar for saxophone at Nottingham University.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Flotilla 2.mp3" length="50123281" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/saxophone_quartet_lunchtime_recital/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Thu, 9 Sep 2010 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>41:34</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Lunchtime Wind Quintet Recital]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[1-2pm waldegrave ensemble at st. peter's church w11 2nn]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Waldegrave Wind Ensemble (Anastasia Franklin flute, Marissa Pueschel oboe, Elliott DeVivo clarinet, Alison Bach horn, Neil Strachen bassoon)

	 

	Malcolm Arnold            Three Shanties

	(1921-2006)                   Allegro con brio ~ Allegretto Semplice ~ Allegro Vivace

	 

	Isaac Albéniz                Suite Espagnole

	(1860-1909)                   Preludio, in D minor/A Phrygian

	                                       Tango, in D major

	                                       Malaguena, in E minor/B Phrygian

	                                       Serenata, in G minor

	                                       Capricho Catalan, in E flat major

	 

	Ferenc Farkas              Regi Magyar Tancok (Early Hungarian Dances)

	(1905-2000)                   Intrada - Allegro Moderato

	                                       Lento - Moderato, maestoso

	                                       Danza Delle Scapole - Allegro (quasi scherzo)

	                                       Chorea - Moderato

	                                       Saltarello - Allegro

	 

	Bill Holcombe              A Salute to M.G.M.

	(1925-2010)                   I feel a song coming on

	                                       You stepped out of a dream

	                                       Singing in the rain

	                                       Over the rainbow

	                                       The trolley song

	 

	After their public debut in 2009 the Waldegrave Ensemble has continued to give recitals in around London, exploring repertoire for various wind chamber groups from quintet to dectet and playing original works from classical through to 21st century. Primarily consisting of wind players, the ensemble looks forwards to incorporating piano and strings to broaden their performing possibilities in the later half of 2010. The Waldegrave Ensemble players are enthusiastic about exploring new works and welcomes interest from composers who wish to write for any combination of winds, strings and piano. Please feel free to get in touch should you be interested by emailing waldegraveensemble@gmail.com

	 

	

	 

	Ferenc Farkas, Regi magyar tancok 

	Although unlikely given their non-folk origins, had Bartok taken an interest in these 17th century melodies, he would have undoubtedly altered them to accommodate his unique modernist harmonic approach. All the more credit then ought to be given to Ferenc Farkas for not only taking an interest, but also in daring to present them with their more-or-less historically correct harmony. This is no mean feat: a Hungarian composer studying in Budapest as part of the generation immediately after Bartok and Kodaly could have simply followed in their path. Farkas, however, had broader view: he studied with Respighi in Rome, absorbing the Italian composer’s bolder sound world and orchestration style, and was also directly influenced by Stravinsky. Certainly there is a hard-edged touch of Pulcinella, but in general the wider horizon comes out in the fact that it would be very hard to tell that these tunes are Hungarian without the title. It is perhaps not surprising then that Ligeti and Kurtag, pupils of Farkas, have also gone on to use a broad spectrum of influence in their work.

	 

	Isaac Albeniz, Suite Españole, Op. 165

	Considered to be one of the more important exponents of a Spanish national style, today Albeniz’s music mainly appears in guitar recitals. However, he wrote nothing for the guitar; all of these works are arrangements of piano music. Despite a piano prodigy childhood remarkably similar to Mozart’s, the only piano work to make a regular appearance is his late masterpiece Iberia. What happened to the rest? Suite Españole was written in London in 1890 and shows that, like Mozart, Albeniz was able to produce popular music extremely quickly; unlike Mozart, Albeniz’s work has been labelled as ‘salon music’. This term was once loaded with ideas of insignificance, and was often used to consign a composer to oblivion The reality is that this music, although undeniably Spanish, has a certain timeless quality to it; although there is plenty of personality, there is no forceful ego of the kind that the respectable Romantic composers valued. This in fact makes his music rather like that of Mozart; Albeniz was just unfortunate in being born a century too late. 

	 

	Malcolm Arnold, Three Sea Shanties

	The nine symphonies in Arnold’s output form a towering achievement; it seems a shame, however, that Arnold’s own request to be judged solely on these works is often taken up in full. Piers Burton-Page’s article for Grove covers virtually nothing else, as does the biography on the official website. The truth is that Arnold was a composer of enormous flexibility and variety, and the focus on the symphonies seems to disguise a fear that without a distinguished genre to support his reputation, he might not be worthy of being taken seriously. Arnold’s own music seems to confirm this worry: his string quartets (again, a highly respectable form) are written in a dense and heavy-handed atonal style, completely unlike much of the rest of his output, perhaps to prove to himself and others that he was just as capable when it came to ‘serious’ music. Though frothy and fun, the mood of the Sea Shanties is so carefully (if comically) structured and so assured in the instrumental capabilities and characters that one can be left in no doubt that this is the work of a master craftsman. Even if one were to ignore the lyrical central movement, the chattering first movement and the rowdy third could not achieve their affects without careful restraint and, almost more importantly, and expert’s ear for moments when that restraint can be ignored. 

	 

	A Salute to MGM, arr. Bill Holcombe

	Medleys may be a common feature in concerts given by wind ensembles of all sizes, but there was probably no musician more qualified to arrange this Salute to MGM than the late Bill Holcombe (he passed away in April this year). A flautist and a sax player, he had already been playing in jazz bands all over America, as well as arranging for the Tommy Dorsey band, when he was hired by MGM to play in the orchestra for their New York radio station in the late 1940’s. Writing for films followed soon after, on top of the regular composing and arranging work for the recording orchestra Strings 101 and nights spent playing in Broadway shows. So immersed was Holcombe in this world that he probably knew the songs collected together here inside out long before he came to arrange them: “I Feel a Song Coming On”, “You Stepped Out of a Dream”, “Singin’ in the Rain” and “The Trolley Song”, all taken from the scores for various MGM films. Who could have done it better?

	 

	Notes by Bruno Bower, oboist for the Waldegrave Ensemble.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Waldegrave Ensemble.mp3" length="49151538" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/lunchtime_wind_quintet_recital/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Mon, 12 Jul 2010 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>40:46</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Lunchtime Recital Clarinet Quartet]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[MISTRAL QUARTET AT ST PETER'S]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Mistral Clarinet Quartet: Elliott DeVivo (Clarinet &amp; Bass Clarinet), Kristal Hamson (Clarinet), Clare Neville (Basset-horn &amp; Bass Clarinet) &amp; Laurence Scott (Eb Clarinet &amp; Clarinet) perform:

	Astor Piazzolla - Histoire du Tango

	i. Bordel 1900

	ii. Cafe 1930

	 

	George Gershwin - Liza

	 

	Paul Carr - Five English Postcards

	i. Summer Parade

	ii. Tea

	iii. Village

	iv. Sunday Afternoon

	v. Celebration

	 

	James Rae - Cinerama

	i. Organ interlude

	ii. Newsreel

	 

	George Gershwin - Lady be good

	 

	Isaac Albeniz - Tango (from Espana)

	 

	Gershwin - Three Preludes

	i. Allegro ben ritmato e deciso

	ii. Andante con moto e poco rubato

	iii. Allegro ben ritmato e deciso

	 

	ENCORE

	 

	

	 

	The Mistral Clarinet Quartet is a chamber ensemble based in south west London.  Formed in 2005, the ensemble regularly gives recitals, both nationally and internationally, and also plays at a variety of events including weddings, receptions, garden parties and local music festivals. The quartet enjoys ties with Imperial College, providing music for a variety of functions. The quartet usually comprises three clarinets and bass clarinet, but also features basset horn, E flat, alto, and contra-alto clarinets. The quartet is made up of musicians from different backgrounds, their diversity providing an emphasis on many different genres and styles. Our everâgrowing repertoire spans everything from early music and classical favourites through to 21st century works.  We also have a passion for jazz, klezmer, pop and other light music. Following the success of their first UK tour, the quartet are now looking forward to further recitals and recording sessions in 2010. If you wish to get in touch with the Mistral Clarinet Quartet email them at mistralclarinetquartet@gmail.com or visit their website at www.mistralquartet.net.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Mistral Quartet.mp3" length="47390397" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/lunchtime_recital_clarinet_quartet/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Mon, 19 Jul 2010 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>39:18</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Mozart, Devienne and Stamitz wind and strings recital]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Mosaic Ensemble ST john's 1-2pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Mosaic Ensemble featuring Anna Turmeau, oboe - Naomi Bristow, clarinet - Andrew Watson, bassoon -Lucy Gallantine, horn - Mireia Ferrer, violin - Shelagh McKail, viola - Michael Wigram, cello, performing:

	Carl Stamitz (1745 - 1801)

	
		Clarinet Quartet in E flat op. 19 no. 1 (1779) for clarinet and string trio
	
		Allegro ~ Largo ~ Allemande
	
		 
	
		Giovanni Punto [J. W. Stich] (1746 - 1803)
	
		Horn Quartet in F Major op.3/1 (c1785-96) for horn and string trio
	
		Allegro Molto ~ Adagio ~ Rondo
	
		 
	
		François Devienne (1759 - 1803)
	
		Bassoon Quartet in C major op. 73 no. 1 (c1800) for bassoon and string trio
	
		Allegro spirituoso ~ Adagio cantabile ~ Allegro moderato
	
		 
	
		Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791)
	
		Oboe Quartet in F major op. 370 (1781)
	
		for oboe and string trio
	
		Allegro ~ Adagio ~ Rondeau: Allegro
	
		 
	
		
	
		 
	
		Mosaic Ensemble was formed in 2009 by a group of exceptional young musicians who met as members of Southbank Sinfonia, Britain’s young professional orchestra.  Members of the ensemble have performed chamber works together as part of the Royal Opera House lunchtime chamber music series and at the Anghiari Festival in Tuscany.  They formed to explore the expansive repertoire for mixed wind and strings.  Members of Mosaic Ensemble have worked with orchestras including Ulster Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, London Philharmonic Orchestra and BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. ]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Mosaic_Ensemble_StJohn_16Sept2010.mp3" length="61383109" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/mozart_devienne_and_stamitz_wind_and_strings_recital/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Thu, 16 Sep 2010 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>50:55</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[ Oboe and Guitar Duets]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Georgina Whitehead (guitar) Julia White (oboe) St Peter's 1-2pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Georgina Whitehead (guitar) Julia White (oboe) perform:

	
		Sonata in A Minor - Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767)  Siciliana ~ Spirituoso ~ Andante ~ Vivace
	
		Pièce en forme de Habanera - Maurice Ravel (1875–1937)
	
		Two Suggestions for solo guitar - Salvador Brotons (1959-)  Balada ~ Toccata
	
		'Péruvienne' from Evocations for solo oboe - Henri Tomasi (1901–1971)
	
		Distribuição de Flores - Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887–1959)
	
		Sonatine - Günter Braun (Born 1924)  Poco Andante – Largo - Allegro


	Julia White and Georgina Whitehead began working together in 2005 during their studies at Trinity College of Music. They have developed a varied repertoire which covers Renaissance to late twentieth century classical music, folk tunes and popular works. Their concerts together have included performances at The Bolivar Hall International Classical Guitar Festival, and at Greenwich Fan Museum as part of the Music and Architecture Festival. As well as recitals they also enjoy informal performances and have played for hospital patients and at Canary Wharf Ideas Store, one of Tower Hamlets’ innovative public libraries.

	Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) originally composed his Pièce en forme de Habanera as a Vocalise etude en forme de Habanera for bass voice and piano in 1907. A song without words, Ravel took as his model the slow, sultry Spanish dance called the habanera -- like most French composers of the period, Ravel was fascinated by the music of Spain -- and used it as the basis of a blindingly difficult virtuoso exercise for the bass voice. Ravel later transcribed the work for cello and piano -- a transcription that retains all the virtuosity of the original -- and from this several other arrangements have been made for virtually any and all instruments with aspirations to virtuoso glory.

	Tomasi was born in France, though both his parents were originally from Corsica. He was both a composer and conductor, and travelled widely. From 1930-1935, he was director of the Radio Colonial Orchestra in Asia. During his travels he absorbed exotic colours and sounds which he later used in his music. Péruvienne is the first of four short movements for unaccompanied oboe, with different national characters. The later movements represent the sounds of Nigeria, Cambodia and Scotland.

	 

	Salvador Brotons was born in Spain and studied at the Barcelona Conservatory and the University of Florida, USA. He was also an associate professor at Portland State University. His musical language, free from artistic prejudices and avant-garde influence, is characterised by expressive accessibility and naturalness in both his instrumental and vocal writing. This is partly due to the fact that he is both a performer and a prolific composer, and has had a distinguished career as a flautist and conductor. Brotons played the flute in the Orchestra of the Teatro del Liceo, Barcelona (1977–85), was appointed music director and conductor of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra in 1991, and of the Vallès Symphony Orchestra in 1997.

	 

	German composer Günter Braun has written several works for guitar, including a setting of six folksongs for guitar quartet, and a duo for guitar and percussion. This three movement work suggests a variety of influences, including Spanish guitar music, and the music of Igor Stravinsky with chromatic harmonies, intricate rhythms and a palette of colours explored on both instruments. The opening movement is mysterious in character whereas the second movement is much darker in mood and unusually gritty, especially in the guitar part. The work concludes with an unusual 5/8 time signature movement with frequent changes of mood and tempo throughout.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Absolute_Duo_StPeter_13Sept2010.mp3" length="40131969" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/oboe_and_guitar_duets/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Mon, 13 Sep 2010 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>33:17</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Lunchtime bassoon piano recital]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[SUSANA DIAS (BASSOON) HANA FISEROVA (PIANO) ST. PETER'S NOTTING HILL 1-2PM]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Susana Dias (bassoon)   Hana Fiserova (piano)

	Johannes Brahms               Sonata for cello and piano No 1 in E minor, Op 38

	(1833-1897)                         Allegro non troppo ~ Allegro quasi Minuetto ~ Allegro – piú Presto

	 

	Johann Sebastian Bach      Partita II, BWV 826

	(1685-1750)                        Sinfonia ~ Allemande ~ Courante ~ Sarabande ~ Rondeaux ~ Capriccio

	 

	Camille Saint-Saëns            Sonata for bassoon and piano in G major, Op 168

	(1835-1921)                        Allegro Moderato ~ Allegro Scherzando ~ Molto Adagio ~ Allegro Moderato

	 

	

	 

	Since completing a Master Degree in Advanced Performance Studies at the Royal College of Music in 2006, Susana Dias has freelanced with many UK based Orchestras including the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Southbank Sinfonia, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra in Ireland. Born in Oporto, Portugal, Susana attended the Music Conservatoire in the class of Robert Glassburner. In London at the RCM she studied Bassoon with Andrea De Flammineis and Contrabassoon with Martin Field. Susana was co-winner of the Yamaha Music Foundation Competition for Woodwinds, as well as the RCM Concerto Competition in 2005 leading to the performance of Mozart’s Bassoon concerto in the Mozart’s 250th Anniversary celebrations at LSO St. Luke’s. Susana is also a chamber musician. She is a member of The London Myriad Ensemble, a guest Bassoonist with Ensemble 360.

	 

	Hana Fiserova was born in the Czech Republic and studied piano at the Music Conservatoire in Brno with MgA. JiÅí Peša. She also did her Degree in Piano &amp; Music Education at the Masaryk University in Brno. During her studies Hana started gaining experience both as a piano teacher and as an accompanist. She played in a piano duet with Radka Šperková at the Conservatoire and accompanied various other musicians enjoying a busy accompanist schedule particularly with singers for national competitions. In Brno Hana also developed an interest in conducting and leading choirs, which she experienced at the Music School in Letovice and in the national church choir Effatha. At present she is developing her skills by taking conducting lessons with Christopher Gayford in London. Since finishing her studies Hana moved to London where she currently gives private piano tuition and teaches at the Da Capo Music Foundation.

	 

	Brahm’s Sonata presents both a progressive and elegaic face. He composed three movements in 1862, dedicating them to his friend and patron in Vienna, Joseph Gänsbacher, a singing teacher and cellist and a man instrumental in Brahms' appointment as director of the civic choir. Brahms rejected the Adagio he composed at this time (he may not have destroyed it, but rather recycled it in the Second Cello Sonata decades later), and added a fugal third movement to the first two in 1865. The resulting sonata is sonorous and playful, progressive, and deeply rooted in the music of history. The opening movement follows a mostly conventional sonata form. The principal theme darkly inhabits the resonant lower tones and has been characterized as reminiscent of otherworldly fairy tales. Both Brahms' treatment of the principal thematic expositions and their later development frequently show his expansiveness of melodic vision, while maintaining both a close (though unhurried) adherence to the traditional form and a specific tie to the past: a thematic correspondence to the third Contrapunctus from J.S. Bach's Art of the Fugue. The middle movement shifts key to A minor and presents an almost Baroque minuet and trio. (Almost, because within the rigid refrain form Brahms allows the performers to harmonically meander a bit, and the trio involves a rather lavish expansion of the introductory four-note motive.) The final movement brings the tension between past and future into the sharpest relief: Brahms composes a fugue for the two instruments. A fugue was a markedly historical form for his generation, but the harmonic character and the distinct difficulty of balancing the cello/bassoon's single line against three "voices" in the keyboard were all new.

	 

	In the last year of his life, at the age of 85, Camille Saint-Saëns was still active as a composer and conductor, traveling between Algiers and Paris. Besides a final piano album leaf, his last completed works were three sonatas, one each for oboe, clarinet, and bassoon. He sensed that he did not have much time left; he wrote to a friend, "I am using my last energies to add to the repertoire for these otherwise neglected instruments." He intended to write sonatas for another three wind instruments, but was never able to. English composers, such as Holst and Bax, and other French composers, such as Honegger and Milhaud, were also starting to expand the literature for woodwind instruments around the same time. In fact, Saint-Saëns' sonatas have pastoral and humorous moments that are similar to those others' works, relying on simpler melodies and textures than are found even his earlier chamber works, yet retaining Classical forms for their structure. The opening is liltingly charming as it drifts between major and minor, building to a not too dramatic climax in its development section. The final Adagio features a florid melody over a simple, essentially chordal accompaniment leading to a cadenza-like Allegro.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Dias Fiserova.mp3" length="64076870" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/lunchtime_bassoon_piano_recital/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Mon, 5 Jul 2010 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>53:09</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Beethoven & Shostakovich String Quartets recital]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Zielinski Quartet at St. peter's 1-2pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Zielinski Quartet (Warren Zielinski &amp; Jackie Shave violins, Bruce White viola, Martin Loveday cello):

	Beethoven: String Quartet No 4 in c Op 18/4

	Shostakovich: String Quartet No 8 in c Op 110]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Zielinski Quartet St Peter May 2010.mp3" length="56611100" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/beethoven_and_shostakovich_string_quartets_recital/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Mon, 31 May 2010 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>46:57</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Lunchtime violin piano duet recital]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Mansoon Bow (violin) Sam Liu (piano) at St. John's church 1-2pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[R.A. Schumann: Violin Sonata No.1 in Amajor Op.105 in A minor
	Mit Ieidenschaftlichem Ausdruck ~ Allegretto ~ Lebhaft

	 

	

	 

	Mansoon Bow began studying the violin in her native city of Osaka. Later she proceeded to the Royal Academy of Music in London on a Derek Butler Scholarship, the Bratton Scholarship and Leverhulme Scholarship. Mansoon has been awarded prestigious prizes in the Osaka International competition 2000, Classic competition, Soloist competition and David Martin/Florence concerto Prize at the Royal Academy of Music where she was also a recipient of the Poulett Scholarship and the Bloch Award.  In 2008, Mansoon won the First Prize and the Audience Prize in The Cavatina Music Competition and most recently, she has been chosen to receive the Byram Jeejeebhoy Prize as well as the Silver Medal Prize which is awarded to students who has made the most outstanding contribution to the work and to performance activities.

	 

	Sam Liu lived with his family in British Columbia until he was accepted in Trinity College of Music and moved to London as international student at 2007.  Sam earned his ARCT diploma in Canada and is finishing the BMus course at Trinity College of Music. In 2009 Sam won the "Il Circolo" Competition held by the College at the Italian Cultural Centre.

	 

	Programme Note:

	 

	It was Robert Schumann's practice when composing to concentrate intensively on a particular genre. During the period 1849-1851 he composed mostly lyrical character pieces, which he usually bundled in cycles.  In each of these works, a then-neglected instrument shines in a duet with piano (horn, oboe, clarinet, viola, cello). The violin-piano combination received Schumann’s attention in 1851. After the first rehearsal on October 16, his wife Clara wrote, “We played it and felt especially moved by the most elegiac first movement as well as by the lovely second one.  Only the third movement, which is somewhat less charming and more headstrong, we just did not seem to get right.” In his autobiography, Wasielewski (concertmaster of the Düsseldorf orchestra) remembers that “only the Finale I couldn't play to his (Schumann's) satisfaction. We went through it three more times, but Schumann said that he had expected a different effect from the violin. I was unable to convey sufficiently the headstrong, gruff tone of the piece...” Schumann allegedly said to Wasielewski about his first violin sonata, “I wrote it right after I had gotten upset with a couple of people.” This was a reference to the mounting tension between the Schumanns and the Düsseldorfer Musikverein, which wanted to fire Schumann as a conductor. Neither the performance by Clara Schumann and the violinist Ferdinand David in the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, nor the publication of the first edition, both in March 1852, was a success. This setback was made even worse because it became the specific reason why the Leipzig publisher Hofmeister declined to publish Schumann's cello concerto.  Only in May 1853 did the young violinist Joseph Joachim leave an unforgettable impression with his brilliant interpretation of this work. With his two violin sonatas, Schumann, more than Beethoven or Schubert, supplied the model for the great violin sonatas of the second half of the nineteenth century. Themes from the three movements are related through similar intervals, or “germ cells.”  Indeed, the first theme of movement one returns as a fleeting memory in movement three.  This cyclic idea, later systematically cultivated by French composer César Franck, was not new in Schumann’s music: he had already applied the cyclic principle in his Piano Sonata, op. 14 (Concert sans orchestre), and it can also be traced in masterpieces such as his Piano Concerto and the Fourth Symphony. The second movement serves as an enchanting intermezzo that incorporates elements of a missing Scherzo.  It is a precursor of the second movement, Andante tranquillo, of Brahms’s A Major Violin Sonata, op. 100. The Finale is a demonic perpetuum mobile that, in its use of canonic style, reflects Schumann's intensive study of Bach's work. Schumann was, together with Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, one of the first great German artists to be fully aware of the “incommensurable” (to quote from Schumann) geniality of Johann Sebastian Bach’s music.  In compositions such as Kreisleriana and the Toccata, the influence of Bach cannot be overestimated. Contrapuntal techniques, such as the canon, are central to understanding Schumann’s world of “inner voices,” and are never used pedantically, but as the most natural and romantic expression. In later years, when the violin sonatas were written, Schumann was overwhelmed by young Joseph Joachim’s violin playing.  The influence of a piece such as J.S. Bach’s D-Minor Ciaccona for solo violin on his own music cannot be overemphasized. Note also the Bachian influence in the opening movement of his second violin sonata, the violin concerto, and the Concertstück for piano and orchestra, op. 134.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Bow Liu Recital June 2010.mp3" length="182239326" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/lunchtime_violin_piano_duet_recital/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Thu, 17 Jun 2010 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>00:00</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Lunchtime Recital Wind Quintet]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[London Myriad Ensemble at St. John's Church Notting Hill 1-2pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[London Myriad Ensemble: Julie Groves (flute) Jenni Britton (oboe) Susana Dias (bassoon) Chris Beckett (viola) Yuki Negishi (piano) perform:

	â¨Ernest Bloch Concertino for flute, viola and piano

	(1880-1959) Allegro comodo ~ Andante ~ Allegro

	 

	Camille Saint-Saëns Sonata for oboe and piano Op 166

	(1835-1921) Andantino ~ Allegretto ~ Molto allegro

	 

	Malcolm Arnold Trio for flute, viola and bassoon

	(1921-2006) Allegro ma non troppo ~ Andante con moto ~ Allegro comodo

	 

	Francis Poulenc Trio for oboe, bassoon and piano

	(1899-1963) Presto ~ Andante ('Andante con moto') ~ Rondo ('tres vif')

	 

	Since its conception as a professional chamber group in 2004, the London Myriad Ensemble has given concerts internationally, with a repertoire by composers ranging from Mozart to Chick Corea, and whose members share a passion for chamber music alongside a wealth of experience within the music profession. The London Myriad Ensemble has performed at venues such as St. Martin-in-the-Fields, St. James's Piccadilly, and at the residence of the British High Commissioner to the Seychelles. The ensemble was Quintet in Residence, on a full scholarship at the Dartington International Summer School in 2005, and at the Seychelles International Festival of Classical Music 2006. It was then invited to the Beauville Arts Wind Chamber week in South-West France supported by an "Awards for Ensembles" grant from the Musicians Benevolent Fund and a generous donation from the Tillett Trust. The ensemble has a particular interest in new music having recently given several world premiere performances of works for woodwind quintets, such as Ultramarine by Peter Nickol, which was written for the ensemble, Carl Schimmel’s Towns of Wind and Wood and Karl Nicklas Gustavsson’s Bird Songs for Wind Quintet. Following their First Prize win at the 2nd International Israeli Music Competition 2009, the London Myriad Ensemble performed at the Purcell Room in the Southbank Centre in November 2009 and also on BBC Radio 3's "In Tune".  Website: www.londonmyriad.com

	 

	

	 

	Julie Groves leads a busy freelance career performing in the UK and abroad as a soloist, orchestral musician and as part of the accomplished London Myriad Ensemble. Julie also plays with recording guitarist Ahmed Dickinson and as part of the Ashgrove Duo. Julie graduated from Trinity College of Music with a Postgraduate Diploma in Performance, studying with Wissam Boustany and previously with Susan Milan, Judith Hall and Clare Southworth. Having been a finalist in several international competitions, including the Albert Cooper Competition, Julie was notably the GB and Ireland winner of the LIONS International Music Competition, representing the UK in the Europa Finals. As a Concordia International Artist, she is a regular solo performer and an active devisor for their educational shows - the Young Audiences Concerts. Julie has an immense passion for chamber music and for innovative collaborative work. Recent projects have involved improvisatory work and performances with the Da Capo Theatre Company and ongoing projects with poets, actors and dancers creating new works and experimenting with new material. Julie also writes reviews for Pan, the journal of the British Flute Society, and thoroughly enjoys her role as Editor of the Composer’s Corner of the British Flute Society website. www.juliegroves.com

	 

	Jenni Britton is a founding member of the London Myriad Ensemble. She studied at Trinity College of Music with David Thomas, Chris O’Neal, Paul Goodey and Andrew Knights. Whilst at Trinity she was awarded the Wilfred Hambleton Prize for Contribution to Wind Music (2003). Jenni currently enjoys performing nationally and internationally, whilst also teaching in and around London. She regularly plays with London Orchestra da Camera, Orchestra of St Paul’s and Bartholdy Chamber Orchestra. Jenni has worked alongside the BBC Concert Orchestra’s education and outreach department actively promoting the oboe, and with the Philharmonia outreach programme in conjunction with composer Issie Barratt. She appears on Ready, Steady, Blow, a CD for beginner oboists on the Oboe Classics label. Jenni also regularly plays oboe and cor anglais for non-classical recordings. As a soloist Jenni has recently performed the Marcello Oboe Concerto in D minor with Bartholdy Chamber Orchestra, and Vaughan-Williams’ Concerto for Oboe and Strings with the Orpington Symphony Orchestra.

	 

	After completing a Master Degree in Advanced Performance Studies at the Royal College of Music in 2006, Susana has been freelancing mainly in the UK with the Orchestras of the Royal Opera House, Royal Philharmonic, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Bournemouth Symphony, Southbank Sinfonia, and RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra in Ireland. Born in Oporto, Portugal, Susana attended the Music Conservatoire in the class of Robert Glassburner. In London at the RCM she studied Bassoon with Andrea De Flammineis and Contrabassoon with Martin Field. Susana won 1st Prize at the Yamaha Music Foundation Competition for Woodwinds in 2003, as well as the RCM Concerto Competition in 2005 leading to the performance of Mozart’s Bassoon concerto in the Mozart’s 250th Anniversary celebrations at LSO St. Luke’s. Susana is also a chamber musician. She is a member of The London Myriad Ensemble and she is also a guest Bassoonist with Ensemble 360. Alongside her Music studies Susana also gained a degree in Economics at Oporto University in 2003. 

	www.myspace.com/susanadiasbassoonist

	 

	Christopher Beckett studied viola at the Royal Northern College of Music with Roger Bigley (formerly of the the Lindsay Quartet) and Thomas Riebl. During this time Christopher was principal viola with the RNCM Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Jac van Steen and performed at festivals such as Lake District Summer Music (2005 &amp; 2006) and Stresa Festival, Italy (2007). Since graduating in 2007 he has been enjoying a busy freelance career, working with orchestras such as Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Northern Chamber Orchestra, Northern Ballet Orchestra and Sinfonia Viva. In 2009 Christopher was a member of Southbank Sinfonia, Britain's leading orchestral academy, where he worked alongside musicians from orchestras including Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Royal Opera House, BBC Concert Orchestra and London Sinfonietta, and with conductors such as Barry Wordsworth, Stephen Barlow and Yasuo Shinozaki. Recent performances have included chamber music recitals at the Wigmore Hall and Royal Opera House's Crush Room.

	 

	Originally from Tokyo, Japan, Yuki Negishi started playing the piano at the age of 5 in New York City. At the age of 10, she was accepted to The Juilliard School Pre-College Division as an honorary scholarship student in the class of the late Richard Fabre, who was a pupil of the celebrated Rosina Lhevinne. After completing her studies at the Toho Gakuen School of Music with honours and at the Amsterdam Conservatory, she completed her Postgraduate Diploma in Advanced Performance and Masters in Music Degree, both with distinction, and recently the Artist Diploma at the Royal College of Music, London, where she studied with Mikako Abe, Jan Marisse Huizing, and Ruth Nye MBE. At the age of 16, she was the youngest prize-winner at the Takahiro Sonoda Piano Competition and she was awarded the 2nd prize at the 2000 International Jeunesses Musicales Competition in Bucharest. Since coming to the UK in 2001, she has additionally won numerous prizes at the RCM and elsewhere. Yuki has released a solo CD, and a DVD in conversation with BBC presenter Andrew Green from Sound Techniques has also been released. She also served as a member of the jury for the First Sussex International Piano Competition (www.sussexipc.co.uk) in association with Worthing Symphony Orchestra and Bluthner Piano Centre alongside such distinguished pianists as Artur Pizarro, Vanessa Latarche, Ian Fountain, Dina Parakhina, Julian Jacobson and George-Emmanuel Lazaridis. Yuki is generously supported by the London Bluthner Piano Centre.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Myriad Ensemble St John July 2010.mp3" length="53190087" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/lunchtime_recital_wind_quintet/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Thu, 29 Jul 2010 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>44:07</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Lunchtime Recital Viola Duets]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Jeremy Gurchenkov, Ekaterina Lazareva (violas) st. peter's 1-2pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Telemann: Sonate–Canon, WF Bach: Viola Duet No. 3, Jean-Marie Leclair Sonata No. 1, Joseph Reinagle: Duetto No 10 &amp; 11 Op. 2, Guillaume: Voyage

	

	Jeremy Gurchenkov is viola player with The London International Orchestra and the helios Chamber Orchestra. Ekaterina Lazareva studied at the Belarusian Academy of Music and plays in the Mezzo Quartet.  They both have recently returned from a Europtean tour with I Maestri.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Gurchenkov Lazereva.mp3" length="30994808" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/lunchtime_recital_viola_duets/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Mon, 6 Sep 2010 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>25:42</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Flotilla Saxophone Quartet lunchtime recital]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Flotilla saxophone quartet at St. peter's church 1-2pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Flotilla: Kyle Horch, Naomi Sullivan (soprano &amp; alto saxophones), Andy Tweed (alto &amp; baritone saxophones) Alistair Parnel (alto &amp; tenor saxophones, synthesizer)

	Elliott Carter (1908-)   Canonic Suite

	Fanfare ~ Nocturne ~ Tarantella

	 

	Liz Johnson O Vos

	 

	JS Bach (1685-1750) Prelude and Fugue No 29 in D BWV874 (arr. Percy Grainger in Eb)

	 

	Edward McGuire (1948-) Remembrance

	 

	Jan Dismas Zelenka (1679-1745) Trio Sonata No 1 in F (arr. Kyle Horch)

	Adagio ma non troppo ~ Allegro ~ Larghetto ~ Allegro assai

	 

	ENCORE: Gabriel Grovlez L'almanach aux images No. 8: Petites litanies de Jésus

	 

	Programme Notes:

	 

	Elliott Carter (b.1908) is internationally recognized as one of the leading American voices in the classical music tradition. Twice winner of the Pulitzer Prize, he was the first composer to be awarded the United States National Medal of Arts. The 2008 celebration of his centenary year, during which he continued to compose new works, was one of the inspirations that led to the creation of this ensemble. The Canonic Suite, scored for four alto saxophones, was composed in 1945 and revised in 1981. A comparatively early work written in tonal style, the rhythmic spirit and intellectual rigour of his later works is already abundantly in evidence in this bold, effervescent piece. Each movement is a disciplined example of pure canon, the technique of strict imitation between lines that was used by composers of the Renaissance and Baroque times. The score defines the parameters of each canon succinctly: “The Fanfare is a canon in four parts at the unison; the Nocturne, a four-part canon in inversion (saxophone 2), retrograde (saxophone 3), and retrograde-inversion (saxophone 4); the Tarantella a four-part canon at the second above.” 

	 

	When composing O Vos, Liz Johnson (b.1964) also drew inspiration from early music, in particular the works of medieval composer Hildegard of Bingen. Written in 2001, the piece is for three alto saxophones and drawn from fragments of O vos felices radice. The modal lines evoke the brooding atmosphere of monastic chant very clearly. Liz Johnson is a composer, teacher and workshop leader.  Her richly diverse music ranges from luscious choral works to delicately layered and complex chamber music, with performances and BBC Radio 3 broadcasts by ensembles including the Fitzwilliam Quartet, the the Ionian Singers and BCMG. She teaches composition at Birmingham Conservatoire.

	 

	The Prelude and Fugue by J.S. Bach (1685-1750) come from the second book of the Well-Tempered Clavier, which was published in 1742. Both volumes of the WTC contain a paired prelude and fugue in each of the 24 major and minor keys. The work was written to explore the possibilities created by new forms of tuning keyboard instruments being developed at the time, which allowed composers new freedom to modulate to distantly related keys. More importantly, the two volumes of the work contain an astonishing compendium of compositions that succeed in demonstrating an unmatched mastery of musical counterpoint as well as a vivid, wide-ranging ability to conjure mood. This pair contrasts a lively prelude with a gentle, flowing fugue. This arrangement for saxophone quartet was done by the Australian-born composer Percy Grainger in 1943. Grainger was very fond of the saxophone, and in fact played the instrument himself: he spent the years 1917-18 as soprano saxophonist in an American military band, to which he had enlisted after the United States joined the allied cause in the First World War.

	 

	Remembrance, by Edward McGuire, focuses on memory as its subject. Originally composed for two oboes and cor anglais in 1992, it is played here on two soprano saxophones and alto saxophone. In the score, McGuire notes that both his parents had died in the previous two years, and this is part of a series of elegies composed at that time. This piece “makes a more abstract and general exploration of the feelings and meanings encompassed by its title. The opening, slow meditative refrain recurs throughout the piece, changing with each reappearance. In contrast, the sections of more rapid music grow in intensity but the piece also has its whimsical and playful moments; the overall feeling is one of striving for optimism.” Edward McGuire (b. 1948) studied composition at the Royal Academy of Music, London and then with the Swedish composer Ingvar Lidholm in Stockholm. His works have been regularly broadcast and major commissions have come from the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, the St Magnus Festival, and the Edinburgh International Festival, the Glasgow University McEwen Bequest, and the New Music Group of Scotland. McGuire also plays flute with, and writes for, the Scottish folk group The Whistlebinkies. He was the recipient of a British Composers Award in 2003 and a Creative Scotland Award in 2004.

	 

	Jan Dismas Zelenka (1679-1745) was a Czech contemporary of J.S. Bach, born in Bohemia, and trained in Prague and Vienna. He was a double-bass player in the court orchestra in Dresden for much of his life, but also had a large output of compositions which remained hidden from general performance because the Dresden court forbade any publication of them. Rediscovered in the mid-20th century, his cycle of six trio sonatas for oboes, bassoon, and continuo are now recognized as being among the most important wind chamber works of the Baroque. The Trio Sonata No. 1, arranged here for two soprano saxophones, baritone saxophone, and synthesizer, is one of his finest works. Each of the four movements is a glorious web of interweaving, echoing lines, lyricism, and monumental architecture.

	 

	Flotilla are a unique ensemble of saxophonists performing music with a variety of sound worlds: trios and quartets for saxophones, often in unusual combinations, and also including piano or synthesizer. A consort of saxophones, rather than a traditional saxophone quartet, Flotilla’s all-star cast brings together four highly respected instrumentalists with vast experience in saxophone chamber music, as well as strong individual profiles in solo, orchestral, and commercial music. They began working on this project in 2007, and released a CD recording on the Big Shed Music label in March 2009.  The ensemble’s poetic repertoire of multilayered compositions – by turns clever, thoughtful, vibrant, haunting, elegiac – is a meditation on melody with themes of reflection, echo, and memory at its centre. Their programmes evoke a strong sense of mirroring, not just between the musicians who are placed on an equal footing by the thread of contrapuntal writing which runs through much of their repertoire, but also between the modern and ancient as contemporary works draw upon a variety of antecedents ranging from liturgical polyphony to folk music.

	 

	After studying at Northwestern University (Chicago) with Frederick Hemke and at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (London) with Stephen Trier, Kyle Horch made his London debut in 1989 on the Park Lane Group series. Since then he has performed as a soloist at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room, British and World Saxophone Congresses, and numerous other venues in this country and abroad. His two CD recordings on the Clarinet Classics label, ChamberSax and AngloSax, have received international praise from reviewers; he has also recorded John Carmichael’s Aria and Finale on ABC Classics, and the 2006-7 Grade 8 saxophone syllabus for the Associated Board. Kyle’s work as a freelance musician has involved him in performing across a wide range of orchestral, contemporary, chamber, and light music. He has worked with many well-known ensembles including the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, Royal Opera House, Philharmonia Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony, London Musici, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Mistral and Paragon Saxophone Quartets, Counterpoise, and Piccadilly Dance Orchestra. He is saxophone professor at the Royal College of Music in London.

	 

	One of the finest of Britain’s younger generation of saxophonists, Naomi Sullivan studied at Chethams School, the Royal College of Music, and Northwestern University. She has won numerous awards and prizes in the UK, Europe, and the USA, including with the Countess of Munster Trust which supported her postgraduate studies in Chicago and with whom she is a regular performer on the Trust’s recital scheme. She is also a regular recitalist on the Live Music Now! scheme. Naomi is a member of the Paragon Saxophone Quartet, with whom she has appeared on three CD recordings, Tuning In, Les Quatuors, and Byrdland. She is also a member of Zephirus, which won the chamber music section at the Royal Over-Seas League competition in 2007. Other chamber and orchestral playing has included engagements with the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, Halle Orchestra, and Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. She teaches saxophone at Birmingham Conservatoire and the Purcell School.

	 

	Born in 1963, Andrew Tweed studied clarinet and saxophone at Birmingham Conservatoire. Upon leaving his studies he joined the groundbreaking group Saxtet, which since 1988 has taken him all round the UK, Europe, three times to the USA and a six-week world tour in between TV and radio appearances. As a soloist, Andrew released his debut CD, Spiritualise, in 2005 on the Big Shed Music label. A versatile freelance musician, Andrew has also worked with the CBSO, Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, English Symphony Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony Orchstra, London Musici (Rambert Dance Company), Theatre Alibi, Piccadilly Dance Orchestra, The Pasadena Roof Orchestra and The Syd Lawrence Orchestra as well as performing regularly with Britain’s premier accordionist, Karen Street. His compositions are published by Saxtet Publications and Boosey &amp; Hawkes and appear on the Associated Board syllabus. He was Artistic Director of the 2005 British Saxophone Congress and endorses Keilwerth Saxophones. He teaches saxophone at Birmingham Conservatoire and Wells Cathedral School.

	 

	Alistair Parnell was a semi-finalist in the BBC Young Musician of the Year in 1984 and subsequently entered the Royal College of Music, London, where he studied saxophone with Stephen Trier and piano with David Ward. During his time there he won many prizes including the College Woodwind Prize and the Concerto Prize. He formed and led the Mistral Saxophone Quartet, which became one of the UK’s most successful saxophone ensembles and performed at the Purcell Room and several British Saxophone Congresses. In 1997 he released his first solo compact disc Going Solo which features Alistair playing saxophone, piano, keyboards and electronic wind instrument. He followed this with another solo recording, Winter Solstice, in 2005. Freelance work has included engagements with City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, the Tribune Saxophone Octet, the Equinox Sax Ensemble. Alistair is guest conductor of the Nottingham Symphonic Wind Orchestra, and he is Visiting Scholar for saxophone at Nottingham University.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Flotilla 14 June 2010.mp3" length="58481422" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/flotilla_saxophone_quartet_lunchtime_recital/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Mon, 14 Jun 2010 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>48:30</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Ligeti & Kodaly String Quartets]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Ligeti Quartet at St John's 1-2pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[The Ligeti Quartet: Mandhira de Saram - 1st violin, Radhika de Saram - 2nd violin, Richard Jones - viola, Val Welbanks - cello perform:

	György Ligeti (1923-2006): Andante and Allegro
	
	Zoltán Kodaly (1882-1967): String Quartet No 2
	Allegro ~ Andante quasi recitativo - Allegro giocoso

	

	The Ligeti Quartet was formed in 2010 and is devoted to promoting 20th and 21st century music of both established and emerging composers. The quartet is comprised of graduates from the Royal Academy of Music, Royal College of Music and Oxford University. Previous collaborations include young composers Nirmali Fenn, Eldon Fayers (premier of The Red Wire), Deborah Pritchard (premier of Opaque for string trio) and Gabriel Prokofiev. They are also interested in improvised and experimental music and links with other art-forms. Earlier this year they performed free improvisations inspired by the paintings of Kenji Yoshida at the October Gallery as part of their Museums at Night series. Their latest collaboration was with Ensemble BPM in a production of Steve Reich’s multimedia opera, Three Tales, performed at the Tête à Tête Opera Festival. On 9 December, they will be performing the quartets of Sergei Prokofiev alongside the quartets of his grandson, Gabriel Prokofiev, at The Red Hedgehog. In 2011 the quartet will be 'featured artist' at the Wakefield Live Music Project in Yorkshire, giving several several recitals during the course of the year. The quartet has received coaching from The Chillingirian Quartet and violist James Boyd and will be taking part in two sessions at the Chamber Studio, Kings Place, later this year. More at www.ligetiquartet.com]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Ligeti Quartet.mp3" length="36025518" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/ligeti_and_kodaly_string_quartets/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Thu, 4 Nov 2010 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>29:53</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Mosaic Ensemble Wind & Strings]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Mosaic Ensemble St John's 7.30-9pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Mosaic Ensemble (Anna Turmeau oboe, Naomi Bristow clarinet, Andrew Watson bassoon, Lucy Gallantine horn, Rosie Moon double bass, Amanda Izzo flute, Mireia Ferrer violin, Shelagh McKail viola, Michael Wigram cello) perform: 

	
		Bohuslav Martinu (1890-1959):            Nonet
	
		Poco Allegro ~ Andante ~ Allegretto
	
		Sir Arthur Bliss (1891-1975):                Conversations
		The Committee Meeting
		In the Wood
		In the Ballroom
		Soliloquy
		In the Tube at Oxford Circus
	
		Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827):  Septet in E flat Op 20
		
			Adagio; Allegro con brio
		
			Adagio cantabile
		
			Tempo di minuetto
		
			Tema con variazioni: Andante
		
			Scherzo: Allegro molto e vivace
		
			Andante con moto alla marcia; Presto
	


	Mosaic Ensemble was formed in 2009 by a group of exceptional young musicians who met as members of Southbank Sinfonia, Britain’s young professional orchestra. Members of the ensemble have performed chamber works together as part of the Royal Opera House lunchtime chamber music series and at the Anghiari Festival in Tuscany. They formed to explore the expansive repertoire for mixed wind and strings. Members of Mosaic Ensemble have worked with orchestras including Ulster Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, London Philharmonic Orchestra and BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.

	

	Martinu came to America in 1941 to escape the Nazi occupation of Paris, and though he longed for his homeland, he and his music were enthusiastically received.  He was prolific, composing music in all forms. The Nonet was composed in 1959, and premiered at the Salzburg Festival by the Czech Nonet to whom it was dedicated, a month before the composer's death. The Nonet was inspired by the music and musicians of the Czech countryside, particularly Bohemia and Moravia. Its other influence was the music of Haydn which Martinu studied and grew to love during his stay in America. Despite being composed so near the time of his death, the Nonet is optimistic, life-affirming music.

	 

	
		Conversations represents a new phase in Bliss’s career. In Paris after the war he had met the group of young composers loosely banded together as Les Six, and Conversations was later played at the Aeolian Hall in London in a programme that included works by Germaine Tailleferre, Poulenc and Milhaud, to be greeted by the severe strictures of the critic of the Daily Mail. The work was originally intended as a jeu d’esprit, given in a private performance by five musicians of some distinction, including the flautist Gordon Walker and the oboist Leon Goossens. The first movement, The Committee Meeting, finds the chairman, the violin, in a monotonous mezzo-forte, struggling to make his point, against the often irrelevant interruptions of others, in obvious dissent. In the Wood is gently nostalgic in character, with its intermittent bird-song, a contrast to the following In the Ballroom, with its jaunty violin melody first heard over the plucked notes of viola and cello, before the entry of the bass flute. At the heart of the movement, in which the oboe is silent, is a more sinister passage, introduced by the bass flute. The fourth movement is Soliloquy for cor anglais alone, the first section, which is repeated, frames a livelier central section. Conversations ends with In the Tube at Oxford Circus, a playful evocation of the turmoil and varying scene, the whole work a contemporary reaction to the preceding decade, but no longer as shocking as it seemed to some contemporaries.


	 

	Beethoven composed his Septet in 1799-1800, as he entered his thirtieth year. He had taken the Viennese by storm with his skill at keyboard improvisation, had produced his first two piano concertos, and was about to begin work on his First Symphony. The Septet brought to a conclusion his first big series of chamber music compositions, which by then included four piano trios, five works for string trio, and the pairs of compositions for wind octet and for two oboes and English horn, as well as the six string quartets of Op. 18. The Septet, dedicated to the Empress Maria Theresia (not the famous monarch, who had died twenty years earlier, but the wife of the Emperor Franz), became his most popular work in any form and so remained for some time. In later life Beethoven remarked that he wished it had been burned, and when a would-be patron, after the premiere of the Eighth Symphony, offered him a handsome fee to compose "something in the more agreeable style of the Septet" he expressed proper outrage. Spohr, Hummel and others did continue to compose works on this model, though, and without it we might not have had the masterly Octet of Schubert's maturity (in his case, about the same age as Beethoven at the time he composed his Septet), a work whose depth and proportions might be said to have kept pace with Beethoven's own progress after this last big gesture in the "more agreeable style" of the eighteenth century. The six-movement layout here is more or less that of the classic divertimento, but, as Heinz Becker observed several decades ago, "the music seems to have left the superficial virtuosity of earlier divertimenti behind, and to have moved to the warmer region of symphonic thought." All six movements are too straightforward to require analysis, but it may be noted that the third movement, always the most popular section of the work, is an adaptation of the minuet in Beethoven's Piano Sonata in G major, Op. 49, No. 2 (a work composed much earlier than its misleading opus number might suggest), and that the theme of the splendid set of variations that constitutes the fourth movement became one of the several Beethoven melodies adapted for use as songs by other musicians.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Mosaic St John 20 Oct 2010 .mp3" length="88580759" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/mosaic_ensemble_wind_and_strings/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Wed, 20 Oct 2010 19:30:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>1:13:28</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Concert Mozart Mendelssohn Schumann Piano Trios  ]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[FOURNIER TRIO 7.30-9PM]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Fournier Trio: Chiao-Ying Chang (piano) Sulki Yu (violin) Pei-Jee Ng (cello)

	
		
			Programme:
		
			Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) Piano Trio No 5 in C major, K548
		
			Allegro ~ Andante cantabile ~ Allegro
		
			 
		
			Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) Piano Trio No 1 in D minor Op 49
		
			Molto Allegro agitato
		
			Andante con moto tranquillo
		
			Scherzo, Leggiero e vivace
		
			Finale, Allegro assai
		
			 
		
			Robert Schumann (1810-1856) Piano Trio No 1 in D minor Op 63
		
			Mit Energie und Leidenschaft
		
			Lebhaft, doch nicht zu rasch - Trio
		
			Langsam, mit inniger Empfindung - Bewegter
		
			Mit Feuer
		
			 
		
			Formed in 2009, the Fournier Trio is mentored by renowned pedagogues David Takeno and Christopher Elton and has been awarded a Leverhulme Chamber Music Fellowship at the Royal Academy of Music for 2010/11. They are Park Lane Group Young Artists, appearing in the New Year Series at the Southbank in January 2011, and have also been awarded a Purcell Room recital from the Martin Musical Scholarship Fund. In September the trio travels to Norway to participate in the Trondheim Chamber Music Academy and Festival.
		
			 
		
			
		
			 
		
			Programme Notes:
		
			 
		
			In the summer of 1788, Mozart found himself in a quandary. Although his financial fortunes continued to sink, his artistic genius blazed, having just driven him to complete the monumental 39th symphony, the E flat K. 543, and simultaneously, a piano trio, the E major, K. 542, his finest work in that form. In days, he began yet another magnificent symphony which would become the G minor, K. 550, and during its gestation, he seems to have found time to work on the C major trio. As there are differences between the two symphonies, there are differences between the two piano trios. Whereas the E major symphony and the E flat trio are complex, exuberant works, full of expression and chromatic adventure, the G minor symphony and this trio are much more constricted and smaller in scope. The trio in fact seems suspiciously to have been written for performance by amateur musicians in the hope that the composer might make a few quick florins by selling it. The first movement opens as simply as any teaching exercise and although there are some bravura passages and runs, the work is after all in C major and the difficulty is slight. A center, development section, contains accidentals and modulations but these are timid as opposed to the aggressive, even maniacal ones found in the K. 542 trio and the K. 543 symphony.
		
			 
		
			Mendelssohn completed this Piano Trio on September 23, 1839 - published it the next year and ever since it has been one of his most popular works - lively, melodic and satisfying to perform. After his initial work on the Trio Ferdinand Hiller, a pianist and friend of Mendelssohn, suggested the composer revise the piano part to make it more brilliant. It was this piece that prompted Schumann, in a review, to assert that "Mendelssohn is the Mozart of the nineteenth century, the most illuminating of musicians...." Without introduction, the cello states the song-like main theme of the first movement against a syncopated accompaniment in the piano. Later, the violin joins the cello with a distorted version of the theme. Variations of the theme fill the transition to the second subject, an arching melody on the dominant that is also introduced by the cello. Mendelssohn fragments and layers both themes in the development, which does not stray very far from D minor, the key on which the movement closes. In the recapitulation, Mendelssohn adds a violin counter-melody to support the return of the main theme. The piano introduces the second movement with the melody in the right hand and the accompaniment divided between the hands, as in a number of Mendelssohn's Songs Without Words. Below this, the bass line in the piano walks along methodically and must be carefully balanced with the accompanimental figure and the melody. After the piano states the lyrical, eight-measure theme, the violin repeats it with a counterpoint in the cello. Mendelssohn's Scherzo is concise and light. As in the Andante, the piano first states the main theme, which begins to reduce itself to fragments almost immediately. A rhythmic germ from the first theme permeates the movement, except in the more lyrical central section, the theme of which resembles material from the first movement. After its first few pages, the Finale begins to sound heavy handed, largely because of the busy piano part. All types of keyboard writing occur in the movement, from close-position chords to swirling arpeggios and chromatic octaves. The cantabile moments are refreshing, as is the shift to D major shortly before the close.
		
			 
		
			For Schumann, the year 1847 was relatively "dry" in terms of composition. He composed a few songs and two Piano Trios including this one, generally regarded as the strongest. He indulges his preference for intricate figurations and subtle harmonic inflections that are such a salient feature of his solo piano pieces. Not surprisingly, the piano chamber works are clearly piano driven, with the strings either following the keyboard part or acting in opposition to it as a unified block. The sonata-form massive first movement of this Trio is in 4/4 meter and marked, "Mit Energie und Leidenschaft" (With energy and passion). Built from a searching chromatic theme, restless and unresolved as it tumbles its way through canonic imitations, rumbling figurations and rhythmic feints. Throughout the expansive first theme, the pianist plays rapid arpeggios outlining the harmony. Schumann's most ingenious stroke in the movement is the new theme in the development section. Constrained energy marks the second movement, "Lebhaft, doch nicht zu rasch" (Lively, but not too fast) a Scherzo and Trio in F major. The strings join in unison to play a game of follow-the-leader with the piano moving up and down simple scale passages in canonic imitation. The rising melody appears again in the Trio, although here it is much slower and more relaxed, and rounds off with a descent. Marked "Langsam, mit inniger Empfindungen" (Slowly, with inner feeling), the third movement is a ternary structure (ABA) with a wandering harmonic structure. A definite center of gravity, it is intimate, lonely, vulnerable, a protracted lament gives the appearance of a violin sonata. The Finale, marked "Mit Feuer" (With fire), begins without a break after the slow movement. Schumann links the finale to the first movement through thematic reference. The music steadily builds to a glorious ending. The composite work is a definitive study in bi-polarity, perhaps a personal reflection of Schumann’s own soul.
		
			 
		
			
				Biogs: Taiwanese-British pianist Chiao-Ying Chang has distinguished herself as one of the leading pianists of her generation after winning major prizes in the Leeds, ARD Munich, Taiwan, AXA Dublin and Ettlingen International piano competitions. She studied at the Royal Academy of Music with Christopher Elton and the late Maria Curcio. As soloist she has performed with the Halle, Royal Philharmonic, National Irish Symphony, Vienna Operetta, Bayerischer Rundfunk, Regensburg Philharmonic, and San Francisco Symphony Orchestras and made her debuts at London's Wigmore Hall and Carnegie Hall in New York. International Festival appearances include the Busoni Festival in Bolzano, the Europaisches Klassik, Mosel Musikfestival International Piano Summer and the Kammermusikfest des ARD-Wettbewerbs in Schloss Elmau, Munich and Berlin in Germany. She is represented by the Young Concert Artists Trust in London.
			
				 
			
				Korean violinist Sulki Yu has currently completing a Masters Degree at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama where she graduated with First Class Honours studying under David Takeno. She is a laureate of the 2006 Yehudi Menuhin and 2007 Szigeti-Hubay International violin competitions. She has performed as soloist at the Royal Festival Hall, Barbican, UNESCO Centre in Paris, Carnegie Hall in New York, Seoul Arts Centre in Korea and with the Sung-Nam Philharmonic, Orchestre Nationale de Lille, Yalta Symphony, Budapest Symphony and Pecs Chamber Orchestras. Last season she made her debuts at both the Wigmore Hall and Purcell Room to critical acclaim and recently appeared in the Spring Chamber Music Festival in Seoul where she performed with artists including violinist Dong-Suk Kang, cellist Antonio Meneses, and clarinettist Charles Neidich.
			
				 
			
				Australian cellist Pei-Jee Ng has recently completed his studies with Ralph Kirshbaum at the Royal Northern College of Music. He was winner of both the 2001 Symphony Australia Young Performer of the Year competition and the 2008 Young Concert Artists Trust auditions in London. He recently toured the USA as soloist with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra appearing at Royce Hall, Los Angeles and Carnegie Hall, New York, made his debut at the Konzerthaus in Berlin as part of the Classic Young Stars International series and gave recitals at Wigmore Hall and the Purcell Room in London. He has appeared with the Hong Kong Philharmonic, Malaysian Philharmonic, and the Oulu, Adelaide, Queensland, Tasmanian, Melbourne, West Australian, and Sydney Symphony Orchestras and performs with the Estonian National Symphony this season.
		
		
			 ]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Fournier Trio.mp3" length="96116588" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/concert_mozart_mendelssohn_schumann_piano_trios/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Wed, 21 Jul 2010 19:30:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>1:19:43</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Mozart, Bruch & Jacob Clarinet Trios]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Jacquin Trio St Peter's 1-2PM]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Jacquin Trio (Jessica Grimes clarinet, Charis Cheung piano, Zoë Mathews violin) perform:

	W. A. Mozart                      Trio in E-flat major ‘Kegelstatt’ KV 498
	(1756-1791)                       Andante ~  Menuetto ~ Rondeaux: Allegretto

	Max Bruch                         Eight Pieces Op. 8
	(1828-1020)                       Allegro con moto ~ Rumänische Melodie ~ Allegro vivace, ma non troppo

	Gordon Jacob                    Trio (1969)
	(1895-1984)                       Adagio molto ~ Menuetto ~ Adagio molto ~ Presto assai
	
	As winners of the Douglas Whittaker Ensemble Prize, the Jacquin Trio have been performing regularly in London and in March this year they reached the semi-finals of the Royal Overseas League Competition. The trio was formed in September 2009 at the Royal College of Music where they are all now in their second postgraduate year. The Jacquin Trio were invited to perform Schumann's Märchenerzählungen at the Schumann Festival at the RCM in April. Future engagements include recitals for Chester and Cambridge Music Societies.

	As a scholar of the RCM, Irish clarinettist Jessica Grimes studies with Timothy Lines and Richard Hosford. Pianist Charis Cheung was a finalist of the Canadian Music Competition and during the course of her studies she has been taught by Ruth Nye, Jane Coop and Robert Silverman. Violinist Zoë Matthews currently studies with Simon Rowland-Jones and Rachel Roberts.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Jacquin_Trio_StPeters_4Oct10.mp3" length="55486222" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/mozart_bruch_and_jacob_clarinet_trios/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Mon, 4 Oct 2010 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>46:01</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Ravel & Genzmer harp, flute & viola trios]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Pelleas Trio St John's 1-2PM]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Pelléas Trio: Jose Zalba Smith flute, Christopher Beckett viola, Lucy Haslar harp perform:

	 

	Harald Genzmer:       Trio for Flute, Viola &amp; Harp

	                                   Fantasia ~ Scherzo ~ Notturno ~ Thema mit Variationen über ein altes Volkslied

	 

	Rhian Samuel             Through Windows and the Balustrades Beyond

	 

	Maurice Ravel            Sonatine en Trio

	                                   Modéré ~ Movement de Menuet ~ Animé

	 

	Pelléas Trio: was founded in 2009, the three members share a strong passion for chamber music and exploring the music of lesser known composers.

	Jose Zalba Smith (flute) from Havana, Cuba; studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London with Philippa Davies as his teacher. He enjoyed successful orchestral training with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Southbank Sinfonia and regularly performs with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. Jose is a passionate musician.

	 

	Christopher Beckett (viola) studied at the Royal Northern College of Music with Roger Bigley (formerly of the the Lindsay Quartet) and Thomas Riebl. Since graduating in 2007 he has had a busy freelance career, working with orchestras such as Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Northern Chamber Orchestra, Northern Ballet Orchestra and Sinfonia Viva. In 2009 Christopher moved to London to join Southbank Sinfonia, Britain's leading orchestral academy. Recent performances have included chamber music recitals at the Wigmore Hall and the Royal Opera House's Crush Room.

	 

	Lucy Haslar (harp) graduated from the prestigious Eastman School of Music, New York with a Masters degree in Performance and Literature. Here she was awarded the Eileen Malone Scholarship, Eastman School of Music Performer’s Certificate and the Robert Barlow Award for Excellence in Harp Performance. Since her return to the UK Lucy has embarked upon an exciting and busy career as a soloist and orchestral musician. She has performed with various orchestras around the country including the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the BBC Symphony Orchestra.  As a soloist she has performed the Badings Concerto for Harp and Wind Orchestra and Saint-Saens’ Morceau de Concert.  In 2009 she was awarded a place on the Live Music Now! Scheme and she regularly performs as a guest soloist on the Fred Olsen Cruise Lines.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Pelleas_Trio_StJohn _7Sept10.mp3" length="57056701" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/ravel_and_genzmer_harp_flute_and_viola_trios/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Thu, 7 Oct 2010 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>47:19</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Music for the London Stage]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[SPIRITATO! BAROQUE ENSEMBLE ST JOHN'S 7.30-9PM TICKETS £10 £8 CONC. £5 UNDER 16S]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Music for the London Stage - Spiritato!: Kinga Ujszászi, Alexis Brett (Violin) Joanne Miller (Viola) Alice Manthorpe Saunders (Cello) Nicolás Mendoza (Harpsichord) William Russell (Trumpet) and Oliver-John Ruthven (Tenor)

	 

	H Purcell: Suite from The Fairy Queen

	First Music – Prelude

	Hornpipe

	Second Music – Aire

	Rondeau

	See, even night herself is hereâ¨
	Dance for the followers of the nightâ¨
	When I have often

	 

	G Finger: Sonata for Trumpet and Violin

	Andante : Adagio : Allegro : Grave – Allegro 

	 

	M Locke: Music for The Tempest

	First Musick : Galliard : Gavot

	Second Musick (Saraband) : Lilk : Curtain Tune

	First Act Tune (Rustick Air) : Second Act Tune (Minoit)

	Third Act Tune (Corant) : Fourth Act Tune (Martial Jigge)

	The Conclusion (A Canon, 4 in 2)

	 

	G Finger: Music for The Humors of the Age

	Overture

	Aire : Round O Sebell (Rondeau Cybell) : Trumpet Aire

	Minuett : Aire : Aire : Jigg

	 

	H Purcell: Suite from The Fairy Queen

	Symphony while the swans come forward
	â¨If love's a sweet passion â¨Dance for the fairies
	â¨See my many colour'd fieldsâ¨
	First Act Tune (Jig)
	â¨Act 5 Prelude and Epithalamiumâ¨
	Act 5 Entry Danceâ¨
	Thus the ever grateful springâ¨
	Here's the summerâ¨
	Chaconne

	

	 
	 

	Drama, both on and off the stage...

	 

	With the restoration of King Charles II in 1660, music once again flourished in Courts and churches across the country. The many companies of actors, such as those established at The Red Bull and The Cockpit theatres, also hoped to see a return to the theatre system existent prior to the Civil War, allowing many companies to compete for the attention of the audience. Having ascended to the throne in March, the new King issued warrants in August for the creation of two theatre companies, under the management of Sir Thomas Killigrew and Sir William Davenant. However, these were the only warrants to be issued by Charles, who wished to prevent 'much matter of profanation and scurrility' in his new playhouses. This limit on the number of acting companies created a monopoly that would be a source of intense rivalry and controversy well into the 18th Century. Of the two new companies, The King’s Company, based at the Theatre Royal, Bridge Street, and managed by Sir Thomas Killigrew, contained the most experienced and well-known pre-war actors. The troupe led by Sir William Davenant became known as the Duke’s Company, basing itself at the newly constructed Lisle’s Tennis Court theatre at Lincoln’s Inn Fields. Whilst the King’s Company may have contained the better actors, it was Davenant’s revolutionary new theatre that wowed audiences in the early 1660’s. The building was the first theatre to feature mechanically operated, movable scenery and used a far larger stage than Elizabethan or Jacobean audiences had ever seen. Candle-lit theatres, made of wood and covered in fabric and straw, were especially prone to the risk of fire. In 1672 the Theatre Royal, owned by the King’s Company burnt to the ground and the players were forced to relocate to Lisle’s Tennis Court until a new venue, the Drury Lane Theatre could be built. By this time the Duke’s players, under the management of Davenant’s son, had already moved into the Dorset Garden Theatre, designed by Sir Christopher Wren. Sir Thomas Killigrew, despite having been appointed Master of Revels by the king, was known to have been a disastrous manager. In 1676, a bitter dispute broke out over ownership of the Company, which he had promised to his son Charles but whose profits were seized by his many creditors. Unable to settle the dispute and with the actors wages increasingly in arrears, the company dissolved in 1682, Killigrew dying just a year later. Fortunately for Killigrew’s actors, the disbanded company was able to join forces with the Duke’s Company forming the United Company under the direction of the famous actor Thomas Betterton. This new company, reducing the theatrical monopoly still further, was very successful and would remain the sole troupe of players in London until 1692. By 1693 the popular Betterton had been removed as manager by Davenant’s son, Alexander. The company was heavily in debt, and it was not long before Alexander Davenant had fled the country, charged with embezzlement. The company continued to operate but Betterton was finally forced out as wages were once again cut to save money. With William III now on the throne, Thomas Betterton was able to obtain a licence to create a new troupe, whose company neatly avoided the danger of incompetent managers by becoming self-governing. Once more, London could boast two competing theatre companies. 

	 

	Godfrey Finger (c.1660-1730)

	 

	Born in Olmütz, in what is now the Czech Republic, Godfrey Finger moved to England in 1685. During his early musical education he became familiar with the works of Biber and Schmelzer, who had both composed for the trumpet. Before travelling to England, Finger would most likely have heard the playing of Pavel Josef Vejvanovsky, himself a successful composer and trumpeter. Undoubtedly influenced by the music and playing style of these figures, Finger’s trumpet writing mixes both English and ‘Germanic’ idiomatic writing. The Sonata for Trumpet, Violin and Continuo, as with all his compositions for the trumpet, was written early in his career. The setting of the trumpet itself within a small ensemble is extremely unusual for the period, when the instrument is more often found playing with a much larger string accompaniment. Finger became an accomplished and well established composer for the English theatre. The music composed for Thomas Baker’s comedy The Humors of the Age is far more accomplished in style and harmony than the earlier sonata. The original production, given at the Drury Lane theatre in 1701, was extremely successful and featured additional songs by Daniel Purcell, the younger brother of Henry Purcell, with whom Finger collaborated regularly.

	 

	Henry Purcell (1659-1695)

	 

	Hailed by his contemporaries as the most uniquely gifted composer of his day, little is known of Henry Purcell outside of his musical life. Born in Southern England, the son of a musician, Purcell was accepted to the Choir of the Chapel Royal at an early age, remaining on the payroll for the rest of his life. As a result of political change, an influx of highly virtuosic French musicians and newly developed woodwind instruments from the continent, Purcell was able to pioneer a brand new concept – the Baroque Orchestra. Purcell championed this type of group throughout his life, and dominated the London opera scene with four highly successful works; Dioclesian, King Arthur, The Fairy-Queen and The Indian Queen, with over forty further works for the theatre. In addition, the popularity of his works created great demand for his music and he also composed for the church and domestic markets. He remained unchallenged as England’s finest orchestral composer right up until his death which, mourned across the country, led the Biographer and amateur musician Roger North to comment; ‘a greater musicall genius England never had.’

	 

	Matthew Locke (1622-1677)

	 

	In the face of ever increasing foreign influence during the period, Matthew Locke can be regarded as a ‘standard-bearer’ for English musical style. Born in the West-country, Locke was already an established composer when King Charles II returned from exile in 1660. A close friend of Purcell, he is often noted as being a particularly difficult man to get along with and ‘possessed of a vindictive nature’ that frequently led him into trouble. Locke provided the music for the coronation of King Charles II and a year later became Organist to the Queen and Composer in Ordinary to the King, a position in which Purcell succeeded him. At a time when the King’s and Duke’s Companies were constantly trying to out-do each other, Locke was instrumental in the development of the Dramatick Opera. This new form of theatre, featuring elaborate changes of scenery, dancers, trapdoors and other theatrical spectacles, revolutionised the genre, and although heavily cristicised by purists, was adored by the public. Published in 1675, and in the same collection as his opera Psyche, was a series of instrumental movements to accompany Shakespeare’s The Tempest. The opening Curtain Tune was designed on an extended basis of a long crescendo and acceleration followed by a long diminution and rallentando.  In the inner dance movements Locke creates tension, combining the conventions of dance with radical harmonies. The Conclusion, a canon, 4 in 2, splits the musicians into two opposing groups, each theme skilfully intertwined with the other.  

	 

	Spiritato! gathers together many of London's finest young baroque musicians to give dynamic performances of some of the most moving and beautiful music ever written. Founded in 2008, the group has sought to challenge audiences, both old and new, with innovative programmes featuring lesser known composers alongside more established names. Working primarily as a small scale chamber group, the ensemble can be extended to perform larger works and is equally at home playing both intimate chamber recitals and rousing large scale concerts.

	 

	Programme notes by William Russell ©2010

	 ]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Spiritato_StJohn_7Oct2010.mp3" length="91318906" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/music_for_the_london_stage/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Thu, 7 Oct 2010 19:30:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>1:15:44</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Violin piano sonatas: Tartini & Grieg]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[ Roxana Rumney (violin) Dominic John (piano) st john's 1-2pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[ 

	Roxana Rumney (violin) Dominic John (piano) play:

	 

	Giuseppe Tartini "Devil's Trill " Sonata in G minor

	Larghetto affetuoso, Tempo giusto della Scuola Tartinista, Andante

	 

	Edvard Grieg Sonata No. 3 in C minor, op 45

	Allegro molto ed appassionato, Allegretto espressivo alla Romanza, Allegro animato

	 

	Pablo de Sarasate Caprice Basque op 24

	Moderato. Allegro Moderato

	 

	As a child Roxana Rumney performed in concert tours all over Europe with the London Suzuki Group, then in its infancy. She attended Pimlico School as a member of the specialist music department, and took lessons with Bela Katona and with his wife Eszter Boda, at Trinity College of Music. She took summer schools in Israel directed by Itzhak Rashkovsky, and studied under him in London. After Trinity, she did a postgraduate course at the Guildhall designed to broaden the outlook of the music graduate while giving something back to the community. The Guildhall Ensemble presented new compositions, performed theatre pieces and ran projects in schools. After the course, Roxana organised her own series of concerts in hospitals and care homes for the elderly. Her professional career has been a combination of teaching and performing, having played with various chamber groups and orchestras, including the Scottish BBC Symphony. On becoming a mother and instantly knowing she would want her children to be Suzuki students, she herself trained as a Suzuki teacher and now has her own teaching practice. In the last few years she has rededicated herself to the violin giving regular performances, most recently at the Royal Naval College in Greenwich. Roxana’s violin is 18th Century Genovese. Dominic John studied at the Junior Royal Academy of Music under Patsy Toh. He continued his studies at the Royal College of Music with John Barstow and Andrew Ball, where he held the RCM Society Junior Fellowship from 2004-2006. A versatile musician, Dominic is an active soloist, member of various chamber ensembles and accompanist to a wide variety of singers and instrumentalists. Performances in this country include the Wigmore Hall and the Barbican Hall. He has won several prizes including First Prize in the 22nd Brant International Piano Competition, the prestigious Chappell Gold Medal of the RCM, a Director's Golden Jubilee Award at the RCM, 2004 British Music Society Awards, 2004 Eastbourne Symphony Orchestra Young Soloist Competition and 4th Prize in the 2005 Corpus Christi, U.S.A. International Competition for Piano and Strings. He has given Concerto performances of the Beethoven "Emperor", Grieg, Liszt No.1, Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue, Rachmaninov 3rd and Prokofiev 2nd. Of particular note was a performance with Itzhak Perlman at an evening soirée and performances of  Tchaikovsky Concerto and Saint-Saens "Carnival of the Animals" with the Osaka Philharmonic in Symphony Hall, Osaka. Dominic is a staff accompanist at the Junior Department, Royal Academy of Music.

	 

	After two years as conductor and music director of Bergen’s Harmonien Music Society, Edvard Grieg retired from that post in 1882 to devote himself fully to composition and touring, and to preserving his always frail health. In 1886, Grieg was inspired by a visit of the Italian violinist Teresina Tua to Troldhaugen, his home near Bergen. Though not yet twenty, Teresina had already established her reputation with a brilliantly successful European tour and an acclaimed appearance at London’s Crystal Palace; when she stopped in Norway to see Grieg, she was on her way to tour America. Teresina withdrew from the concert stage following her marriage in 1889, but she again started performing in 1895; some of her most successful appearances thereafter were with Rachmaninoff in Russia. She was widowed in 1911, remarried two years later, and taught for a while in Milan and Rome, but she ultimately abandoned both the world and her career, and lived out her last days in a convent in Rome, where she died in 1955. Grieg was charmed by this attractive young virtuoso – “the little fiddle-fairy on my troll-hill,” he called her – and said that it would be entirely due to her if he were “again to perpetrate something for the violin.” Teresina’s impression must have been strong on the 43-year-old composer, because immediately after her departure, Grieg began his Violin Sonata No. 3 in C minor, his first venture in that genre in twenty years. The piece was completed early the next year, and premiered at the Leipzig Gewandhaus on December 10, 1887 by Grieg and the celebrated Russian violinist Adolf Brodsky. The Sonata found favor at its first performance, and it has remained one of Grieg’s most popular chamber compositions.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Rumney_John_14_Oct_2010.mp3" length="58460522" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/violin_piano_sonatas_tartini_and_grieg/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Thu, 14 Oct 2010 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>48:29</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[American Piano Classics]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Jane Beament (piano) st peter's 1-2pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Jane Beament (piano) plays:

	Aaron Copland (1900-1990)
	Sentimental Melody 
	Three Moods embittered ~ wistful ~ jazzy

	Four Piano Blues Freely poetic ~  Soft and Languid ~ Muted and Sensuous ~ With Bounce 

	Philip Glass (1937-) Wichita Vortex Sutra

	 

	John Cage (1912-1992) In a Landscape    

	 

	George Gershwin (1898–1937) 

	But not for me (arr. Finnissy)

	They can't take that away from me (arr. Finnissy)

	The man I love

	(encore) Do It Again

	 

	Jane Beament has an international reputation as a contemporary music specialist. She has given more than fifty premieres and has had many works written for her. Whilst living in Philadelphia, she gave the US premiere of Spectrum, gave several performances on WFLN Radio and was director of the Quintet:Essentials concert series. She also appeared at the Tampa Bay Composers’ Forum. Jane has appeared at the Istanbul Film Festival and was a guest performer in the American Adventures Festival promoted by the Amsterdam Concertgebouw. In London Jane has performed at the Wigmore Hall, Blackheath Concert Halls and St Martin’s in the Field. She has featured as concerto soloist with the Dartford Symphony Orchestra and the Blackheath String Orchestra. Most recently she appeared at the Tete-a-tete opera festival and made a live appearance on Radio 3’s In Tune programme. She has recorded the piano sonatas of David Osbon on the Music Chamber label, CDs available here for £10 each.

	 

	Notes on Copland’s Four Piano Blues: For a collection of pieces so short, these four choice morsels had a rather lengthy gestation: 22 years. It wasn't that Copland agonized over them, he merely wrote them at different times during his career and then assembled them into a collection in 1949, the year they were published. Lasting under 10 minutes, they impart a genuine bluesy character, showing the influence of Gershwin, Debussy, and Ravel, and for all their lightness of expression, they are fairly sober, somewhat Impressionistic pieces. Each carries a dedication and subtitle. The first piece is "For Leo Smit" (1947). Smit, not to be confused with the Dutch composer Leo Smit, was an American composer, pianist, and photographer, well known as a champion of Copland's music. He recorded the Piano Blues (4) and other Copland piano music in 1978 for CBS, in performances now available on Sony Classical. The first is subtitled "Freely poetic." The music mixes the bluesy sounds of Gershwin with a drier Debussyian character, the whole free-spirited, yet reflective in its slow tempos and dreaminess. The second piece is "For Andor Foldes" (1934). Foldes was a prominent Hungarian-born American pianist, closely associated with Bartók and his music, but also a friend of Copland. Subtitled "Soft and Languid," the music here certainly lives up to its label; that said, it is marginally livelier than its predecessor. It is also playful, especially in a few mild bursts of energy in the middle section. William Kapell is the dedicatee in the third piece, which is subtitled "Muted and Sensuous" (1948). As many are aware, Kapell was a brilliant virtuoso pianist, probably destined for a Horowitzian career had his life not been cut short in a plane crash in 1953, when he was a mere 31 years old. As the description suggests, the music is, once more, subdued and restrained, though the big chords at the outset impart an almost epic character to the mood, giving weight to much of the music. Debussy comes to mind throughout, though in a somewhat bluesy mist. The final piece, "For John Kirkpatrick" (1926), is subtitled "With Bounce." The music begins with a lively, rowdy main theme, which then yields to a dreamy, bluesy alternate theme. The material is heard again and then quietly ends. The dedicatee here, American pianist John Kirkpatrick (1905-1991), was strongly associated with the music of Charles Ives, but was also an acquaintance of Copland.

	 

	It was by chance that pop-minimalist icon Philip Glass and counterculture guru Allen Ginsberg met at St. Mark's bookshop in New York in 1988. Glass had just been asked to perform at a benefit for the Vietnam Veteran Theater, and asked Ginsberg to join him. At the performance, Ginsberg read his poem Wichita Vortex Sutra to music composed by Glass. The score, while clearly the product of Glass' minimalist musical language, incorporates what is for the composer a less characteristic element of chromatic inflection; this ironically nostalgic effect serves as an effective counterpoint Ginsberg's evocative commentary on postwar America. The Glass/Ginsberg collaboration on Wichita Vortex Sutra proved fruitful; the work served as the germ for their later, much acclaimed multimedia effort, Hydrogen Jukebox.

	 

	Fresh from achieving notoriety with his invention of the prepared piano (meaning one attached various dampers, mutes, and noisy things to the strings inside the piano to transform it from a harmonic instrument into a box of percussion sounds), Cage wrote In a Landscape for the dancer Louise Lippold in 1948. It is a companion piece to Dream, written the same year for Merce Cunningham, and uses the same compositional technique. Namely, it is limited to only a certain number of tones and depends on the use of sustained notes to make its effect. In comparison with the earlier work, though, it uses more different notes and therefore has a more expansive feeling.  Cage wrote the piece to the rhythmic structure of the dance piece as conceived first by Lippold, who gave him the counts of the dance. He credits the lack of organization that was the usual state of these lists of counts with leading him to his ideas of "structural rhythm." The tonal oddity of this piece is that all the notes are contained in two octaves. One of the two uses a mode based on B flat, while the other octave has only notes of a mode in the key of G. Shifts from one octave to another create a bitonal effect that creates a momentary impression of being out of tune, which gives In a Landscape a uniquely haunting quality.

	 

	"But Not for Me” was written for the musical Girl Crazy (1930) and introduced in the original production by Ginger Rogers. "They Can't Take That Away from Me" is a 1937 song introduced by Fred Astaire in the 1937 film Shall We Dance. The arranger of these pieces Michael Finnissy has taught many of the new generation of British composers at the Royal Academy of Music, the University of Sussex, and more recently as Professor of composition at the University of Southampton. He served as president of the International Society for Contemporary Music from 1990 until 1996.

	 

	"The Man I Love" was part of the 1927 score for the Gershwin anti-war satire Strike Up the Band, the song was deleted from the show as well as from the 1928 hit Rosalie after tryouts. Popular torch singer Helen Morgan first made the song into a big success. “Stairway to Paradise” and “I got rhythm” both feature in Gershwin’s 1928 symphonic composition (and later 1951 film) An American in Paris. ]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Jane US edit.mp3" length="52443428" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/american_piano_classics/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Mon, 18 Oct 2010 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>43:30</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Haydn F minor Quartet Op 20/5 & Debussy Quartet in G minor Op 10]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Callino Quartet st john's 1-2pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[ 

	Callino Quartet: Sarah Sexton Héloïse Geoghegan violins Sarah McMahon cello Rebecca Jones viola

	 

	(Franz) Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) String Quartet in F minor Op 20 No 5

	
		Allegro moderato
	
		 
	
		Minuetto
	
		Adagio
	
		Finale: Fuga a due Soggetti


	 

	Claude Debussy (1862-1918) String Quartet, L. 85 (Op. 10)

	Animé et très decidé

	Assez vif et bien rythmé

	Andantino, doucement espressif

	Très modéré - Très mouvemente

	 

	The Callino Quartet formed at the West Cork Chamber Music Festival in 1999. They have performed and collaborated with many interesting and diverse musicians including the Vogler and Belcea string quartets, the Bell Orchestre and jazz guitarist John Abercrombie. They have also worked with composers including Edgar Meyer, Peteris Vasks, and Kimmo Hakola. The quartet’s first CD of works by Ian Wilson on the Riverrun label was followed by a Louth Contemporary Music Society recording of music by Arvo Pärt and John Tavener. They have recently recorded Ben Dwyer’s guitar quintet with the composer, which will be released later this year. The quartet celebrated their tenth anniversary year in 2009 with numerous international performances including Prague and The Bordeaux festival. Since 2006 they have held their own chamber music festival at Easter in Bantry House, County Cork. In July 2009 they returned to the West Cork Chamber Music Festival where they were a resident quartet. Their name comes from the air ” Cailin cois tSuir a me” which means Girl by the River Suir. This song was the first Irish air to be notated in the late 16th century and became known as the Callino manuscript.

	 

	The six string quartets opus 20 by Joseph Haydn are among the works that earned Haydn the sobriquet "the father of the string quartet." The quartets are considered a milestone in the history of composition; in them, Haydn develops compositional techniques that were to define the medium for the next 200 years. The quartets, written in 1772, were composed at a time of tensions in Haydn's life, and also at a time when Haydn was influenced by new philosophical and political ideas that were sweeping Europe.This is the most emotionally intense of the opus 20 quartets. In the opening phrase, the violin sets the tone with a haunting melody. "Haydn, we might imagine, set out to test the limits of what the minor mode could express in this newly serious instrumental combination," writes Roger Parker. The finale is a fugue with two subjects. The main subject is a standard fugal motif, used frequently in the Baroque (it appears, among other places, in Handel's Messiah). While constructing a fugue in the strict, learned style, Haydn imbues the movement with an intense dramatic structure.

	 

	Debussy began work on the composition of his only string quartet in 1892 by August the following year he wrote to a colleague "I think I can finally show you the last movement of the quartet, which has made me really miserable!" It is a work preoccupied with timbre and sonority – offering a compendium of string-playing techniques and now considered a seminal impressionist work (along with Ravel’s quartet). Its fascinating and readily palpable thematic concentration seems all the more remarkable when one realizes that the very first theme of the opening movement  comes to furnish almost all of the diverse thematic components for the entire work. Another ingenious feature is that the quartet is less dominated by melodic or harmonic considerations than by a rhythmic flexibility which carries the potential for seemingly endless variety. In this respect, Debussy's quartet seems to strongly prefigure those by Bartók. Yet it remains unmistakably a work dominated by the sensuality and longueurs of French late nineteenth century Romanticism, a strong feature of the slow third movement. The work is also strongly predictive of the disjunctive and highly polarized new musical language that would assert itself in the two decades following its completion. The 3rd movement (a Scherzo) for example, makes use of the disruptive sonic confrontations that can occur when rapidly alternating pizzicato and bowed passages produce what one commentator has described as "a confusion that forces the listener to concentrate on the textures, rather than the linear form of the music." These apparently disparate elements are then welded together in a finale of striking economy of means, and only at the close does it become really clear that the opening gestures of the work have actually altered themselves and coalesced to produce an organic unity of some 25 minutes' duration.  The work was to be dedicated to Ernest Chausson, whose personal reservations eventually diverted the composer's original intentions. Debussy sold his score for a mere 250 francs to the publishers Durand &amp; Cie, who, as he later recalled, "were cynical enough about it to freely admit that what they were paying me didn't cover all the labor this 'work' has entailed." Not surprisingly, the quartet was widely misunderstood at its premiere, given by the Ysayë Quartet on December 29, 1893. At the time, the composer Guy Ropartz was the lone voice in a wilderness of critical lack of interest; he described the quartet as a work "dominated by the influence of young Russia (interestingly, Debussy's patroness in the early 1880s had been Nadezhda von Meck, better known for her support of Tchaikovsky); there are poetic themes, rare sonorities, the first two movements being particularly remarkable.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Callino_Qt_St_John_21Oct2010.mp3" length="56231236" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/haydn_f_minor_quartet_op_20_5_and_debussy_quartet_in_g_minor_op_10/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Thu, 21 Oct 2010 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>46:38</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Martinu, Hindemith & Poulenc wind & string recital]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Blaze Ensemble St Peter's 1-2pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Blaze Ensemble featuring conductor George Vass and pianist Chris Hopkins perform:

	
		Hindemith: Septet for winds
	
		Martinu: Nonet for wind and strings
	
		Poulenc: Aubade for solo piano and 18 instruments


	

	Blaze Ensemble was established in 1997 and aims to give high quality chamber music concerts featuring a diverse range of works: from the baroque to the contemporary, from trios to large ensemble works, from popular mainstream repertoire through to the less familiar. The name derives from the group's association with the music production company, Blaze Music.

	Paul Hindemith: Septet for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Bassoon, Horn and Trumpet

	I.  Lebhaft (Lively)

	II. Intermezzo. Sehr langsam, frei (Very slowly, free)

	III. Variationen. Mäßig schnell (Moderately quick)

	IV. Intermezzo. Sehr langsam (Very slowly)

	V. Fuge. Schnell (Fugue: Fast)

	 

	Hindemith began composing the work while visiting Sicily in November 1948 and it was premiered in Milan at the year’s end. A melodic basis for the piece is 'Alter Berner Marsch', an old song from Bern, Switzerland. The first movement is in sonata form. The two intermezzos are exact retrogrades of each other. The theme for the variation movement begins in the trumpet and then is passed to the flute. The meter begins in 3/4 then evolves into 9/8. After returning to 3/4 the opening theme is heard in the bassoon. The fugue begins with clarinet and trumpet playing the opening of the "Alter Berner Marsch." The trumpet is notated in cut-time while the rest of the ensemble is in 12/8. Hindemith uses the form in a similar fashion to the last movement of his Symphony in Bb.

	 

	Bohuslav Martinu: Nonet for wind quintet, violin, viola, cello &amp; double bass, H. 374

	Poco allegro ~ Andante ~ Allegretto

	 

	Martinu came to America in 1941 to escape the Nazi occupation of Paris, and though he longed for his homeland, he and his music were enthusiastically received. Martinu became an US citizen in 1952, and spent his remaining years living intermittently in Prague, New York and Switzerland where he died on August 28, 1959. He was prolific, composing music in all forms. The Nonet was composed in 1959, and premiered at the Salzburg Festival by the Czech Nonet to whom it was dedicated, a month before the composer's death. The Nonet was inspired by the music and musicians of the Czech countryside, particularly Bohemia and Moravia. Its other influence was the music of Haydn which Martinu studied and grew to love during his stay in America. Despite being composed so near the time of his death, the Nonet is optimistic, life-affirming music.

	 

	Francis Poulenc: Aubade for solo piano and 18 instruments

	 

	During the Middle Ages, Aubades were common repertoire of troubadours. They were songs or poems concerning daybreak, particularly the separation of lovers at dawn. Poulenc’s 'choreographic poem', written in 10 short sections, describes the dawn of adulthood in the life of an adolescent: with severe requests and solitude, coupled with the grief of bidding farewell to childhood and its gaiety. Aubade expresses the anguish felt by Diana, the goddess of chastity, as she awakens from childhood to the passions of love from which, as 'the huntress chaste and fair', fate has banned her. The gravity of the piece begins as the brass sound the opening chant. Though Diana has not yet appeared, the piano expresses the frenzied despair felt by this beautiful young woman. When the distraught Diana does enter, her young attendants are engaged in a light and graceful dance; at sunrise, the tempo increases as they prepare her toilet. Diana begins a dance-aria, dreaming of love fulfilled, and weeping at her plight. (The Mozartian flavor is, indeed, material borrowed directly from one of Mozart’s divertimenti.) As Diana bids farewell to her youth and childhood friends, she turns to the forest - and the hunt - to subdue the torments of love. She disappears into her solitude with a final wave of the hand - just as the sun appears. “Brusquement le soleil parait dans tout son éclat. C’est le jour.” (Suddenly the sun appears in all its brilliance. It’s [a new] day!) The anguish and solitary condition of Diana in his Aubade, must have drawn from personal experience; for he was furious when choreographer Balanchine, for the public premiere, added a male dancer opposite Diana, thus negating her solitude. Poulenc was primarily influenced by Ricardo Viñes, a Catalan pianist, and Erik Satie. His early music is characterized by wit, irreverence, clarity, and melodic strains. At age 18, Poulenc, encouraged by Viñes, composed Rapsodie nègre (1917), for which he received this scalding rejection by the director of the Paris Conservatoire: 'Your music stinks, it is nothing by a load of balls!...Ah, I see you have joined the gang of Stravinsky, Satie, &amp; Co. Well, then, I’ll say goodbye!' Despite this rejection, Poulenc became one of 'Les Six', (The French Six, a designation inspired by 'The Russian Five'). These musicians (Auric, Durey, Honegger, Milhaud, Poulenc, and Tailleferre), though composing in disparate styles, bucked the existing musical establishment, reacting to Wagnerianism (large-scale, gargantuan works, perceived as excess) and Impressionism (suggestive music, rather than programmatic or strongly emotive). Poulenc composed the finest choral work of the six, and is noted for his straightforward phrases and melodic inventions. He successfully composed major works in all genres: piano and choral works, operas and ballets, film scores, chamber and orchestral works. Later in life, as he experienced renewed faith, he composed sacred works. The following movement-by-movement description of the action is based on the composer’s own scenario, printed in the piano score: 

	 

	1. TOCCATA. A frisky prelude (for the piano alone, following a brief fanfare. A clearing at dawn. The set is in the style of the Fontainebleau school. 

	2. RECITATIVE: DIANA’S COMPANIONS awaken one by one, troubled by grim forebodings.

	3. RONDEAU. DIANA AND HER COMPANIONS. Diana enters, dissheveled, visibly distressed by a love in conflict with her eternal chastity. 

	4. PRESTO: DIANA DRESSING. Her companions undertake to dress her, and she complies half-heartedly. 

	5. RECITATIVE: INTRODUCTION TO DIANA’S VARIATION. The companions give Diana a bow, which she clasps to her heart. 

	6. ANDANTE: DIANA’S VARIATION. A solo dance of 'at once pathetic and resigned' 

	7. ALLEGRO FEROCE: DIANA’S DESPAIR. Diana throws away her bow, dashes into the forest, and returns in despair. 

	8. CONCLUSION: DIANA’S FAREWELL AND DEPARTURE. Her companions attempt to comfort her, but she begs them to leave her, and then again flees into the woods, to lose herself in the excitement of the hunt. Her dismayed companions stare after her but see only her hand, waving a final adieu. Exhausted, they sink to the ground and fall asleep, as another dawn arrives.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Blaze_Ensemble_St_Peters_25Oct2010.mp3" length="65270643" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/martinu_hindemith_and_poulenc_wind_and_string_recital/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Mon, 25 Oct 2010 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>54:08</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Haydn 'Sunrise' & Beethoven 'Rasumovsky' No 2 quartets]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Galitzin Quartet at st peter's 1-2pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Galitzin Quartet: Pedro Meireles &amp; Owen Cox violins, Thomas Kirby viola, Ken Ichinose cello play:

	JF Haydn (1732-1809)          String Quartet No 63 in B-Flat Major Op 76/4 “Sunrise”                                                                                                      Allegro con spirito ~ Adagio ~ Menuet. Allegro &amp; Trio ~ Finale. Allegro ma non troppo

	 

	Lv Beethoven (1770-1827)    String Quartet No. 8 in E minor Op 59/2  "Rasumovsky No. 2" 

	                                               Allegro ~ Molto adagio ~ Allegretto ~ Finale. Presto

	 

	First Prize Winners of the 22nd Charles Hennen International Chamber Music Competition in Holland, 2007, the Galitzin Quartet was formed in 2003 at the Royal Academy of Music in London.  After playing together for two months they won the ‘Sir Edward Cooper Prize’ at the which led to a public masterclass at the Wigmore Hall, London. They have since won the Czech-London International Music Competition, receiving the Marjorie Bunty Lempfert award for chamber music, reaching the final of the Royal Overseas League Competition and winning the ‘Sir Arthur Bliss Prize’ for their performance of Bliss’ Clarinet Quintet. They held the Leverhulme Chamber Music Fellowship at the Royal Academy of Music in 2006/07. The quartet received a scholarship to attend the International Musicians Seminar at Prussia Cove, the Britten-Pears International String Quartet Academy in Aldeburgh and Zeist Music Days in Holland and has been fortunate to receive tuition from members of some of the world’s leading quartets including the Alban Berg, Amadeus, Belcea, Debussy, Endellion, Jerusalem, Mosaïques, Vermeer and Ysaÿe Quartets. In 2005 The quartet was commissioned by the contemporary English composer, Professor John Ramsay, to record three of his string quartets and he dedicated the 3rd to them. The Quartet has regular tours in Germany, often visiting all the major cities of North-Rhine Westphalia and Euregio regions and performing several concerts in connection with the KlangKulTour and the Euriade Cultural Festival. The Quartet is named after Prince Nicholas Galitzin of Saint Petersburg, the dedicatee of three of Beethoven's late Quartets: Op.127, 130 and 132.

	Haydn’s quartet is well named, with the violin emerging from the ensemble exactly as the sun rises. This figure alternates with another more bustling theme. Each time the one participates more in the qualities of the other. The adagio unfolds with a dependence on the cello that shapes and directs. There is even a short canonic passage for violin and cello. The minuet is almost a country-dance and its trio suggests a bagpipe. The finale encompasses great variety within a very short time. The melody is sedately gay set off with contrasing passages in which the violin ventures into a near-harmonic range. The music becomes more strongly inflected, there is a brief fugue and a bravura finish at breakneck speed.

	Although only six years had passed since the publication of the Opus 18 quartets, Beethoven's style changes immensely for the Op 59 set. Composed in the wake of the "Eroica" Symphony, and the vastness of the individual movements; the symphonic, orchestral character of the string writing; and the stretched formal boundaries led some critics to dub the first of the set an "Eroica" for string quartet. The 3 Rasumovsky quartets were dedicated to the Russian Ambassador in Vienna, Count Andreas Kirillovich Rasumovsky, who had commissioned them. The Ambassador was one of Beethoven's principal supporters until a fire destroyed much of his wealth. Beethoven completed them in 1806, but because Rasumovsky had exclusive rights to the pieces for a year, their publication was delayed until January 1808. Beethoven planned to use Russian folk themes in each of the three quartets, but did so only in the finale of the first and the slow movement of the second. Two widely spaced chords introduce a very tight and nervous atmosphere, with the theme traditionally repeated in a development section. The prominence of the Neapolitan, both the pitch F natural and the harmony of F major, creates a palpable pathos. The large coda takes a path as harmonically adventurous as the development section. Carl Czerny, a former student of Beethoven, noted that the composer was inspired to write the slow movement in E major, while contemplating a starry sky. The chorale-like opening of the movement looks forward to the Heiliger Dankgesang, Op 132. The recapitulation of the hymn-like theme features an active cello line and a second violin part that sails above the first violin's melody. As in the first movement, the E minor scherzo emphasizes the Neapolitan F major. The Russian theme appears in the E major Trio, where it is given extensive contrapuntal treatment, appearing first in the viola, followed by the second violin, cello, and lastly, first violin. The fast finale again flirts with F major, it is generally light and jovial, featuring a carefree main theme, rather atypical of the composer's style at this time. The second subject leads to a development section, after which the themes reappear to suggest a Rondo.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Galitzin_Quartet_StPeter_8Nov2010.mp3" length="71942327" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/haydn_sunrise_and_beethoven_rasumovsky_no_2_quartets/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Mon, 8 Nov 2010 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>59:40</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Shostakovich Piano Trio No 2 in e, Piazzolla 4 seasons Buenos Aries]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Trio Twenty21 st John's 1-2pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Trio Twenty21: Craig W. Combs piano, Kalina Dimitrova cello, Mark Pedus violin 

	Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975):    The Piano Trio No. 2 in E minor, Op. 67

	                                                              Andante ~ Allegro con brio ~ Largo ~ Allegretto

	 

	Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992):             Cuatro estaciones porteñas (The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires)

	                                                              Primavera Porteña (1970) Spring

	                                                              Verano Porteña (1964) Summer

	                                                              Otono Porteña (1969) Fall

	                                                              Invierno Porteña (1970) Winter

	 

	
		
	
		 
	
		Trio Twenty21 is a piano trio comprised of members of Twenty21, a larger ensemble specializing in contemporary music with a goal to challenge expectations of live performance juxtaposing the theatrical with the absurd and the spiritual with the mundane. Our repertoire is chosen to entertain as well as enlighten. Trio Twenty21 is Mark Pedus, violin; Kalina Dimitrova, cello; and, Craig W. Combs, piano. The group formed in July 2009 and premiered on March 20, 2010 at The Forge Venue in Camden, London, UK. Subsequent to that performance, the trio attended the International Summer Course at Chateaux Monthureux-le-Sec in the first week of August 2010 culminating in a second full-concert performance. Most recently, the trio performed as a part of the inaugural concert of its parent ensemble, Twenty21. The group’s next scheduled appearance is on December 5, at Kings Place as a part of the new Chamberstudio’s public master class. For more information, see www.twenty21.org.
	
		 
	
		Violinist Mark Pedus studied at the RNCM with Y. Zivoni and has worked and freelanced with several British and Belgian orchestras. He has played solos with Southbank Symphonia in Italy and Musici Academici, Hortus Instrumentalis, and Kempisch Jeugdorkest in Belgium including Bach Double Concerto and Mozart Violin concerto Nr 3 KV 216. Currently, he performs extensive chamber music with the Dionysus Piano Trio, Trio Twenty21, Toccata-Musical Productions for Charitable Causes, and as the principal 2nd violin for the International Mahler Orchestra. Of French Bulgarian parentage, Kalina Dimitrova studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, completing a Masters in Music Performance in 2002. Her chamber music experience has included masterclasses with the Takasc Quartet and Florestan Trio and coaching with the Ysaye Quartet. She now plays with the Accordi String Quartet and Twenty21. Orchestral playing include performances with the Orchestre des Régions Européennes, the British Philharmonic Orchestra, the International Mahler Orchestra, as extra player for Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and Northern Symphonia and regular trips to play with the Cyprus State Orchestra. Chamber Pianist, Craig W. Combs, seeks like-minded artists with which to make music that is a reflection of the human condition. He is Artistic Director for The Paramount Chamber Players, a network of artists in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest; The Combs/Hostetter Piano Duo, a 4-hand piano ensemble and pianist for Twenty21. In 2007, he released the CD, Forbidden Voices: Songs by Jewish Composers Banned by the Nazis with soprano, Judith Sheridan
	
		 
	
		
			Las Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas represents Piazzolla’s nod to Vivaldi and the baroque period. J.S. Bach was a major influence in Piazzolla’s music, represented through his counterpoint and fugues. A porteño is a native of Buenos Aires or more simply a Buenosairean. This composition could also be seen as Piazzolla’s attempt to gain a stronger sense of acceptance from Buenosaireans and Argentineans loyal to traditional tango. During the 1960s, Piazzolla was often confronted by hecklers after concerts who would yell from the audience, “Now that the concert is over – can you play us a tango!” “Invierno Porteño” the “Winter” season opens with a dark melody, reminiscent of winter, stated by the bandoneón (an Argentine accordion) in the original arrangement. The thematic material is then passed off to the violin and piano, eventually making its way back to the bandoneón. “Invierno Porteño” comes to a close with a thematic and harmonic progression strikingly similar to Pachelbel’s famous canon in D, which creates an appropriate musical segue from winter to spring.
		
			 
		
			This Trio is dedicated to memory of Shostakovich's long time friend and advocate Ivan Sollertinsky - a brilliant, largely self-taught polymath, whose interests and expertise spanned philosophy, linguistics, and arts criticism. The brooding mood of the opening Andante reflects Shostakovich's sense of personal loss as well as the tragic war time events. The piano writing is sparse and transparent with the eerie and strangely effective color created by the cello playing unaccompanied harmonics at the highest end of its range, and the violin playing muted at a much lower altitude. A delicate Russian melody sings mournfully above. The Scherzo is rhythmically relentless, wild and sparkling. The third and fourth movements are linked, separated by ominous staccato notes in the piano. The Largo is cast as a poignant passacaglia, but the constantly recurring element is not a melody, but an eight-bar chordal progression. This leads to the danse macabre-like mood of the final movement that builds to a frenzy, containing some of the most clearly identifiable Jewish folk material of the work. The Trio concludes with cascading piano figuration and reminiscences of fragments from the opening Andante and the piano chords from the passacaglia.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/TrioTwentyTwentyOne.mp3" length="64995316" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/shostakovich_piano_trio_no_2_in_e_piazzolla_4_seasons_buenos_aries/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Thu, 28 Oct 2010 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>53:54</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Beethoven 'Serioso' and Bartok Quartet No 1 in A minor]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Zielinski Quartet at St Peter's 1-2pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Zielinski Quartet: Warren Zielinski (violin) Patrick Kiernan (violin) Bruce White (viola) Martin Loveday (cello) perform:

	Béla Bartók (1881-1945)                     String Quartet No 1 in A minor Sz 40

	Lento ~ Allegretto ~ Allegro vivace

	 

	Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)   String Quartet No 11 in F minor 'Serioso' Op 95

	Allegro con brio

	Allegretto ma non troppo

	Allegro assai vivace ma serioso

	Larghetto espressivo; Allegretto agitato; Allegro

	 

	

	 

	Canadian Warren Zielinski studied at the Royal College of Music winning an Exhibition scholarship, Concerto trials and numerous prizes while studying modern and Baroque violin. He has been working professionally since 1996 and has performed and recorded with the English Chamber Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Britten Sinfonia, BBC Symphony &amp; Concert Orchestras, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the John Wilson Orchestra. As a Baroque violinist, Warren has performed with ensembles such as the New London Consort, La Serenissima, Gabrielli Consort, Musicians of the Globe, Avison Ensemble and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. Warren is also in demand for session work. He has played on 500+ Pop tracks and over 100 of the biggest and well-known Hollywood film scores.

	 

	Patrick Kiernan studied at the Royal College of Music where he founded the Brindisi Quartet, which appeared at many of the world’s great concert halls and broadcast regularly on BBC radio. The Quartet’s CD recordings achieved international acclaim, winning a Gramophone award. Patrick has studied chamber music with the Prague, Guarneri and LaSalle Quartets and has coached ensembles at the Britten-Pears School, the University of Ulster and the Royal College of Music. He has played frequently with the Nash Ensemble and was a principal player with both the Academy of St Martin in the Fields and the London Sinfonietta. He has appeared as guest leader with the City of London Sinfonia. Patrick plays on an early 19th century violin by Ceruti.

	 

	Martin Loveday was born in Zimbabwe and began his musical studies soon after moving to England in 1964. He was awarded a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music where he won numerous prizes for solo and chamber music performances as well as a scholarship to continue his studies with Pierre Fournier in Geneva. Martin was a founder member of the Hanson String quartet making several recordings – one of which was voted “record of the year” by the Guardian newspaper. He then joined the Hartley Piano Trio and now divides his time between his session work and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields. His cello was made in 1724 in Naples.

	 

	Bruce White graduated from the Royal Academy of Music a major prizewinner both in chamber music and solo studies. Since leaving the academy, Bruce has played or been a member of many ensembles including the BBC Symphony Orchestra, The Michael Nyman Band, ‘Nigel Kennedy does Hendricks’, Ballet Rambert and the London Session orchestra. Bruce is a regular faculty member at the Apple Hill Centre for chamber music in New Hampshire, aiding the continuing efforts of 'Playing for Peace’.

	 

	In a letter to violinist Stefi Geyer, Bartók described the opening movement of this quartet as his "funeral dirge." The quartet's first four notes -- two descending minor sixths played imitatively by the first and second violins -- are nearly identical to the opening motif of the second, giocoso, movement of the Violin Concerto No. 1 (1908), Bartók's musical portrait of Geyer, with whom he was unrequitedly in love. Bartók dealt with the rejection of his love in a series of autobiographical works, of which this quartet is the culmination. Kodály called this quartet a "return to life," and its three accelerating movements plainly trace a course from the Liebestod-like anguish of the convoluted first movement to the heady, forceful finale. The Lento is marked by a hyper-chromatic Romantic mood characteristic of many works written around the turn of the century. Sadness and despair are the prevailing sentiments in this work, with wistful nostalgia expressed in passing episodes of Impressionistic delicacy that are quickly subsumed by the darker mood. After the first theme is explored, (the counterpoint is reminiscent of Beethoven's late string quartets), a funereal element is introduced with forceful, bell-like fifths on the cello, over which sounds a sobbing second theme, on viola and second violin harmonized in thirds, while the first violin muses detachedly in the upper register. The mood and style are reminiscent of the first violin concerto's opening movement. A hesitant bridge passage accelerates gradually to the next movement, which presents a delicate and witty theme, a stepwise motif that is subjected to a series of explorations in various settings suggestive of variation technique. The mood is ambiguous, despite light-hearted interplay among the instruments; when a distinct mood finally manifests itself toward the end of the movement, it is one of anger, driven by an insistent pulsing ostinato on a single note that begins as an ominous pizzicato on the cello and grows to fist-shaking open fifths arco. The mood is not resolved by movement's end. Another bridge passage leads to the finale, an accelerating Allegro vivace that is the longest of the three movements. In the first movement, there was only a brief suggestion of Hungarian folk music in the cello's soulful melody during the Impressionistic episode; here the character of folk music is more pronounced. Its use here, though not as organic as in later works, nevertheless seems central to the young composer's "return to life" after a period of despair. The main theme, which has a "scolding" quality (and is intervallically related to the descending sixths of the first movement), is developed through a series of episodes, one of which parodies European café music, after which it is treated, fugato-style, in a grotesque, scherzando section. The coda is fast and propulsive, the final, emphatic chords of open fifths barely able to block its momentum.

	 

	Ludwig van Beethoven's opus 95, his String Quartet No. 11 in F minor, is his last before his exalted late string quartets. It is commonly referred to as the "Serioso," stemming from his title "Quartett[o] Serioso" at the beginning and the tempo designation for the third movement. It is interesting that he chose to invent his own Italian word for this tempo marking. Beethoven is considered to be the first non-Italian composer to use his native language in his expressive markings. It is one of the shortest and most compact of all the Beethoven quartets, and shares a tonality (F) with the first and last quartets Beethoven published (Op. 18, No. 1, and Op. 135). In character and key, as well as in the presence of a final frenetic section in the parallel major, it is related to another composition of Beethoven's middle period — the overture to his incidental music for Goethe's drama Egmont, which he was composing in the same year he was working on this quartet. It premiered in 1814 and did not appear in print until two years later. Beethoven was quoted as saying "The Quartet [op. 95] is written for a small circle of connoisseurs and is never to be performed in public." Upon listening to the piece, it becomes apparent why he made that assertion. This piece would have been quite out of character in 1810: it is an experiment on compositional techniques the composer would draw on later in his life. (Techniques such as shorter developments, interesting use of silences, metric ambiguity, seemingly unrelated outbursts, and more freedom with tonality in his sonata form.) The historical picture of this time period helps to put the piece in context. Napoleon had invaded Vienna earlier that year, and this upset Beethoven greatly. All of his aristocratic friends had fled Vienna, but Beethoven stayed and dramatically complained about the loud bombings. The quartet includes harmonic experiments that look far forward into the Romantic era -- its third movement, for example, progresses from the home key of F minor through B minor, the most distant key relationship of all. Yet in the stark conciseness of its angry gestures it is anything but Romantic.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Zielinski_Quartet_13Dec2010.mp3" length="62767603" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/beethoven_serioso_and_bartok_quartet_no_1_in_a_minor/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Mon, 13 Dec 2010 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>52:04</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Inaugural Organ lunchtime recital]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[DANIEL TURNER (organ) St peter's 1-2pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Daniel Turner (organ)

	Prelude in C ‘the 9/8’ BWV 547 - J.S. Bach

	Praeludium and Fuga in d - D. Buxtehude

	Prelude no. 3 in d (Op. 37) - F. Mendelssohn

	Psalm Prelude Set 1 no. 2 (Op. 32) - 
	
		H. Howells


	Offertoire sur les Grands Jeux - F. Couperin

	Cantilene from Suite Breve - J. Langlais

	Paean - K. Leighton

	 

	Daniel Turner was born in 1983 in Northampton where he received his early musical education as a chorister in the famous St. Matthew’s Church and also as a piano student of Christina Griffin. Daniel later moved to All Saints Church in Northampton where studies on the organ with Simon Johnson led to a place at The Queen’s College, Oxford where he was also gained the Organ Scholarship. As an undergraduate Daniel re-visited his voice and began to sing with the Choir of New College Oxford. With the encouragement of his tutors Daniel took some trial singing lessons with the tenor James Gilchrist and developed his Tenor repertoire.

	 

	He has spent most of his life singing and playing the organ in the Anglican choral tradition. He has been fortunate to be trained by some of the finest Church musicians and some of our ‘leading lights’ in the field of Church liturgy, particularly during his time at Oxford University where he worked as Organ Scholar and Acting Director of Music at Pusey House. His time at Pusey House was particularly instructive as a new principal arrived and the liturgy was completely overhauled. As Pusey is very much in the High Church tradition it was a useful training ground as attention to detail was essential as no two services were alike.

	 

	Daniel took up a place at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama to further his vocal and stage development in 2007 under the tutelage of David Pollard. Daniel is looking forward to a busy 2010 with concerts across Europe, his debut as soloist in the Barbican Hall as part of the Henze celebrations and various projects at GSMD in London where he will continue studies with Janice Chapman. He was recently appointed to the position of  Director of Music, St John’s Church Notting Hill.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Turner_StPeter_1Nov2010.mp3" length="57954275" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/inaugural_organ_lunchtime_recital/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Mon, 1 Nov 2010 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>48:04</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Flute, Oboe & piano Trios]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[AZURE AT ST JOHN'S 1-2PM *3rd anniversary concert*]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Azure: Lucy McIntyre flute &amp; piccolo, Julia White oboe &amp; cor anglais, Ruth Young piano &amp; composer perform:
	
		 
	
		Trio Sonata in C Minor - G. P. Telemann
	
		White Horses - Ruth Young
	
		Trio for Flute, Oboe &amp; Piano - Madeleine Dring
	
		Romance - Adolphe Blanc
	
		Gnossienne - Erik Satie


	 

	AZURE is a versatile instrumental trio, performing music for flute, oboe, piano and the doubling instruments piccolo and cor anglais. They have played at many venues across the UK and their wide-ranging repertoire includes new music, both their own and by other composers, as well as little-known but attractive nineteenth century works discovered in the course of their research. See www.myspace.com/azuremusicuk for further information, or to listen to sound clips.

	 

	Lucy McIntyre (flute &amp; piccolo) has given solo recitals at venues including the Purcell Room, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival and St. Martin-in-the-Fields. She graduated with First Class Honours from Trinity College of Music in 2006 and has since continued her studies privately with Nancy Ruffer, Michael Cox and the late Sebastian Bell. She is an Extra player with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and BBC National Orchestra of Wales. She was awarded a bursary by Mountcity Investments Limited in 2007 to support her studies.

	 

	Julia White (oboe &amp; cor anglais) played with Santiago Philharmonic Orchestra, Chile from 2007-9, first as a guest soloist, and then as a permanent member of the orchestra. In June 2010 her performance of the Strauss Oboe Concerto at St. John’s, Smith Square, London, was described by Music Web International as ‘a most assured performance, full of warm lyricism and dazzling virtuosity’. Previously Julia studied at Trinity College of Music where she gained an Advanced Postgraduate Diploma with distinction, and was a Junior Fellow. Julia also has an MA in music performance from Birmingham Conservatoire.

	 

	Ruth Young (piano) works as a composer, performer, teacher and early-years music and movement specialist. She is also involved in the Go Create! scheme at Great Ormond Street Hospital, and with the Music In Hospitals organization. She performs regularly throughout London and the South East at venues including the Barbican Centre, Kensington Palace and Riverside Studios. She has also performed as a concerto soloist at the University of Essex. Ruth studied performance and composition at Colchester Institute, achieving a first class BA Hons in 2003 and winning several performance competitions whilst she was there. She continued her study of composition as a postgraduate at Trinity College of Music.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Azure.mp3" length="50335912" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/flute_oboe_and_piano_trios/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Thu, 11 Nov 2010 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>41:45</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Musical Tour of 17th century Italy and Spain]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Musica Gardenia at St John's 1-2pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Musica Gardenis present Italy and Spain in the 17th century - a musical tour

	Marco Uccellini - Aria sopra "La Bergamasca", op. 3

	Dario Castello - Sonata Terza in stile moderno

	Giovanni Antonio Pandolfi Mealli - Sonata "La Cesta", op.3 no. 2

	Andrea Falconieri - L'Eroica, Pasacalle, La Batalla

	Diego Ortiz - 2 Ricercare

	Juan Cabanilles - Xacara

	Tarquinio Merula - Ciaccona

	 

	Musica Gardenia is a new period instrument ensemble, formed with the ambition to create performances which are high-level, exciting, and fun for the musicians and audiences alike. The ensemble aims not only to perform the standard Baroque repertoire, but also to reach new audiences and display the many sides of historical performance through imaginative programming, exploration of seldom-played repertoire and thematic performances.

	 

	

	 

	Paulina Pluta - baroque violin

	Paulina began her music education during her early childhood in Krakow, Poland. Whilst studying English Philology and Literature at the Jagiellonian University of Krakow she actively pursued her interests in music. Her love of the early music repertoire and different ways of music making brought her to London to study baroque violin with Walter Reiter at Trinity College of Music, where she has been working with musicians such as Laurence Cummings, James Johnstone, Catherine Martin, Adrian Butterfield, Ashley Solomon and Philip Thorby. In 2010 Paulina was a member of Britten-Pears Baroque Orchestra. Apart from music her main interests include fine art and literature. 

	                                                                                                                                                                                             Elektra Miliadou - baroque 'cello

	Elektra moved to London in 2003 to continue her cello studies at the Royal College of Music after graduating at her hometown, Thessaloniki. Soon her interest was turned to Historically Informed Performance and led her to obtain of a MMus in Performance Practice in 2009. She studied as a scholar with Catherine Rimer, Richard Tunnicliffe, Reiko Ichise and Ashley Solomon focusing on chamber music. She has performed extensively in major London venues and festivals in the UK and the continent with Florilegium, Melopoetica and Latinitas Nostra among others. She is a founding member of the ensemble Amaranthos.

	 

	Isobel Clarke - recorder                         

	After learning recorder with Susan Fuchs and Henriette Bos in Edinburgh,  Isobel continued her studies at the Royal College of Music and subsequently graduated with a BMus in recorder performance in 2009. She is currently a student on the Masters programme at RCM, studying with Ashley Solomon and Julien Feltrin. She is a founding member of the Mediaeval-Renaissance ensemble Tre fontane, with whom she won the RCM Early Music Competition in 2009. She was also a finalist at the 2010 Fenton House Early Keyboard Ensembles Competition with Ensemble Xantippe. Although performing music ranging from Mediaeval to 21st century, Isobel's main interest lies in Historical Performance, relating to ensemble and consort repertoire.

	 

	Jadran Duncumb - theorbo

	Jadran attended the Barratt Due Institute of Music in Oslo from the age of 12 under the tutelage of Vegard Lund, later also taking lessons with Prof. Sven Lundestad at the Norwegian Academy of Music. Currently in his third year at the Royal College of Music, he studies theorbo and classical guitar with Jakob Lindberg and Gary Ryan respectively.

	 

	As a classical guitarist, Jadran has won the string section of BBC Young Musician of the Year and been a finalist in Norwegian television’s equivalent; “Virtuos”. He has performed in venues such as Cardiff's Millenium Centre, Queen Elisabeth Hall, Oslo Konserthus and Wigmore Hall, where his recital was broadcast on Radio 3. Also in demand as a continuo player, he has played with ensembles including I Fagiolini, Harmony of Nations Baroque Orchestra and the English Baroque Soloists.

	  

	Joseph Chesshyre - harpsichord 

	Joseph Chesshyre’s musical career began when he was six with piano and violin lessons. He has loved the harpsichord from a young age, but did not start playing it until he began his undergraduate degree at University of Edinburgh with tuition from John Kitchen. He performed frequently as a soloist and was in demand as an accompanist. He made his debut with Edinburgh Symphony Baroque playing continuo for Bach’s Mass in B minor, and continued playing with them until he left Edinburgh for London in 2008. Joseph is particularly fond of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century English keyboard music. He is studying for an MMus at GSMD under Carole Cerasi and James Johnstone.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Musica Gardenia.mp3" length="45727922" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/musical_tour_of_17th_century_italy_and_spain/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Thu, 18 Nov 2010 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>37:56</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Jacob & Blumer Sextets for piano and wind]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Blaze Ensemble at St Peter's 1-2pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Blaze Ensemble:

	Mike Copperwhite - flute / piccolo

	Sue Treherne - oboe / cor anglais

	Claire Baughan - clarinet

	Tom Hardy - basssoon

	Andy Feist - horn

	with pianist Jeremy Davis perform:

	Gordon Jacob: Sextet in B-flat major for piano and wind
	Theodor Blumer: Sextet in F for piano and wind Op 45

	The Blaze Ensemble was established in 1997 and aims to give high quality chamber music concerts featuring a diverse range of works: from the baroque to the contemporary, from trios to large ensemble works, from popular mainstream repertoire through to the less familiar. The name derives from the group's association with the music production company, Blaze Music.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Blaze Sextets.mp3" length="44273949" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/jacob_and_blumer_sextets_for_piano_and_wind/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Mon, 29 Nov 2010 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>36:43</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Beethoven Kreutzer and Janacek violin piano duets]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Mary Hofman (violin) Anya Fadina (piano) at St John's 1-2PM]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Mary Hofman (violin) Anya Fadina (piano)

	

	 

	

	 

	Leoš JanáÄek (1854 – 1928) Violin Sonata

	Con Moto ~ Ballade ~ Allegretto ~ Adagio

	 

	Ludwig Van Beethoven (1770-1827) Violin Sonata No 9 in A major

	Adagio Sostenuto-Presto ~ Andante con Variazioni ~ Presto

	 

	Bela Bartók (1881–1945) Roumanian Folk Dances (arr. Zoltán Székely)

	Allegro Moderato ~ Allegro ~ Andante ~ Molto moderato ~ Allegro ~ Allegro

	 

	Anya Fadina and Mary Hofman have been working as a duo for two years. In that time they have performed numerous recitals across the U.K.  as well as a residency in the Kirsten Kjaers Museum in Denmark. They recently won an award from the Elias Fawcett Trust leading to performances in Lauderdale House, London in 2010. They also recently performed at the Hampstead and Highgate literary festival. They have performed in master classes with Krysia Osostowicz and at IMS Prussia Cove with Valeria Szervanszky. Individually they both have busy and varied careers. Anya has appeared as a soloist with the Urals Philharmonic Orchestra and the Kingston Philharmonic and performed in a festival of British music in Yekaterinburg. She also works regularly with singers both as a lieder accompanist and as a repetiteur and teaches at Westminster School. Mary’s chief love is chamber music and she works with numerous ensembles including performing with the Endellion Quartet at the Cambridge music festival in 2009 and guest leading the Edinburgh quartet. She also enjoys regular work with chamber orchestras such as the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Northern Sinfonia and Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique. She teaches at the Royal Northern College of Music.

	 

	Czech composer JanáÄek was strongly influenced by Moravian folk music and he frequently made an effort to follow the rhythmic patterns of the Czech language. JanáÄek's music often features busy, repetitive patterns that he contrasts with more starkly stated melodies and other material. The violin sonata is a concise work, based on these types of short motives and fast tempo changes. The first movement ("With motion, but not severely") begins with an intense, ascending solo-violin phrase. This is followed by a lyrical melody that is accompanied by tremolos in the piano. The development grows towards an anguished cry. The second movement Ballade is melodic and folk-like, accompanied by arpeggios in the piano. The third movement is an intense and highly compact Scherzo. The fourth movement Finale ("Very slowly") is unusually remote and resigned for a work's closing movement. The middle of the movement builds up considerably, but its opening aesthetic then returns to end the work quite bleakly.

	 

	The Sonata was originally dedicated to the Afro-Polish-born English resident - virtuoso violinist George Bridgetower, who performed the premiere in 1803 together with Beethoven. However, after the concert, and under the influence of drink, the two quarreled over a certain lady, whereupon Beethoven tore up the dedication and re-dedicated it to the finest violinist of the day, Rodolphe Kreutzer. The irony is that Kreutzer never performed the work, considering it unplayable. The sonata begins with a slow chordal introduction, moving into a tumultuous Presto in A minor. Towards the end of the movement the opening Adagio returns before a close in an anguished coda. The second movement is in great contrast, a quiet tune with five variations. The last of these is dramatic, and the movement closes in F major. This calm is then shattered by an A major chord in the piano, leading to a virtuoso and exuberant final movement, basically a 6/8 tarantella in rondo form. The work ends in a jubilant rush of A major. It is known for a highly demanding violin part, with vast emotional range and impact. The piano part also demands a true partner, and not just an accompanist.

	 

	The Roumanian Dances are based on folksongs and dances collected by Bartók from peasants and Gypsies during his pioneering ethno-musicological field trips through Hungary in 1910-14. They were arranged first for solo piano and later orchestra, though Bartók would have originally heard these tunes played on fiddle, shepherd’s flute, or bagpipe. Bartók provides simple yet imaginative settings for the folk tunes, which in their brevity share a quest for concision sought by such other "avant-garde" composers as Schoenberg and Webern.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Hofman Fadina.mp3" length="63866316" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/beethoven_kreutzer_and_janacek_violin_piano_duets/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Thu, 2 Dec 2010 13:12:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>52:58</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Stravinsky and Bartok Clarinet Trios]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[O3 Trio at St Peter's 1-2pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[03 Trio - Ruben Marques Jacinto (clarinet) Cristina Ocaña (violin) Diego Ghymers (piano)â¨ perform:

	
		Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)  L'histoire du soldat (The Soldier's tale)
	
		Marche du soldat (The Soldier's March)
	
		Le violon du soldat (The Soldier's Violin)
	
		Petit concert (The Little Concert)
	
		3 Dances: Tango-vals-rag (Tango, Waltz and Ragtime)
	
		La danse du diable (The Devil's Dance)
	
		 


	Bela Bartók (1881-1945) Contrasts for Violin, Clarinet and Piano Sz 111

	Verbunkos (Recruiting dance) ~ Pihenö (Relaxation) ~ Sebes (Fast dance)

	 

	

	 

	The O3 Trio are currently undertaking a postgraduate diploma at Trinity College of Music, where they met in September 2009. Ruben Marques Jacinto (Portugal) has been focusing his recent career in contemporary solo and chamber repertoire, performing several world premieres. He is a founder member of the Ensemble Contemporaneus and member of the New Lisbon Orchestra. Cristina Ocaña (Spain) has played in several prestigious youth and professional orchestras across Europe - including the Malaga Chamber and Symphony Orchestras. Diego Ghymers (Chile/Belgium) has been performing as a soloist and with chamber ensembles such as the “4 hands &amp; 4 feet piano” duet. He has performed across Spain and given conferences about Stravinsky in a variety of Conservatoires.

	 

	The Hungarian Composer Béla Bartok was highly influenced by folk music of his country. Contrasts was written for clarinet, violin and piano in 1938 and is based on Hungarian and Romanian dance melodies. Bartók wrote the work in response to a letter from violinist Joseph Szigeti, although clarinettist Benny Goodman officially commissioned it. Szigeti originally asked Bartók to write a short piece in two movements of a total duration of 6-7 minutes. This was most likely in order to fit the recording on a single gramophone record, one movement on each side - with capacity for approximately four minutes running time. The first version of the work, titled Rhapsody, was premièred on 9 January 1939 at Carnegie Hall, with Szigeti, Goodman, and pianist Endre Petri. Bartók subsequently added a middle movement and changed the work's title to Contrasts. Szigeti, Goodman and Bartók on piano first performed the final, three-movements work at Carnegie Hall on 21 April 1940, and left a historical recording of the piece. The work was published in 1942 and is dedicated to Szigeti and Goodman.

	 

	L’Histoire du Soldat was originally scored for one dancer, three actors and seven instruments. Its was first performed in Lausanne Switzerland, in September 1918. The story is based on a Russian folk-tale: a soldier trades his violin with the Devil who promises to fulfil his every wish, but the Devil proves a tricky protagonist. The suite for violin, Clarinet and piano was arranged in 1919. It is a selection of five movements from the 13 of the original version. The violin is guttural and raw, while the clarinet seems to have an erratic will of its own, often breaking in at “inappropriate” moments and interrupting the violin. The piano acts as a combination of the original rhythm section (percussion and double bass) and a piano in a “honky tonk” bar.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/O3_Trio_St_Peter_20Dec2010.mp3" length="40332064" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/stravinsky_and_bartok_clarinet_trios/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Mon, 20 Dec 2010 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>33:27</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Solo piano & violin duets]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Pavel Timofejevsky (piano) Irmina Trynkos (violin) at St John's 7.30pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Pavel Timofejevsky (piano) Irmina Trynkos (violin) play:

	
		Schubert: "Little" Piano Sonata in A D664
	
		Ravel: Alborada del Gracioso from Miroirs
	
		Grieg: Sonata for violin and piano Op 45
	
		Debussy: Sonata for violin and piano


	Pavel is a musician in residence at St John's with a growing international reputation as concert soloist and accompanist. He is currently a post graduate at the Royal Academy of Music with an award from the Musicians Benevolent Fund. Irmina is an acclaimed Concordia Foundation artist who recently made her Wigmore Hall debut. They are performing two of the greatest violin sonatas (incl. Debussy's final composition) and Schubert's breakthrough from Beethoven's sonata legacy.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Timofejevsky Trynkos St John's 17 Dec 2010.mp3" length="" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/solo_piano_and_violin_duets/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Fri, 17 Dec 2010 19:30:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>1:19:09</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Ian Stewart's CD 'Islas' launch concert incl. 2 World Premieres]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[IAN STEWART'S ISLAS AT ST PETER'S 7.30PM]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Ian Stewart compositions played by Kyle Horch (saxophones), Guillem Calvo (violin), Pavel Timofejevsky (piano) and Peter Yarde-Martin (organ)

	PROGRAMME:

	Sonata for Violin and Piano
	Solo piano work: Andante - Allegretto *World Premiere*
	Slant Rhymes (organ &amp; saxophone) *World Premiere*

	INTERVAL

	Islas (soprano saxophone &amp; piano)
	Sonata Da Chiesa (organ &amp; violin)
	Astral Hurdy-Gurdy (sax, violin, piano)

	Review at Music &amp; Vision Daily

	

	Photos: Matthew Wrigley]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Islas_launch_concert_ St_Peter_ Jan_7th_2011.mp3" length="103609917" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/ian_stewart_s_cd_islas_launch_concert_incl_2_world_premieres/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Fri, 7 Jan 2011 19:30:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>1:25:56</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Prokofiev and Chopin Piano Recital]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Olga Stezhko (piano) at St John's 1-2pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Olga Stezhko (piano) performs:

	JS Bach arr. Busoni: Organ Prelude and Fugue in D major

	Chopin: Scherzo No 2 in B flat minor Op 31

	Chopin:  Nocturne in E major Op 62/2

	Prokofiev Sonata No 2 in D minor Op 14

	 

	Olga Stezhko was born in Minsk, Belarus. She started to play the piano at the age of five and entered the Republican Music. In 2002 she was awarded one of only a handful of scholarships to study at the United World College of the Adriatic in Italy, In 2004 she came to the Royal Academy of Music in London on a scholarship, graduating with 1st Class Honours in 2008. She completed an MMus at the RAM with distinction and all piano prizes in 2010, studying under Ian Fountain, supported by the RAM and some of the most prestigious UK scholarships such as the Myra Hess Award from the Musicians' Benevolent Fund and Philharmonia Orchestra/Martin Musical Scholarship Fund as well as Mr Massimo Prelz Oltramonti. Olga has won many international piano competitions, prizes and awards including the Grand Prix at the First European Piano Competition Halina Czerny-Stefanska In Memoriam in Poland and 1st Prize at the N. Rubinstein International Piano Competition. Recently she was chosen as one of the three winners of the Tillett Trust Young Artists' Platform scheme and made her debut in Wigmore Hall as part of The Monday Platform in September 2010. Olga was invited to participate in various masterclasses with such distinguished musicians as the late Halina Czerny-Stefanska, the late Alexander Satz, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, Lilya Zilberstein, Garrick Ohlsson, Dmitry Bashkirov, Piers Lane, Fou Ts'ong, Howard Shelley, Bruno Canino and Richard Goode. The 2010-2011 season includes performances at Wigmore Hall and Barbican Hall in London, Salle Cortot in Paris, various British festivals and as a soloist with the Poznan Philharmonic.

	 

	Several of Chopin’s large works came in fours: Impromptus, Ballades, and the same number of Scherzos. The second, this B-flat minor, was composed in 1837 and bears the full imprint of the composer’s unique creative qualities. It is big and brawny, filled with magical harmonic coloration and huge pianistic flair; it is also a little wordy (redundancy is one of the small flaws of each of the Scherzos), but that is a small price to pay for the boldness of spirit portrayed. In the present piece, the very opening gesture informs us that a drama is about to unfold. Following a long-held B-flat, three soft and quick ascending notes lead to a longer note; this is immediately repeated. After a pause, a very loud B-flat is followed by a long-held chord and in turn by four emphatic chords. The opening four notes return (three-longs-and-a-short, a famous enough rhythmic combination by 1837), and they become a kind of key which throughout the piece opens the door to a floodgate of tension and drama, as well as some pulsating Chopin poetics. The extended opening section ends with a set of trills that act as a trajectory throwing the right hand up to the top of the keyboard for a swath of descending notes. Then there are some toss-away ascending and descending single notes that prepare for the first lyric idea. But there is still tension in this lyricism by way of the melody’s impetuosity and the accompaniment’s wonderfully buoyant cushion that provides a kind of breathless momentum. From this point on the musical incidents accumulate. The modulations are heady, the filigree and the passage work dazzling, and the intensity gripping, the latter particularly as Chopin sets the final pages ablaze with an unbridled passion that is the antithesis of the pale Chopin whose reputation is for some based on moon-drenched nocturnes and tender waltzes. This is brilliant, big-boned Chopin, muscular music handled with structural integrity.

	 

	Although the Two Nocturnes, Op 62 were composed three full years after the pair of Opus 55 works by the same title, the freedom of phrase design and thematic content in these, Frédéric Chopin's final two essays in the form (the posthumous Nocturne in E minor, Op 72 actually being a much earlier composition), indicate a compositional mindset very much drawing from and building upon the work he did on the second of the Op.55 pieces. The Opus 62 Nocturnes are so unique in every detail that it took musical Europe several decades to begin to appreciate just how important they really are: even as late as the early twentieth century it was common to dismiss these works as the products of a disease-weakened spirit, sickly, defeated, and sadly lacking in inspiration. Nothing could be further from the truth, as two such intimately expressive works as these-one is almost willing to assert that such musical privacy has no place in the public concert-hall-have rarely found their way onto paper. The Nocturne in E major, Op.62, No.2 was the last Nocturne published during Chopin's lifetime. A warm, sustained (and entirely unsentimental) melody fills the opening and concluding portions of the piece. The central section is, like so many earlier Nocturnes, more agitated in tone, though the effect is less worldly than in those previous examples, and more purely rhetorical. There is a kind of dialogue, containing many subtle melodic and intervallic imitations, between the two outer voices of the part- writing. During the coda Chopin seems reluctant to let go, almost as if, though a full three years from death, he guessed this to be his last entry in one of his most beloved genres.

	 

	This sonata was composed only a few years after the First sonata Op. 1.  During this short period of time, Prokofiev’s musical language had been further defined with the compositions of Suggestion diabolique Op.4, Toccata Op.11 and Piano concerto no.1 Op.10. Many of his themes in this sonata capture the stylistic traits from the aforementioned works.  Both the first and second themes of the first movement begins in a conventional Romantic way. The first movement starts as if it is a flower blossoming, by unfolding from the middle of the piano outwards. This is interspersed with sporadic sudden changes of mood. The second movement is very much like 2 earlier works he wrote, Suggestion diabolique and Toccata. It is a very short movement with a constant rhythmic drive in the middle voices with the crossing of hands which adds to the visual and visceral excitement of the movement. The middle section has a complete change of mood, and it is likened to a polka dance. One listener once told me that this second movement reminded me of a train chugging along the rail tracks! The third movement is a fairytale, a genre which Prokofiev frequently turned to in his compositions. There is an unhurried unfolding of the melody, a mysterious monotonous ‘drone’ and they all weave together to create a soothing story to tell. This story is so compelling that movement ends as if the narrator had gotten lost in his or her thoughts, forgetting to finish the tale. The last movement is particularly striking in its range of contrast. It starts off tarantella-like with a triplet pattern – very much like Saint-Saens’ piano Concerto no.2 that Prokofiev would have heard at the conservatory. The bridge sections sound like a light fanfare, which then goes back to the tarantella spirit. This Sonata finishes with the familiar cascading arpeggio and a few decisive chords bringing the sonata to a brilliant and charismatic end.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Olga_Stezhko_St_John_23Dec2010 .mp3" length="57140819" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/prokofiev_and_chopin_piano_recital/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Thu, 23 Dec 2010 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>47:24</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Shostakovich and Rowland Jones String Quartets]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Idomeneo Quartet at St. John's 1-2pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Mark Derudder &amp; Eugene Lee (violins) Reinoud Ford (cello) Adam Newman (viola) play Simon Rowland Jones: String Quartet, Shostakovich: String Quartet No 9 in E flat major Op 117

	Formed in 2009, the Idomeneo Quartet currently holds the Chamber Music Fellowship at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Already regarded as one of the most exciting young quartets on the music scene, the Idomeneos are studying under the tutelage of the Vogler Quartet in Stuttgart, Rainer Schmidt in Basel and Alasdair Tait in London. â¨â¨The Idomeneo Quartet have already held recitals in numerous concert venues all over Europe ( Germany, the Netherlands, France, Italy, Austria, and Belgium) and extensively the UK. This included concerts in the Barbican and Festival Halls in London. â¨â¨At the 54th Jeunesse Musicale course in Weikersheim , Germany ( with Heime Muller and the Vogler Quartet) they were awarded the prize of “the most convincing newcomer ensemble” by the Friends of the Jeunesse Musicale in Germany; their final concert was broadcast live on German radio to critical acclaim. The Quartet also won the Tunnell Trust Award with a forthcoming concert tour of Scotland being part of the award. More recently, they have been selected as young artists for the Park Lane Group. â¨â¨The Idomeneo Quartet have been privileged to receive masterclasses from, amongst others, Bernard Greenhouse, Gary Hoffmann, the Belcea Quartet and Günter Pichler (Alban Berg Quartet). â¨â¨The Idomeneo Quartet recently performed at the White Crow Music Festival in the Netherlands. â¨Future commitments include concerts at festivals such as the King’s Lynn Festival , Heidelberger Frühlung Internationales Festival in Germany were they will perform Schoenberg's Verklärte Nacht with members of the Alban Berg Quartet. During the summer they will be Quartet in Residence at the Sainte-Mère Festival in France and have been booked for a concert tour of Brazil later in the year. â¨â¨The Idomeneo Quartet is looking forward to its debuts at St Martin-in-the-Fields, Purcell Room and the Wigmore Hall, courtesy of the Park Lane Group.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Idomeneo_StJohn_6Jan11.mp3" length="58558228" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/shostakovich_and_rowland_jones_string_quartets/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Thu, 6 Jan 2011 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>48:34</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Brahms Piano Trio in B Op 8 & Piazzolla Summer/Autumn]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[TRIO FRANÇAIS at St Peter's 1-2pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[PART OF THE FEBRUARY 'ART OF THE TRIO' SERIES ORGANISED IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE PIANO TRIO SOCIETY

	 

	Trio Français – Emmanuelle Turbelin (piano), Samuel Godefroi (violin), Axelle Porret (cello) perform:

	 

	Piano Trio in B major, Opus 8 – Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)

	Allegro con brio ~ Scherzo,  allegro molto ~ Adagio ~ Allegro

	 

	This piano trio was written when Brahms was only twenty and was his first published chamber work. Even at this early age, he had been hailed by Schumann as a genius, and this rested heavily on his young shoulders! In spite of his misgivings about the work it was duly published, only to be revised considerably by the mature Brahms in 1891 and it is this revised version which is played today. The first movement opens with a beautiful lyrical theme, which had been praised by Clara Schumann in the early publication of the work. The second subject is followed by a complex development with the ‘tranquillo’ in the coda reflecting the mood with which the movement began. The lively scherzo has a hunt-like theme and was the movement which received least revision. In the slow movement which follows, Brahms added a new second subject in the form of a beautiful cello melody in G sharp minor which contrasts admirably with the chorale-like opening theme. The final movement, also considerably revised, is in B minor and, like the first movement, contains a new second subject which does nothing to dispel the restless energy of the movement. © Christine Talbot-Cooper

	 

	Summer and Autumn from Four Seasons of Buenos Aires – Àstor Piazzolla (1921-1992)

	 

	Astor Piazzolla was born in Argentina of Italian parents and moved to New York at the age of four.  At the age of eight his father gave him a bandoneon, which he had bought, in a pawnshop, thus beginning a life-long love of the instrument. He took lessons on the bandoneon with Bela Wilda, from whom he also developed a love of Bach, and later joined a number of tango orchestras, moving to Buenos Aires at the age of seventeen to enable him to play with one of the great tango orchestras of the time. He was restless to develop musically and was advised by Rubinstein to begin studies with Ginastera in 1941, later moving to Paris in 1954 to study with Nadia Boulanger who persuaded him to play some tangos on his bandoneon and convinced him that this was where his talent as a composer lay! Throughout the rest of his life he absorbed a wide variety of music, and by combining it with the tango of his native land, developed a very individual style of composition which was given the title nuevo tango and which was not always well received in more orthodox tango circles. All the time he continued with his own performing in various instrumental groups throughout  USA, Europe and Japan whilst his reputation as a composer of symphonic and chamber works grew, attracting performances by renowned classical musicians such as Mstislav Rostropovich,  for whom he wrote “Le Grand Tango” for cello and piano. This work we are hearing today was inspired by Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons and was written between 1967 and 1970. The movements, which depict a variety of contrasting moods, are really separate works, which can be played in any order and indeed often a single movement was performed by Piazzolla himself in concert. There are also a number of different instrumental arrangements of the work, the first being for a quintet composed of bandoneon, electric guitar, piano, violin and double bass.  

	 

	

	 

	Emmanuelle Turbelin graduated with distinction in piano performance and accompaniment at the National Conservatory of Music in Lyon and further at the National Conservatory in  Montpellier, winning the Leopold Bellan Competition (Paris) with the Trio Carpe Dièze in 2002. She obtained the MMus Diploma with distinction at the Royal College of Music in 2009, where she accompanied many masterclasses by distinguished musicians, later acting as accompanist at many important French festivals.  She is now staff accompanist at the Conservatoire in Arras.

	 

	Samuel Godefroi was born in Paris in 1987. He started playing the violin at the age of 6. After Graduating in 2003 in Meudon Concervatoire, as a student of Guy Comentale he continued his studies at the Versailles Regional Conservatoire with Alexandre Brussilovsky, where he graduated as well, in 2006. Samuel is now studying at the Royal College of Music in London with Yossi Zivoni. Between 2003 and 2010 Samuel made several appearances in different events including Belesbat Masters, Musique en Pays d’Olt, or with the ORCJ Orchestra.

	 

	Axelle Porret began playing the cello at the Conservatory of Reims (France) at the age of 7 later studying with Marc-Didier Thirault in Reims, Yvan Chiffoleau  in Perpignan and Hélène Dautry in Paris and received first prize in both cello and chamber music at Reims and Perpignan Conservatoires. She participated in the summer academies of Prades and Courchevel, also playing in numerous masterclasses and performing with orchestras such as the ‘Orchestre des Musiciens de la Pree’ at Paris and in many chamber music festivals throughout France. Axelle is currently studying at Royal College of Music with Melissa Phelps and plays a 1985 Pierre Causse cello, generously lent by the Fond Instrumental Français.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Trio_Francais_StPeter_28Feb2011.mp3" length="60893587" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/brahms_piano_trio_in_b_op_8_and_piazzolla_summer_autumn/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Mon, 28 Feb 2011 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>50:30</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Kazakhstani and Advent music ]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Kazakhstan Fund Raiser St John's 1-2pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[National Wind Quintet of Kazakhstan play Mozart &amp; Kazakh composers, Almaty Trio play folk music on authentic Kazakh instruments dombra &amp; kobyz, Almaty Music Conservatoire Vocal Ensemble sing traditional Kazakh songs. The Haileybury Almaty Community Choir perform music for Advent.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Kazak_concert_St_John_21Dec2010.mp3" length="64377863" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/kazakhstani_and_advent_music/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Tue, 21 Dec 2010 13:12:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>53:24</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Piano Recital: Beethoven Sonatas 13 & 22,  Liszt & Schumann]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Simon Watterton (piano) St Peter's 1-2pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Simon Watterton (piano) plays:

	
		Robert Schumann (1810-1856) Arabesque Op 18
	
		Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827) Sonata No 22 in F Major Op 54
	
		In tempo d'un menuetto: ~ Allegretto
	
		Franz Liszt (1811-1886) 2 pieces from 'Années de pèlerinage: Deuxième année: Italie', Canzonetta del Salvator Rosa
	
		Sonetto 47 del Petrarca
	
		Ludwig van Beethoven Sonata No 13 in E flat  Op 27/1 "Quasi una fantasia"
	
		Andante ~ Allegro molto e vivace ~ Adagio con espressione ~ Allegro vivace
	
		 
	
		Simon Watterton was born in Wirral, in North West England. He studied at the Purcell School of Music with Patsy Toh, and at the Royal College of Music with Yonty Solomon. At the RCM he won a number of prizes, including the Marmaduke Barton Piano Prize, and the annual Beethoven Competition. In his final year he won the Hopkinson Silver Medal at the Chappell Medal Competition, where he was also awarded the Esther Fisher Prize for best undergraduate performance. In his final recital he achieved the highest piano mark in his year, for his performance of Bach's Goldberg Variations. Simon is a regular recitalist at venues across the UK. Past appearances include performances at Wigmore Hall, St. John's Smith Square, St. Martin's In-the-Fields and Kettle's Yard, amongst others. In 2005 he won the piano prize at the Haverhill Sinfonia Soloist Competition. In May 2006, as result of further competitive success at the Marlow Music Festival, he performed Mozart's Piano Concerto in A Major, K488, at Cadogan Hall, with Southbank Sinfonia. He was recently featured as a Rising Star in the International Piano Quarterely magazine, and in 2009 completed an eight concert cycle of the complete Beethoven piano sonatas in London. In April 2010 Simon was awarded the British Music Prize at the inaugural Sussex International Piano Competition.
	
		 
	
		Beethoven’s  Sonata in F Major op 54 was written in 1804. It is certainly one of the lesser know of the sonatas, and is sandwiched between two of the composer’s greatest works, the ‘Waldstein’ op 53 and the ‘Appassionata’ op 57. However, the op.54 sonata inhabits a world of its own, and its hidden poetry and experimental style reward further listening. The first movement, In Tempo d’un Menuetto, has only two phrases, which come back several times, each time more varied yet with the harmony essentially the same. Separating this is an exaggerated outburst in octaves, which again displays the economy of means which characterise this work. No notes go to waste to create the frequently sparse texture. A brief coda closes the movement gently, before the Allegretto finale. This moto perpetuo,with its quirky accents which contrast with the flowing initial motif, is a new departure in the composer’s output. Despite, or perhaps because of the rhythmic consistency, there is no element of drive, no feeling that the music is heading anywhere in particular. Dynamic contrasts are sudden, and Beethoven leads us through a bewildering range of keys. The second part of the movement, much longer than the brief first section, is repeated, which gives balance to the sudden acceleration of the final page. The movement close the only way it can, abruptly but with joyful finality.  The Sonata in E Flat op 27/1 is the companion work to the ‘Moonlight’ sonata. The piece is subtitled ‘Sonata Quasi Una Fantasia’, as indeed is the op.27 no.2 mentioned above. Beethoven can be heard to be trying out new ways of presenting a sonata. Although the work has four movements, they are tied together without a break. The simple opening motif serves as a kind of extended introduction to a glittering Allegro, which is abruptly halted by the return of the opening material. A restless Scherzo and Trio contains interesting unison sonorities and syncopated rhythms, which in turn leads us to a dark and sonorous Adagio. This in turns leads to the finale, an Allegro vivace full of harmonic invention and playful piano writing. A brief interruption by the theme of the slow movement, this time in the home key of E Flat, leads us into a Presto finale, where the syncopated rhythms return to lead us jubilantly to the conclusion of this unusual and highly original work.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Watterton_StPeter_17Jan2011.mp3" length="54042716" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/piano_recital_beethoven_sonatas_13_and_22_liszt_and_schumann/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Mon, 17 Jan 2011 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>44:49</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[World Premieres of contemporary piano trios for the Park Lane Group]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[FOURNIER TRIO AT ST. PETER'S 1-2PM]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Fournier Trio: Chiao-Ying Chang (piano) Sulki Yu (violin) Pei-Jee Ng (cello) run through contemporary piano trios in advance of their Park Lane Group premieres.

	Mark-Anthony Turnage: 'A Short Procession' (2003) 
	Daniel Kidane: 'Flux &amp; Stasis'
	Timothy Salter Piano Trio: (1987/2010) *Revised Version*

	The mid-generation Turnage contrasts strongly with a new work by the talented RNCM composer Daniel Kidane written for the Fournier Trio and Timothy Salter's recently revised major work.

	Formed in 2009, the Fournier Piano Trio has been awarded a Leverhulme Chamber Music Fellowship by the Royal Academy of Music for 2010/11. The trio is mentored by renowned pedagogues David Takeno and Christopher Elton and will work extensively with Thomas Brandis at the Royal Academy. They are Park Lane Group Young Artists, appearing in the New Year Series at the Southbank in January 2011 and winners of the 2010 Philharmonia Orchestra MMSF and the 2010 Tunnell Trust Award. 
	
	This season the trio performs in the UK and Germany including debut recitals at the Purcell Room, Kings Place, St James Piccadilly and travelled to Norway to participate in the Trondheim International Chamber Music Academy and Festival, performing Faure's Piano Quartet No.2 with violist Lawrence Power.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Fournier_Trio_Park_Lane.mp3" length="49585706" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/world_premieres_of_contemporary_piano_trios_for_the_park_lane_group/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Mon, 10 Jan 2011 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>41:08</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Wind Quartets by Bozza, Francaix & Tomasi]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[London Myriad Ensemble St Peter's 1 PM]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[London Myriad Ensemble: Julie Groves (flute) Jenni Britton (oboe) Nadia Wilson (clarinet) Susana Dias (bassoon)

	

	 

	Eugène Bozza (1905-1991): Trois Pièces pour une Musique de Nuit

	Andantino ~ Allegro vivo ~ Moderato

	 

	Francis Poulenc (1899-1963): Sonata for Clarinet and Bassoon

	Allegro très rhythmé ~ Romance. Andante très doux ~  Finale. Très animé

	 

	Sir Malcolm Arnold (1921-2006): Divertimento for Flute, Oboe and Clarinet Op 37

	Allegro energico ~ Languido ~ Vivace ~ Andantino ~ Maestoso ~ Piacevole

	 

	Henri Tomasi (1901-1971): Concert Champêtre

	Overture ~ Minuetto ~ Bourrée ~ Nocturne ~ Tambourin

	 

	Jean Françaix (1912-1997): Quartet for Wind

	Allegro ~ Andante ~ Allegro molto ~ Allegro vivo

	 

	Since its conception as a professional chamber group in 2004, the London Myriad Ensemble has given concerts internationally, with a repertoire by composers ranging from Mozart to Chick Corea. The ensemble performs principally as a wind quintet whose members share a passion for chamber music alongside a wealth of experience within the music profession. The individual members have worked with major ensembles and eminent musicians in the UK, and internationally. The London Myriad Ensemble has performed at venues such as St. Martin-in-the-Fields, St. James's Piccadilly, and at the residence of the British High Commissioner to the Seychelles. The ensemble was Quintet in Residence, on a full scholarship at the Dartington International Summer School in 2005, and at the Seychelles International Festival of Classical Music 2006. It was then invited to the Beauville Arts Wind Chamber week in South-West France supported by an "Awards for Ensembles" grant from the Musicians Benevolent Fund and a generous donation from the Tillett Trust. The ensemble has a particular interest in new music and in expanding the repertoire for woodwind quintet, having recently given several world premiere performances. These premieres have included Ultramarine by Peter Nickol, which was written for the ensemble. Future plans include premieres of works by Carl Schimmel, Karl Nicklas Gustavsson and Ross Clarke, among others. Following their First Prize win at the 2nd International Israeli Music Competition 2009, the London Myriad Ensemble performed at the Purcell Room in the Southbank Centre and also on BBC Radio 3's "In Tune". To view two articles on LME's win visit: The Jewish Chronicle &amp; The Jewish News]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Myriad_StPeter_21Mar2011.mp3" length="52735557" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/wind_quartets_by_bozza_francaix_and_tomasi/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Mon, 21 Mar 2011 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>43:44</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Schubert Piano Trio in E Flat]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Dionysus Trio at St John's 1-2pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[PART OF THE FEBRUARY TRIO SERIES ORGANISED IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE PIANO TRIO SOCIETY

	The Dionysus Trio: Warwick Hewson (piano) Mark Pedus (violin) Samara Ginsberg (cello) play:

	 

	Franz Schubert: Trio No 2 in E flat Major Op 100 / D929

	 

	
		Allegro
	
		Andante con moto
	
		Scherzando. Allegro moderato
	
		Allegro moderato
	
		 


	Warwick studied piano with Amanda Hurton then Hilary Coates at Trinity College of Music. Currently, Warwick divides his time between playing, teaching and his work in the media. He has a long standing teaching post at Taunton school. Mark Studied at RNCM with Y. Zivoni and has worked and freelanced with several British orchestras. He has played solos with orchestras in Belgium and Italy including Bach double Concerto and Mozart Violin Concerto No 3 KP216. He has performed extensive chamber music and is currently working towards a Masters in Tilburg (The Netherlands). Samara began piano and composition lessons at the age of six, taking up the cello at 14. She went on to study at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with Stefan Popov, specialising in solo and chamber music. She now divides her time between playing, journalism and broadcasting.

	 

	
		Schubert lived his entire life in the shadow of Beethoven. His career was cut tragically short by illness, but in the last two years of his life, the most fertile time of his artistic career, he tackled the big instrumental forms in which Beethoven had excelled. His final masterpieces included the song cycle Winterreise, the string quintet, the octet, the last string quartets, the three magnificent last piano sonatas, the "Great" C Major Symphony, and the two piano trios. Prior to the composition of the piano trios in B-Flat Major and E- Flat Major, Schubert had written only one movement in the medium. The work we hear this evening, one of the great masterpieces of the piano trio literature, forms a bridge between the trios of Beethoven and Brahms. The Allegro is in sonata form, its exposition establishing, as Janet Bedell describes it, "a dynamic opposition between dramatic intensity and gentle lyricism." The opening theme, played by all three instruments in octaves "summons up Beethoven's spirit immediately." The second theme, "softly pattering," and "slightly conspiratorial" is introduced in the piano's upper register. A third "subdued" and "undulating" melody, introduced by the cello, becomes the principal subject of the development section.
	
		 
	
		Schubert based the Andante, the emotional center of the trio, on the Swedish song "Se solen sjunker," (The sun is going down). The gist of the song text is that "time is running out, hope has fled, the opportunity for love has been lost" (Hefling). The movement, a rondo (A B A' B' A"), opens with "a tragic, resolute march" with "undertones of a funeral procession" (Bedell). The cello introduces the first mournful theme, which is repeated in the piano. The first violin introduces the second theme over arpeggios in the piano. Unexpectedly, however, the "music veers into a savage climax of pain and anguish--the kind of startling outbursts we hear in several of Schubert's late masterpieces." Although the calm theme returns, Schubert "wrenches it harmonically toward an even more violent climax that disintegrates its melodic shape" (Bedell).
	
		 
	
		A relief after two intense movements, the Scherzo is a canon in which various tunes are stated by one instrument and echoed by another a measure later. The light and delicate main theme stands in sharp contrast to the heavy stomping dance of the trio.
	
		 
	
		The finale, also in sonata form, opens with a perky theme, leading into a second soft, exotic theme that, as Nathan Barber hears it, "seems to imitate a cimbalon--an ancient dulcimer of Hungarian origin." Schubert dwells on the first theme at great length in the exposition. In the development section he recalls the haunting Swedish theme from the second movement, now played by the cello over the strumming strings of the violin. As it nears the end of its nearly 45 minute duration, Op. 100 can be said to illustrate what some have called the "heavenly length" of Schubert's compositions.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Dionysus_Trio_StJohn_3Feb2011.mp3" length="54985190" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/schubert_piano_trio_in_e_flat/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Thu, 3 Feb 2011 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>45:36</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Piano Trios by Haydn in C Hob XV:21, Beethoven No 5 in D Op 70/1 'Ghost', Bloch: 3 Nocturnes]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Amaryllis Piano Trio at St John's 1-2pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[PART OF THE FEBRUARY TRIO SERIES ORGANISED IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE PIANO TRIO SOCIETY

	 

	Amaryllis Piano Trio – Susanna MacRae (piano), Hailey Willington (violin), Karoline Brevik (cello) perform:

	 

	

	 

	Piano Trio in C major, Hob XV:21 -  Joseph Haydn (1732 – 1809)

	Adagio pastorale – vivace assai ~ Molto andante ~ Finale: Presto

	 

	This is one of three trios written in London in 1794/1795 and dedicated to Princess Maria Josepha, wife of Prince Nicholas of Esterházy. There is some uncertainty as to the exact number of Piano Trios which Haydn wrote, but there is no doubt that the later works, mainly written after Mozart’s death and around the time of Haydn’s second visit to London, show a composer making full use of his skills, whether in his use of form, brilliant keyboard writing or the many examples of innovations which were to lead to the classical piano trio in the hands of Beethoven. They continue to surprise and delight with their many harmonic adventures into remote keys and enharmonic modulations. The early piano trios of Haydn were written with the harpsichord in mind and reflect the Baroque Trio Sonata, but by the time these late works were composed, the piano was the favoured instrument. Haydn was particularly impressed with English pianos so his time in London resulted in some of the most adventurous keyboard writing of the time, which has been favourably compared with Mozart’s Piano Concertos! By comparison, the string writing is less innovative but even this is full of the most imaginative writing using devices such as doubling, and double stopping, extended solo passages for the violin and various contrapuntal devices. Although it is frequently claimed that the role of the cello is merely to double the left hand of the keyboard, this is by no means the case and the writing for the instrument shows the composer’s awareness of texture and emphasis. Early keyboard instruments lacked the power of modern pianos, necessitating some reinforcement of the bass, but even when a piano is used, the cello line is vital to the balance of the whole.  

	© Christine Talbot-Cooper 

	 

	Piano Trio no 5 in D major, Op 70 no 1 “Ghost” – Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

	Allegro vivace e con brio ~ Largo assai ed espressivo ~ Presto

	 

	The two trios of Opus 70 were written in 1808 during a prolific period which also saw the composition of the fifth and sixth symphonies. This trio in D major is the only one of Beethoven’s piano trios to be written with three movements, all the others being in four, and here we find that the elements of composition have moved on considerably from earlier trios, possibly because of the greater scope afforded by the development of the piano with its larger compass and dynamic range. The title “The Ghost” derives from the slow movement of the work which is based on a fragmentary theme that first appeared among Beethoven’s sketches for a witches’ scene from an opera based on Macbeth which was never completed and is set in the key of D minor. Here the drumming figures in the strings and various devices used by the piano all help to create an air of menace and mystery. The two outer movements, whilst retaining the structure of sonata form, also contain unusual key structures with strong emphasis in both movements of the unrelated keys of B flat major and F major. The first movement contains much thematic development, not all of it occurring in the long and complex development section, and much interesting contrapuntal writing. In contrast to the grand scale of the opening movement, the final movement is full of high spirits and serves to dispel the tensions of the central movement so that the trio ends with a flourish!

	© Christine Talbot-Cooper

	 

	Three Nocturnes – Ernest Bloch (1880 - 1959)

	Andante ~ Andante quieto ~ Tempestoso

	 

	Ernest Bloch was one of many composers who emigrated to America in the early decades of the twentieth century. Born in Geneva,  Bloch studied in Brussels, Frankfurt and Paris before moving to America in 1916.  Early works show the influence of his time in Europe, but he is perhaps best known for his music which shows a strong Jewish influence. The Three Nocturnes were composed in 1924 and show different aspects of the night. The first one is gentle and full of mystery with tentative and broken melody, but by contrast the second one features long lyrical phrases reminiscent of a lullaby. The third Nocturne takes us on a stormy journey which is interrupted by a return of the theme from the second Nocturne, before vanishing into thin air!

	© Christine Talbot-Cooper

	 

	Oblivion – Àstor Piazzolla  (1921-1992) arr. Jose Bragato

	Astor Piazzolla composed Oblivion for chamber ensemble in 1982.  Jose Bragato subsequently arranged it for piano trio in 1984. Oblivion is quite possibly Piazzolla’s most famous tango and became immensely popular following its use in Marco Bellochio’s film Henry IV, The Mad King. The piece is slow, beautiful and reflective -  qualities which are unexpected the Tango Nuevo style. 

	 

	The Amaryllis Piano Trio formed in November 2009 during their first year at the Royal College of Music. They enjoy playing a wide range of repertoire covering periods from Haydn to Shostakovich and styles including Piazzolla’s Tango Nuevo. Following their enthusiastically acclaimed June debut in the newly refurbished Parry Rooms of the RCM, the trio has been booked for a busy 2010/11 concert season. This includes appearances on the RCM concert schedule as well as recitals around greater London, dates in Devon, and a spring tour of the Channel Islands. The trio has performed in masterclasses given by renowned chamber musicians such as Simon Rowland-Jones, former violist of the Chilingirian String Quartet and eminent  British Pianist Susan Tomes. Outside of the concert hall the trio engages in outreach work ranging from music workshop presentations with school children to performing and engaging with the elderly. The Amaryllis Piano Trio receives regular coaching from members of the Sacconi String Quartet and are chamber music students of Nigel Clayton.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Amaryllis_Trio_StJohn_10Feb2011.mp3" length="56491956" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/piano_trios_by_haydn_in_c_hob_xv_21_beethoven_no_5_in_d_op_70_1_ghost_bloch_3_nocturnes/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Thu, 10 Feb 2011 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>46:51</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Organ recital of Liszt, Handel and English music concurrant with the organ's building]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[David Gammie (organ) at St Peter's 1-2pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[David Gammie (organ)
	
		 
	
		John E. West (1865-1929) Allegro maestoso, from Sonata in D minor (1895)
	
		George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) Concerto in F, Op.4 no. 5 Larghetto – Allegro - Alla siciliana - Presto
	
		Franz Liszt (1811-1886) Ave Maria
	
		Adagio from the Fourth Violin Sonata ofJS Bach Prelude &amp; Fugue on ‘BACH’
	
		Easthope Martin (1882-1925) Evensong (1910) 
	
		C. Edgar Ford (1881- 19??) Moto perpetuo &amp; Intermezzo (1916)
	
		Edward d’Evry (1869-1950) Toccata (1898)
	
		 
	
		David Gammie began organ lessons at Winchester, and gave his first public recital in London when he was just 16, but it was only after leaving Oxford with a Classics degree that he took up music more seriously, studying with H.A. Bate in London, and then with Peter Hurford in Cambridge. David has played regular recitals at all the London cathedrals, given solo recitals on Radio 3, and made festival appearances at St Albans, Brighton and Guildford. In recent years he has played in France and Australia, while choral accompaniment has taken him to Belgium, Germany and the USA. He also enjoys writing about music; he provides programme notes for concerts all over the country, and he has written booklet notes for around sixty CDs of organ and choral music. David lives in Wimbledon, where he is Organist at the Church of the Sacred Heart, one of the largest Catholic churches in southern England. Built by Walkers in 1912, the Sacred Heart organ is a big brother and an almost exact contemporary of the Walker organ here at St. Peter’s. Like the St. Peter’s organ, it has retained all its original pipes and mechanism, and it is currently undergoing a comprehensive restoration by Mander Organs, with the aid of a generous grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
	
		 
	
		Liszt’s extraordinarily diverse life and career fell roughly into three periods: his virtuoso years as an international celebrity of the concert platform, his early retirement to Weimar, where he embarked on a fearless exploration of new musical horizons (“Music from a new world”, as his friend Saint-Saëns once said), and the spiritual pilgrimage of his later years, when he moved to Rome and took minor orders in the Catholic Church. His extensive output of sacred music remains little-known. The beautiful setting of the Ave Maria originated as a choral work in 1846, but he also arranged it for organ, and for piano, as the second of his Harmonies Poétiques et Réligieuses. Liszt was always generous in his promotion of the music of other composers, both dead and alive. Like his contemporaries Mendelssohn and Schumann, he was devoted to Bach: “…When I have had my fill of Handel’s triads, I am drawn to the priceless dissonances of the Passions and the B minor Mass.” He transcribed many Bach organ works for the piano, and a few vocal and chamber works for the organ. The three melodic lines of the well-known Adagio from Bach’s C minor Violin Sonata (violin plus keyboard treble and bass) are well suited to two manuals and pedals on the organ, and required no alteration. But Bach’s concluding cadenza leads straight into the Sonata’s finale, so Liszt substituted a magical little ending of his own. Both Schumann (in 1845) and Liszt (in 1855) were inspired to compose a tribute to Bach in the form of a work based on the musical motif derived in German from the letters of his name (in English, B flat–A–C–B natural).  Schumann acknowledged Bach’s contrapuntal genius by composing a set of Fugues, but Liszt – at the height of his Weimar period – was more interested in priceless dissonance, and wrote a towering masterpiece in his most advanced and imaginative style – truly, Music from a New World. His “Prelude &amp; Fugue” is an improvisatory fantasia that draws every drop of drama and emotion out of the 4-note chromatic motif, which permeates almost every bar. The “Fugue” forms a hushed and dark-hued episode of romantic soul-searching in the middle of the piece, and would not be recognised a real fugue by either Bach or Schumann; a great Liszt scholar, the late Humphrey Searle, once described this part of the work as “a more-or-less direct link between Bach and Schoenberg.”
	
		 
	
		The Liszt pieces are framed by some period English music dating from around the time this organ was built (Handel is of course the wrong period, but he can be regarded as an honorary Englishman, and his short  Concerto provides an opportunity to enjoy some lighter textures and tone-colours). The composers were all well-known organists in the Edwardian era. John West’s Sonata is a vigorous and tuneful work that can bear comparison with any of the better-known music that was being written in the 1890s in France and Germany. Edward D’Evry was organist at the Brompton Oratory for many years, but the central section of his rousing Toccata strays unashamedly into the realm of “light music”, which is where the other two pieces in the final group definitely belong. Evensong is a real Edwardian classic, much-loved and frequently performed in its day. Ford’s featherlight scherzo is just one short piece, despite the rather confusing title; the Intermezzo is the melodic middle section, whose tune is craftily combined with the moto perpetuo on the last page. ]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Gammie_StPeters_7Feb2011.mp3" length="64588342" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/organ_recital_of_liszt_handel_and_english_music_concurrant_with_the_organ_s_building/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Mon, 7 Feb 2011 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>53:34</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Piano Trios Mendelssohn No 2 in c Op 66 & Shostakovich No 2 in e Op 67]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Eagle Trio at St Peter's 1-2pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Eagle Trio – Aleksandra Myslek (piano) Kanako Yanagida (violin) Peiyao Guo (cello)

	 

	

	 

	Piano Trio no 2 in E minor Op  67  - Dimitri Shostakovich (1906-1975)

	Andante ~ Allegro con brio ~  Largo ~ Allegretto

	 

	Composed in 1944, along with the second string quartet and just one year after the eighth symphony, the piano trio was dedicated to the composer’s friend, the music scholar Sollertinsky, but like all the works of this period the theme is influenced by the brutality and futility of war. The first movement opens with a short lyrical introduction. The main theme which follows emerges from this, and suggests a folk-song influence. The whole movement has a poetic calm, and may be thought of as an elegy. The second movement, in contrast, is a scherzo of impetuous energy. The slow movement is a chaconne, built on the repetition of eight chords on the piano around which the violin and cello unfolds a mournful dialogue, drawing parallels with the passacaglia of the eighth symphony. Then directly – attacca – the finale plunges into its angular and menacing theme. The driving rhythms create a form of awe-inspiring dance music, but the march is relentless, and no ray of light pierces the tragic gloom of the conclusion. At the height of the movement the folk-like theme of the first movement is recalled, as are also the eight funeral chords of the chaconne.

	© Christine Talbot-Cooper

	 

	Piano Trio no 2 in C minor Op 66 – Felix Mendelssohn (1809 – 1847)

	Allegro energico e con fuoco ~ Andante espressivo ~ Scherzo: Molto allegro quasi presto ~ Finale: Allegro appassionato

	 

	The second of Mendelssohns’s piano trios was composed in 1845, two years before his death and was dedicated to Louis Spohr. As with the first trio, this work is in four movements, with a song-like slow second movement and a characteristic scherzo as a third movement. Both trios show off Mendelssohn’s gifts of melodic invention, craftsmanship and structural clarity. The opening movement in an expansive sonata form has a first theme, often set against rapid accompaniment figures and heard in various disguises including diminution and augmentation, which contrasts with the lyrical second subject in E flat major. The movement builds to a climax where the theme is played by the strings in augmentation against the original theme which is heard on the piano. A gentler second movement begins with a recurring falling figure, introduced by the piano, and contains in its central section some beautiful modulations. By contrast, the third movement is a sparkling scherzo in G minor which ventures into G major for the trio section, with the busy semiquavers and fugal writing all vanishing into thin air in an ending which brings to mind the scherzo of the String Octet which Mendelssohn wrote twenty years earlier. As with his earlier piano trio, Mendelssohn uses rondo form for the final movement, but it is a rondo with three principal themes, the third of which, a chorale-like melody, is used to great effect at the climax of the work. At this point the music moves to C major and the writing for the three instruments takes on almost orchestral proportions in the powerful coda.

	© Christine Talbot-Cooper

	 

	Aleksandra Myslek  was born in 1992 in Warsaw and  began playing the piano at the age of six.  Among others, she received two special prizes for the best performance of Chopin works in the Chopin Competition in Sochaczew- Poland (2001, 2006), 2nd prize in the International Schumann Piano Competition in Suwalki Poland (2007) and 1st prize and special prizes in the International Chopin Piano Competition in Budapest (2008). In 2008 she was awarded the Artistic Scholarship of the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage,  also becoming a ward of the National Fund for Talented Children. Aleksandra performed, among others at then Chopin Society in Warsaw, the Porczynscy Gallery, the F. Chopin University of Music in Warsaw. In 2008, invited by Ecole Normale de Musique, Aleksandra played in Paris (prestigious Concours International de Piano), and in 2009 she gave three recitals in Hungary, in Budapest, Szeged and Debrecen. In March 2009 she made her debut in the W. Lutoslawski Concert Studio of the Polish Radio. In 2010 she was invited to take part in many concerts on the occasion of the Chopin Year. Aleksandra has participated in many masterclasses and in September 2010 became a student of the Royal Academy of Music where she was awarded the Sidney Kenneth Brindle Award and studies with Christopher Elton.

	 

	Kanako Yanagida was born in Tokyo in 1990 where she studied at the High School attached to the Tokyo University of Arts, Music Faculty and is currently on the first year of her undergraduate study at the Royal Academy of Music. She won the first prize in the Elementary School Section of 55th All Japan Student Music Competition Tokyo Division in 2001 and performed as a soloist with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra several times in 2002. She was again awarded the 2nd Prize in Junior High School Section of the 58th All Japan Student Music Competition Tokyo Division in 2004 and took part in the London Masterclass in 2008 and 2009 studying with Gyorgy Pauk, and with Konstanty Kulka at the Chopin Academy Masterclass where she performed at selective concerts. In 2009, she was a finalist in the 79th All Japan Music Competition and  performed with the New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra. She was awarded the Fukushima prize of by the Tokyo University of Arts in 2010. She has studied the violin with Yukiko Ogawa, Takako Yamazaki, Gerard Poulet, Oleh Krysa, Kazuki Sawa, and is currently studying with Gyorgy Pauk.

	 

	Peiyao Guo started his cello education at the aged of 6, having studied with professor Jiwu Li, principal of the Xinghai Conservatory of Music, entering the Music School attached to Xinghai Conservatory of Music in 2004. He has attended several international art festivals where he has worked with Lynn Harrell, Carlos Prieto, Andre Diaz, Carter Enyeart, Hans Jorgen Jensen and other great artists. In 2008 he was invited to take part in Morningside Music Bridge in Canada and in 2009 and 2010, he represented the Xinghai Conservatory of Music, performing at Xinghai concert hall. In 2009 he won the first prize in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan Cello Competition, and performed as the winner several times. Also in 2010, he gave a recital in Guangzhou and was awarded a full scholarship for studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Eagle_Trio_StPeter_14Feb2011.mp3" length="68634703" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/piano_trios_mendelssohn_no_2_in_c_op_66_and_shostakovich_no_2_in_e_op_67/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Mon, 14 Feb 2011 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>56:56</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Piano trios Haydn: 'Gypsy', Shostakovich No 1 and Mendelssohn No 2]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Mediterranea Trio at St Peter's 1-2pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Mediterranea Trio – Elenlucia Pappalardo (piano), Markella Vandoros (violin), Alessandro Sanguineti (cello) 

	 

	

	 

	Piano Trio no 39 in G major, Hob XV:25 “Gipsy” – Joseph Haydn (1732 – 1809) 

	Andante

	Poco adagio, cantabile

	Rondo a l’Ongarese: Presto

	 

	This trio was written in 1795 during Haydn’s time in London and is one of three dedicated to Rebecca Schroeter. The early piano trios of Haydn were written with the harpsichord in mind and reflect the Baroque Trio Sonata, but by the time these late works were composed, the piano was the favoured instrument.  Haydn was particularly impressed with English pianos so his time in London resulted in some of the most adventurous keyboard writing of the time, which has been favourably compared with Mozart’s Piano Concertos! By comparison, the string writing is less innovative but even this is full of the most imaginative writing using devices such as doubling, and double stopping, extended solo passages for the violin and various contrapuntal devices.  Although it is frequently claimed that the role of the cello is merely to double the left hand of the keyboard, this is by no means the case and the writing for the instrument shows the composer’s awareness of texture and emphasis. Early keyboard instruments lacked the power of modern pianos, necessitating some reinforcement of the bass, but even when a piano is used, the cello line is vital to the balance of the whole. The final Hungarian rondo movement gives this work the title by which it is frequently known! © Christine Talbot-Cooper 

	 

	Piano Trio no 1 in C minor, Opus 8 – Dimitri Shostakovich (1906-1975)

	 

	This early work,  written in 1923 while the composer was still a student at Leningrad Conservatoire, was dedicated to Tatyana Glivenko and was entitled Poem. The work is in one movement in which the eight linked sections are alternately slow and fast, and, although rather more romantic in style than his later works, there are clear indications of the distinctive style of the emerging composer.

	© Christine Talbot-Cooper

	 

	Piano Trio no 2 in C minor, Opus 66 – Felix Mendelssohn (1809 – 1847)

	Allegro energico e con fuoco

	Andante espressivo

	Scherzo: Molto allegro quasi presto

	Finale: Allegro appassionato

	 

	The second of Mendelssohns’s piano trios was composed in 1845, two years before his death and was dedicated to Louis Spohr. As with the first trio, this work is in four movements, with a song-like slow second movement and a characteristic scherzo as a third movement. Both trios show off Mendelssohn’s gifts of melodic invention, craftsmanship and structural clarity. The opening movement in an expansive sonata form has a first theme, often set against rapid accompaniment figures and heard in various disguises including diminution and augmentation, which contrasts with the lyrical second subject in E flat major. The movement builds to a climax where the theme is played by the strings in augmentation against the original theme which is heard on the piano. A gentler second movement begins with a recurring falling figure, introduced by the piano, and contains in its central section some beautiful modulations. By contrast, the third movement is a sparkling scherzo in G minor which ventures into G major for the trio section, with the busy semiquavers and fugal writing all vanishing into thin air in an ending which brings to mind the scherzo of the String Octet which Mendelssohn wrote twenty years earlier. As with his earlier piano trio, Mendelssohn uses rondo form for the final movement, but it is a rondo with three principal themes, the third of which, a chorale-like melody, is used to great effect at the climax of the work.  At this point the music moves to C major and the writing for the three instruments takes on almost orchestral proportions in the powerful coda. © Christine Talbot-Cooper

	 

	The Mediterranea Trio was established at the Royal College of Music in 2007 by pianist Elenlucia Pappalardo, violinist Markella Vandoros and cellist Alessandro Sanguineti. The Trio has been coached by Andrew Ball, the Chilingirian Quartet, Gordon Fergus-Thompson, Yuri Zhislin, David Dolan, Geoffrey Govier and Kathron Sturrock and has participated in masterclasses with Susan Tomes at King's Place, Eckart Heiligers, Alexander Malosh, Peter Cropper, Moray Welsh and Simon Rowland-Jones. After its debut at the National Gallery, the Mediterranea Trio went on to perform at venues such as St Martin-in-the-Fields, Cheltenham Town Hall, St James’s Piccadilly, Regent Hall, Farnham Castle for the Tilford Bach Society, the Lansdowne Club in Mayfair, the Royal College of Music, the Louth and District Concert Society and the Rothamsted Manor in Harpenden. It also took part in the Chilingirian Chamberfest 2009, the Bedford Park Festival and the Exhibition Road Music Day 2010. More info at their website.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Mediterranea_Trio_StPeter_21Feb2011.mp3" length="73926145" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/piano_trios_haydn_gypsy_shostakovich_no_1_and_mendelssohn_no_2/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Mon, 21 Feb 2011 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>1:01:19</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Clarinet Trios by Stravinsky and Arutiunian]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Dukas Trio at St John's 1-2pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Dukas Trio – Akiko Tominaga (piano), Francina Moll Salord (violin), Rachael Chesney (clarinet) perform:

	Suite for Clarinet Trio – Aleksandr Grigori Arutiunian (b. 1920)

	Introduction ~ Scherzo ~ Dialog ~ Finale 

	 

	The work of the Armenian composer and pianist Arutiunian is not well-known among audiences. However, this work exemplifies that his music has an undeniable value. Arutiunian creates a dualism between Classical and Romantic elements, as well as a spontaneous and improvisatory approach in this composition, reflecting Armenia's cultural heritage, and revealing the national melodic style and the energy of its rhythms. Here we see his preservation of Classical sequences of contrasting movements and the sung tradition, based on freely varied development, is also present. His lyrical idiom is rooted in a specific national melodic character, while the Romantic side of his sensibility finds expression in an emotional radicalism and a predominantly lyrical impulse, producing melodies that are at once expressive, sentimental, nostalgic and ironic. It is possible to appreciate how Classical forms and Romantic harmonic patterns are employed in balanced combination. This clarinet trio is a taste of very Gypsyish, Russian, and Armenian colourful sounds.

	 

	L’Histoire du Soldat (The Soldier’s Tale) -  Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)

	1. Soldier’s March 2. The soldier’s violin 3. Little concert

	4. Tango – Valse – Rag  5. Devil’s dance

	 

	This is an early theatrical work by the Russian composer Stravinsky, although as early as 1910 he had achieved fame with his ballet The Firebird and notoriety with The Rite of Spring in 1913.  It is based on a Russian folk tale about a soldier who trades his fiddle to the devil and was written in 1918 for an ensemble of seven musicians plus three actors and a dancer. A year later it was arranged as a concert suite for clarinet, violin and piano.

	 

	Encore: Overture from Clarinet Trio Suite. Op.157b, Darius Milhaud

	 

	The Dukas Trio takes it's name from a French composer best known for his score used in the Walt Disney film Fantasia.

	 

	Born in Chiba Japan, Since 2009 Akiko Tominaga has studied at the Royal College of Music in London with Andrew Ball. In 2005, she was invited to perform Schumann Piano Quintet E flat major with Cherry Blossom Quartet at Kameria Hall in Tokyo. In the summer of 2005, she participated in Ost West Musikfest in Krems, Austria and was chosen to perform at a Concert for Talented Young Musicians. In 2006, Akiko performed the world première of Grand Duo composed by an Austrian composer/pianist, Thomas Hlawatsch  at a Contemporary Music Concert in Vienna.

	 

	Rachael Chesney was born in Newcastle and is also studying at RCM. Rachael has performed at the Sage Gateshead including a performance with a wind quintet celebrating the opening which was televised on the BBC Culture Show. Rachael also played the Brahms trio which was recorded and broadcasted on Radio 2 in a programme presented by Howard Goodall. Rachael has won awards at several festivals, also performing as soloist as a member of the Tosca Trio and as Principle Clarinet in the RCM Sinfonietta. Rachael is currently working as an RCM Sparks presenter introducing Orchestral music and Opera Matinees to children in Primary schools and is a workshop assistant in a Rhythm for Life project working with older adults.

	 

	Born in Ciutadella de Menorca (Spain), in 2004 Francina Moll Salord moved to Barcelona where she studied at Oriol Martorell Music Centre, achieving the highest marks both in violin and chamber music, and performing with two important youth orchestras in Catalonia. Francina was one of the chosen students by Oriol Martorell to represent Spain in Graz (Austria), in a Project organized by UE which had internacional musicians of all UE countries in various concerts.  In 2006, Francina was given a scholarship to study at the Purcell School inLondon, later moving to RCM.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Dukas_Trio_StJohn_24Feb2011.mp3" length="38125779" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/clarinet_trios_by_stravinsky_and_arutiunian/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Thu, 24 Feb 2011 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>31:37</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Beethoven & Haydn String Quartets Op 18 & 76]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Armonia String Quartet St John's 1-2pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Armonia String Quartet: Angela Jung, John Bowker (violins) Ben Malitskie (viola) Molly Parsons-Gurr (cello) play:

	(Franz) Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) String Quartet  in G Op 76/1
	Allegro con spirito ~ Adagio sostenuto ~ Menuetto: Presto ~ Finale: Presto

	Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 – 1827) String Quartet No 6 in B flat Major Op 18/6

	Allegro con brio ~ Adagio ma non ~ Scherzo:Allegro ~ La Malinconia: Adagio – Allegretto quasi allegro – Prestissimo

	 

	

	 

	Haydn's Op. 76, the last set of six quartets he composed, are generally recognised as the pinnacle of his writing in the genre. They were completed in 1796-7 and published a couple of years later. No. 1 in G major, as befits the opening quartet of the set, is grandiose and symphonic in breadth and construction, with some impressive "orchestral" writing for the quartet, and with a broad tonal canvas including frequent explorations of the parallel minor mode.

	 

	Composed between 1798-1800 Beethoven’s B flat major Quartet, despite its designation as number 6, was actually the penultimate to be composed. It is thought that Beethoven placed this work last in the published series because the weight of the final movement, La Malinconia (Melancholy), would serve as an apt closing to the entire set. Beethoven paid homage to the tradition established by Haydn and by writing a set of six as they had done. The French music scholar Joseph de Marliave comments: “In these works of Beethoven’s youth, the clarity and freshness of Haydn are found linked with the grace of Mozart, but so far from being a slavish imitation of these two Masters, they form, as it were, the crowning achievement of their art.” The Op 18 Quartets were dedicated to Prince Franz Joseph Lobkowitz and first performed privately at weekly Friday morning quartet concerts at the home of Prince Karl Lichnowsky. The B flat Quartet opens with a short and lively movement. Of the second movement Adagio, de Marliave comments; “At the writing of this slow movement, Beethoven must have been enjoying one of the periods of relaxation that he was so rarely to experience during his life”. As for the third movement Scherzo Robert Haven Schauffer writes in The Man Who Freed Music (1929): “In the Scherzo of the B flat Quartet we catch Beethoven in the act of stealing the Twentieth Century’s thunder by inventing Jazz with its subtle, catchy syncopations &amp; bizarre wit. An exaggeration, but this movement is recognized as the most original of the entire set. As for the finale, Beethoven provides written instructions in the score as to how he wants this section performed: Questo pezzo si deve trattare colla piu gran delicatezza. (This piece must be played with the greatest refinement). In his Guide to Chamber Music Melvin Berger comments: “From the point of view of musical development, this introduction is decades ahead of the rest of Op. 18. In some ways it presages the Late Quartets of the 1820s, with its moving evocation of grief and despair; it provides, as well, an insight into the depths of Beethoven’s emotional state.”

	 

	The Armonia String Quartet was formed by four students, each having a passion for chamber music, from Trinity College of Music, London. These members are Angela Jung (violin I), who is studying with Richard Ireland, John Bowker (violin II), studying with John Crawford, Ben Malitskie (viola) with Richard Crabtree and Molly Parsons-Gurr (cello) with David Kenedy. They have already given numerous recitals within London and have future recitals planned throughout 2011 and 2012. They have been playing a variety of repertoire and also have worked with living composers giving première recordings and performances. The quartet receives regular coaching from Michael Bochmann (first violin of the Bochmann Quartet) and David Kenedy (artistic director of the Greenwich International String Quartet Festival). Since its formation, the quartet has been taking part in a large number of masterclasses given by the members of the Wihan Quartet, Danish Quartet and Finzi Quartet. Away from performing in concerts, the quartet also takes part in different educational projects and were recently involved in an educational programme called ‘Raising the Roof’ for primary schools in South East London.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Armonia_Quartet_StJohn_3March2011.mp3" length="57746363" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/beethoven_and_haydn_string_quartets_op_18_and_76/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Thu, 3 Mar 2011 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>47:54</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Parzival for flute & baritone with poetry by Lindsay Clarke]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Julie Groves (flute) Gregers Brinch (Baritone) at St Peter's 1-2pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Julie Groves (flute) Gregers Brinch (Baritone) perform a new work 'Parzival' by Danish composer Gregers Brinch based on the tale of Parsifal. Words by Whitbread prize winning author Lindsay Clarke

	

	Julie Groves performs as a soloist, orchestral musician and as part of the accomplished London Myriad Ensemble. She was notably the Great Britain and Ireland Winner of the LIONS International Music Competition, representing the UK in the Europe Finals. Julie has ongoing creative projects with Between Soundings (flute/poet), composers, actors and dancers in creating new works and experimenting with improvisational material. Julie is Composers Editor for the British Flute Society online and also writes reviews for Flute - the Journal of the BFS. She also coaches chamber music and advanced woodwind across the country and at Benslow Music Trust.

	Gregers Brinch studied music theory &amp; harmony, composition, singing and  piano) with Cecil Cope (Forest Row) and Louis Demetrius Alvanis (London). He received further Music training at the Music seminar at the Eurythmy school in Hamburg. He has taught music and was the eurythmy piano accompanist at Emerson College.

	TWELVE SONGS FOR PARZIVAL
	With a Narrative Commentary to provide a context for the songs in performance
	© Lindsay Clarke

	 

	TWELVE SONGS FOR PARZIVAL

	 

	This cycle of twelve songs is based on the story of Parzival’s quest for the Holy Grail as it was told in an epic poem by the Bavarian poet and knight Wolfram von Eschenbach around the turn of the 12th and 13th Centuries. Wolfram’s poem PARZIVAL opens with an account of how a great knight called Gahmuret the Angevin is taken by his love of adventure to the African kingdom of Zazamanc where he fathers a child on the black queen Belakane. Shortly after the birth of their son Feirefitz, Gahmuret abandons Belakane to journey to Wales where, as champion of a great jousting tournament, he wins the hand of Queen Herzeloyde. She too gives him a son, who is called Parzival. But once again Gahmuret grows restless and leaves to fight in a war where he is killed. 

	 

	Driven mad by grief, Herzeloyde vows that he son will never know anything of knightly combat and warfare. She takes the infant child away to live a secluded life in the forest where Parzival grows up utterly naïve and innocent of the ways of the world. One day, however, he is entranced by the sight of three of King Arthur’s knights riding through the forest and believes that he has found his destiny. In the first song he shares his vision with his mother.  

	 

	1. IN THE FOREST

	 

	Mother, when I heard the singing of the birds

	my heart ached at the beauty of their song -

	a yearning far beyond the reach of words

	that called me to a land where I belong.

	 

	Mother, you spoke to me of God and his strong light.

	I did not understand your words until

	I saw the bright sun shine off armoured knights

	astonishing my senses and my soul.

	 

	O Mother, now my eyes have seen that sight,

	it shines inside me. I must follow it.

	I cannot live in exile from its light.

	My one desire now is to be a knight.

	 

	Now determined to join the knights of King Arthur’s court, Parzival pays no heed to his mother’s desperate pleading, so she dresses him in the rough clothing she has made for him – a hood for a helmet, a jerkin for a hauberk - hoping that the world’s scorn will drive him back to her. She advises him always to take the advice of old men because they know how to survive and never to ask more than kisses from any ladies he might meet.  

	 

	Taking her advice to heart, Parzival rides off on their old nag, armed only with his hunter’s javelin. As he rides through the wood he comes across a grieving woman with the body of a dead knight in her arms. Her name is Sigune and she is aware of Parzival’s identity as the true prince of the realm.

	 

	2.  WITH SIGUNE

	 

	I met a grieving lady in the wood

	who looked at me with sorrow in her face.

	The knight who lay at peace in her embrace

	Was not asleep but dead.

	 

	‘O Lady, we should bury him,’ I cried.

	But she would not, and when I asked the cause

	Of her lord’s death, she said, ‘It was

	for your sweet sake he died.’

	 

	She claimed this land should rightly be my own.

	I stood astounded, baffled by her words,

	then rode away in silence through the woods

	While she grieved sadly on.

	 

	Astonished by what the lady has told him, Parzival rides on and comes to Arthur’s court, where he finds that all the king’s knights are afraid to fight the Red Knight who has challenged them to mortal combat on their lord’s behalf.  The knights pour scorn on the clumsy way Parzival is dressed, on the peasant’s weapon that he carries, and on his ignorant assumption that Arthur will make him a knight. Filled with innocent self-belief, the youth withstands their derision and demands that Arthur name him his champion. Impressed by his evident sincerity and courage, the king complies, and Parzival rides out to confront the Red Knight, whose brilliant red armour he deeply covets.

	 

	3. AT ARTHUR’S COURT

	 

	The Red Knight roared his challenge out in vain.

	Not one among the king’s knights dared to answer him.

	Wanting that bright red armour for my own,

	I demanded that the king make me his champion.

	The knights all jeered. I gripped my javelin.

	 

	I saw the Red Knight gleaming in his pride.

	He wheeled his mount and told me to be gone.

	I told him he must fight or be decried.

	He couched his lance.  I hurled my javelin.

	It struck. He fell. I watched in horror as he died.

	 

	Appalled by what he has done, Parzival rides away from Arthur’s court dressed now in the Red Knight’s armour over the rough clothes his mother had made for him. As he rides, he encounters an old man out hawking who offers him shelter for the night. When he discovers Parzival’s identity, the man reveals himself as Herzeloyde’s faithful old marshall Gurnemanz, and kneels before him as his true prince. He vows to train Parzival in all the arts of knightly combat and succeeds in doing so, but when he grows weary of the youth’s constant eager questioning, he gives him some advice which will later have fateful consequences.

	 

	4. WITH GURNEMANZ

	 

	This armour that I wear is red as blood

	above the rough smock that my mother made,

	but I remain a green man underneath.

	 

	My mind is wilder than a woodland glade,

	and still my shamed heart shudders to recall

	the jeering of the knights in Arthur’s hall.

	 

	And yet this old man bends his knee to me,

	and calls me Prince, and vows that he

	will teach me all he knows of chivalry.

	 

	He says a true knight never shows his ignorance,

	and therefore I will ask no questions, 

	but I will trust and value his experience,

	 

	Once he has mastered all the arts of war, Parzival rides off to the aid of the young queen Blanchefleur, whose citadel at Belrepaire is under siege and about to fall. Victorious in combat against the leader of the besieging host, Parzival relieves the city, where he and Blanchefleur fall deeply in love with one another. But his mother’s advice that he should ask no more than kisses from a lady means that their marriage gets off to a timid start until Blanchefleur understands what is happening and leads him deeper into love.

	 

	5. WITH CONDWIRAMURS

	 

	Three nights we lay together

	Side by side in innocence.

	And though my eager body

	Hungered at your touch, I took 

	the kisses that my mother said I might,

	yet dared not ask for more.

	 

	And then your sweet words freed me

	when you said, ‘I am your wife, 

	dear heart, and all of me is yours.’ 

	And we two melted into one.

	And so I name you now Condwiramurs,

	for you have led me deeply into love.

	 

	Parzival has now won both a good and beautiful wife and the reputation of being one of the world’s most glorious knights.  All seems well with his world but after a blissful time together,  he and Blanchefleur decide that his mother must be brought out of the forest to live with them at Belrepaire and share their joy. Parzival rides away in search of her but quickly finds himself travelling through the desolate terrain of a waste land. Soon losing all sense of direction, he loosens his grip on his horse’s reins, trusting it to guide him through the grey dream of those wastes. 

	 

	Eventually he is brought to the shore of a mere, where he sees a figure fishing from a boat and asks if there is a place where he might shelter for the night. He is given directions to a house which rises from the mist around him and proves to be the enchanted Castle of the Grail. 

	 

	Parzival is warmly welcomed there and during the course of a banquet is given the rich gift of a sword by Anfortas, the Grail King, who is evidently suffering from a grievous wound. Powerful mysteries then unfold before Parzival’s astonished and uncomprehending eyes. 

	 

	6. AT THE CASTLE OF THE GRAIL

	 

	I saw an old man fishing on the mere.

	I saw a castle rising through the air.

	 

	Inside its hall, I saw a fool who dressed

	me rudely as a woman for the feast.

	 

	I heard the old man groan, yet at his word

	a young page offered me a sword.

	 

	I saw a lance from which blood streamed.

	And still more strangely then, as if I dreamed,

	 

	I saw a maiden lift a grail in offering.

	And though I heard the old king suffering

	 

	I failed to ask the reason for his sighs

	Or what the meaning of these mysteries.

	 

	Remembering the advice of his mentor Gurnemanz, Parzival had chosen not to reveal his ignorance by asking questions, but cries of lamentation follow his failure to speak. The Grail withdraws from his sight and he retires to bed, weary and bewildered. When he wakes the next day he finds the castle deserted. As he leaves, a voice condemns him as a heartless fool, crying that the land remains waste because he has not put the question.

	 

	Shamed by the rebuke and still more deeply bewildered, Parzival rides away. Once more he encounters the lady Sigune, who is still holding the corpse of her lover. She listens in incredulity while he confesses that he has failed the quest of the Grail. She warns him that the sword which he has been given will break in the hour of need, and then she too accuses him of heartlessness, both for not asking the cause of the Grail King’s suffering and for abandoning his mother to die of a broken heart alone in the forest. 

	 

	Appalled by this terrible revelation, Parzival rides away in a turmoil of guilt and despair so grave that it leaves him half-crazed in the weeks that follow. Snow falls across the land.  One day he watches a falcon strike at a passing skein of geese. Three drops of blood fall onto the snow entrancing Parzival with a vision of his wife’s beauty. It is a love trance from which he is woken only by the shout of a knight’s voice challenging him to combat.

	 

	7. BLOOD ON SNOW

	 

	Three drops of blood

	shine on the snow.

	My mind turns to you,

	The queen of my heart.

	 

	This blood is so red

	in the glittering snow.

	The world has stood still.

	I see only your face.

	 

	But a shout calls me back.

	I must fight, must joust -

	for my aching heart

	will let nothing keep me

	from returning to you,

	the queen of my heart

	 

	Parzival defeats his challenger who turns out to be one of a party of hawkers led by King Arthur. Now famous before all the world as a gallant and noble knight, Parzival is taken to Arthur’s court for the Christmas celebrations, but he is still filled with guilt and confusion and longs only to return to his wife. But that becomes impossible once the sorceress Cundrie rides into the hall, cursing him before all the assembled company as a heartless fool.

	 

	8. CUNDRIE’S CURSE

	 

	‘You left the king to suffer from his wound. 

	You left your mother weeping as she died.

	Your foolish heart lacks feeling, and the land

	Lies waste because of you,’ she cried.

	.

	I pleaded innocence in vain.

	Consumed by grief, condemned by Cundrie’s curse,

	I turned on God and blamed him for this pain.

	There is no meaning in the universe.

	 

	Ashamed to return to his wife, Parzival leaves Arthur’s court, denouncing the god that had brought him to this humiliating condition  and refusing to serve him. Even though Cundrie has warned him that the Castle of the Grail withholds itself from those who have failed its ordeals, he wanders for years, searching to return to that place without success, and growing ever more bitter, ever more despairing.

	 

	9. PARZIVAL ALONE

	 

	Who is this God of love?

	Where is he to be found?

	My mind is cold and bare

	as is this world I roam

	without hope, without a home.

	 

	My heart is full of grief. I fear

	that all I love is lost forever.

	I too am lost. I let my horse’s reins hang loose

	to take me where he will. I neither hope nor care.

	 

	Having put his trust in his horse to guide him, rather than his own stubborn will, Parzival is led at last to the cell of the hermit Trevrizent, who offers him shelter for the night. As they talk by the fire, the hermit persuades Parzival to explain the causes of his grief. It emerges that Trevrizent is Parzival’s uncle on his mother’s side and brother to the Grail King, Anfortas. 

	 

	Trevrizent tells Parzival that the Grail is a Stone that was brought down to Earth by the Neutral Angels who refused to take sides between God and the Powers of Darkness when there was a war in Heaven. The stone, which holds together the powers of both darkness and light, was placed in the keeping of the Grail family, but Anfortas took his grave wound when he followed his own passionate desires rather than serving the Grail. That wound can be healed only when a seeker after the Grail puts the right question, and until then the land will lie waste. 

	 

	When Parzival confesses to Trevrizent that he has already failed once in the quest, he is told that he will succeed only when he comes to the realization that he too has a dark and as yet unrecognized shadow-side which must be understood and assimilated. He too must learn to hold both darkness and light together if he is ever to be whole.

	 

	10. WITH TREVRIZENT

	 

	Who is this hermit in the wilderness?

	What can he understand of suffering?

	What does he know of love and loss,

	Of widows’ sons and of a wounded king?

	 

	I sit beside his fire and tell my tale.

	He listens as I count my woes again.

	He warns me I am doomed to hurt until

	I learn to make a new life from my pain.

	 

	My heart has shut down like a prison door.

	I must take pains to open it, and then

	my light and shadow may unite once more -

	as in the grail - and make me whole again.

	 

	After a long time of prayer and meditation with Trevrizent, Parzival goes forth on his quest again. Eventually he returns to Arthur’s court, where Cundrie, who is now a much more sympathetic figure, counsels him that a final battle awaits him before he can achieve the Grail. 

	 

	On his way to the Grail Castle, he finds his way blocked by a dark knight in Saracen gear who challenges him to fight. Neither knight is willing to yield and their combat proves long and desperate. Parzival is about to kill the Saracen when the sword, which he had been given by the Grail King, breaks. Disarmed, he prepares himself for death but the dark knight has been impressed by his courage and asks to know his name. When Parzival declares himself to be the son of Gahmuret the Angevin, his astonished opponent tells him that his own name is Feirefitz, and that he too is Gahmuret’s son, though by a different mother, Queen Belakane. Reconciled as brothers, the two knights advance joyfully together to the Castle of the Grail.

	 

	11. WITH FEIREFITZ

	 

	I did not know you as my shadow 

	when you stood beneath your banner

	in the gorge beside the water

	that would take me to the Grail.

	 

	I had had my fill of fighting,

	yet would still have shown no mercy

	if the sword the Grail King gave me

	had not shattered at your helm.

	 

	But as I lay struck down beneath you

	and I waited for the death blow,

	it was then you praised my courage

	and asked to know my name.

	 

	Then we found we had one father

	and that you were my dark brother,

	so we made our way together

	to the Castle of the Grail.

	 

	Now that he is united with his dark brother, a very different welcome awaits Parzival at the Grail Castle. This time, deeply moved by the suffering of Anfortas, he does not fail to ask about the cause and nature of his pain, and at the words, ‘What ails thee, Uncle?’, the Grail appears, the wound is healed, and the waste land begins to grow green again. 

	 

	Having at last become a whole person in whom innocence and experience are reconciled now that courage, compassion and understanding have been brought together, Parzival is acknowledged as true heir to the Grail and reunited with his beloved wife Condwiramurs.

	 

	12. IN THE PRESENCE OF THE GRAIL

	 

	Once more the Castle of the Grail appears.

	and hope opens in my heart again.

	The king still lies in pain,

	But now I gently ask,

	‘What ails thee?’

	and his wound begins to heal.

	 

	The Maiden of the Grail

	brings forth its light

	and all the court rejoices.

	 

	Now the barren land

	grows green again and flourishes,

	for I have found the way

	into my soul

	and live at peace in love.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Groves_Brinch_StPeter_14March2011.mp3" length="44767695" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/parzival_for_flute_and_baritone_with_poetry_by_lindsay_clarke/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Mon, 14 Mar 2011 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>37:08</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Piano recital Beethoven Appasionata, Schumann Arabeske & Brahms Rhapsodies]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Chris Sayles (piano) at St John's 1-2pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[ 

	Christopher Sayles (piano)

	 

	Robert Schumann(1810-1856)             Arabeske in C Major, Op 18

	Johannes Brahms (1833-1897))          Two Rhapsodies in B minor &amp; G minor Op 79

	Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 – 1827)  Sonata for Piano No 23 in F minor, Op 57 'Appassionata'

	                                                              Allegro assai ~ Andante con moto ~ Allegro, ma non troppo

	 

	Schumann’s deep love of literature is probably owed in part to his father, an author of chivalric romances who also translated Byron and Walter Scott into German. Schumann devoured a wide range of classic literature in his youth, and even tried his hand at lyric poetry, drama, and translation. At age 20, he was still unsure whether to devote himself to music or poetry, feeling he was equally capable in both areas. The title of Arabeske is a poetic metaphor; the word originally referred to a florid element in Arabian architecture. The work reverses the popular idea of architecture as frozen music to suggest that music can be a fluid structure, reflecting the fact that the work does not fit perfectly into any of the pre-made classical forms. Schumann felt that the dissolution of classical forms, like the sonata and the concerto, was a necessary step in the evolution of new, often fragmentary forms that would better reflect the "half-torn page" quality of life itself. Despite this conviction, he appears to dismiss his Arabeske as "for ladies" in a letter from 1839, shortly after its completion. The criticism seems odd, not only because of the charm and beauty of the music, but because a great number of his finest compositions were quite literally written for a lady: his beloved wife Clara, one of the great pianists of her time. This piece from 1828 was written for her while they were separated and prior to their marriage.

	 

	The two Rhapsodies, Op. 79, are strong, dramatic works that date from Brahms' full compositional maturity. They differ from each other in their formal layouts much more than in their expressive mode, for which reason they are rarely performed together. The first of the pair, in B minor, is in the ABA form of a scherzo; indeed, there is a palpable affinity between the Rhapsody and Chopin's Scherzo in B minor, Op. 20. As in Chopin's work, the main section of the Rhapsody is an emotional cry for which the much quieter middle section provides needed relief; here, Brahms invests the harmonies with a particular subtlety. The second Rhapsody, in G minor, is one of the composer's most popular and effective piano works, tautly written and darkly dramatic. It is cast in a sonata-allegro form; the cascading chords of the first subject cloud the work's tonality in ambiguity, while the second subject, which unfolds in the piano's lower registers, provides a dramatic contrast rather than a lyrical one. This six-minute work, only half as long as its predecessor, foreshadows the tragic but proud mode of larger-scale works like the Symphony No. 4 in E minor

	 

	The ‘Appassionata’ sonata – not Beethoven’s nickname, but ascribed by a publisher – is one of his landmark works. There is completeness to the structure and harmonic invention which makes the three movements seemingly lead on from each other – indeed the finale, follows without a break from the second. The first movement establishes an air of mystery and darkness, but the opening theme is tempered by a more lyrical second subject. However, any warmth and light is never allowed to linger as frequent outbursts break up the flow. The second movement begins with a chorale like theme in the lower registers of the keyboard, which is then treated to a series of variations, the music moving higher and higher up the keyboard, until a sudden descent and the return of the theme. The toccata like finale returns us to the pathos of the first movement, before a final Presto leads inevitably to the end. In this sonata there is none of the melodiousness found in much of Beethoven. Indeed there is no recognisable tune to speak of, but instead Beethoven creates out of melody and harmony a stunning example of what the piano is capable of.

	 

	Christopher Sayles was born in Redhill, Surrey and was educated at St Bedes school. He studied piano at Leeds College of Music under the tuition of Marion Raper and Julian Cima. In October 2007 he graduated with an MA in Music Studies, performing Beethovens 3rd Piano Concerto in C Minor, amongst other reputable works. In the same year he performed in the Leeds International Concert Season Lunchtime Series, for which he was awarded the Robert Tebb Trophy for Outstanding Performance. In December 2008 he was awarded the LTCL Recital Diploma from Trinity College of Music with distinction. Recent recitals have included Southwark Cathedral, Sheffield Cathedral, The Foundling Museum, St Mary le Bow and several City churches.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Sayles_StJohn_17Mar2011.mp3" length="62338164" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/piano_recital_beethoven_appasionata_schumann_arabeske_and_brahms_rhapsodies/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Thu, 17 Mar 2011 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>51:42</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Jazz concert]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Tournesol Trio at St John's 1-2PM]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Will Butterworth was born in Edinburgh were the first musical instrument he was taught on was the cello. Whilst studying for a degree in Genetics, Will started gigging in the Scottish capital and was drawn to a career in music. Largely self taught as a pianist – He now lives in the capital where has worked with many of Britain’s leading Jazz artists like Dylan Howe and Bill Bruford and can be found most nights playing at venues with his trio.

	Marcus Penrose studied jazz at Middlesex University where he began to focus on double bass and then the Guildhall. He has played with some of Londons best musicians including Bill Bruford and Asaf Sirkis and has appeared at many of Londons most famous venues including The Vortex, Jazz Cafe and 606 club.

	Seb Pipe is an alto saxophonist, composer &amp; bandleader who studied at Trinity were he won the Silver Medal award and was awarded the Services to Jazz prize. In 2006 Pipe’s core group 'Life Experience' was awarded funding by Jazz Services for a U.K./Portuguese tour &amp; performed in the Estremoz Jazz Festival. An Arts Council grant enabled him to record his eponymously entitled debut album.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Tournesol_Trio_StJohn_24Mar2011.mp3" length="50438355" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/jazz_concert/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Thu, 24 Mar 2011 13:03:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>41:50</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Tango String Quartets]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Corriente Quartet at St John's 1-2pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Corriente Quartet: Richard Milone &amp; Julia Burkert (violins) Alexandra Urquart (viola) Tim Lowe (cello) play:

	Astor Piazzolla              Tango por quattro                                               

	Palestrina                      Ricarcari

	Jeremy Cohen              Tanguori, Crowdambo

	Carlos Gardel                El dia que me quieras (arr. Cohen)

	Arvo Part                       Fratres

	Astor Piazzolla              Tango Ballet

	 

	with Tango dance display by Kwela Hermanns and Victor Milton van Doorn

	 

	
		This is the Corriente Quartet’s inaugural concert. The Corriente Quartet is made up of four experienced and multi-talented professional players with a wealth of experience as orchestral, chamber and solo musicians who are joined by the wish to reach beyond the classical quartet repertoire, making it accessible to a wider audience. juxtaposing the classical quartet repertoire with ancient music, latin music, and  incorporating visual and dance elements into the performances they hope to widen horizons, stimulate the senses and highlight the deep connection between different musical perspectives. One focus of the quartet is tango music, in particular the Nuevo Tango style of Piazzolla, for which they collaborate with dancers and other specialist musicians. Future projects and collaborations include programmes of Argentinian song, the music of Piazzolla and Gustavo Beytelmann with bandoneon and Mexican folk music with guitar. 
	
		 
	
		Richard performances range from solo concertos, recitals and chamber music, to countless operatic and symphonic works, in a variety of venues throughout the world. Mr Milone studied at both Yehudi Menuhin and Chethams Schools of Music followed by graduate studies at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. He has passionately pursued his interest in teaching as a member of staff at the Purcell School, Chethams, RNC Junior Department, and the Royal College of Music. At the age of twentytwo, he was appointed as principal second violin in Opera North. One year later, he was appointed to the same position in the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden having worked continuously with Bernard Haitink, Claudio Abbado, George Solti, to name a few. Through his involvement with the Royal Opera House Soloists, Mr Milone has performed with renowned artists such as Murray Perahia and Peter Ustinov. Since leaving the Opera House in 2004, he leads a busy freelance career, playing with the Academy of St Martin in the fields, the English Chamber Orchestra. He is principal second violin of the Glyndebourne touring opera and is frequently asked as guest-leader and guest-principal second in many of the UK’s big orchestras.
	
		 
	
		Julia studied under a full scholarship with Ann Elliott-Goldschmid and the Lafayette String Quartet at the University of Victoria in Canada, and graduated with distinction, followed by postgraduate studies with Peter Lissauer at the RSAMD in Glasgow. In Canada she has been a violinist for the Vancouver, Vancouver Island, Symphony New Brunswick, Nova Scotia Symphony Orchestras and many more. Now, Julia enjoys an active freelance career in the UK and has been playing with the English Chamber Orchestra, Covent Garden Soloists, Orchestra of St Johns, Philharmonia, London Philharmonic, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, Grange Park Opera, Carl Rosa Opera and many more. She has lead are the Camerata of London, I Maestri, Cambridge, Guildford and Croydon Symphony Orchestras and others. As a chamber musician, she has won several awards with various groups. Her Canadian quartet cruised the world as guest entertainers for P&amp;O and Princess cruises and since 2005 she has been playing with the Crystal Palace Quartet. Pop, cross-over and TV projects are another area of music Julia enjoys. She was fortunate to play in the Golden-Globe movie “Farinelli”, has worked for the Westend show Sinatra, and recently been asked to perform on Stricty Come Dancing.
	
		 
	
		Alexandra studied in London and played with several of the UK’s top professional orchestras before moving to Santiago, Chile, where she played in the Orquesta Filarmonica de Santiago for a year and learned to speak Spanish. She then travelled to Buenos Aires to research tango music before returning to the UK in 2009. Alexandra is currently on trial with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, and is looking forward to performing Walton’s Viola Concerto in the spring. She is the viola player of the London Tango Orchestra, the UK’s only Orquesta Tipica. In 2010, she toured with Tango Siempre and features on their upcoming album, Malandras del Tango.
	
		 
	
		Tim was born in 1986 and began playing the cello at the age of 5. He was a major music scholar at Eton College and is now a Fellow at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama where he studies with Louise Hopkins. Tim has won many awards and prizes including those from the Musicians Benevolent Fund, the Craxton Memorial Trust, Philharmonia Orchestra/Martin Musical Scholarship Fund, Countess of Munster Trust, ECO Duchess of Cornwall Award, Jacqueline du Pre scholarship supported by the Leverhulme Trust and many more. Tim was also a recommended artist for the ‘Making Music’ Phillip and Dorothy Green award in 2009 and has won the Maisie Lewis award from the Worshipful Company of Musicians. His most recent prizes (2011) have been from the prestigious Kirckman Concert Society and the Tillett Trust Young Concert Artists' Platform which will take him to conert venues all round the UK.As a chamber musician Tim has performed in many major venues including the Wigmore Hall, Purcell Room, Queen Elizabeth Hall and St John’s Smith Square. His 2010/11 season includes performances of the Dvorak, Elgar and Schumann concertos and a very full recital schedule with some of the concerts supported by the Countess of Munster recital scheme which will take him right around the country in 2011 and 2012. He looks forward to playing recitals in major London venues including returns to the Wigmore Hall later in the year.  His successes in the Kirckman Concet Society and Tillett Trust competitions will take him to major recital and conert venues all round the UK.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Corriente_Quartet_StJohn_31Mar2011.mp3" length="52742367" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/tango_string_quartets/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Thu, 31 Mar 2011 13:03:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>43:45</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Viola piano duets by Hindemith, Glinka, Schumann & Millhaud]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Duo Reverie at St. Peter's 1-2pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Duo Reverie: Katya Lazareva (viola) Katya Nikonorova (piano) perform:

	P. Hindemith     Sonata 25/1 for viola solo

	                         Largamente ~ Molto Energico ~ Molto Lento ~ Prestissimo ~ Lento

	 

	M. Glinka          Unfinished sonata for viola and piano

	                         Allegro ~ Andante

	 

	R. Schumann   Adagio and Allegro op.70

	 

	D. Milhaud        Four Portraits

	                         La Californienne ~ The Wisconsonian ~ La Bruxelloise ~ La Parisienne

	 

	
		
	
		 
	
		Ekaterina Lazareva was born in Polock, Belarus - studying  at the Republican Musical College at the Belarus State Academy of Music. In 2003 and 2007 Ekaterina became a laureate of E. Kohu International Music competition in Moldova. In 2004 she won 2nd place at an International Competition for strings in Kiev, Ukraine. Ekaterina took part in various international festivals such as the Vivaldi, MusicaMundi in Belgium and the Bach festival in London. She plays with the State chamber orchestra of the Belarus Republic and several chamber ensembles and orchestras. In 2010  she entered the Guildhall School as a postgraduate on a full scholarship.  
	
		 
	
		Katya Nikonorova was born in Astrakhan, Russia, where she has been studying the piano for 16 years. She took part in many piano festivals, competitions and concerts organized by local government or other authorities where she has played as a soloist, accompanist and chamber ensemble player. She was awarded a grant from Local Government in 1998 and received bursaries on regular basis. While she studied at Music College, she worked at a School of Arts where she obtained practical skills working as a choir accompanist and piano teacher. After settling in London in 2006 she regularly performied as an accompanist and ensemble player. She is also teaching privately and at schools.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Duo_Reverie_StPeter_11Apr2011.mp3" length="64449467" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/viola_piano_duets_by_hindemith_glinka_schumann_and_millhaud/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Mon, 11 Apr 2011 13:04:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>53:25</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Chamber Music incl. Shostakovich & Piazzolla]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[London Performance Collective at St John's 1-2pm ]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[London Performance Collective: Anna Ter Haar, Flute; Alan Taylor, Clarinet; Anna Michel, Violin; I-An Tai, Cello; Petra Kahle, Guitar; Androniki Liokoura, Piano play:

	
		Guillaume Dufay - Messe 'L'Homme Armé': Kyrie-Christe-Kyrie
	
		Dufay was one of the best known composers of the 15th century, and this is his best known piece – based on the popular melody ‘The Armed Man’.
	
		Dmitri Shostakovitch - Piano Trio No 1. Op. 8 in C minor
	
		Written as a student work in1923, this was originally entitled "Poème", and is in a single movement. All of the themes are derived from the opening motif. The music recalls a Romanticism that the composer would soon repudiate.
	
		Astor Piazzolla - Libertango. Flute and Guitar
	
		One of the best known pieces by this Argentinian composer. It was written while he was living in Italy after suffering a heart attack. Beethoven Spring Sonata, 1st Movement. Violin and Piano Written fairly early in Beethoven's career, and dedicated to one of his aristocrat- ic patrons, this sonata has four movements. We will be performing the opening Allegro which is featured in the stage show Fame.
	
		Howard Skempton - Lullaby. Clarinet and Cello
	
		Howard Skempton has been commissioned to write one of the pieces for the London Olympics. This simple duet is typical of his music.
	
		Alan Taylor – To Catch the Floating Sighs. Violin and Guitar These four miniatures draw on a poem by the Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca which describes the sound of a guitar as: “spinning a web of stars to catch the sighs which float in its depths.”
	
		Bohuslav Martinu – Trio. Flute, Cello and Piano, 1st movement
	
		Written during the 2nd World War, after Martinu's escape to America, this Trio is a testimony to his ability to continue composing while surrounded by chaos.
	
		Astor Piazzolla - Night Club 1960. Violin and Guitar Jazz meets Tango – from Piazolla’s series, ‘The History of Tango’
	
		Franciso de Peñalosa - Missa 'Ave Maria Peregrina': Kyrie-Christe-Kyrie
	
		This is the type of music which Catherine of Aragon, the 1st wife Henry VIII, would have heard as a child.


	 

	
		
	
		 
	
		An innovative new group formed by talented performers graduating from Trinity College of Music, the London Performance Collective is a chamber music ensemble which aims to perform art music from all historical periods, from the Middle Ages up to the present. They aim to perform in innovative ways which encourage an audience to listen anew. Performers combine and re-combine into different small ensembles during each performance.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Performance_Collective_StJohn_14Apr2011.mp3" length="61497351" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/chamber_music_incl_shostakovich_and_piazzolla/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Thu, 14 Apr 2011 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>50:56</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Violin Piano Duets by Franck & Messiaen]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[The Heidelberg Duo at St. Peter's 1-2pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[ 

	The Heidelberg Duo: Isla Mundell-Perkins (violin) Tim Motz (piano) play:

	 

	W.A. Mozart (1756-1791) Sonata for Violin and Piano in E Minor, K. 304

	Allegro ~ Tempo di Menuetto

	César Franck (1822-1890)       Sonata for violin and piano in A major

	Allegretto ben moderato ~ Allegro ~ Recitativ-Fantasia. Ben moderato-molto lento ~ Allegretto poco mosso

	Olivier Messiaen (1908-92)      Quartet for the End of Time: Louange à l’Immortalité de Jésus

	 

	- This sonata was composed in 1778 while Mozart was in Paris during the same period that his mother, Anna Maria, died. The mood reflects this, it is the only instrumental work by Mozart whose home key is E minor.

	- The Violin Sonata (1886) is Franck's best-known work: a superb synthesis of his own uniquely rich harmonic language and thematic cyclicism and the Viennese Classical tradition that he came to hold so dear in the later stages of his career. The Sonata was composed as a wedding present for Ysaÿe, who performed it at his matrimonial celebrations in September 1886. The Sonata begins not with a fiery quick movement, but rather with a poetic Allegretto moderato in 9/8 time. After a tentative opening gesture, the music builds to a compelling fortissimo climax. The tender relief of the first movement's conclusion is extremely short-lived, however, as a low sixteenth note rumbling in the piano soon overflows into a full-blooded Allegro.The coda, initially misterioso but increasingly tumultuous, provides an electrifying finish. The tranquil, almost other-worldly middle section of the third movement introduces the two striving themes, with characteristic triplet-rhythm accompaniment, that will return in glorious attire in the Finale. The total defeat that seems to mark the conclusion of the third movement is immediately dispelled by the happy opening of the Finale. Although the initial melody, treated in exact canonic imitation between the instruments, is original to the last movement, the first of the two melodies from the central section of the third movement also makes a return. A tremendous buildup climaxes in the passionate fortissimo return of the second of the two third-movement themes - as the dam bursts the opening canonic theme returns once more to bring the work to a cheerful close.

	- In 1940, Olivier Messiaen (1908-92) was interned in a German prison camp, where he discovered among his fellow prisoners a clarinettist, a violinist and a violoncellist. The success of a short trio which he wrote for them led him to add seven more movements and a piano to the ensemble to create this quartet. They performed it for their 5000 fellow prisoners on January 15, 1941. Messiaen's religious mysticism found a point of departure in the passage in the Book of Revelation (chapter 10) about the descent of the seventh angel. The composer denied it was a commentary on the Apocalypse, nor a referral to his own captivity, but a musical concept of the end of past and future time and the beginning of eternity. His development of a varied and flexible rhythmic system (based in part on ancient Hindu rhythms) reach fruition while the measured time of western classical music is dispensed with. In a preface to the score, Messiaen commented on the final movement 'Praise to the Immortality of Jesus' which features expansive solo violin: "Why this second encomium? It addresses more specifically the second aspect of Jesus, Jesus the Man, the Word made flesh... Its slow ascent toward the most extreme point of tension is the ascension of man toward his God, of the child of God toward his Father, of the being made divine toward Paradise."

	 

	

	 

	Tim Motz is in the first year of a Masters Programme at the Royal College of Music (RCM), where he studies under Niel Immelman. He was a music scholar at St Paul’s School, London before spending two months as a visiting pianist at the Vienna Residence Orchestra. Tim read German and Hebrew at St Catherine’s College, Oxford, where he was the College Répétiteur Scholar. As such he performed regularly with New Chamber Opera company, where he worked on his harpsichord and continuo skills under Steven Devine. In 2007 he spent six months as an editorial intern at G. Henle music publishers, Munich, in a position usually reserved for German graduates of musicology. He  is looking forward to performing Rachmaninof’s Second Piano Concerto in Oxford’s Sheldonian Theatre this June. This year he has received a Director’s Prize in the RCM section of the Jaques Samuel Pianos Competition and is currently looking anticipating the National Final of the EPTA Piano Competition. Tim enjoys chamber music, leading a piano trio at the RCM as well as playing in this year-old Duo.

	Isla Mundell-Perkins studies the violin with Ofer Falk and is in her final year reading for a degree in music at Oxford University. Beforehand she led a string quartet that win the chamber music category of the National Festival of Music for Youth and performed Ravel’s Quartet in the Albert Hall. She currently plays with a string quartet and a piano trio in Oxford. She was appointed leader of Oxford’s top orchestra (OUO) for the academic year 2009-2010 and held an apprenticeship award with the Oxford Philomusica which allows her to play professionally with the orchestra. Isla has spent summers playing at USC Thornton summer school and Tanglewood festival. As a soloist, Isla gives recitals regularly thoughout all of the major Oxford series and has performed a series of Bach double concertos as well as first violin solo of the Schnittke Concerto Grosso No. 1 with Oxford’s chamber ensemble the Sinfonietta. Isla regularly premieres works by Oxford's composition tutors and contemporary composers, such as Robert Saxton. She created and played for the outreach project involving bringing romantic and contemporary chamber music to state schools as part of the Oxford Chamber Music Festival, which has now been adopted as an integral part of the festival. She plays a violin built for her by Jonathon Beecher in 2011.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Heidelberg_Duo_StPeter_18Apr2011.mp3" length="59698769" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/violin_piano_duets_by_franck_and_messiaen/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Mon, 18 Apr 2011 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>49:31</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[JS Bach Inventions, WF Bach & Telemann viola duets]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[DUO RENAISSANCE AT ST PETER'S 1-2PM]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[ 

	 

	"The Renaissance"  Katya Lazareva (viola) Jeremy Gurchenkov (viola) perform:

	 

	J.S. Bach:                  Two-Part Inventions BWV 772-801

	                                   1,2,3,4,6,7,8,10,11,12,13,14,15

	"                                  Suite No 5 for solo cello BWV 1011

	                                   Allemande ~ Courante ~ Gigue

	 

	G.P. Telemann:          Sonate - Canon 6

	                                   Vivace ~ Adagio ~ Allegro con Brio

	 

	W.F. Bach:                 Duo 3 for two violas

	                                   Allegro di molto ~ Scherzo ~ Vivace

	 

	J.M. Leclair:                Sonata for 2 violas

	                                    Allegro ~ Allegro ma poco ~ Allegro

	 

	J. Reinagle                  Duetto 11 for two violas

	                                    Allegretto ~ Allegro

	 

	Ekaterina Lazareva plays with the State chamber orchestra of the Belarus Republic and several chamber ensembles and orchestras. In 2010  she entered the Guildhall School as a postgraduate on a full scholarship. Jeremy Gurchenkov is viola player with The London International Orchestra and the helios Chamber Orchestra.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Duo_Renaissance_StPeter_25Apr2011.mp3" length="55292557" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/js_bach_inventions_wf_bach_and_telemann_viola_duets/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Mon, 25 Apr 2011 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>45:51</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Beethoven & Rachmaninoff Piano Trios]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Moana Trio at St John's 1-2pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Moana Trio: Lidia Teruel Sánchez (cello) Ryoko Harada (violin) Tania Park (piano) play:

	The two Trios Elegiaques of Rachmaninov are inextricably linked with Tchaikovsky. This first one (1892) is a student work, written before he graduated from the Moscow Conservatoire. Tchaikovsky had already predicted a brilliant future for Rachmaninov some three years earlier when he awarded the young composer maximum marks for his harmony exam. For his part Rachmaninov venerated the older composer and the G minor Trio Elegiaque can be seen as a homage to Tchaikovsky. The opening theme is an inversion of the famous four note motif from Tchaikovsky’s 1st Piano Concerto and the funeral march that concludes the work recalls the great master’s A minor trio. Moreover, Tchaikovsky was in good health when Rachmaninov wrote his first elegaic trio so it is fanciful to see the work as a premonition of Tchaikovsky’s death just two years later. 

	 

	Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) Piano Trio No 4 in B flat major, Op 11

	Allegro con brio ~ Adagio

	 

	Between the Opus 1 piano trios and the three masterpieces of his maturity, Beethoven wrote this charming trio originally scored for clarinet, cello and piano but also published, with little modification, in a transcription for the typical ensemble featuring the violin as the treble instrument. The trio is an early work, composed in 1798 just before Beethoven turned his attention to his first set of string quartets. Many have pointed out that the Op 11 piano trio is atypical of Beethoven. Accurate descriptions employ adjectives that one does not necessarily associate with the most familiar of his music: gentle, lyrical, playful, even, “light”. The reactions of his contemporaries range from describing the work as “easy” and “more melodious” to “difficult” and “unnaturally composed”. Most now share the opinion that it is wonderful music, especially when it is allowed to speak for itself.

	 

	John Psathas Three Island Songs 

	 

	The New Zealand composer has this to say about these pieces: ‘Island Songs were each inspired by certain styles of Greek dance music. They are not so much simulations of these styles as they are my own reaction to them, and what I have responded to mostly is the unique energy of each of the dance type. The first piece involves a number of styles and reflects what I perceive as the latent energy of much of the music – although here it only surfaces from time to time. The second is a reaction to the great strength of the zeibekiko dance, which is in 9/4 time, and often extremely slow. While not cast in the same time frame as a true zeibekiko, this movement does dwell upon the uncertainty of the downbeat and the intensely focused emotional content of this dance. The third piece is much in the style of the Sirto dance, whose energy is always lively and unfailingly contagious.’

	 

	Moana Trio was formed in January 2011 after a long search to find the “right” people for each other. All three currently studying at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, the culturally diverse trio shares a passion for collaborative music making through a strong teamwork. Moana Trio has worked with Belcea Quartet, Gordon Back, Laura Roberts and Martin Roscoe, and was recently highly received by Nils Franke at a Piano Trio Day by the Piano Trio Society. The word ‘Moana’ means ‘ocean’ in Maori.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Moana_Trio_StJohn_28Apr2011.mp3" length="59338589" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/beethoven_and_rachmaninoff_piano_trios/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Thu, 28 Apr 2011 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>49:12</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA['Hereafter' CD launch at The Forge]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Will Butterworth Trio CD launch at The Forge, Camden Town 7.30-10.30PM]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[This was the launch concert at the Forge in Camden for Will's album Herafter. You can listen to the album in it's entirety for free here. Best known for his work with drummer Dylan Howe re-interpreting the works of Stravinsky, Will is found here in his familiar trio setting with young stars of the British scene; Henrik Jensen on bass and Peter Ibbetson on drums. The Music played is mostly Butterworth compositions which reflect his broad range of influences. Simple melodies sit on complex ever changing harmony. A more free approach can be heard on improvised tracks where a contagious sense of adventure abounds.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Butterworth_Trio_Forge.mp3" length="122302727" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/_hereafter_cd_launch_at_the_forge/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Tue, 3 May 2011 19:30:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>1:41:19</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Schumann Fantasiestucke & Beethoven Op 70/2 Piano Trios]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Trio Twenty21 St John's 1-2pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Trio Twenty21: Mark Pedus (violin) Kalina Dimitrova (cello) Craig W. Combs (piano)

	 

	Robert Schumann (1810-1856) Fantasiestücke in A minor Op 88

	Romance, Nicht schnell, mit innigem Ausdruc

	Humoreske, Lebhaft - Etwas lebhafter

	Duet, Langsam und mit Ausdruck

	Finale, Im Marsch Tempo - Dasselbe Tempo

	 

	Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) Piano Trio No 6 in E-flat major Op 70/2

	Poco sostenuto - Allegro ma non troppo ~ Allegretto ~ Allegretto ma non troppo ~ Finale. Allegro

	 

	

	 

	From Beethoven’s so called “middle period”, the pair of trios, Op 70 Nos 1 and 2 were written in 1808 around the time of the 5th and 6th symphonies and soon after the three expansive “Razumovsky” string quartets. This trio is relaxed, even-keeled, beneficent and luxurious - in parts, utterly classical as if in a fond over-the-shoulder glance back to Haydn and Mozart. But compared to Haydn’s, Beethoven’s trio in E-flat is a completely new world of sonic and instrumental expression: it begins with a quizzical, almost melancholy cello solo, imitated by violin then piano in a feint of fugato. In the 2nd movement Beethoven evokes Mozart and Haydn, the former in the bright lyricism of the phrase endings and the sensuality of richly sonorous variation, the later in the lilting, playful gestures and the rustic peasant interludes that dance heartily eastward. The 3rd movement looks forward rather than backward with a gentle swaying lyricism sounding far more like Mendelssohn than one is accustomed to in Beethoven; this is where Mendelssohn may have gotten his inspiration! The piano takes centre stage in a heroic and triumphant finale, typical of his use the key of E-flat major.

	 

	

	 

	The Phantasiestücke came at a happy time in the composer's life: Schumann had married his beloved Clara Wieck in 1840 after her father had made many attempts to thwart their matrimonial plans. The short "Romanze" opens in a tentative, mysterious mood, but then turns warmly Romantic, the piano dominating. The ensuing "Humoreske," marked ‘Lively’, is the longest at about seven minutes and, by contrast, quite chipper and playful in its outer sections, featuring one of Schumann's catchiest themes. Its repetitive rhythmic downward turn gives this piece its self-deprecating wit, or its "humorous" manner. The interior panel here is lively and heroic, but does not completely break with the playful character of the opening. Following a driving, intense episode based on the main theme, the theme returns to its original guise to close out the movement. The "Duett" that follows, marked ‘Slowly and with feeling’, is for cello and violin, the piano providing a soft, running accompaniment to their passionate singing. The Finale, designated ‘In march tempo’, exhibits a heroic character at the outset, but turns lighter and more playful in succeeding variations. The main theme returns and the subdued, lively ending is sheer magic in its feathery nonchalance, its graceful instrumental exchanges, and sense of joy.

	 

	Trio Twenty21 (www.twenty21.org) formed in July 2009 and and launched itself in March last year at The Forge Venue in Camden. Violinist Mark Pedus studied at the RNCM with Y. Zivoni and has worked and freelanced with several British and Belgian orchestras. Currently, he performs extensive chamber music with the Dionysus Piano Trio, Trio Twenty21, Toccata-Musical Productions for Charitable Causes, and as the principal 2nd violin for the International Mahler Orchestra. Of French Bulgarian parentage, Kalina Dimitrova studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, completing a Masters in Music Performance in 2002. Her chamber music experience has included masterclasses with the Takasc Quartet and Florestan Trio and coaching with the Ysaye Quartet. She now plays with the Accordi String Quartet and Twenty21. Orchestral playing include performances with the Orchestre des Régions Européennes, the British Philharmonic Orchestra, the International Mahler Orchestra, as extra player for Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and Northern Symphonia and regular trips to play with the Cyprus State Orchestra. Chamber Pianist, Craig W. Combs, seeks like-minded artists with which to make music that is a reflection of the human condition. He is Artistic Director for The Paramount Chamber Players, a network of artists in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest; The Combs/Hostetter Piano Duo, a 4-hand piano ensemble and pianist for Twenty21. In 2007, he released the CD, Forbidden Voices: Songs by Jewish Composers Banned by the Nazis with soprano, Judith Sheridan.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Twenty21_StJohn_12May2011.mp3" length="61610273" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/schumann_fantasiestucke_and_beethoven_op_70_2_piano_trios/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Thu, 12 May 2011 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>51:03</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Stravinsky Apollon Musagete, Massenet Meditation, Bach Double Violin Concerto]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Nonesuch Orchestra at St. John's 1-2pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[To hear the full concert use the player on the top right hand side of this page. Watch below an excerpt: the entire 3 movements of the Bach Double Violin Concerto.

	 

	

	 

	Nonesuch Orchestra: Conductor William Carslake, Leader Jennifer Thorn, Soloists Charlotte Reid &amp; Atsuko Takao

	 

	Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) Apollon musagète, Suite for strings from the ballet

	Naissance d’Apollon ~ Variation D’Appollon

	Variation De Calliope ~ Variation De Polymnie

	Variation Terpsichore ~ Coda ~ Apothéose

	 

	Apollon musagète was commissioned by Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge, a wealthy Chicago grocer’s daughter who never achieved her dream of becoming a concert pianist but did finance many enduring works of music. Her Foundation contacted Stravinsky in the summer of 1927 (just after the premiere of Oedipus rex) asking for a ballet score to be performed in a contemporary music festival at the Library of Congress. As with most commissions, Stravinsky was given stipulations: the work should require no more than six dancers and should not last more than half an hour - and considerable leeway - the choice of a subject, for example, was entirely his. He jumped on an idea that had fascinated him for some time “to compose a ballet founded on moments or episodes in Greek mythology plastically interpreted by dancing of the so-called classical school.” Stravinsky quickly settled on the theme of Apollo, leader of the Muses, whom, for these purposes he streamlined from nine to three: Calliope, the personification of poetry and rhythm; Polyhymnia, representing mime; and Terpsichore, dance. From the beginning, Stravinsky apparently saw the ballet as something grand yet strikingly simple. The size of the stage and the lack of conventional wings dictated minimal scenery and restricted movement; those limitations may also have suggested the idea of focusing on just one family of instruments, the strings, a bracing economy of means and gesture. “The absence of many-colored effects and of all superfluities produced a wonderful freshness,” he later said. Sergei Diaghilev the ballet impresario came up with the title ‘Apollo, the leader of the muses’ and George Balanchine choreographed the first European staging in 1928. Apollon musagète opens with a prologue, which depicts the birth of Apollo, followed by a sequence of allegorical dances. In the apotheosis, Apollo leads the Muses to Parnassus. The prologue is designed like a French baroque overture, with a formal stately opening, culminating in the birth of Apollo. The final apotheosis, as Apollo leads the Muses towards Parnassus, recaptures the calm and majesty of the opening. This music, at once simple and yet grand, is one of Stravinsky’s masterstrokes. Here, more than anywhere in the score, Stravinsky does seem to take us to a new place “not of this world,” as Diaghilev suggested, “but of somewhere above.” 

	 

	Jules Massenet (1842-1912) Méditation from Thaïs for Solo Violin and Strings

	 

	French composer Massenet, best known for his operas, was one of the greatest melodists of his era. He was very popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but soon after his death his style went out of fashion and his works were rarely performed. Since the mid-1970s many operas such as Thaïs (premiered in Paris in 1894) have undergone revivals. The Méditation is a symphonic entr'acte performed between scenes of Act II. In the first Athanaël, a Cenobite monk, confronts Thaïs, a beautiful and hedonistic courtesan and devotée of Venus, and attempts to convince her to leave her life of luxury and pleasure and find salvation through God. In the second scene following the Méditation, Thaïs tells Athanaël that she will follow him to a desert.

	 

	Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) Concerto for Two Violins and Strings in D minor BWV 1043

	Vivace ~ Largo ma non tanto ~ Allegro

	 

	The Double Violin Concerto is one of Bach’s most famous works and considered one of the best of the late Baroque period. He most likely wrote it around 1731 while cantor at Thomasschule in Leipzig, although some scholars suggest it was composed a decade earlier. Bach's choice of D minor as a key center is doubly radiant as the soloists join with the orchestra through an extended introduction. In a moment the solo lines begin a spirited but angelic dialog, as if we are eavesdropping on a celestial channel. In Bach's all-for-glory manner, the music offers serious but joyful themes and an exquisite development, all with lyrical grace on the wing.

	 

	The Nonesuch Orchestra this year reaches its half-century. Unique in several ways, it can justly claim to live up to its name. It focuses on string music for all ages, offering a rare opportunity for daytime orchestral music-making. Legend has it that the Orchestra was founded by a group of ‘captive housewives’, mostly friends from music college, who rehearsed on one floor of a large house while their children played on another. Today the Orchestra welcomes good players of any age and either sex to its Thursday morning sessions in Queen’s Park where we explore the string repertoire from Baroque to contemporary with our professional conductor William Carslake and leader Jennifer Thorn. We also recruit talented post-graduate students to work with us, offering them solo opportunities and experience of music in education. Since its foundation in 1961 the orchestra has given well over 300 concerts and worked with many distinguished musicians. From the start Nonesuch was determined to introduce live classical music to young children, and each year we aim to give four or more concerts in primary schools.  Often this is the first time the children have seen and heard a live orchestra and their enthusiastic response is a delight.  We give public concerts, usually featuring solos by our students, with regular engagements at St John’s Greenhill, Harrow in their lunchtime series, in the St John’s Notting Hill Mayfest and the Proms at St Jude’s, Hampstead Garden Suburb. We occasionally venture into central London and have performed at St James’s, Piccadilly and St Sepulchre-without-Newgate. In 2008 we were selected to ‘Play to the Nation’ on Radio 3 as part of a Making Music/BBC project to highlight the work of amateur orchestras nation-wide. Our music-making is not restricted to London venues, but includes one-day workshops in a Berkshire barn and various outreach activities. We have played on the wards of the National Hospital for Neurodisability, and at Toynbee Hall, and in 2007 year participated in a Making Music and Notting Hill Housing Trust pilot project on Music and Health. Last summer we performed at Whiteley Village near Weybridge, a retirement complex for the elderly. Feedback is positive. When Nonesuch played in the Crisis shelters for the homeless one Christmas we were voted the second-best entertainment by the guests, beaten only by the stripper! The Nonesuch Orchestra is a registered charity affiliated to Making Music, which represents and supports amateur vocal, instrumental and promoting societies throughout the United Kingdom.

	 

	William Carslake (conductor) made his international debut with the Royal Oman Symphony Orchestra in 2009 and now conducts The English Ensemble, St Albans Rehearsal Orchestra, London Charity Orchestra and is currently Cover Conductor for Royal Ballet productions. William is a Trustee of the Elgar Foundation and also of K12 Conductors in Education that creates collaborations between music conservatoires across Europe. Earlier he founded the Pembroke Academy of Music providing instrumental tuition to underprivileged young people in South London. Winner of the Hugh S. Roberton Conducting Prize, William trained at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.

	 

	Jennifer Thorn (Leader) won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music where she formed a piano trio that continued into professional life. She has played in many of the country’s leading chamber orchestras and opera groups, including the ECO, Britten Sinfonia, Kent Opera and English Touring Opera and has led groups including Pimlico opera and Finchley Chamber Orchestra. A resident of Notting Hill since1972, Jennifer teaches at the Centre for Young Musicians and coaches at the New London Music Society Summer School. She has been leader of the Nonesuch Orchestra since 2005.

	 

	Charlotte Reid is currently taking an MA at the Royal Academy of Music where she was awarded the Sir John Barbirolli and Vivian Dunn prizes among others and the Poulett Scholarship. She was accepted on the London Symphony Orchestra’s String Experience Scheme for 2010 and has been accepted on the Philharmonia’s Meyer Foundation Orchestral Award Scheme. Charlotte regularly performs as a member of The Hampden Quartet and in a duet with her sister. Atsuko Takao was born in Kyoto and also studied at the Royal Academy with a scholarship and winning the Barbirolli prize. Recently she was awarded the Mayor’s Prize in the Kyoto Music and Art Festival.  ]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Nonesuch_StJohn_19May2011.mp3" length="59383560" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/stravinsky_apollon_musagete_massenet_meditation_bach_double_violin_concerto/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Thu, 19 May 2011 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>49:13</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Ragtime Parlour!]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Ragtime Parlour! at St Peter's 1-2pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Mezzo-soprano Patricia Hammond is joined by percussionist Nick Ball, banjo player/guitarist Matt Redman, clarinet/sax player Simon Marsh and Dickie Evans on Sousaphone, revisiting the golden epoch of the 1910s and 1920s, when the new century struggled for a new identity. Sampling ragtime, tea-dance, exoticism and sentimental ballads, the programme is:

	In the Gloaming (Annie Fortescue Harrison. Lyrics: Meta Orred)

	The Aeroplane Rag of 1912 (Jack Glogau)

	Afghanistan – A Romance of Asia – (William Wilander. Lyrics: Harry Donnelly)

	Meet Me Tonight in Dreamland (Leo Friedman. Lyrics: Beth Slater Whitson)

	Japanese Sandman (Richard Whiting. Lyrics: Raymond B. Egan)

	Red Pepper Rag (Henry Lodge)

	If I Were the Only Girl in the World (Nat D. Ayer. Lyrics: Clifford Grey)

	Take Your Girlie to the Movies (Pete Wendling. Lyrics: Bert Kalmar, Edgar Leslie)

	Dardanella (Felix Bernard &amp; Johnny S. Black. Lyrics: Fred Fisher)

	Kashmiri Love Song (Amy Woodforde Finden. Lyrics: Laurence Hope)

	Love’s Old Sweet Song (James Molloy. Lyrics: Graham Clifton Bingham)

	The Honeysuckle and the Bee (William Penn. Lyrics: Albert Fitz)

	

	Patricia Hammond is a classically-trained singer who, despite her teachers’ earnest entreaties, has insisted on singing popular and parlour songs from the 1880s to the 1920s from the age of nine. In recent years she has been dragged as far forward as the 1950s due to the ever-shifting nature of Nostalgia. A CD of some of her favourites is soon to be hitting the shops, and features all four of the musicians here today. See www.patriciahammond.com for more details.

	Nicholas David Ball, percussionist, arranger, singer and specialist in early jazz and Brazilian Ragtime as well as a myriad of later styles. He created “Albert Ball’s Flying Aces,” a band of WWI aviators playing 1920s jazz and pop songs. In collaboration with Matthew Redman he completed twelve new arrangements for the CD “Our Lovely Day” on Imperial Music, to be released later this year. Nick is also a very talented artist.

	 

	Richard “Dickie” Evans is from the Lake District and is heir to a long tradition of northern British brass band music. A classical orchestral and chamber tuba player, in recent years his distinctive and stylish Sousaphone has been in increasing demand with early jazz ensembles.

	 

	Simon 'Zeppo' Marsh was only 11 when he first played for the Wiltshire Youth Jazz Orchestra, and has gone from strength to strength ever since. Simon is equally at home behind a saxophone, clarinet or flute, is a teacher and arranger and also leads the Simon Marsh Octet.

	 

	Matthew Redman, expert in all things plucked including Lute, mandolin, banjo, ukulele, and guitars nylon, steel, electric and acoustic. Recently he formed the RMS Lusitania Ragtime Orchestra and embarked on an exploration of hundreds of different rags. He plays early music, classical, jazz of all kinds, modern music, and various ethnic styles as well. In collaboration with Nick Ball, he arranged the songs for Patricia Hammond’s forthcoming album “Our Lovely Day.”]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Ragtime_Parlour_StPeter_23May2011.mp3" length="45165395" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/ragtime_parlour!/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Mon, 23 May 2011 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>37:23</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Cuban Music from 1920 to 1940]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Tradicional Cubano Trio St John's 1-2PM]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Tradicional Cubano Trio: Jose Zalba Smith (flute) Mercedes Carroll (double bass) Alex Duggan (percussion) perform:

	Javier Zalba: Son
	Miguel Matamoros: Lagrimas negras
	Javier Zalba: Mis Dos Hijos
	Consuelo Velazquez: Besame Mucho
	Abelardo Valdes: Almendra
	Jose Fernandez Diaz: Guantanamera
	Maria Teresa Vera: 20 anos
	Anon: Cachaito
	Javier Zalba: Guaguanco-Guaracha

	Tradicional Cubano Trio was founded in 2007. All three members studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, sharing the same passion for the old, traditional cuban music written between 1920 and 1940. Inspired by many composers such as Miguel Matamoros, Eduardo Sanchez de Fuentes, Sindo Garay, Benny More and many more, Jose, Mercedes and Alex have arranged their own musicAfter studying the BMus and MMus in classical flute at the Guildhall School of Music, London; Jose Zalba rekindled a strong passion for cuban music and formed Tradicional Cubano Trio. As well as his degree in orchestral percussion, Alex has studied hand percussion in Havana and Boston's Berklee College of Music. He is a member of the highly successful percussion quartet Sankorfa. Alex is also a samba workshop leader and has recently won the pyramid award for this enterprise. Mercedes is an Irish bass player whose varied musical life includes chamber music, early music, and Irish-traditional/classical music crossover, as well as collaborative work with electronic musicians and contemporary dancers. Her workshop experience includes the acclaimed Irish Chamber Orchestra's Music Factory workshop series.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Cuban_Trio_StJohn_26May2011.mp3" length="45765546" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/cuban_music_from_1920_to_1940/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Thu, 26 May 2011 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>37:57</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Bridge & Beethoven Trios]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Pescatori Trio at St Peter's 1-2pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Pescatori Trio: Stephan Zilias (piano) Benedikt Wiedmann (violin) Marshall McDaniel (cello) play:

	Frank Bridge (1879-1941) Phantasie Trio in C Minor H. 79 

	 

	For some reason, English composer Frank Bridge remains nearly unknown even to those who love the music of his contemporaries, Holst and Vaughan Williams, and his most famous student, Benjamin Britten. Part of it could be that Bridge's style evolved so radically from pompous irony to pastoral fantasy to abstract expressionism. Part of it could be that Bridge's technique advanced so quickly from tonal to chromatic to all but serial. And part of it could be the simple reason that most of the music is too elusive to be memorable with the lack of a hummable tune. Composed in 1907, when Bridge was around 28 years old, this single movement work has a passionate intensity.

	 

	Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) Piano Trio No 2 in G Major, Op 1/2

	Adagio; Allegro vivace ~ Largo con espressione ~ Scherzo: Allegro - Trio ~ Finale: Presto

	 

	Haydn himself applauded Beethoven’s first compositions to which the young master and his former student would give the name opus, the tri-part piano trio Op 1, which includes todays No 2 in G Major.  Published in 1795, they represented a great advance in breadth of conception and confidence of execution—possessing four movements with a slow movement and a scherzo or minuet, perhaps for the first time for the medium. In the No 2’s slow introduction, the violin’s first melodic phrase casually anticipates the first subject of the following Allegro vivace.  The movement has a breadth and range characteristic of Beethoven throughout his career. The succeeding Largo is long, highly dramatic in places, and is largely dominated by the ornate piano part, though not to the exclusion of expressive melodic writing for the violin and cello. The Scherzo features a delicate B minor Trio and a fade-out Coda. The Finale, with busy repeated notes on violin and cello in the first theme, is reminiscent of Haydn.

	 

	Encore: Scherzo from Stefan Johannes Hanke (*1984) Piano Trio (2008)

	 

	Benedikt and Stephan have played together since 1999 (they received the first National Prize from “Jugend musiziert” as well as the “Cultural Advancement Award from the City of Regensburg”. They joined American cellist Marshall McDaniel in 2008 to form the Pescatori Trio. Essential to the musical growth of this young ensemble is their work with the musicians of the Fauré Quartet who have become their key teachers and advisors. In addition, the Pescatori Trio has received important input from Friedemann Berger, Anthony Spiri, the Auryn Quartet, and the Florestan Trio. An extensive concert schedule has brought the musicians through England, Italy, Austria and Germany to date and they were named the best piano trio in the final round at the international chamber music competition “Gaetano Zinetti” in May 2009. In the summer of 2010, they won first prize in the chamber music category of the 17th International Brahms Competition in Pörtschach, Austria. The name of the ensemble is taken from the “Casa Pescatori” in Montepulciano, Italy where the group lodged in their founding week.

	 

	

	 

	Benedikt Wiedmann studied at the “Hochschule der Künste” in Zürich. In 2010 he attained his “Master of Concert Performance” degree, graduating with honors. He was concertmaster of the “Junge Deutsche Philharmonie”, played in the "Konzerthausorchester Berlin" and was a member of the Orchestra Academy of the Bavarian State Orchestra in Munich. Currently he is a member of the National Opera in Oslo, Norway.

	Marshall McDaniel started studying in September 2009 at the “Universität der Künste,” Berlin. He gathered orchestral experience as a member of the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie. He is the prize winner of numerous international competitions including the Italian Concorso Omizzolo and the Lions Club Quadrat Scholarship in 2008. He is also a composer with is most recent orchestral composition “Uncontrollable Lust” premiered in the Philharmonie, Berlin. In April 2010, his concerto for cello and orchestra was premiered at the Young European Music Festival in Esslingen in 2010.” He has many commissions for future works including one for a large symphonic piece from the International Mahler Orchestra.

	Stephan Zilias finished his piano studies in 2009 at the “Hochschule für Musik” in Cologne, graduating with honors. Supported by an “Entrance Scholarship” from the Royal Academy of Music in London where he continues conducting and piano studies. In 2008 he made his debut at the Opera in Cologne and he will coach and assist for the premiere of Detlev Glanert´s new opera “Solaris” at the Bregenzer Festspiele in 2012.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Pescatori_Trio_StPeter_30May11.mp3" length="61989468" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/bridge_and_beethoven_trios/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Mon, 30 May 2011 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>51:24</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[JS Bach Flute Sonatas Cycle Part 1]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Jose Zalba Smith (flute) Leanne Singh-Levett (piano) at St John's 1-2pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Jose Zalba Smith (flute), Leanne Singh-Levett (piano) perform:

	 

	Sonata in E minor BWV 1034

	Adagio ma non tanto ~ Allegro ~ Andante ~ Allegro

	Sonata in C Major BWV 1033

	Andante ~ Allegro ~ Adagio ~ Menuet I and II

	Partita in A minor for solo flute 1013

	Allemande ~ Corrente ~ Sarabande ~ Bourree anglaise

	Sonata in B minor BWV 1030

	Andante ~ Largo e dolce ~ Presto

	 

	

	 

	
		Bach is believed to have composed his flute sonatas BWV 1030-1035 between the 1720s and 1741, following the innovation of the transverse flute, the instrument that superseded the recorder. After Johann Joachim Quantz demonstrated the new instrument throughout Europe in the early 1720s, Bach celebrated its technical and expressive qualities and newly available tonal colours in this series of sonatas, which are among his best known chamber works. He also featured the flute in the Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 and in the Benedictus of the Mass in B Minor. The first three of the six sonatas, BWV 1030-1032, are three-movement obligato sonatas in which Bach wrote out the right hand notes to the accompaniment; BWV 1033-1035, by contrast, are continuo sonatas in four movements in which the composer provided only the bass line of the accompaniment. The earliest work is the Partita for Solo Flute BWV 1013, composed in 1718.
	
		 
	
		Born in Havana, Cuba, Jose studied flute and piano at the Alejandro G. Caturla and later at Amadeo Roldan Conservatory, where he received first Prize from the National Union of Artists and Writers of Cuba in their Woodwind Competition. Jose has given chamber music concerts with the violinist Evelio Tieles and Havana Player’s Ensemble at the Auditorium Amadeo Roldan and Basilica Menor de San Francisco de Asis in Havana. He was also invited to be part of the Bach Festival 2002 in Havana giving concerts in a variety of venues such as National Theatre “Garcia Lorca” and Caturla’s Concert Hall. He got a scholarship to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 2003 and played with Guildhall Symphonia and Wind Orchestra. Whilst a student he was invited to play with the Morley College’s Orchestra and the Eureka Foundation Orchestra. Jose was accepted as a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Spain (2006-2007) and as an extra player for the National Welsh Opera (2007-present). Finally, on completing his Masters, Jose was chosen to be part of the 2008-2009 Foyle Future Firsts Training Scheme with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and also given a place with the Southbank Sinfonia with whom he has enjoyed many exciting opportunities to play an extremely varied programme in a variety of venues across the UK. Jose has performed several times as Principal and Sub Principal with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and is currently Professor at Newham College of Further Education.
	
		 
	
		Leanne holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Advanced Performance from the Royal College of Music, where she studied with Andrew Ball and Roger Vignoles. In 2009 Leanne completed theFoyle Future Firsts apprenticeship programme with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, studying orchestral playing with Catherine Edwards. Leanne has performed at venues including the Purcell Room and Royal Festival Hall at London’s South Bank Centre, St Martin-in-the-Fields, St James’s Piccadilly, the Austrian Cultural Forum and the V&amp;A. She is a Resident Pianist at Charterhouse International Music Festival, and works regularly at the Royal College of Music, playing for song classes and opera. In summer 2009, Leanne participated in the Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme at Aldeburgh, and worked in France on Opéra de Baugé’s productions of Verdi’s La Traviata, Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Mozart’s La finta giardiniera.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Bach_Flute_Cycle_One.mp3" length="57979527" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/js_bach_flute_sonatas_cycle_part_1/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Thu, 9 Jun 2011 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>48:05</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Prokofiev Flute Sonata]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Prokofiev Flute Sonata]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Alena Lugovkina (flute) Pavel Timofejevsky (piano) perform:

	 

	
		Enescu: Cantabile et Presto for flute and piano
	
		 
	
		Prokofiev: Sonata in D-Major for flute and piano
	
		 
	
		(i) Moderato
	
		(ii) Scherzo
	
		(iii) Andante
	
		(iv) Allegro con brio]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Pavel_Alena_StJohn_26Mar2011.mp3" length="36167544" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/prokofiev_flute_sonata/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Sat, 26 Mar 2011 19:30:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>29:59</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Liszt Consolations and B minor Sonata, Ligeti: Etudes]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Peter O’Hagan (piano) at St John's 1-2pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Peter O’Hagan (piano) performs:

	
		Franz Liszt  (1811 – 1886) Six Consolations S172 R12
	
		1. Andante con moto ~ 2. Un poco più mosso ~ 3. Lento placido
	
		4. Quasi adagio ~ 5. Andantino ~ 6. Allegretto sempre cantabile
	
		 
	
		György Ligeti (1923-2006) Four Etudes 
	
		VIII. Fem ~ XI. En Suspens
	
		X. Der Zauberlehrling ~ XV. White on White
	
		 
	
		Franz Liszt Sonata in B minor S178
	
		 
	
		Peter O’Hagan has given frequent solo recitals in London and the provinces since his Wigmore Hall debut. His repertoire at over twenty recitals at London’s South Bank Centre (Purcell Room) has included all three sonatas by Boulez, and major works by Stockhausen, Ligeti, Messiaen and other leading contemporary composers. Abroad he has given recitals at festivals of contemporary music in Germany, Portugal and the USA. In January 2008, he gave a critically acclaimed recital of French piano music at the Wigmore Hall, followed by a performance of Boulez’s recent piano music in the presence of the composer at Birmingham Town Hall. Of his recording of Edwin Roxburgh’s Sonata for Piano, the reviewer in Gramophone wrote “Peter O’Hagan’s account of the Sonata is a tour-de-force of intelligent virtuosity”.  Last year, solo concerts included a recital of recent English music at the Purcell Room, South Bank Centre, and appearances in Croatia and at the 2010 Bath Bach Festival. 
	
		 
	
		The Hungarian composer György Ligeti (perhaps best known for his soundtrack use in Stanley Kubrick films) composed a cycle of 18 Études for solo piano between 1985 and 2001 arranged in 3 books. They are a major creative achievement combining virtuoso technical problems with expressive content of the 20th century – following the études of Chopin, Liszt and Debussy but addressing new technical ideas as a compendium of the concepts Ligeti had worked out in his other works since the 1950s. Fém – the title is the Hungarian word for metal. Based on chords of the open fifth, with short, irregular, asymmetrically grouped melodic fragments playing off one another. En Suspens – six beats per bar in the right hand, four in the left hand, irregular phrase-lengths and accents in both, weave an ethereal and rather jazz-like web of harmony. Der Zauberlehrling (The Sorcerer's Apprentice) – a dancing melodic line is kept in perpetual motion by irregularly dispersed staccato accents. White on White – a white-key study except for the very end, beginning with a serene canon and with a whirling fast middle section.
	
		 
	
		The inspiration for the Six Consolations was literary, a book of poetry by Charles Saint-Beuve that appeared in 1830. In general, the six works are intimate and gentle in nature, the first and last two sharing the key of E major. Liszt completed the monumental Sonata for piano in B minor in February 1853, but it was not premiered by Hans von Bülow until 1857. Critics lambasted the sonata, with the newspaper 'Nationalzeitung' referring to it as..." an invitation to hissing and stomping”. With the benefit of hindsight, it now seems obvious that it represents a unique landmark in the history of piano music as the synthesis of the sonata-form movement with the multi-movement instrumental cycle, which has been dubbed the 'double-function' form. The Sonata can be broken down roughly as follows: A 'First' movement, with a Slow introduction. Exposition, and Development: a 'Slow' movement and a 'Final' movement, with a Recapitulation, a Fugue (scherzando), and a Retransition which brings the sonata to an end in the way the form began. As in Liszt's other larger works, the Sonata's thematic material consists of a series of short motifs, or themes, transformed in character and mood throughout.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/OHagan_StJohn_16Jun2011.mp3" length="67535725" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/liszt_consolations_and_b_minor_sonata_ligeti_etudes/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Thu, 16 Jun 2011 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>56:00</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Sax/piano premieres by Johnson & Carmichael]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Kyle Horch (saxophones) Pavel Timofejevsky (piano) at St Peter's 1-2pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Kyle Horch (saxophones) Pavel Timofejevsky (piano) perform:

	
		Air and Scherzo                                                                          Henry Cowell
	
		Eremitani Sonata                                                                        Ian Stewart                                                     
		Allegro ~  Adagio ~ Allegro
	
		Inflorescence   (world premiere)                                                 Liz Johnson
	
		Sonata: Music Grave and Gay  (premiere of sax version)       John Carmichael
		Allegro moderato ~ Lento con moto ~  Allegro
	
		Read about Ian Stewart at his artist page. and watch the video of his sonata below:
	
		
	
		Henry Cowell (1897-1965) was one of the foremost American composers and musical thinkers of the first half of the 20th century. He was also a virtuoso pianist and a great impresario for the contemporary arts of his times, tirelessly promoting not just his own works but also the music of many other composers as well. A close friend of Charles Ives, he was instrumental in bringing Ives’ music to the attention of a wider public. Cowell was at the centre of a group of avant-garde musicians who included Ives, Carl Ruggles, Ruth Crawford Seeger, Edgard Varèse, and Conlon Nancarrow. As a teacher, he played a role in the development of a diverse group of younger composers, including George Gershwin, Lou Harrison, John Cage, and Burt Bacharach. As a young man he pioneered many new ideas in composition, such as tone-cluster technique (which Bela Bartok wrote to him asking his permission to use) and other early explorations of atonality, polytonality, and use of non-western modes. His experimentation with techniques of playing the piano by directly touching the strings pre-figured John Cage’s works for prepared piano; similarly, his writings about complex rhythms and suggestion that the player piano might be an ideal medium for exploring complexities beyond the capability of a human performer provided Nancarrow with an inspiration for his series of works for player piano. Possessed with an unusually eclectic outlook, Cowell was interested in new technological possibilities, playing a role in the invention of a device called the ‘Rhythmicon’; at the same time, from childhood he had been exposed to a wide range of folk and world music, which also had an effect on his music as indicated by his comment “I want to live in the whole world of music”. Later in life, he became less radical in his style: American folk music became a more important inspiration for his compositions from the late 1940s onward. It was during this later period, in 1961, that the Air and Scherzo waswritten for the saxophonist Sigurd Rascher. The two movements are beautifully crafted examples of simplicity. The ‘Air’ is a flowing melody over gently undulating harmonies heard twice, on either side of a jauntier central tune. The ‘Scherzo’, subtitled Gay-Sad-Gay, has two vibrant, gigue-like episodes surrounding a more thoughtful central section.
	
		
	
		Ian Stewart has written numerous works for saxophone in solo, duo, chamber and large ensemble settings. A CD of his chamber music – Islas featuring Kyle and Pavel - was released on the Music Chamber label recently and is available for purchase today. Influences include ambient, psychedelic folk, and Celtic music, as well as Baroque and 19th century classical music. (More at www.ianstewart.eu) Of the Eremitani Sonata, which was composed for Kyle Horch in 1993, Ian has written “The title refers to the Eremitani Church and its immediate area in Padua, in the Veneto region of northeastern Italy. It is a beautiful area, in the centre of a thriving Italian university town. In this work the saxophone and piano share the material equally. There are references to two motifs from Liszt's Dante sonata, one being the falling augmented fourth interval in a dotted rhythm, the other a melodic figure based on a semitone. While composing this work I heard the Dante sonata on the radio and the augmented fourth motif seemed very much implied in the opening piano chord. In the third movement, after the opening, the piano plays a section that refers to the Baroque keyboard toccata style and the writing between the saxophone and piano is in the spirit of a two part invention.”
	
		Born in Hampshire, Liz Johnson studied Music at Kingston Polytechnic and then went into teaching, working as a Primary class teacher. When she had the opportunity to take a “year out” from her full-time job, she gained a distinction for a Masters in Composition at Birmingham Conservatoire. During that year Liz won a number of prizes and was persuaded to leave her teaching career and to continue her studies in composition with Philip Cashian. Since then Liz’s music has received performances all over the world: “captivating …sometimes naturalistic, sometimes ethereal…” (Birmingham Post), "...a refreshing quality, evocative in subtle tonal and textural colours…” (Independent).  Ben Hartley Reflections for cello solo and choir received its première in November 2010 with cellist Tamsy Kaner, “…both exciting and inspiring – really wonderful.” (Simon Ible, Peninsular Arts).  Birmingham Conservatoire research fund has recently commissioned a new work for clarinettist (with 4 clarinets) and string quartet. Liz is currently working on a mini-opera for the Opera Group, being performed at the Linbury Studio, Covent Garden on July 14th, preceding Luke Bedford’s new work, Seven Angels. Liz teaches composition at Birmingham Conservatoire and also works extensively in the community for organisations including BCMG, WNO Max, Trinity Guildhall, Presteigne Festival and Creative Partnerships. Regarding Inflorescence, written for Kyle Horch in 2011 and receiving its first performance today, Liz writes that the title “is the word used to describe the form of the flowers on a plant, a word I discovered while researching a number of wild flowers mentioned in David Hart’s set of poems Crag Inspector. The poetry presents a man whose job it is to inspect crags, living and working by the “skirts of beaten rock” of Bardsey Island – a wild landscape off the North coast of Wales. He is surrounded by its flora and fauna and the poem explores his relationship with them, with the island, and with himself. As a composer I have been looking for a way to resonate with the poems and this piece represents my first musical exploration of the Crag Inspector. Structural aspects of wild flowers were used in the compositional process: dog daisy, self heal, stonecrop, silverweed, thistle. “…the dog daisy almost losing/ its hold on the overhang/ asks me nothing and I can do nothing.”
	
		One of Australia’s finest musical exports, John Carmichael was born in Melbourne in 1930. He has led a prolific career that has included study at the Paris Conservatoire, being musical director of a Spanish dance company, pioneering work in the field of music therapy, and a long list of compositions. His many concert works range in size from solo piano to full orchestra, including a flute concerto, Phoenix, which was premiered and recorded by James Galway, and a Trumpet Concerto whose CD recording by John Wallace and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra was released in 2005. Other recordings include a collection of duo and chamber pieces, Sea Changes, on ABC Classics.  Of his Sonata: Music Grave and Gay, which receives its first performance as a saxophone work today, John Carmichael writes, “Originally written for oboe, this work was commissioned by the Australian oboist Stephen Robinson, and premiered by him in London in June 2010. The range and character of the music makes it eminently suitable for the soprano saxophone and when Kyle Horch expressed interest in performing it I found the soprano saxophone’s agility and expressive qualities offered opportunities to explore other possibilities within the format of the same work. In the early stages of composing the original version for oboe, a quote I had heard from Alexander Pope in his Essay on Man – “from grave to gay” – gave me both the title and the focus for what I wanted to write: a new piece which explores a wide variety of moods, and allows the players to display how music can be grave, gay, dynamic, lyrical, even comical. In the first movement, saxophone and piano echo each other’s statements until they lead each other into darker territory and a cadenza based on the opening descending scale which returns in upbeat mode in the final section. In the slow movement, there are two centres of gravity – the first sober, somewhat forlorn, the second aspiring and lyrical; they alternate and there is an uneasy truce between the two, unresolved in the final bars. After a boisterous start, in the final Allegro the piano and saxophone insult each other, the piano rudely interrupting the saxophone’s happy musings until a cadenza gives the latter the upper hand. An ‘anything you can do I can do better’ contest ensues until saxophone pronounces itself the winner.”
	
		Kyle Horch studied in Chicago at Northwestern University (B.Mus 1986, M.Mus 1988), where he learned with Frederick Hemke. In 1986-7 he was awarded a BP North America Scholarship to study at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, where he learned with Stephen Trier and gained a Postgraduate Diploma in Advanced Solo Studies. As a student and young professional musician, he won prizes in numerous competitions, including the Coleman Chamber Music Competition (Los Angeles), Music Teachers’ National Association/Wurlitzer Young Artist Competition (Detroit), Park Lane Group Young Artists/20th Century Music Platform (London), and Jules de Vries International Saxophone Competition (Sweden). He has performed as soloist and chamber musician at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room, British and World Saxophone Congresses, and many other venues in Britain and abroad. He has made numerous recordings, including two on the Clarinet Classics label, ChamberSaxand AngloSax. His most recent recording with his own ensemble, Flotilla (Big Shed Music, 2009), focuses on chamber music for unusual combinations of saxophones and keyboards; of it, a reviewer in The Observer wrote, “This CD sparkles with energy and the playing is terrific.” Other recordings include two CDs of music by the composer Ian Stewart on the Music Chamber label, John Carmichael’s Aria and Finale for Carmichael’s Sea Changes CD (ABC Classics), and the 2006-7 Grade 8 Saxophone Syllabus for the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. Apart from his own projects, he maintains an active career as a freelance musician, performing in concerts, broadcasts, and CD recordings across a wide range of orchestral, contemporary, chamber, and light music. He works regularly with many well-known ensembles including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Bournemouth Symphony, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Rambert Dance Company, the contemporary chamber ensemble ‘Counterpoise’, and the Piccadilly Dance Orchestra. He was a jury member at the 5th Adolphe Sax International Competition in 2010, and has given masterclasses in Britain, France, Holland, Norway, Ireland, Belgium, Switzerland, Australia, and the USA. He has been a saxophone professor at the Royal College of Music since 1991.
	
		Pavel Timofejevsky, pianist, composer, and winner of the BBC/Guardian Young Composer of the Year award, graduated with distinction as a performer from the Royal Academy of Music in 2008.  Recitals, both solo and chamber, brought him to venues such asManchester’s Bridgewater Hall, the Brangwyn Hall in Swansea andQueen Elizabeth Hall, St. James’ Piccadilly, St. John’s Smith Square, and St. Martin’s in the Field in London. Concerts abroad include appearances in Russia, France, Cyprus and India. Pavel is the recipient of several prestigious awards – these include the Musicians Benevolent Fund Award, the 2007 Myra Hess Award, and the Philharmonia Orchestra Martin Musical Scholarship. Since 2007 Pavel gives concerts and leads workshops in a variety of community venues across the UK as part of Live Music Now scheme. Pavel recorded the soundtrack and starred in the US documentary “Tchaikovsky” and has composed for several films including “Le fin de la belle époque” for Russian TV. In late 2010 recently recorded an album of chamber music by composer Ian Stewart which was released on MUSIC-CHAMBER label in January 2011. Pavel is currently the Musician in Residence at St John’s Church, Notting Hill. Recently he has been selected to become Recommended Artist by the Making Music Young Concert Artist Awards 2011.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Kyle_Horch_Pavel_Timofejevsky_StPeter_20Jun2011.mp3" length="73740735" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/sax_piano_premieres_by_johnson_and_carmichael/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Mon, 20 Jun 2011 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>1:01:09</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Dvorak & Brahms wind Serenades]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Blaze Ensemble at St Peter's 1-2pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Blaze Ensemble: Conductor: George Vass, Flutes: Hellen Wills, Marie Penny, Piccolo: Dan Dixon, Oboes: Sue Treherne, Dan Elson, Clarinets: Claire Baughan, Ian Noonan, Bassoons: Tom Hardy, Rosie Burton, Contrabasson: Mike Johnstone, Horns: Andy Feist, Cath Whalley, Jay Crossland, Violas: Johnny Davis, Alan Thorougood, Keith Berry, Rachel Boxall, Helen Sheldon, Cellos: Maud Hodson, Jim Hall, Roland Anderson, Double Bass: Peter Craik

	
		Antonin DvoÅák (1841-1904) Serenade in E major Op 22
	
		Moderato ~ Tempo di Valse ~ Scherzo: Vivace ~ Larghetto ~ Finale: Allegro vivace
	
		 
	
		
	
		 
	
		Dvorak combined the classical tradition of German Romanticism with elements of his native folksong. In 1875 he wrote the Serenade in just twelve days. The piece is filled with rich sonorities and sentimentality verging on melancholy. Dvorak often employed two or three differing rhythms simultaneously in the same passage. This occurs in the first movement when the first violins play an ornamented eighth and two sixteenth note melody, while the second violins add ascending eighth notes, as the cellos skip in an ascending octave pattern. The dance-like rhythm keeps the texture alive, although the passage becomes softer. The second movement is a waltz and trio, which is like a mazurka in structure. Dvorak uses hauntingly beautiful melodies that are emotionally charged. Movement three is a scherzo that makes use of frequent imitation. The rhythmic verve provides the movement with sparkle. The middle section is melodic, but in the accompaniment there are many rhythmic figures used simultaneously. In contrast to the scherzo, the fourth movement begins introspectively and is like a reflective romanza. It has a wide dynamic range with multiple and florid rhythms in the melodic lines and rich harmonic sonorities, which all create a sweeping emotional message. In the last movement, the vibrant accented rhythms, often heard in imitation, are like the fiery Czech dance the furiant. The dotted rhythm that drives the movement is an example of the Lombardic rhythm of which Dvorak was fond.
	
		 
	
		Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) Serenade No 2 in A Op 16
	
		Allegro moderato ~ Scherzo. Vivace - Trio ~ Adagio non troppo ~ Quasi menuetto - Trio ~ Rondo. Allegro
	
		 
	
		
	
		 
	
		Brahms scored this, his second Serenade for Orchestra, for just double woodwind (plus a piccolo which plays only in the Finale), two horns, violas, cellos and basses. With no violins to give out or double thematic statements, almost all the principal melodies are assigned to the wind, and the violas are used with unusual freedom. The closely-knit first movement seems to grow organically from the initial statement of the first subject. There is no repeat of the exposition, instead Brahms feigns one by opening the development with a restatement of the first subject in the tonic. There follows a brief and uninhibited Scherzo in the manner of a fast country dance. The other dance movement in the work is the fourth, marked 'Quasi Menuetto', - delicate and pensive. These two movements enclose the Serenade's chief glory; the central Adagio non troppo, which is among the most poetic things that Brahms was ever to write. The movement is an elaborately worked-out ternary form, full of contrapuntal ingenuity, with a somberly dramatic central episode. But what stays in the memory is the shadowed, introspective lyricism, suffused with more than a hint of tragedy. The work ends with a good-humoured Rondo with a march-like main theme, in which the bright clear timbre of the piccolo plays an important part.
	
		 
	
		Blaze Ensemble was established in 1997 and aims to give high quality chamber music concerts featuring a diverse range of works: from the baroque to the contemporary and popular mainstream repertoire through to the less familiar. It draws on a mix of professional and non-professional players from in and around London to perform from trios to large ensemble chamber works. The name derives from the group's association with the music production company, Blaze Music.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Blaze_Ensemble_StPeter_27Jun2011.mp3" length="71567486" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/dvorak_and_brahms_wind_serenades/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Mon, 27 Jun 2011 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>59:20</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[ Bass Clarinet Sonata & Swaledale Songs ]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Michael Brough (piano) Lucy Downer (clarinet) Patricia Hammond (MEZZO SOPRANO) AT ST JOHN'S 1-2PM]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Pianist, organist and composer Michael Brough partners with talented young clarinettist Lucy Downer for the first London performance of Brough's Sonata for Bass Clarinet and Piano. The concert also features mezzo soprano Patricia Hammond for the London premiere of Brough's settings of poems about the Dales by local residents Pete Roe, Ann Pilling and Felicity Manning, commissioned by the Swaledale Festival 2011. To hear the entire concert use the player at the top right hand side of this page, video excerpts appear below.

	 

	
		A Swaledale Sequence for low voice, clarinet in A, and piano  op27
	
		 
	
		
	
		 
	
		This triptych was commissioned by the Festival in 2010 for presentation at Arkengarthdale the following year and sets three verses by local poets, Pete Roe, Ann Pilling and Felicity Manning. The pieces contrast strongly, both in their mood and in the manner in which the forces are used, Like the Sonata, they are tonally based and end in the keys of their openings. “Beauty lives just down the Dale”, Pete Roe’s poem, tells of the love of a hardworking character which illuminates all the rough moorland tasks of everyday life. The music is in F sharp minor and ends in the major, and the voice enters, after a substantial introduction, with the main theme of the piece, setting the eponymous phrase of the song. The music ebbs and flows in both mood and material, with the notions expressed in the text, including a tramping, marching section, before the romantic climax, in both C major and C sharp major in quick succession, leads to a return to the opening ideas. The second song, “Life”, in which Ann Pilling’s penetrative words allow a quirky setting,  or perhaps exploration, of her attitude to the natural surroundings of the dale, uses the clarinet and the voice without the piano until almost the end, making the piece a Yorkshire two-part invention. Like the companion pieces, it begins in a minor key (in this case A minor) and ends in the major, as Pilling’s upbeat conclusion dictates. In the course of the piece, the voice and clarinet weave around each other seductively. The hectic final song, written in C sharp minor, attempts to set to music a storm during the night in which terrified sheep huddle together for security by a wall; in the morning there is water everywhere. The music starts with a stormy introduction and an angular theme for the singer, depicting the harsh wind and cascading, churning water. This turmoil is stayed twice in the course of the song, once for a pushing, champing section showing the sheep by the wall and finally, after a great crash, introducing a new theme on the words “Winter darkness lasts..”.  The water then subsides and the daylight returns to reveal the debris of the night before. At the very end, the piano recalls the sheep motif and the song sequence is allowed to end positively. Full poem texts appear at the end of this page.


	 

	Sonata in D flat, for Bass Clarinet and Piano op25

	(1) First movement - "Lento cantando - poco marziale" (2) "'Trauermarsch' - Adagio" and (3) Finale - "Strepitoso - tranquillo liberale - Tempo I"

	 

	

	 

	This piece was written in 2009 for Lucy Downer following a chance encounter at the Royal Academy of Music where she was playing the bass clarinet in the evocative Fantasy-Quintet (for that instrument and string quartet) by York Bowen.  It is in three movements, conventionally laid out as an extensive opening piece loosely in sonata form, based heavily on a twelve-note theme with two subsidiary motifs; a central monothematic adagio and a toccata-like finale. Writing for the bass clarinet has been a rewarding exercise in every sense: the immense range of the instrument from the bassoon’s low B flat to an upper limit fixed only by the discretion and skill of the player and its large dynamic range have been exciting to explore. The ability of the two instruments to exchange places (solo/accompaniment) was also satisfying. The first movement opens with the (bass) clarinet stating a motto theme using all twelve semitones (leaving the listener not knowing what style to expect)  which in fact rapidly is repeated and underlain by romantic gestures by the piano. A short transition leads to a cadenza for the instrument which, in turn, leads to an important subsidiary idea with a martial feel to it, before the third main idea, in G flat major, provides a lengthy romantic interlude. During the subsequent extensive development of the opening twelve-note motto theme, the martial motif reappears in the home key of D flat and eventually the romantic third theme makes its second appearance before a brief coda. The second movement makes use of a long cantilena jotted down in 1868 in his diary (Das braune Buch”) by Richard Wagner, which he apparently intended as material for a piece on the subject of Romeo and Juliet, perhaps as a gloomy companion for the Siegfried Idyll; at any rate, Wagner failed to pursue the idea and the long tune seems to have been noted and forgotten ever since, perhaps because it was written in the key of A flat minor, which has been preserved as the key of the Sonata’s slow movement. A tolling bell note in the piano and brief preparatory phrase leads to Wagner’s theme which is then expanded and developed quite passionately before being restated in the major key, bringing a romantic climax , although the doom-laden bell feature appears again before a final close with the piano decorating the theme, once again in A flat minor. After a series of descending flourishes for both instruments, the finale starts properly in F minor with a pounding version of the sonata’s twelve-note motto theme providing the context for some fairly virtuoso work for both instruments. This leads, eventually, to a still centre for the movement in which a new tune appears like a hymn, reaching individual cadences decorated by final arpeggios for the piano and, in turn, to a second half of the central interlude introducing an emphatic repeated note idea which reaches its own climax in E flat major, dying away and coming to a stop before the toccata restarts. To accommodate a substantial cadenza for the bass clarinet, itself based on the motto theme, the toccata itself is then somewhat abbreviated, and leads to a coda involving a final climax combining the martial theme with the interlude’s repeated note section, all in the home key, in which the sonata ends quietly.

	 

	Michael Brough was educated at Leeds University and has been a solicitor for almost twenty years. Outside the law, he has been organist at London’s Holy Trinity Sloane Street for the last eighteen years; he is active as a pianist, accompanist and is the composer of over a hundred musical works, a number of which have received first performances in Britain and in Europe. He is currently a member of the London Diocesan Synod and takes an interest in wider affairs in the Anglican church, having spent a year in Southern Africa as a teacher.

	Lucy Downer studied at the Royal Academy of Music, graduating in June 2008 with First Class Honours in her BMus degree, and Distinction in her Postgraduate Diploma in Performance. During her studies she won several awards, including the Buffet Crampon Clarinet Prize and David Taylor Award. As a soloist Lucy has performed with orchestras including the Oxford Sinfonia, the Banbury Symphony Orchestra and RAM Symphony Orchestra. She is particularly interested in the bass clarinet, and has given many solo and chamber music concerts. She frequently enjoys collaborating with composers on new works, which has resulted in several world premieres in venues such as St Martin-in-the-Fields, the Southbank Centre and the Wigmore Hall. In 2005 she was a quarter-finalist (last 8) in the Henri Selmer World Bass Clarinet Competition in Holland, as the only UK player. As an orchestral musician, Lucy has played with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and RTÉ Concert Orchestra, and as a member of the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s Foyle Future Firsts apprenticeship programme. Lucy has been generously supported by the Musicians’ Benevolent Fund, the EMI Music Sound Foundation and Banbury Charities. She has just recorded her debut CD “Conversations” with pianist Claire Howard Race, featuring among others a world premiere by Nick Planas and the first British recording of Paul’s Patterson’s ‘Conversations’, from which the CD takes its name.

	British-Canadian mezzo-soprano Patricia Hammond studied singing in Canada and Switzerland before moving to the UK in 2001. She has appeared as an oratorio soloist in Europe and North America, as well as London’s Queen Elizabeth and Royal Festival Halls under Ivan Fischer and Sir Simon Rattle with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, and recently performed in Geneva’s Victoria Hall as part of the Fête de la Musique. In opera Patricia has appeared at the Wexford Festival, Covent Garden’s Linbury Theatre and the Herodus Atticus Theatre in Athens. She has been featured on BBC Radio 3 and BBC4 Television, and Radio 4′s “Midweek” with Libby Purves in April 2010. “Le Charme”, her CD of French song, was Editor’s Choice in the American Record Guide in 2007, and in 2010 released “One Day When We Were Young” on a Sony compilation of nostalgic favourites. British composer Michael Brough has written a set of songs for her commissioned by the Swaledale Festival, which will see their debut at the festival this year. In addition to her work in classical music, Patricia is a fervent researcher of popular songs from bygone eras, and collaborates with a number of jazz musicians including Matt Redman and Nick Ball, who have written the arrangements for her new CD, “Our Lovely Day,” for Imperial Music and Media.

	'Beauty Lives Just Down the Dale' by Pete Roe

	 

	Beauty lives just down the dale

	Across the rock strewn pasture

	Where the lone curlew cries

	Across wind cut moorland

	Where stark sheep stare then scatter

	Deep damp winter bites

	Useless numbed fingers fumble

	A gate hook long neglected

	Rain chilled back and wet sod feet

	A heavy tramp

	A thorn tree whips sharp and bloody

	Across a hard worked face

	And Then  And Then  And Then

	She's there

	Eyes meet  Dawn breaks  Sun shines

	We are that colour no one has seen

	Soft  Exciting  Strong

	And all the shades of all there's ever been

	We touch

	A river surges

	Painful  Joyful  Wonderful 

	We cry

	Hopeless tears of love

	How could we do otherwise

	 

	The wind's as cold as I trudge homeward

	Across the blasted moor

	But there's no misery in it for me

	For beauty lives just down the dale

	 

	© Pete Roe, June 2007

	 

	'Life' by Ann Pilling

	 

	I have narrowed it to a plain place

	less talk, less folk. 

	 

	Today I watched a man walk down a field

	along a rope of wall, its stones

	still hugged by melting snow that spread

	fish spines on the emerging green.

	 

	I have learned about finches and moons,

	walked only by stars, marvelling

	how their still, cold light felt warm to me.

	 

	The frost opens old cuts but here

	I have no past and the land 

	arched between that life and this

	is generous, like the speckled breasts

	of these spring-hungry thrushes. 

	 

	Ann Pilling March 2010

	 

	'Flood' by Felicity Manning

	 

	Bent bodies of hawthorns,

	Witches’ fingers 

	waving in the dusk

	screech demands in the frenzy.

	Answered by the monstrous force

	swelling through a bridge too small,

	a threatening roar out of sight.

	Sheep cluster,

	wait for protection,

	wait.

	Night boils the water on its journey,

	walls fall with another thunder.

	Winter darkness lasts

	till a strip of grey outlines the hill.

	And they,

	still pressed against the stones

	their field a lake and the river spent.

	Another day.

	 

	Felicity Manning 19/01/09]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Brough_StJohn_23Jun2011.mp3" length="51302943" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/bass_clarinet_sonata_and_swaledale_songs/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Thu, 23 Jun 2011 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>42:32</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Agay & Szervanszky Wind Quintets]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Waldegrave Ensemble at St John's 1-2pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Waldegrave Ensemble: Anastasia Arnold (flute) Marissa Pueschel (oboe) Elliott DeVivo (clarinet) Alison Bach (horn) Emily Blake (bassoon) play:

	Mozart: 1st mov (Allegro molto) Divertimento No. 14  KV270

	Endre Szervanszky: Wind Quintet 'FuvoSotos'

	Jaques Ibert: Trois pieces breve

	M Ravel: Piece En Forme De Habanera

	Denes Agay - Five East Dances

	

	Jacques Ibert studied with Paul Vidal at the Paris conservatoire and later was a student of Fauré. He was the director of the French Academy in Rome for many years and was also assistant director of the Paris Opéra and Opéra-Comique. His Trois Pièces Brèves were written in 1930 and constitute one of the most popular works in the woodwind quintet repertoire Scored for the classical wind quintet, Trois Pièces Brèves (Three Short Pieces) is just that. The first movement, Allegro, has a lively skipping feel which contrasts between light and delicate sections and a heavier feel. The second movement, Andante, is a slow and beautiful duet between the flute and the clarinet with only a short statement made at the end by the other three instruments. The third movement begins with a slow motive that hints towards a brass fanfare with the melodic interjections of the horn and bassoon. The movement then changes mood when the clarinet takes over with a lively melody. The piece ends with a somewhat raucous cadence and surprising cadence that completes the intentions of three short yet sparkling pieces.

	 

	Ravel’s Piece en forme de habanera is a short and evocative piece combining the composer’s own style with the sounds and native dance idioms of Spain. This work was originally written as a vocalise for bass voice and piano in 1907, and shares much in common with Mendelssohn’s Song without Words format. Ravel soon made his own arrangements for other instruments, and this languid work is now performed in several different instrumental combinations.

	 

	Born in Hungary in 1911, Denes Agay studied piano and composition at the Liszt Academy in Budapest.  In 1939 he migrated to the United States, where he worked for the remainder of his career, earning an international reputation as a piano teacher.  As a composer and arranger of piano music, he is particularly noted for his ”Joy of… (here fill in your favorite style of music)” series.  On his photograph he has a small portion of a framed sheet of Gregorian chant hanging behind his piano, unfortunately not clear enough so I could decipher any text.  Five Easy Dances for woodwind quintet were published in 1956. All are relatively short, with faster ones quite lively and the slower ones romantic in their concept.

	 

	After their public debut in 2009 the Waldegrave Ensemble has continued to give recitals in around London, exploring repertoire for various wind chamber groups from quintet to dectet and playing original works from classical through to 21st century.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Waldegrave_StJohn_30Jun2011.mp3" length="47673242" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/agay_and_szervanszky_wind_quintets/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Thu, 30 Jun 2011 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>39:31</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Music Against Poverty]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Music Against Poverty - Anup Biswas & London Strings at St John's 7.30pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Anup Kumar Biswas (cello), London Strings, Ezio Bosso (conductor), Orpheus Papafilippou (lead violin) perform:

	Puccini: Chrysanthemi

	 

	Haydn: Cello Concerto No 1 in C Major

	
		Moderato ~ Adagio ~ Allegro molto


	 

	Ezio Bosso: Sea Rain (world premiere)

	 

	Tchaikovosky: Serenade for Strings in C major, Op. 48

	
		Pezzo in forma di sonatina: Andante non troppo — Allegro moderato
	
		Valse: Moderato — Tempo di valse
	
		Élégie: Larghetto elegiaco
	
		Finale (Tema russo): Andante — Allegro con spirito


	
		Music Against Poverty returns to Mayfest for another musical celebration in aid of charity. Featuring London Strings, a new young and vibrant string orchestra made of the cream of London’s emerging talent producing deep and exciting interpretations of Romantic and contemporary works. Alongside much loved orchestral music they present a new work by conductor and composer Ezio Bosso, whose style combines ‘avant garde’ techniques with ‘popular’ accessibility much praised by critics. This concert is in support of the Mathieson Music Trust.
	
		To hear the entire concert use the player on the top right hand side of this page. Below watch an excerpt of Anup and the London Strings performing Haydn's cello concerto in C major:]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Music_Against_Poverty_StJohn_28May2011.mp3" length="84539890" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/music_against_poverty/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Sat, 28 May 2011 19:30:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>1:10:06</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Bach Flute Sonata Cycle Part 2]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Jose Zalba Smith (flute), Leanne Singh-Levett (piano) at St John's 1-2pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Jose Zalba Smith (flute), Leanne Singh-Levett (piano) perform flute sonatas by JS Bach:

	 

	Sonata in Eb Major BWV 1031

	Allegro moderato ~ Siciliano ~ Allegro

	 

	Sonata in G minor BWV 1020

	Allegro ~ Adagio ~ Allegro

	 

	Sonata in E Major BWV 1035

	Adagio ma non tanto ~ Allegro ~ Siciliano ~ Allegro assai

	 

	Sonata in A Major BWV 1032

	Vivace ~ Largo e dolce ~ Allegro

	 

	Bach is believed to have composed his flute sonatas between the 1720s and 1741, following the innovation of the transverse flute, the instrument that superseded the recorder. After Johann Joachim Quantz demonstrated the new instrument throughout Europe in the early 1720s, Bach celebrated its technical and expressive qualities and newly available tonal colours in this series of sonatas, which are among his best known chamber works. The first three of the six sonatas, BWV 1030-1032, are three-movement obligato sonatas in which Bach wrote out the right hand notes to the accompaniment; BWV 1033-1035, by contrast, are continuo sonatas in four movements in which the composer provided only the bass line of the accompaniment. There is some debate over the provenance of the Sonata BWV 1020 in G Minor, which some believe was composed by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, rather than by his father. C.P.E. Bach, however, gave the credit to his father. Joshua Smith, Delos label flautist says of the sonatas “Using deep symmetries of structure, expressive rhetorical gestures, and daring manipulations of tonality, Bach strove to render the human experience in sound. He did so fervently and with grace, creating an art that impresses us with its great form, rhythmic scope, gesture, and color. At the deepest level, his music speaks to us because it holds out the alchemical promise that we can transform all of these devices into inspiration in our imaginations.”

	 

	Born in Havana, Cuba, Jose studied flute and piano at the Alejandro G. Caturla and later at Amadeo Roldan Conservatory, where he received first Prize from the National Union of Artists and Writers of Cuba in their Woodwind Competition. Jose has given chamber music concerts with the violinist Evelio Tieles and Havana Player’s Ensemble at the Auditorium Amadeo Roldan and Basilica Menor de San Francisco de Asis in Havana. He was also invited to be part of the Bach Festival 2002 in Havana giving concerts in a variety of venues such as National Theatre “Garcia Lorca” and Caturla’s Concert Hall. He got a scholarship to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 2003 and played with Guildhall Symphonia and Wind Orchestra. Whilst a student he was invited to play with the Morley College’s Orchestra and the Eureka Foundation Orchestra. Jose was accepted as a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Spain (2006-2007) and as an extra player for the National Welsh Opera (2007-present). Finally, on completing his Masters, Jose was chosen to be part of the 2008-2009 Foyle Future Firsts Training Scheme with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and also given a place with the Southbank Sinfonia with whom he has enjoyed many exciting opportunities to play an extremely varied programme in a variety of venues across the UK. Jose has performed several times as Principal and Sub Principal with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and is currently Professor at Newham College of Further Education.

	 

	Leanne holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Advanced Performance from the Royal College of Music, where she studied with Andrew Ball and Roger Vignoles. In 2009 Leanne completed theFoyle Future Firsts apprenticeship programme with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, studying orchestral playing with Catherine Edwards. Leanne has performed at venues including the Purcell Room and Royal Festival Hall at London’s South Bank Centre, St Martin-in-the-Fields, St James’s Piccadilly, the Austrian Cultural Forum and the V&amp;A. She is a Resident Pianist at Charterhouse International Music Festival, and works regularly at the Royal College of Music, playing for song classes and opera. In summer 2009, Leanne participated in the Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme at Aldeburgh, and worked in France on Opéra de Baugé’s productions of Verdi’s La Traviata, Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Mozart’s La finta giardiniera.

	 ]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Jose_Bach_StJohn7July2011.mp3" length="57166091" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/bach_flute_sonata_cycle_part_2/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Thu, 7 Jul 2011 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>47:24</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Debussy, Ravel & Albeniz Clarinet works]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Mistral Clarinet Quartet St Peter's 1PM]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Mistral Clarinet Quartet: Elliott DeVivo (Clarinet &amp; Bass Clarinet), Helen Bennett (Clarinet), Clare Neville (Basset-horn &amp; Bass Clarinet) &amp; Laurence Scott (Eb Clarinet &amp; Clarinet) perform:

	Debussy: Danse (arr. Jean Thilde)

	Ravel: Pavane de la belle au bois dormant

	Petit Poucet ~ Le jardin feerique (from 'Ma mere l'oye' arr. Laurence Scott)

	Albeniz: Malaguena ~ Serenata (from Espana arr. Bill Holcombe)

	Faure: Pavane (arr. Laurence Scott)

	Farkas: Early Hungarian Dances

	 

	Video of encore: Cole Porter's Under My Skin

	 

	

	 

	
		
	
		 
	
		The Mistral Clarinet Quartet is a chamber ensemble based in south west London.  Formed in 2005, the ensemble regularly gives recitals, both nationally and internationally, and also plays at a variety of events including weddings, receptions, garden parties and local music festivals. The quartet enjoys ties with Imperial College, providing music for a variety of functions. The quartet usually comprises three clarinets and bass clarinet, but also features basset horn, E flat, alto, and contra-alto clarinets. The quartet is made up of musicians from different backgrounds, their diversity providing an emphasis on many different genres and styles.  Our everâgrowing repertoire spans everything from early music and classical favourites through to 21st century works.  We also have a passion for jazz, klezmer, pop and other light music.
	
		 
	
		 ]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Mistral_StPeter_11Jul2011_Edit_2.mp3" length="36473738" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/debussy_ravel_and_albeniz_clarinet_works/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Mon, 11 Jul 2011 13:07:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>00:00</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Brahms and Trio Music from New Zealand]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[NZTrio at St Peter's 1-2pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Violinist Justine Cormack, cellist Ashley Brown and pianist Sarah Watkins perform:

	John Psathas (New Zealand) Island Songs (1995)
	I ~ II ~ III - with extreme energy

	Kenji Bunch (USA) Grooveboxes

	 

	Brahms Piano Trio 2 in C Major, Opus 87

	Allegro ~ Andante con moto ~ Scherzo: Presto; Trio: Poco meno presto ~ Finale: Allegro giocoso

	 

	John Psathas (b 1966) is one of a few New Zealand composers who have made a mark on the international scene, particularly in Europe and North America. He is now widely considered one of the three most important living composers of the Greek Diaspora. Raised in Taumaranui and Napier, John is the son of Greek immigrant parents who arrived in New Zealand in the early 1960s. After studying piano and composition at Victoria University, he studied privately in Belgium with Jaqueline Fontyn before returning to take up lecturing at the New Zealand School of Music in Wellington. John’s music has been commissioned and performed by many great musicians and orchestras around the world. These include Michael Brecker, Dame Evelyn Glennie, Michael Houstoun, Joshua Redman, The New Zealand String Quartet, Federico Mondelci, NZTrio, Pedro Carneiro, the Takacs Quartet. The Netherlands Blazers Ensemble, the Halle Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic, the Melbourne Symphony, the BBC Scottish Symphony, the Auckland Philharmonia, the Vector Wellington Orchestra, the NZSO, and many others. John has a natural inclination and innate ability for mega-projects. Since writing much of the ceremonial music for the 2004 Olympic Games, John’s music has been on the radar screen of a wider public than that normally associated with contemporary classical music. In 2010 John’s A Cool Wind received its Carnegie Hall debut with the Takacs quartet, and he was Distinguished Guest Composer at the Winnipeg’s 2010 New Music Festival, and the Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in Berlin. He has just completed his first feature film score, for the Western Good For Nothing and was distinguished guest composer at the 2011 Taipei International Percussion Convention. He has just completed two years as the Acukland Philharmonia Orchestra’s Composer in Residence. The composer writes: These three pieces were each inspired by certain styles of Greek Dance music. They are not so much simulations of these styles as they are my own reaction to them. What I have responded to mostly is the unique energy of each of the dance types. The first piece involves a number of styles and reflects what I perceive as the latent energy in much of this music (which, in this movement, only surfaces from time to time). The second piece is a reaction to the great strength of the Zeibekiko dance, which is in a (sometimes extremely slow) 9/4 time. This second piece, while not cast in the same time frame as a true Zeibekiko, does reflect the uncertainty of the downbeat, alongside the intensely focused emotional content of this dance. The third piece is much in the style of the Sirto dance which is always lively and unfailingly contagious with its energy. This work was originally commissioned by the Kandinsky Ensemble, and scored for clarinet, cello and piano. It was subsequently arranged for piano trio.

	 

	Kenji Bunch (b 1973) has emerged this past decade as one of the most prominent American composers of his generation. Hailed as a “composer to watch” by the New York Times, Mr. Bunch’s works have been performed by more than twenty American orchestras in the last five years. A versatile musician, Mr. Bunch also enjoys an active performing career. As a founding member of the Flux Quartet, and now with the performing composer group Ne(x)tworks, Mr. Bunch has become one of New York’s premiere interpreters of new and experimental music. Also a dedicated teacher, Mr. Bunch currently teaches viola and composition at the Juilliard School Pre-College and at the Mark O’Connor Strings Conference in San Diego. He was a visiting professor in composition at Bennington College in Vermont in 2002 and frequently conducts master classes and workshops in viola, composition, improvisation, music appreciation, and as a consultant in arts education. Kenji wrote “Swing Shift” to capture the unique essence of New York City at her most exciting time of day – the hours between dusk and dawn. “Grooveboxes”, the final movement in the suite, is an attempt to duplicate a beat box (groovebox) of a DJ.  The opening ‘slap’ pizzicatos in the strings set up a rhythmic groove, which is added to, one layer at a time. Textures change, melodic fragments come and go, but the forward momentum of the rhythm never gives up.

	 

	“A most remarkable and extraordinary personality" was Brahms.  Humorous, fearless, far-seeing, sometimes over-rough to his contemporaries, but a worshipper of and worshipped by young children; with a very noble, generous, and ideal side to his character, and a curiously warped and sensual side as well.  He could look like Jupiter Olympus at one moment, and like Falstaff the next.” Charles Villiers Stanford in ‘Studies and Memories’, 1908. The Piano Trio No 2 in C was completed in the summer of 1882 while Brahms was staying at his favourite resort, Bad Ischl.  It was here two years earlier that he had composed the first movement of the trio in isolation – a thrilling opening to what promised to be a remarkable work.  As soon as the trio was finished he sent a copy to his old friend and confidante, Clara Schumann. She immediately wrote back to Brahms saying that she found the trio “a great musical treat”, and that she was sorry that she had only “a poor little piano” on which to play it. “What a splendid work this is”, she wrote.  “I love every movement: what wonderful development sections!  How beautifully one motif, one figure peels away to reveal the next!  How delightful the Scherzo is, then the Andante with its charming theme, which must surely sound idiomatic in the register of the double octaves, altogether free of artifice! How fresh that last movement is, and how interesting in its artistic combinations!” The first private performance took place on 25 August 1882 at Alt-Ausee with Brahms’s friend Ignaz Brüll as the pianist. A public performance with Brahms himself at the piano followed on 29 December that year in Frankfurt am Main. The heroic opening gestures of the Allegro first movement set the mood for the Piano Trio No 2. A lively opening theme passes through a rich diversity of keys as Brahms plays off one musical idea against another in rapid succession. The second theme is a graceful affair, easing the tension briefly within the movement before the turbulent development section. At last the heroism of the opening returns as the music strides home in the concluding bars. The A minor Andante con moto second movement provides the emotional heart of the work, as Brahms presents a troubled theme and set of five variations.  Beautiful yet melancholy, the theme first heard in double octaves on the violin and cello is carried through a constantly shifting chromatic landscape, painted in ever darkening hues. A halting C minor Scherzo third movement is scarcely the musical joke that its name implies.  Agitated staccato rhythms characterise the outer sections which frame a gently rhapsodic trio in the home key of C major. The Allegro giocoso finale is a rollicking movement full of high spirits and alternating light and shade.  Over the rushing arpeggios in the piano, the strings duck and dive, breaking at the crest of one wave only to plunge into the trough of another. In the dramatic closing passages, Brahms returns to the heroism of the opening movement as the music romps home amid a blaze of fireworks.

	 

	Brahms programme note by Roger Smith, reprinted courtesy of Chamber Music New Zealand www.chambermusic.co.nz

	 

	NZTrio thrives on connecting with audiences through intimate and exhilarating performances. The trio’s refreshing programmes juxtapose classical masterpieces with brilliant contemporary works, mix musical cultures and genres, and involve collaborations with a broad range of international artists. Violinist Justine Cormack, cellist Ashley Brown and pianist Sarah Watkins first joined forces in 2002 and were Ensemble in Residence at The University of Auckland from 2004-2009. From the outset their artistry, intensity and approachability have captivated music lovers throughout New Zealand, Australia, Asia, South America, the US and the UK. Recent highlights include appearances at the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai, and further concerts in Beijing and Taiwan, a Celebrity Series tour for Chamber Music New Zealand, and a special concert at the Aurora Festival in Sydney, broadcast live on ABC. 2011 will see the trio performing internationally in London, Europe, Australia and Asia. The trio actively commissions works by leading New Zealand composers. More recently, their commitment to commissioning new music has expanded to include composers from Asia and Australia, with their repertoire featuring new commissions by Musheng Chen (China), Chinary Ung (Cambodia), Judy Bailey (NZ/Australia) and Stuart Greenbaum (Australia). NZTrio regularly collaborates with leading artists from across the artistic spectrum. In the 2011 Auckland Arts Festival, the trio performed with three Cambodian folk musicians in ‘O Cambodia’, a collaborative performance of four new works by New Zealand and Cambodian composers. Other recent projects have involved performances with Finnish Accordion/Bass duo Lepisto and Lehti at WOMAD, a piece with accompanying animated film by David Downes, a work for trio with taonga puoro (traditional Maori instruments) by Richard Nunns and Gareth Farr, and a spectacular show for New Zealand Day at the 2010 World Expo with band Moana And The Tribe, singer Aivale Cole and dance troupe Footnote. Critical acclaim for the group’s performances extends to their ever-expanding catalogue of recorded work. NZTrio’s first CD “Spark” (which showcases a broad range of contemporary New Zealand trio pieces) was a finalist for best Classical Album at the NZ Music Awards in 2006; their 2008 Pacific Rim-focused release “Bright Tide Moving Between” was also named a finalist, receiving unanimously high praise from critics and listeners alike. In April 2010, their 3rd CD “Flourishes” was released. It features the group’s trademark eclectic programming with works from Mozart through to Ravel, Arvo Part and two recent NZTrio commissions by Wayan Yudane and Eve de Castro-Robinson and was also a finalist for Best Classical Album at the NZ Music Awards in 2010.

	 

	Justine Cormack, violinist

	 

	Justine Cormack, former Concertmaster of the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, played for many years with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and New Zealand Chamber Orchestra. Recognised as a recitalist, chamber musician, adjudicator, concerto soloist and teacher, Justine’s myriad awards include a TVNZ Young Achievers Award, two QEII Arts Council Grants, a Fulbright Scholarship, and an NZSO Alex Lindsay Memorial Award. She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, a Masters from the San Francisco Conservatory and a Bachelors in performance violin from the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand.

	 

	Ashley Brown, cellist

	 

	Ashley won the Young Musicians Competition, the National Concerto Competition and a Young Achievers Award plus prizes at the Adam International Cello Competition, Gisborne International Music Competition and the ROSL Music Competition in London. He holds a Master of Music degree from Canterbury University and the Artist Diploma from Yale. He has been Cellist of the Turnovsky Trio, Principal Cellist of the Auckland Philharmonia and Lecturer in Cello at the universities of Waikato, Canterbury and Auckland. Ashley keeps a busy schedule of solo recitals, concertos and recording and enjoys close collaborative relationships with musicians across the spectrum of genres. He plays the 1762 William Forster “Liberte” cello.

	 

	Sarah Watkins, pianist

	 

	Sarah Watkins has enjoyed an impressive career as chamber musician, collaborative partner and recording artist, performing throughout Japan, England and the United States with some of America’s leading instrumentalists. She holds both a Doctor of Musical Arts and Masters in collaborative piano from the Juilliard School in New York City, and a Bachelors from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand. Academic highlights include coordinating the collaborative piano programme at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California, and working for several years on the music faculty of Purchase College, New York. As a United States resident for fourteen years, Sarah was a staff pianist at Juilliard, Yale University and the Aspen Music Festival.

	 

	NZTrio’s Sustaining Partner: Creative New Zealand]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/NZTrio_StPeter_18Jul11.mp3" length="65040676" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/brahms_and_trio_music_from_new_zealand/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Mon, 18 Jul 2011 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>53:56</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Mozart, Schumann & Schubert Piano Trios]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Fournier Trio at St Peter's]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Fournier Trio: Chiao-Ying Chang (piano) Sulki Yu (violin) Pei-Jee Ng (cello):

	Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) Piano Trio No. 4 in E major K542

	Allegro ~ Andante  ~ Allegro

	 

	Mozart composed his last three symphonies and his last three piano trios in the same year. The present work, dated June 22, 1788, is the first of the final three. Only four days later Mozart completed his Symphony No. 39 in E-flat (K. 543), and within six weeks he brought to completion No. 40 in G minor (K. 550) and No. 41 in C major (K. 551, the “Jupiter”); the two remaining trios came along in mid-July and late October. While those final symphonies represented the highest level to which that form had yet been raised, the trios were offered as music designed for amateur performers. There is nothing condescending in the writing, however, or the slightest lowering of Mozart's always high standards; indeed, when they were first offered to the public the trios were compared unfavorably with those by various now-forgotten contemporaries, on the grounds that they were “too demanding,” “unapproachable,” and even “bizarre.” To be sure, there was a good deal about them that was virtually without precedent: first of all, their sheer substance, and, no less conspicuously, a change in the status of the stringed instruments. While so many piano trios of this period seem to be little more than solo pieces for the piano with occasional embellishment by the violin and cello, Mozart gave the string instruments more substantial material and a more equal footing. He was so pleased with this one in E major that he immediately suggested to his friend and fellow Freemason Michael Puchberg (whom he was forever hitting up for loans) that they perform it at his house, and in early July he sent the work to his sister in Salzburg, asking her to play it for Michael Haydn (the great Joseph Haydn's brother, who was in service to Mozart's own former employer, the Prince-Archbishop Hieronymus Colloredo. Mozart himself took this trio with him on the German tour in which he apparently introduced his new symphonies; there is a record of his performing it at the Saxon court. E major was a key Mozart sometimes used in his operas to support images of the unusual of the supernatural; he hardly ever used it in his instrumental works, but in this trio it seemed to suit him well for something new in the way of harmonic adventurousness. The two outer movements are striking for their melodic content and (in the finale especially) the concertante writing for each of the three instruments. The central Andante grazioso, in a French rondo form which Mozart used frequently in earlier works, also exhibits a great deal of imagination in its harmonic and contrapuntal treatment.

	 

	Robert Schumann (1810-1856) Piano Trio No. 2 in F major Op. 80

	Sehr lebhaft ~ Mit innigem ausdruck

	In mässiger bewegnung ~ Nicht zu rasch

	 

	For Schumann, the year 1847 was relatively "dry" in terms of composition except for two trios. Marked "Sehr lebhaft" (Very lively), the first movement of the F major Trio is in an ebullient 6/8 meter and cast in sonata form. The hesitant first theme is the almost entirely the property of the violin and cello, which play in parallel throughout. The unusual harmonic adventures that characterize the movement include an emphasis on D major, which becomes the dominant of G major, the harmony of the second theme group. What is unusual is that, in the key of F major, G major functions as the dominant of C major in the works of Schumann's predecessors, not as a key area of its own. The melodic role of the piano increases in the second group, which gives way to an expansive closing theme in the violin over a light accompaniment in the piano. An imitative, contrapuntal episode at the beginning of the development section provides contrast to the homophonic music played thus far, although much of the development is concerned with the lyrical closing theme, which also ends the movement. Contrapuntal layering occurs at the beginning of the second movement, "Mit innigem Ausdruck" (With intimate expression). Dotted rhythms in the string melody contrast with the constant triplets in the piano part, the left hand of which provides yet another layer of melody. Although it begins in D flat major, the movement quickly shifts to A major for a rapid violin line. A central, "Lively" section introduces new, detached material before the highly modified return to the opening. A scherzo with canonic tendencies, the third movement, "In mässiger Bewegung" (In a moderate movement), is in 3/8 meter and begins in B flat minor. In contrast to Schumann's first Piano Trio, Op. 63, the triple-meter movement is in third position. The brief canons appear between the violin and cello at the beginnings of the movement and the contrasting scherzo theme. In the sparse Trio, the imitative passages are between the piano and cello, just before a transformation of the main scherzo theme. A coda brings the movement to a quiet, hesitant close. Marked "Nicht zu rasch" (Not too fast), the Finale returns to F major. The dense piano part dominates the movement as each appearance of the opening idea is further transformed.

	 

	I N T E R V A L

	 

	Franz Schubert (1797 – 1828) Piano Trio No. 1 in Bb Major Op 99

	Allegro moderato ~ Andante un poco mosso

	Scherzo. Allegro ~ Rondo. Allegro vivace

	 

	Schubert’s two trios are the culmination in the development of equality among the three instruments. With greater technical advances, the piano continued to grow in size and sonority to the point where it could easily overwhelm its two partners. Maurice J.E. Brown writes: "The pianoforte Trio in B flat major nowhere reaches the heights of the G major Quartet, but its humanity, and hence its popular appeal, is greater. The remark that Schubert’s lyrical subjects are unsuitable for development is refuted by the first movement; nothing could be more song-like than the opening theme, and yet it forms the basis of a superbly constructed movement. The instrumentation is admirable, particularly in the controlled use of the pianoforte, which is neither overwhelming nor over-modest in its partnership with the strings. Its soaring flight in the finale is one of the most picturesque touches in Schubert." The B Flat Major Trio is a large-scale work, longer in duration than Beethoven’s Archduke Trio, yet it has a relaxed conversational pace rather than an epic quality one would expect of a work of its length. And here’s an "analysis" of the work found in Ewen’s Musical Masterworks written by Samuel L. Lacier (who?) which has as its virtue, the quality of saying very little in very few words. "The first movement is full of vigor and life, and the second contains one of Schubert’s most inspired melodies. The Minuet is an attractive movement but does not show the individuality of the Finale, which is a rondo with a vast amount of beautiful musical material and with an astonishing figure in 3/2 time which occurs twice, each a variant of musical material previously presented." The B flat Trio was never performed publicly nor published during Schubert’s lifetime. A private performance was given in Vienna on January 28, 1827 with the piano part taken by Carl Maria von Bocklet; a pianist, violinist, and friend of the composer, who first brought many of Schubert’s compositions to the public notice. The string parts were taken by Ignaz Schuppanzigh (Beethoven’s "Milord Falstaff") violin, and Josef Linke on cello; both members of the Schuppanzigh Quartet -Beethoven’s quartet of choice.

	 

	Formed in 2009, the Fournier Piano Trio was awarded a Leverhulme Chamber Music Fellowship by the Royal Academy of Music for 2010/11. The trio is mentored by renowned pedagogues David Takeno and Christopher Elton and works with Thomas Brandis at the Royal Academy. They are Park Lane Group Young Artists, appearing in the New Year Series at the Southbank in January 2011 and winners of the 2010 Philharmonia Orchestra MMSF and the 2010 Tunnell Trust Award.

	 

	Taiwanese-British pianist Chiao-Ying Chang has distinguished herself as one of the leading pianists of her generation after winning major prizes in the Leeds, ARD Munich, Taiwan, AXA Dublin and Ettlingen International piano competitions. She studied at the Royal Academy of Music with Christopher Elton and the late Maria Curcio. She is represented by the Young Concert Artists Trust in London. Korean violinist Sulki Yu has currently completed a Masters Degree at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama where she graduated with First Class Honours studying under David Takeno. She is a laureate of the 2006 Yehudi Menuhin and 2007 Szigeti-Hubay International violin competitions. Sulki performs on an Antonio Gagliano violin. Australian cellist Pei-Jee Ng has recently completed his studies with Ralph Kirshbaum at the Royal Northern College of Music. He was winner of both the 2001 Symphony Australia Young Performer of the Year competition and the 2008 Young Concert Artists Trust auditions in London. Pei-Jee performs on a JB Vuillaume cello.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Fournier_Trio_StPeter_29July2011.mp3" length="100671595" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/mozart_schumann_and_schubert_piano_trios/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Fri, 29 Jul 2011 19:30:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>1:23:29</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[ Clarinet & Bassoon trios and duets]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Kariosa Ensemble at St Peter's 1-2pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[KARIOSA ENSEMBLE: Fiona Mitchell (clarinet) Iona Garvie (bassoon) Louisa Lam (piano)

	Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) Concertpiece No. 1

	 

	W.A. Mozart (1756-1791) Variations on "Ah, vous dirai-je Maman"

	 

	Francis Poulenc (1899 - 1963) Sonata for Clarinet and Bassoon

	 

	Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) Waltz from Jazz Suite

	 

	Heinrich Baermann (1784-1811) Adagio for Clarinet

	 

	Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) selections from Six Studies in English Folksong

	 

	William Hurlstone (1876-1906) Trio in G minor for clarinet, bassoon and piano

	(2 movements)

	 

	

	 

	The Kariosa Ensemble was originally set up in 2007 by students on the postgraduate performance course at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. They are currently developing the work of this ensemble within both performance and community contexts. The ensemble endeavours to be as flexible as possible, breaking down into various combinations (duos, trios, quartets). The Kariosa Ensemble is proud to be involved with the Live Music Now scheme. The group explores a colourful array of repertoire and aims to bring music alive to a wide variety of audiences. All members of the ensemble have much experience in leading children’s workshops, and have previously taken part in the Chamber Tots education scheme at the Wigmore Hall and Live Music in Schools. Individual members have performed with various professional ensembles including the London Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and the Philharmonia Orchestra, and have done recordings for TV and radio.

	 

	Fiona Mitchell was born into a musical family. Her early interest in clarinet and recorder led to a County Music Scholarship to the Junior Guildhall School of Music where she became a finalist in the Lutine Prize Competition. She completed her studies at undergraduate level at the Royal College of Music and at Masters level at the Royal Academy of Music, taking part in many masterclasses by clarinettists such as Andrew Marriner, Anthony Pay and Pascal Moragues. Fiona has performed widely as a soloist and in chamber music in venues such as the Wigmore Hall, St Martin in the Fields and St John's Smith Square in London and other concert halls around the country. Fiona is also a member of the Jeune Orchestre Atlantique which performs widely in France and the Orchestre Reveloutionnaire et Romantique which reguarly tours Europe and America with the Monteverdi Choir. Iona Garvie completed her Masters of Music degree with Distinction, graduating from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 2008. Prior to that, she gained a Postgraduate Diploma at GSMD under Meyrick Alexander, Graham Sheen and Gordon Laing, and a BMus (Hons) degree at the Royal College of Music. She is an active chamber musician, and is a member of the Orsino Ensemble and the Naides Wind Quintet. She has professionally played with the Philharmonia Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Southbank Sinfonia, London Philharmonic Future Firsts, Britten Pears Orchestra, Camerata Scotland and the London Contemporary Orchestra. Louisa Lam gained her Masters degree in piano accompaniment from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 2008 where she studied with Gordon Back. She also holds a BMus (Hons) First Class degree from King's College London, and in 2005 she performed Shostakovich's 2nd Piano Concerto with the King's College Chamber Orchestra. She is currently based in London, freelancing as an accompanist and teacher. Louisa is on the staff at the Guildhall School (both Senior and Junior departments), Worth School in West Sussex, and is Director of Music at St Martin's Church in Plaistow. She is also a resident house pianist at the AIMS international summer school and Abingdon Summer School for Singers. Louisa has performed as a soloist and chamber musician in many notable venues across London including the Barbican Hall, Wigmore Hall and St Martin-in-the-Fields.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/KariosaEnsemble_StPeter_12Sept11.mp3" length="56293292" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/clarinet_and_bassoon_trios_and_duets/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Mon, 12 Sep 2011 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>46:26</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Jazz Trio: Tenor Sax, Piano & Double Bass concert]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Sam Rapley Trio at St Peter's 1-2pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Sam Rapley (tenor saxophone) Tom McCredie (bass) Matt Robinson (piano) play original Jazz compositions and standards.

	Sam Rapley is a up and coming young tenor player, originally from the North West but currently based in London. Originally a classical clarinettist, Rapley switched to jazz saxophone in his mid teens. Since then he has played with the likes of Andy Schofield, Mike Walker and Les Chisnall and has supported Gerard Presencer and Gwilym Simcock with his own band.

	Tom McCredie grew up in Yorkshire where he was exposed to the vibrant jazz scenes that Leeds and Wakefield had to offer, such as Wakefield Jazz Club. His influences include Bill Evans Trio, Weather Report and Oscar Peterson Trio.

	 

	Matt Robinson grew up in Wakefield and began studying piano from an early age. He was first introduced to jazz through the local jazz club and began having lessons with Jamil Sheriff in Leeds. Since moving to London in 2008, Matt has studied with Tom Cawley, Gwilym Simcock and Nikki Iles and played at several jazz venues across London, including being house pianist for several of the new Proms Plus Late evenings at the BBC Proms.

	 

	The Sam Rapley Trio formed when Sam, Tom and Matt met at the Royal Academy of Music in September 2010. They immediately gelled together as people and players and stared rehearsing and gigging regularly. They now play a mixture of their own compositions and their take on jazz standards.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Rapley_Trio_StPeter_19Sept2011.mp3" length="65655205" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/jazz_trio_tenor_sax_piano_and_double_bass_concert/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Mon, 19 Sep 2011 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>54:27</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Violin Duets incl. Stewart world premiere]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Guillem Calvo Martínez de Albéniz, Kokila Gillett (violins) at St John's 1-2pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Guillem Calvo Martínez de Albéniz, Kokila Gillette (violins) play

	Jordi Cervelló (1935) Divertimento No. 1

	Cervello is a Catalan composer whose contemporary music respects historic traditions. While at the Badalana Conservatory he authored ‘Fundamental principles of violin technique’.

	 

	Ian Stewart Impromptu for 2 Violins (*world premiere*)

	 

	Ian writese "During the composition of this work I spent many hours, at different times of day, walking along the coast near Colonia Sant Jordi, a small town in the south of Mallorca. The coastal path continually changes, beaches with people followed by small fishermen's houses, followed by deserted rocks and coves. The light and sky also changed continually. These random experiences felt consistent. Maybe this experience influenced the impromptu nature of this work, a term usually used to described a solo piano piece. The theme played in the first five bars is continually developed and transformed, and the melodic writing, although sometimes abstracted, is highly structured and organised."

	 

	Arthur Honegger (1892-1955) Sonatine for 2 Violins

	 

	Honegger’s Sonatine for 2 violins was completed in 1920 and premiered by the composer and his friend Darius Milhaud, the dedicatee of the score. Lasting just under eight minutes the title of Sonatine infers a rather modest work that disguises the durability and energy of the music. In the opening movement there is an angular detachment to Honegger’s writing that also manages to maintain a certain charm and I was impressed with the level headed calmness of the Andantino. In the closing movement - marked Allegro moderato - a chill wind blows through a bleak urban landscape. The dramatic impression of the music made me shiver. Perhaps in homage to J.S. Bach a cunning little fugue appears in the central section.

	 

	Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953) Sonata for 2 Violins in C Major op 56

	 

	Whilst in exile in Paris from his Russian homeland Prokofiev composed his uncompromising four movement Sonata for 2 violins, Op. 56 in 1932. It was intended for the inaugural recital of Triton - a Parisian music society group who supported new chamber music in the city. Ironically the actual premiere took place in Moscow a few years later. The opening movement, an Andante has a mysterious, almost eerie highly controlled sound-world. With spiky and headstrong rhythms, the Allegro is played with an earnest enthusiasm that contrasts with the Andante which has a cool tranquillity and just a suggestion of anxiety. The finale movement - a Presto - has folksy rhythms that Prokofiev develops into a more serious and complex character.

	 

	Guillem Calvo began learning the violin at the age of four with Albert Sàrrias. He continued his musical studies at the Liceu Conservatori in Barcelona with Evelio Tieles and then at the Royal College of Music with violin professor Yossi Zivoni. He is currently studying with Shmuel Ashkenazy as part of the Advanced Course for Soloists at the Lübeck Musikhochschule in Germany. Guillem has toured Spain, Italy, France, Germany and England as a member of various chamber groups. He has also performed with internationally renowned conductors such as Bernard Haitink, Sir Colin Davis, Bertrand de Billy, and Valery Gergiev in orchestras including "Orquestra de la Òpera del Liceu", and the London Symphony Orchestra with whom he made his debut as a soloist in November 2007.

	 

	Kokila Gillett studied violin at: Junior Guildhall School of Music and Drama, winning the 2001 Lutine Prize; Purcell School, 1997-2002; and Royal College of Music as a Foundation Scholar, studying with Dr. Felix Andrievsky. In 2006 she gained a First Class BMus Honours Degree and won the Isolde Menges Solo Bach Prize. She joined Live Music Now in 2007; with her violin/violin-piano duos, and performs in community venues: special needs and mental health institutions, hospices, senior citizens's venues, schools and prisons. In 2008, returning to SW1 Radio, Kokila commemorated the Nightingale as muse for literature and music, featuring pianist Pavel Timojevsky and herself improvising simultaneous to the live reading of Oscar Wilde's 'The Nightingale and the Rose'. Kokila leads the Gillett Quartet, freelances with British orchestras and teaches violin.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Guillem_Kokila_StJohn_22Sept2011.mp3" length="62768398" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/violin_duets_incl_stewart_world_premiere/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Thu, 22 Sep 2011 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>52:03</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Brahms and Schumann Piano Quartets]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Gagliano Ensemble at St John's 7.30-9PM]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Gagliano Ensemble: Galya Bisengalieva (violin) Robert Ames (viola) Colin Alexander (cello) Petr Limonov (piano) play:

	Johannes Brahms: Piano Quartet no. 3 in C minor, Op. 60 (1875)

	
		Allegro non troppo  ~ Scherzo. Allegro ~ Andante ~ Finale. Allegro comodo
	
		 


	
		The piano quartet was not a popular form in the 19th century. Mozart had left two such works, whose excellence may have daunted subsequent composers. Beethoven composed a set of three in his early teens which he never published (they are codified collectively as WoO 36). Schubert added a double bass to give us his well beloved "Trout" Quintet, but Schumann, DvoÅák and Fauré each left us a pair of piano quartets, and Brahms composed three which firmly established this combination of instruments in the chamber-music hierarchy. Brahms conceived all three of his contributions to the genre when he was still in his twenties. The first two—No. 1 in G minor, Op. 25, and No. 2 in A major, Op. 26—were composed in 1861 and '62, while No. 3 in C minor was actually begun as early as 1855 but was not completed until 20 years later, when it was published as Op. 60. The period in which Brahms began sketching this work was a very difficult time for him and his friends Robert and Clara Schumann. Robert had been confined in a mental asylum; Brahms did his best to provide moral support for Clara and her children, but his own emotions were extremely strained. In a letter to a friend at the time, in fact, he described the first movement of this work as a sort of musical corollary to the suicidal desperation of Goethe's Werther. Brahms did not share that remark with Clara, however, who found the movement simply underactivated. That could not be said of the scherzo that follows, which is almost brutal in its forceful drive. Respite comes in the Andante,which Brahms in his maturity (he had established his credentials in choral music with theGerman Requiem, and in the orchestral realm with the Haydn Variations by the time this work was completed) graced with an altogether characteristic lyric episode for the cello. By way of inevitable summing-up, the concluding Allegro, which begins with a provocative motif given the violin, with the piano emphasizing an atmosphere of general restlessness, and ends with a return the dark scenery of the work's opening—not in the form of any specific citation or reprise, but rather in the way of a general acknowledgement of the work's basic impulse.
	
		 


	Robert Schumann: Piano Quartet in E Flat Major, Op. 47 (1842)

	Sostenuto assai - Allegro ma non troppo ~ Scherzo. Molto vivace ~ Andante cantabile ~ Finale. Vivace

	 

	
		In September of 1840, Robert Schumann married the love of his life, Clara Wieck. Clara was a gifted pianist and composer in her own right and Schumann obviously found her inspirational. The 12 months after their marriage saw him complete his famous song cycles, his first 2 symphonies, several other orchestral works and the first movement of his great piano concerto. Despite her obvious positive influence, their relationship could be quite tempestuous. When she embarked on a concert tour of Denmark in 1841, Schumann felt slighted and his creativity seemed to stall. He launched himself into studying the string quartet scores of Beethoven, Mozart and Haydn, drowning his melancholy in “beer and Champagne.” When Clara returned, he once again took up his pen. It was during this period of renewed productivity that Schumann completed, not only this piano quartet, but his three string quartets Op 41, and his piano quintet. At the time, the heart of the romantic era, chamber music was making the transition from the forum of private entertainment to that of the concert performance. Perhaps this explains the experimentation by Schumann and his contemporaries Mendelssohn and Brahms with the more complex, larger forms like the piano quartet and piano quintet, perhaps in an effort combine the intimacy provided by the string dialogue with the bravura and virtuosity of the new and popular generation of pianists at the time. The influence of Mozart, Beethoven and Haydn is obvious in the way Schumann pays special attention to the form and unity of this work. The slow sostenuto material introduced at the beginning demarcates the different sections of the opening movement. It also serves as the basis for the allegro which follows. The scherzo clearly shows the influence of Mendelssohn, in its light sparkling, undulating imitation, shaped by the bass line of the piano. The slower trios are more quintessentially Schumannesque, melding seamlessly with the quicker material. The curt ending of the movement, in the style of the “Midsummer Night’s Dream,” is another “hats off” to his good friend. The Andante is a poignant, tender melody exchanged between the different instruments. This material is varied only slightly. The delicate coda brings this warm, noble movement to a close. The final three chords anticipate the opening of the finale and provide material for the Vivace, in which this simple pattern is subject to a vigorous “working out” in fugato style. This material is contrasted with a smoother second theme. This movement, perhaps more than any of others demonstrates the unrestrained emotional drive that we associate with the composer.


	 

	The Gagliano Ensemble is a multinational group founded by four young, London-based soloists and chamber musicians: Violinist Galya Bisengalieva, Violist Robert Ames, 'Cellist Colin Alexander and Pianist Petr Limonov. The group has played extensively throughout the UK and abroad as Duo, String Trio, Piano Trio and Piano Quartet performing works by Bach, Bartok, Beethoven, Brahms, Debussy, Mozart, Schubert and Schumann. The ensemble keeps a busy performance schedule and has forthcoming performances in London, Aylesbury, Northampton and a tour in Kazakhstan.

	 

	Galya Bisengalieva, a gifted violinist of Kazakh origin, has recently appeared as a soloist with orchestras in both Europe and Asia, performing concertos by Brahms, Mendelssohn, Bernstein and Bruch. She appears as both soloist and Concertmaster on disk2disk, EMI, Sony BMG, and Toccata Classics labels. She plays on an Antonio Gagliano violin and gratefully acknowledges its loan from Norman Rosenberg.

	 

	Robert Ames performs regularly as a soloist and chamber musician. Recent highlights include a critically acclaimed performance of Colin Matthew’s Four Moods at the BBC Proms, John Woolrich’s Ulysses Awakes at the Roundhouse and a performance of Morton Feldman’s The Viola In My Life II at The Old Vic Tunnels.

	 

	Born in 1986, Colin Alexander has studied with Oleg Kogan, David Cohen and Alexander Chaushian. Recent projects have included Brahms' Double Concerto at St James Piccadilly, Principal 'Cello in the London Telefilmonic Orchestra, performances with the London Contemporary Orchestra Soloists and a number of chamber music concerts with the Gagliano Ensemble. 

	 

	Born 1984 in Moscow Petr Limonov started playing the piano at the age of 5. His notable appearances included the Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory, Southbank Centre, Salle Cortot, Royal Opera House, and a recital in Duke's Hall in presence of HRH Prince Charles, broadcasts for BBC Radio 3 and France Musique]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Gagliano_Ensemble_StJohn_29Sept2011.mp3" length="72099097" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/brahms_and_schumann_piano_quartets/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Thu, 29 Sep 2011 19:30:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>59:48</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Pictures at an Exhibition]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Mitra Alice Tham (piano) St John's 1-2pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Mitra Alice tham (piano) plays:

	Modest Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition 

	Promenade I

	Gnomus (Nutcracker in the shape of a grotesque gnome)

	Promenade IIâ¨

	Il vecchio castello (The Old Castle in Italy)

	Promenade III

	The Tuileries Gardens (Children arguing about a game)

	Bydlo (A Polish 'farm cart')

	Promenade IV

	Ballet of the unhatched chicks

	"Samuel” Goldenberg and "Schmuyle"â¨

	Promenade V

	The Market-place at Limoges (Imaginary conversations)

	The Catacombs (Roman burial grounds in Paris)â¨

	Promenade VIâ¨

	Hut on Fowl's Legs (Baba-Jaga's hut, a witch from Russian mythology)

	The Great Gate of Kiev

	 

	Mussorgsky composed the work in commemoration of his friend, the artist and architect Viktor Hartmann. A posthumous exhibition of over 400 of the artist’s works was mounted in the Academy of Fine Arts in St Petersburg in 1874. Pictures at an Exhibition takes the form of an imaginary musical tour around such a collection. As the pictorial basis for his musical exhibition, Mussorgsky mostly selected drawings and watercolours that Hartmann had produced during his travels abroad though we cannot in all cases be certain which Hartmann work Mussorgsky was alluding to, because not all the paintings and drawings have survived. Despite his alcoholism, Mussorgsky finished this masterpiece a month and a half after having viewed the tribute to Hartmann. A sufferer of delirium tremens, Mussorgsky would die at age forty-two, just seven years after composing Pictures. 

	 

	Mitra Alice Tham, MM, PGDipRAM, B Mus.(Hons), FLCM, LLCM, LRAM, LMusA, ATCL gave her first public performance was at the age of three and she made her first international debut at the age of eight in Japan. Mitra has been a prizewinner at many international competitions held in the Far East, Europe and in the United Kingdom. Her prizes include the Rosario-Marciano Preis for the most eminent artist personality and the Russischer Musikpreis for the best interpretation of Russian music. Mitra has performed extensively in Asia, Europe, United States and the United Kingdom. She has exhibited her special talent - composing impromptu on stage on given musical phrases from members of the audience. She has also been featured on television throughout Asia. She received the coveted title ‘The Excellent Player Award’ at the prestigious Asia Oceania Festival held in Thailand and won the ‘Young Millennium Pianist’ of Singapore. Mitra has performed to dignitaries, The Prince of Wales and the late President of Singapore. She was specially chosen by the Purcell School to compose instantly on a musical phrase given by His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales. This instant composition was aired on the national radio on the same evening and was featured in the London papers - her performance being described as ‘brilliant and excellent’ by Prince Charles. She orchestrated this ‘royal’ composition and the piece was selected for a special performance at the Duke’s Hall, London. Mitra was selected to perform for the Singapore President Charity Concert. Her performance was highly commended by the President and Singapore national papers. Mitra is a diverse musician. She is a skilled composer and arranger, and recent commissions have included a transcription of ‘The Entertainer’ and other famous works for piano quintet and choir and other various ensembles. Mitra gave the London premier of Leroy Anderson’s Piano Concerto to a sold-out concert in 2005. The Classical Music wrote “…. Tham’s flying about the piano with great bounce and gusto”. Mitra was a student of Patsy Toh when she was at the Purcell School and the Royal Academy of Music. She was a recipient of the Purcell School, Singapore Lee Foundation, Singapore National Arts Council scholarships, Shaw Foundation, the ‘Gifted Young Musicians’ bursary awarded jointly by the National Arts Council of Singapore and Rotary Club, Singapore and The Chiron Trust, UK.  She was a scholar at Mannes School of Music in New York City where graduated her Master’s degree, studying with the late distinguished Cuban-American pianist Jacob Lateiner. Mitra was awarded the Blüthner scholarship to study at the International Sommer Musikakademie in Leipzig, during which she performed at the Göhliser Schloßer and at the Gewandhaus, Leipzig. For two consecutive years she was awarded a scholarship by the Mozarteum Universität and was selected to perform at the Mozarteum Universität. Mitra was awarded a full scholarship to attend the 33rd International Workshop of the America Institute of Music Society - AIMS held at Graz, Austria. Mitra has just finished performing the complete Prokofiev Sonatas in a 3-concert series in London in 2010.  She will be playing Prokofiev Piano Concerto no.3 with Richmond Orchestra in March 2012.

	More information can be found on her website: www.mitraalicetham.com]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Mitra_StJohn_6Oct11.mp3" length="43385422" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/pictures_at_an_exhibition/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Thu, 6 Oct 2011 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>35:20</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Beethoven String Trio in G, Prokofiev 2 violin sonata, Liszt Mephisto]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Gagliano Ensemble at St Peter's 1-2PM]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Gagliano Ensemble: Galya Bisengalieva (violin) Robert Ames (viola) Colin Alexander (cello) Petr Limonov (piano) play:

	Sergei Prokoviev (1891 – 1953) Sonata for 2 Violins in C Op 56

	Andante cantabile ~ Allegro ~ Commodo (quasi Allegretto) ~ Allegro con brio

	 

	Franz Liszt (1811-1886) Mephisto Waltz No. 1

	Années de pèlerinage excerpts

	 

	L van Beethoven (1770-1827) String Trio in G Op 9/1

	Adagio - Allegro con brio ~ Adagio, ma non tanto, e cantabile ~ Scherzo. Allegro ~ Presto

	 

	Whilst in exile in Paris from his Russian homeland Prokofiev composed his uncompromising four movement Sonata for 2 violins, Op. 56 in 1932. It was intended for the inaugural recital of Triton - a Parisian music society group who supported new chamber music in the city. Ironically the actual premiere took place in Moscow a few years later. The opening movement, an Andante has a mysterious, almost eerie highly controlled sound-world. With spiky and headstrong rhythms, the Allegro is played with an earnest enthusiasm that contrasts with the Andante which has a cool tranquillity and just a suggestion of anxiety. The finale movement - a Presto - has folksy rhythms that Prokofiev develops into a more serious and complex character.

	 

	Among the nobles who served as Beethoven’s patrons after his arrival in Vienna in 1792 was Count Johann Georg von Browne-Camus. He is said to have squandered his fortune, and ended his days in a public institution. But in the mid-1790s, Beethoven received such generous support from Browne that he dedicated several works to him and his wife, including the three string trios of op. 9. In response, Browne presented Beethoven with a horse, which the preoccupied composer promptly forgot, thereby allowing his servant to rent out the beast and pocket the profits! Dr. Richard E. Rodda writes this ‘Trio opens with a sonorous unison statement of the tonic arpeggio in slow tempo which is immediately balanced by a soft, feathery, sixteenth-note motive in the violin answered by tiny replies from the viola and cello. […] The main theme comprises four small but distinct gestures: a quiet lyrical phrase; a quick upward-shooting scale; a rising arpeggio; and bold leaping chords. The Adagio is an extended and delicately elaborated song for which the designation “Romanze”  might have been more appropriate. The music’s lyricism suggests the influence of opera, a quality which its intensity of expression, often enhanced by a tender, pulsing accompaniment, only strengthens. The following Scherzo is lighter in mood and more deft in scoring than many of Beethoven’s later movements in that form. The sonata-form finale contrasts a heady moto perpetuo main theme with an arching complementary melody in more sedate rhythms. […] The work ends with a fiery coda that exploits the technical resources of the three instruments.’

	 

	The Gagliano Ensemble is a multinational group founded by four young, London-based soloists and chamber musicians. The group has played extensively throughout the UK and abroad as Duo, String Trio, Piano Trio and Piano Quartet performing works by Bach, Bartok, Beethoven, Brahms, Debussy, Mozart, Schubert and Schumann. The ensemble keeps a busy performance schedule and has forthcoming performances in London, Aylesbury, Northampton and a tour in Kazakhstan. Galya, a gifted violinist of Kazakh origin, has recently appeared as a soloist with orchestras in both Europe and Asia, performing concertos by Brahms, Mendelssohn, Bernstein and Bruch. She appears as both soloist and Concertmaster on disk2disk, EMI, Sony BMG, and Toccata Classics labels. She plays on an Antonio Gagliano violin and gratefully acknowledges its loan from Norman Rosenberg. Polish born Agata has performed with all the major Lithuanian Orchestras and as a soloist and chamber musician across Europe including the Chamberfest in Manchester, 'Mostly Mozart Festival' in Istanbul and the 'Lamp of Lothian Festival' in Scotland. Agata performed the Beethoven Triple concerto with the Royal Tunbridge Wells orchestra and recently performed solo at the Queen Elizabeth Hall as part of the LPO’s Alfred Schnittke festival. Robert performs regularly as a soloist and chamber musician. Recent highlights include a critically acclaimed performance of Colin Matthew’s Four Moods at the BBC Proms, John Woolrich’s Ulysses Awakes at the Roundhouse and a performance of Morton Feldman’s The Viola In My Life II at The Old Vic Tunnels. Recent projects for Colin have included Brahms' Double Concerto at St James Piccadilly, Principal 'Cello in the London Telefilmonic Orchestra, performances with the London Contemporary Orchestra. Born in Moscow Petr’s notable appearances included the Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory, Southbank Centre, Salle Cortot, Royal Opera House, and a recital in Duke's Hall in presence of HRH Prince Charles, broadcasts for BBC Radio 3 and France Musique.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Gagliano_Ensemble_StPeter_17Oct2011.mp3" length="72445174" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/beethoven_string_trio_in_g_prokofiev_2_violin_sonata_liszt_mephisto/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Mon, 17 Oct 2011 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>1:00:04</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Beethoven & Mozart String Quartets]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Evropska Quartet at St Peter's 1-2pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[The Evropska Quartet  (Violin I – Rowena Kennally Violin II – Adam Hill Viola – Anisa ArslanagiÄ Cello – Max Ruisi) play:

	WA Mozart: String Quartet in D major, K. 575
	Allegretto ~ Andante ~ Menuetto and Trio ~ Allegretto

	In 1789 King Friedrich Wilhelm II of Prussia commissioned Mozart to write six string quartets after the composer's visit to Berlin and Potsdam. As it turned out, Mozart completed only three "Prussian" quartets: the last of his work in this form. The King was an excellent cellist, and Mozart was challenged to write music that would feature the cello without becoming either too difficult or too concerto-like. Consequently, as Paul Griffith points out in The String Quartet, every movement of the quartet includes cello solos with the instrument playing at the top of its range. To balance the prominent cello, Mozart wrote parts of greater consequence for the two inner voices, the second violin and the viola. So many solos, notes Griffiths, "can make the ensemble sound like a committee in which all must have their say." This concertante style has a number of limitations: it dilutes the music since so much has to be stated four times, and it "predisposes the music to a moderate tempo since hurried little solos would be absurd and repeated slow ones wearisome." Therefore, all the movements proceed at a moderate tempo, the outer ones and the minuetto marked Allegretto with the Andante offering some variation in tempo. The quartet opens with buoyant good spirits as the first theme, a rising arpeggio followed by a descending scale, is stated in the first violin and then the viola. The second theme also features the rising arpeggio, this time ending in a long held note. The development and recapitulation follow conventional practices of sonata form. Mozart casts the Andante in A-B-A form. The contrast between the two sections comes, as Melvin Berger describes it, "from the melodic contour of A, an earthbound line, and B, a soaring phrase that passes from instrument to instrument." Further contrast emerges in the thick texture of A, with the violins doubled, and B, a single melodic line accompanied by repeated-note figures. After the return of A, a short coda concludes the movement on a four-note turn. A four-note turn also announces the sprightly Menuetto, where, Berger says, "the music glitters with sharp contrasts -- soft and loud, staccato and legato. The trio is a showcase for the cello, which sings out the cantabile melodies (with that same four-note turn), very high in its range." After the trio, the menuetto repeats to end the movement. The cello introduces the main theme of the "serenely happy last movement," which begins with a rising arpeggio that recalls the first movement. Contrasting interludes of the movement's rondo form spring from ascending arpeggios, but in different keys, settings, and scorings, so that they sound like new material. Tightly organized and highly contrapuntal, this movement is probably the most interesting.

	L van Beethoven: String Quartet in B flat major Op. 18, No. 6
	Allegro con brio ~ Adagio ma non troppo ~ Scherzo: Allegro ~ La Malinconia: Adagio - Allegretto quasi Allegro

	 

	 

	Extreme contrasts characterise the B flat quartet, perhaps an anticipation of the great Op.130 in the same key. But care is necessary in such comparisons. In the late quartet Beethoven was almost certainly influenced by the format of the old suite with its many movements, especially when ending the work with the Grosse Fuge. Beethoven was always attracted by the problems posed by strong contrasts and in the last of the Op.18 quartets he is trying out the possibilities of disparity of character between the movements. It can with some justice be argued that the experiment is not fully successful (if it were it would no longer be an experiment) and that the final allegretto is not quite the response called for by the extraordinary La Malinconia, with its amazing modulations and gripping pathos. But the work as a whole cannot lose its fascination. Nothing could be more exhilarating than the powerfully sprung first movement with its spare textures and the abrupt and economical nature of its harmonic movement. This exuberant piece is followed by a soberly ornate slow movement in E flat, with touches of mystery here and there, serving to relieve the general tone rather than to search depths. One of Beethoven's most astonishing scherzos follows. Its remarkable rhythmic disruptions could have occurred at any time in his life, and if this piece had cropped up in one of the late quartets nobody would have questioned it. The trio displays a wild and difficult violin solo. A slow introduction, La Malinconia, full of daring shifts of harmony and texture, begins the last movement. It is justly one of the most celebrated passages in early Beethoven – he asks for it to be played with the greatest delicacy. It recurs later in the course of the following cheerful major movement, which may possibly have its origin in one of Haydn's weaker finales, the one in the "Sunrise" quartet, Op.76, No.4, of which the surprising and (for Haydn) rare helplessness is not improved on by Beethoven. Maybe Beethoven's cheerfulness should not be thought of as a cure for the melancholy – perhaps it is part of it, with its sense of helpless circling. 

	 

	The Evropska Quartet is a young British string quartet comprising graduates of the Royal Northern and Guildhall colleges of music. Formed in the summer of 2010, a month later they were awarded a full scholarship to study at The Curso Internacional de Musica with The Badke Quartet. Following this the quartet were offered the opportunity to study with Pavel Fischer (1st Violin of the original Skampa Quartet) in Prague. During this time they also received tuition from The Wihan Quartet, both in Prague and after winning a full Leverhulme Scholarship to study with them on the Musical Encounters Course at Pro-Corda, Aldebrough. The quartet attended a week-long set of masterclasses in London with The Badke Quartet early in 2011, followed by a series of enthusiastically received concerts. Following a successful round of recent auditions, the quartet have accepted places on the masters programme at The Netherlands String Quartet Academy, Amsterdam, studying with Marc Danel and Stefan Metz, and at Basel Conservatoire, Switzerland, studying with Rainer Schmidt, where they will embark on their studies from October 2011. ]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/EvropskaQt_StPeter_24Oct11.mp3" length="32262796" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/beethoven_and_mozart_string_quartets/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Mon, 24 Oct 2011 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>26:45</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Mozart 'Dissonance', Ravel Quartet in F, Purcell Fantasias]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[ZIELINSKI QUARTET at St john's 7.30-9pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[ZIELINSKI QUARTET Warren Zielinski (violin) Patrick Kiernan (violin) Bruce White (viola) Martin Loveday (cello)â¨

	Henry Purcell (1659-1695) 3 Fantasias

	W A Mozart (1756-1791) String Quartet in C Major K465 'Dissonance' 

	Adagio; Allegro ~ Andante cantabile ~ Menuetto: Allegro ~ Allegro

	Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) String Quartet in F 

	Allegro moderato - Très doux ~ Assez vif - Très rythmé ~ Très lent ~ Vif et agité

	 

	

	 

	Canadian Warren Zielinski studied at the Rotal College of Music (RCM) winning an Exhibition scholarship, Concerto trials and numerous prizes while studying modern and Baroque violin. He has been working professionally since 1996 and has performed and recorded with the English Chamber Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Britten Sinfonia, BBC Symphony &amp; Concert Orchestras, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the John Wilson Orchestra. As a Baroque violinist, Warren has performed with ensembles such as the New London Consort, La Serenissima, Gabrielli Consort, Musicians of the Globe, Avison Ensemble and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. Warren is also in demand for session work. He has played on 500+ Pop tracks and over 100 of the biggest and well-known Hollywood film scores. Patrick Kiernan studied at the Royal College of Music where he founded the Brindisi Quartet, which appeared at many of the world’s great concert halls and broadcast regularly on BBC radio. The Quartet’s CD recordings achieved international acclaim, winning a Gramophone award. Patrick has studied chamber music with the Prague, Guarneri and LaSalle Quartets and has coached ensembles at the Britten-Pears School, the University of Ulster and the Royal College of Music. He has played frequently with the Nash Ensemble and was a principal player with both the Academy of St Martin in the Fields and the London Sinfonietta. He has appeared as guest leader with the City of London Sinfonia. Patrick plays on an early 19th century violin by Ceruti. Martin Loveday was born in Zimbabwe and began his musical studies soon after moving to England in 1964. He was awarded a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music where he won numerous prizes for solo and chamber music performances as well as a scholarship to continue his studies with Pierre Fournier in Geneva. Martin was a founder member of the Hanson String quartet making several recordings – one of which was voted “record of the year” by the Guardian newspaper. He then joined the Hartley Piano Trio and now divides his time between his session work and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields. His cello was made in 1724 in Naples. Bruce White graduated from the Royal Academy of Music a major prize winner both in chamber music and solo studies. Bruce has played or been a member of many ensembles including the BBC Symphony Orchestra, The Michael Nyman Band, ‘Nigel Kennedy does Hendricks’, Ballet Rambert and the London Session orchestra. Bruce is a regular faculty member at the Apple Hill Centre for chamber music in New Hampshire, aiding the continuing efforts of 'Playing for Peace’.

	 

	It was between 1782 and 1785 that the six dedicated to Haydn quartets were composed. As musicologist Alfred Einstein says, "Mozart did not allow himself to be overcome. This time he learned as a master from a master; he did not imitate, he yielded nothing of his own personality." He followed Haydn’s lead in conceiving the string quartet as a four-part discourse, shared by all the instruments. Their respect and admiration being mutual, Haydn was, in turn, to be influenced in his own subsequent quartets by these quartets that Mozart dedicated to him. The C major Quartet was the last of the series to be composed. It’s appellation “Dissonance” refers to the  introductory adagio’s opening passage. As is usually the case, the composer had nothing to do with this nickname. And, if you’re expecting earcrushing dissonance of a contemporary nature – forget about it! The “dissonance” occurs in the opening passage; a progression of chords over a pedal point by the cello. While it is a rather chromatic passage, it’s quite within the rules of 18th century harmony. What this opening passage achieves is a deliberate sense of ambiguity. Mozart is keeping us in the fog, rather than clearly establishing the key of C major. With the Allegro that follows this introduction, the fog has lifted and we are the sunny key of C major. The second movement andante cantabile is considered to be the heart of the work; a lovely, lush, lyrical (forgive the alliteration) work. The third movement menuetto is interesting in that central to it is a rather agitated section that places it way out of the realm of a courtly or even country dance. The finale is a good natured romp ala Haydn, using his type of clipped themes and a device that Haydn was an absolute master of.. ...the pause.

	 

	The similarities between Maurice Ravel's only work for string quartet, the String Quartet in F major, and Claude Debussy's only work for string quartet, the String Quartet in G minor, Op. 10, can hardly be avoided or ignored. During the early years of his career, Ravel was frequently and sometimes vehemently criticized for having copied Debussy, and it was only later that musical society began to realize that, in the realm of piano music at least, it was equally possible that Debussy had imitated his younger colleague. With the String Quartet in F, composed in 1902 and 1903 and then revised up to 1910, however, Ravel seems more certain to have relied on Debussy's 1893 Op. 10; as emotionally, psychologically, and even structurally different as the two works are, one could never accuse them of having a language barrier. But, whereas Debussy's quartet is the work of a headstrong progressive still on his way to developing a mature, personal style, Ravel's is the work of an already mature artist more concerned with craftsmanship and traditional structure than with innovation. Not surprisingly, given their relative places in their careers when the two composers wrote their string quartets, Ravel's is the sounder piece of music and Debussy's is the more groundbreaking. Incidentally, Debussy, by all accounts, adored Ravel's piece, and though it makes the cut by just a couple of years, it is probably the most oft-played string quartet of the twentieth century. Ravel dedicated it to his teacher, Gabriel Fauré. The opening movement's pianissimo second theme is as hollow and melancholy as the first theme is warm and inviting. In the second movement, which serves as the Quartet's scherzo, Ravel moves into the pizzicato world already explored by Debussy in the scherzo movement of his String Quartet; the central portion (one hesitates to call it a "trio section") calls for the players to put mutes on their instruments. Bits of music from earlier in the Quartet can be heard, wearing new clothes, in the slow movement; likewise in the finale, which plunges straight into a frantic 5/4 meter bombast at its start, lightens up in the middle, and then ends in a blaze of zeal. ]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/ZielinskiQt_StJohn_28Oct11.mp3" length="86684798" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/mozart_dissonance_ravel_quartet_in_f_purcell_fantasias/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Fri, 28 Oct 2011 19:30:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>1:11:49</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Mozart & Prokofiev String Quartets]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Artesian Quartet at St Peter's 1-2pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Artesian Quartet: Kate Suthers, Emily Davis (violins) Matt Maguire (viola) Alex Rolton (cello)

	Wolfgang Amadeus  Mozart (1756-1791) String Quartet No 15 in D minor, K421
	Allegro ~ Andante ~ Menuetto: Allegretto ~ Allegro ma non troppo: Più Allegro

	In 1781 Haydn had completed his Opus 33 set of string quartets and these became the source of much study by Mozart who set about composing his own set of six quartets. These were published in Vienna in 1785 and dedicated to Haydn, whose influence can be found throughout the works. Mozart did not find this composition easy and describes the quartets as the fruits of long and arduous work, so it must have been rewarding to find that not only did Haydn find them pleasing but they also influenced his later work. This is the only one of the six quartets to be written in a minor key and it begins with a sotto voce octave leap on the first violin, which also introduces the second subject in F major. There is much contrapuntal development in the central section of the movement. The second ternary movement is in F major and in compound time. The minuet which follows has a D major trio in which the violin has a melody in a dotted rhythm which is accompanied by plucked strings. Dotted rhythms also feature in the lyrical theme of the final movement which is punctuated with a repeated note figure. There are four variations of this theme before the final più allegro which brings the work back to D minor, only to end in the major key. © Christine Talbot-Cooper 2011

	 

	Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953) String Quartet No 2 in F major, Op 92

	Allegro sostenuto ~ Adagio ~ Allegro-Andante Molto-Allegro I

	 

	The circumstances under which this string quartet was composed had a great influence on the content of the work. When the Nazis invaded Russia in 1941, Prokofiev was one of a number of musicians and other artists who, for safety,  travelled to Nalchik, a town in the Caucasus mountains. There he was given access to files of Kabardinian folk songs and encouraged, together with other musicians, to make use of them in his compositions. So it was that in 1942 Prokofiev wrote this string quartet. Unlike other composers who used the folk music in their work, Prokofiev made no attempt to dress it up and soften its melodic and rhythmic content, but tried to be true to its original form. The first performance was given in Moscow by the Beethoven Quartet and it became immediately popular with the public, if not the critics. The first movement is based on a dance, Udzh Starikov. Also featured is a song, Sosruko, which is played by the violin while the other three instruments play an accompaniment which sounds very much like an accordion – one of many colourful effects which the composer uses throughout the work, which is effortlessly combined with classical sonata form in this movement. The second movement begins with a beautiful Kabardian love song played by the cello in its higher register, with a middle section which features the strings playing pizzicato and staccato in imitation of a three-stringed fiddle with a long neck which was to be found in the region. The third movement is a rondo which has several recurring themes and includes a passionate middle section which is introduced by a cello cadenza. © Christine Talbot-Cooper 2011

	 

	

	 

	Formed in 2009, all four members of The Artesian Quartet are studying at the Royal Academy of Music. Quick to take on as many opportunities as possible, they were guided from the start by the London String Quartet Foundation, as well as the expert coaching of appraised chamber musicians. These include Garfield Jackson (Endellion Quartet), Roger Tapping (Takacs Quartet), Martin Outram (Maggini Quartet) and Marc Johnson (Vermeer Quartet). The quartet’s growing reputation has caused them to travel all over the country. They have performed in many prestigious chamber music venues, including the Wigmore Hall and Southbank Centre in London, and the Colston Hall in Bristol. In their second year together, they were invited to collaborate with the Barbirolli Quartet to perform Mendelssohn Octet at Eaton Square, and have since been asked to perform the work again on numerous occasions, such as in concert series at the Vine Hall School, and Gresham College. In August 2011, the quartet gave their BBC Proms debut, performing the10th String Quartet of South African born composer, Kevin Volans, broadcast on BBC Radio 3. The following month they were invited to travel to Turkey for a performance at the Turkish-British Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Istanbul. They currently hold one of the Academy’s four Davey-Poznanski Quartet Scholarships, a programme designed to increase coaching and performance.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/ArtesianQt_StPeter_28Nov11.mp3" length="60945379" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/mozart_and_prokofiev_string_quartets/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Mon, 28 Nov 2011 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>50:31</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Latin American music by Piazzolla, Mompou, Fernandez and others]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[TWENTY21 at ST JOHN'S 7.30-9.30PM]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Latin American &amp; Iberian music

	Évocaton for Piano Trio          Frederic Mompou
	La Fausse Morte                     Arrranged by Luciano González Sarmiento
	L’insinuant
	Le Vin Perdu
	Les Pas 
	Le Sylphe

	Oblivion

	Muerta del Angel 

	Revolucion                              Astor Piazzolla Arranged by José Bragato

	 

	Combat del Somni                    Frederic Mompou

	Jo et pressentia com la mar

	 

	Circulo                                      Joaquin Turina

	Amanecer

	Mediodia

	Crepúsculo

	 

	Brazilian Songs                        Lorenzo Fernândez (arr. twenty21)

	Madrigal

	Canção ao luar

	O’ vida da minha vida

	 

	twenty21 is a mixed ensemble specializing incontemporary music with a goal to challenge expectations of live performance juxtaposing the theatrical with the absurd and the spiritual with the mundane. Our repertoire is chosen to entertain as well as enlighten. twenty21 is Mark Pedus, violin; Kalina Dimitrova, cello; Judith Sheridan, Soprano; and, Craig W. Combs, piano. The group formed in July 2009 and presented its inaugural concert on October 2, 2010 at The Forge Venue in Camden, London, UK. Subsequent to that performance, the group has prepared thre programs to be present at St. John’s Notting Hill over the 2011-12 concert season: February 4 and May 12, 2012.  For more information, see www.twenty21.org. Also, find and “like” our group page on Facebook to receive notices on future performances.

	Of French Bulgarian parentage, Kalina Dimitrova studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, completing a Masters in Music Performance in 2002. Her chamber music experience has included masterclasses with the Takasc Quartet and Florestan Trio and coaching with the Ysaye Quartet. She now plays with the Accordi String Quartet and Twenty21. Orchestral playing include performances with the Orchestre des Régions Européennes, the British Philharmonic Orchestra, the International Mahler Orchestra, as extra player for Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and Northern Symphonia and regular trips to play with the Cyprus State Orchestra.

	Violinist Mark Pedus studied at the RNCM with Y. Zivoni and has worked and freelanced with several British and Belgian orchestras. He has played solos with Southbank Symphonia in Italy and Musici Academici, Hortus Instrumentalis, and Kempisch Jeugdorkest in Belgium including Bach Double Concerto and Mozart Violin concerto Nr 3 KV 216. Currently, he performs extensive chamber music with the Dionysus Piano Trio, Trio Twenty21, Toccata-Musical Productions for Charitable Causes, and as the principal 2nd violin for the International Mahler Orchestra.

	Soprano, Judith Sheridan’s rich and varied musical career has taken her across continents and into the opera houses, concert halls and educational establishments of Europe and America.  After graduating from the Royal Northern College of Music, and Lancaster University, her studies led to the Opera Studio in Hamburg.  Judith spent ten happy years treading the boards as an Opera Diva, performing roles as diverse as Leonora in Verdi’s “Force of Destiny”, Hanna Glawari in Lehar’s “The Merry Widow” and Jenny in Weill’s “Rise and Fall of the State of Mahagonny” in opera houses and concert halls including Opera Stabile, the Grosse Konzerthalle and Kleine Konzerthalle, Hamburg, Stadttheater Hildesheim, Osnabruck and Konstanz.  After returning to England, Judith now divides her time between performing, conducting and teaching, and leading workshops for both soloist and choirs. In her educational work Judith has taught regularly at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Queen’s University, Belfast and the Birmingham School of Acting. Judith’s special interest in the rarely performed music by recently discovered composers banned under the Nazi regime was ignited when she was inspired by a performance of Zemlinsky’s “Der Zwerg” in Hamburg.  The Forbidden Voices project is the culmination of many years’ research and performances of this remarkable music.

	Chamber Pianist, Craig W. Combs, seeks like-minded artists with which to make music that is a reflection of the human condition. He is Artistic Director for The Paramount Chamber Players, a network of artists in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest; The Combs/Hostetter Piano Duo, a 4-hand piano ensemble and pianist for Twenty21. In 2007, he released the CD, Forbidden Voices: Songs by Jewish Composers Banned by the Nazis with soprano, Judith Sheridan.A recent review of his playing commented on “ . . . the exceptional pianism of Craig Combs” and that “No praise is too high for his contribution.” You can read more about Craig on his website at www.craigcombs.com.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Twenty21_StJohn_5Nov11.mp3" length="50005160" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/latin_american_music_by_piazzolla_mompou_fernandez_and_others/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Sat, 5 Nov 2011 19:30:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>41:25</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Wind Trios by Beethoven, Ball and Uber]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Vientos Ensemble at st john's 1-2pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Vientos Ensemble: Sabina Heywood (clarinet) Lenia Christodoulou (oboe) Alice Thompson (flute)

	L van Beethoven (1770-1827) Trio in C major, Op.87

	Allegro ~ Adagio ~ Menuetto: Allegro molto. Scherzo – Trio ~ Finale: Presto

	 

	Christopher Ball Four Dances

	Lively Dance ~ Lyrical Dance ~ Round Dance ~ Square Dance

	 

	David Über Suite For Woodwind Trio

	Maestoso ~ Poce allegretto ~ Andante

	Presto ~ Andante lamentando ~ Allegro moderato

	 

	Stravinsky Pastorale  Larghetto

	 

	

	 

	Beethoven wrote a great deal of music for various combinations of wind instruments during his teens and 20s. Some of this was intended for the Bonn court of the Elector Maximilian Franz, who maintained an ensemble of wind players, and some represented Beethoven's attempt in Vienna to teach himself to write idiomatically for winds as he prepared to compose a symphony. But his Trio, Op. 87 comes from a different genre altogether: it was intended for the growing number of amateur performers in Vienna. Beethoven composed the Trio for the unlikely combination of two oboes and English horn in 1794, shortly after his arrival in that city (and he actually wrote another work for this particular combination of players, a set of variations on "Là ci darem la mano" from Don Giovanni). Because amateur performers would gather in unusual permutations of players, this Trio was quickly arranged for many other combinations of instruments: versions exist for two violins and bass line, two flutes and viola, two clarinets and bassoon, as a sonata for violin and piano, and in various piano settings. It was assigned the misleadingly-high opus number of 87, which would seem to place it near the Seventh Symphony; in fact, this music was written before Beethoven had published his Opus 1. It is melodic and agreeable and demands idiomatic playing and a good sense of ensemble from all three players. It is in the four-movement classical form that Beethoven was attempting to master in his early years in Vienna, yet it preserves the pleasing character of the serenade music Mozart and others wrote for lighter occasions over the final decades of the 18th century. Music this friendly and engaging needs little comment or introduction. It has a sonata-form first movement complete with exposition repeat, a lyrical Adagio, and a spirited Menuetto (really a scherzo) that skips along its 3/4 meter - Beethoven appends a brief coda. The finale is full of energy: its main theme appears quietly at first, then grows more animated, and soon the music is flying along on triplet runs that help rush the Trio to its firm close.

	 

	Christopher Ball has had no fewer than six musical careers, successively as clarinettist, orchestral conductor, recorder player, publisher, arranger and composer, as well as becoming a distinguished and award-winning photographer. He started composing in his teens (there were early pieces for the piano and the clarinet), but like many other composers of his generation he was disillusioned by the William Glock ethos, and felt keenly that the type of modern music that he personally enjoyed was not welcome in the rarefied avant-garde musical climate of the '60s and 70s. It is only in the last fifteen years or so that his flair for composition has blossomed, and he has produced a clutch of works for the recorder that are much loved and have justifiably taken their place in the instrument's repertoire (as well as other chamber and orchestral music). The composer himself explains this gap in his composing activities by pointing out that he was totally involved in the serious "classical" side of music-making and it was only when he realised that other composers had been continuing to write light classical music in a traditional style, aimed at a much wider audience, that the urge to create returned. The Four Dances for wind trio were composed at the suggestion of a former student, and were intended as a companion piece to Malcolm Arnold's Divertimento Op 37. Scored for the same combination of flute, oboe and clarinet they are similarly witty and concise.

	 

	Pastorale is a song without words written by Igor Stravinsky in 1907. Stravinsky composed the piece at his family's estate in Ustilug, Ukraine, while under the supervision of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, and dedicated it to Rimsky-Korsakov's daughter Nadia. The piece was originally scored for soprano and piano, but Stravinsky transcribed it several times over the years for various ensembles.

	 

	Since their formation in 2010, the Vientos Ensemble have performed at venues around London such as Charlton House, Cheltenham Music festival and St Alfege Church. The group consists of flute, oboe/cor anglais and clarinet/bass clarinet from students currently at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. As a group, their aim is to break boundaries within wind ensemble playing by incorporating the use of electronics in modern contemporary music. They are currently collaborating with several composers at Trinity Laban with the intention of investigating new orchestration for their ensemble, such as wind trio, loop pedal &amp; percussion.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/VientosEnsemble_StJohn_10Nov11.mp3" length="50679730" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/wind_trios_by_beethoven_ball_and_uber/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Thu, 10 Nov 2011 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>42:01</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Janacék Violin Sonata]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Dryads Duo at St Peter's 1-2pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Dryads Duo: Carla Santos (violin) Saul Picado (piano) was founded in 2010 with the purpose of exploring the repertoire from late 19th century to the present. Recently, they won the "Prémio Jovens Músicos" Competition in Portugal. In the beginning of October they played at Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian in Lisbon.

	
		Witold LutosÅawski (1913 –1994)    Subito for violin and piano
	
		Leoš JanáÄek (1854–1928)               Violin Sonata   Con moto ~ Balada ~ Allegretto ~ Adagio
	
		 
	
		
	
		 
	
		Leoš JanáÄek was born in Moravia in 1854 amidst the growth of nationalism and political unrest. He was intensely attached to his homeland and inevitably his music reflects the folk influences of his background. Having spent most of his active life as a choirmaster, teacher, and specialist in the ethnomusicology of Moravia, he also developed a keen interest in speech patterns and voice inflections as dictated by the context. His study eventually led him to a theory of speech-melody; as a result, pitch fluctuations of words and sentences are a part of his musical lines. JanáÄek's recognition as a composer came quite late. In his 60s, and already partially in retirement, the productions of his opera Janufa in Prague and Vienna finally put him on the international map. The general style of his works is that the most intensely felt psychological interior is portrayed with extreme vividness. At times, the emotions are raw, hair-raising and excruciating; at other times, tragic, tender and despondent. While one might call his music disturbed and mad, another would re-cast it as severely honest in confronting the pains and fears of human life.
	
		 
	
		The Violin Sonata, one of JanáÄek's most popular instrumental works, was first sketched in 1914 and finally completed in 1921, after numerous revisions. A four-movement work, it alludes to the violence and the unsettling circumstances of World War I. The first movement, Con moto, opens boldly with an introductory violin solo which is almost immediately followed by the first theme. Throughout the movement, fragmentary and cryptic motives intertwine with longer phrases. As the movement nears the end, tension builds up but finally it concludes, surprisingly peacefully, with a comfortable Db major triad. Next, in the Ballada, the impression is one of tenderness and simplicity. The most lyrical movement of the sonata, the notes seem to flow from one another with ease. An improvisatory, anxious episode briefly interrupts the mood towards the end of the movement, but serenity soon returns. The Allegretto is in the form of a scherzo. In this three-part movement, the first section (which is the same material as the last section) begins with the piano playing a bouncy folk melody over a buzzing series of trills. The violin intermittently interrupts with a shrieking chromatic figure. The middle section is almost pseudo-Romantic. The final movement, Adagio, is the most rhapsodic of the Sonata. The main motif is of repetitive interruption, played ferociously in the violin, at times muted. It is a severe disruption of the poignant piano line. Interjected into the main thematic motif are two contrasting ideas. One is a sunny melody filled with hope and eagerness for life and another is what JanáÄek described as the majestic entrance of the Russian liberating Army into Moravia. The work ends as the main motif dynamically fades away while the ever-increasing tension of inevitable disaster scents the air.
	
		 
	
		Saul Picado began learning the piano at Portugal’s Conservatório Regional de Castelo Branco having been awarded twice first prize in the internal competition "Lopes Graça".  In 2007 he played at the International Festival in Castelo Branco "Primavera Musical" and played as a soloist the Beethoven’s Triple Concerto with Orquestra Académica Metropolitana. He also recorded the Trio in g minor of Smetana. In 2010, along with the violinist Carla Santos, he founded the Dryads Duo, winning first prize at the “Prémio Jovens Músicos” Competition in Portugal last September, in the chamber music category. Also won in the same competition, the 2nd prize in the solo category. Future performances of Dryads Duo will include appearances at Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Centro Cultural de Belém, Teatro Nacional de São Carlos and Casa da Música, among many others. Currently, Saul is in the second year of the Masters degree in Piano at Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, in the classes of professors Martin Roscoe and Peter Bithell.
	
		 
	
		Born in Portugal, Carla Santos was admitted at the Youth Symphonic Orchestra of Sta Maria da Feira, having assumed the position of concertino several times. In 2006 played as a soloist with this orchestra, interpreting “Meditácion” from Jules Massenet. In the same year, under the orientation of the conductor Ernst Schelle, performed the Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante. In July 2004 concluded her Conservatory studies with the maximum classification (20) having received the “Fundação Pascoal” Award in the quality of the best instrument pupil in that year. In 2009 Carla was awarded a place at the Royal College of Music, where she studied with Radu Blidar for her Masters Degree in Performance (violin). Periodically, Carla joins the RCM Symphony Orchestra. Currently Carla is an RCM Scholar, taking an Artist Diploma.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/DryadsDuo_StPeter_21Nov11.mp3" length="25407732" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/janacék_violin_sonata/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Mon, 21 Nov 2011 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>21:00</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Organ Recital with Bach, Howells & Mendelssohn]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Andrew Wilson (organ) St Peter's 1-2pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Andrew Wilson (organ) plays:

	J.S. Bach: Toccata And Fugue In D Minor  Bwv 565
	Lefebure-Wely: Bolero De Concert Op166
	Joseph Hector Fiocco:  Andante In E Minor
	Herbert Howells: Master Tallis' Testament
	Mendelssohn: Sonata No.2 In C Minor

	Andrew’s early musical training started with piano lessons from the age of eight along with singing in the men and boys choir at Holy Trinity in Guildford (the Pro-Cathedral). Soon Andrew became a regular performer in the Woking Music Festival and by the age of 13 was regularly playing the piano for school productions and the organ for church services.

	In 1975, Andrew took to the console for his first Midnight Mass and was given organ lessons at Guildford Cathedral.  Following a consultation lesson with Jean Harvey (Associated Board Chief Examiner), Andrew entered the Royal Academy of Music as a Junior Exhibitioner to study both Piano and Organ. In 1980, Andrew was offered a place at the Royal College of Music where he studied Piano, Organ, Conducting and Musicianship.

	Since leaving college, Andrew has made a successful career in music, both as a performer and a recording artiste, playing the organ and piano along with choral conducting. His performances both as a soloist and as choral conductor have seen him perform in many cathedrals and prestigious venues both here and abroad and he has recently performed in a number of European countries. Later this year, Andrew returns to Germany for a concert tour.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/Andrew_Wilson_StPeter_2Jan12.mp3" length="49119586" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/organ_recital_with_bach_howells_and_mendelssohn/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Mon, 2 Jan 2012 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>40:43</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Schubert and Mendelssohn Quartets]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Manasseh Quartet at St john's 1-2pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[The Manasseh Quartet: Lyrit Milgram and Hannah Tarley (violins), Joshua Hayward (viola), Anton Crayton (cello) play

	Quartettsatz in C minor, D703 - Franz Schubert (1797-1828)  Allegro assai

	 

	As the title implies, this is a single movement work and was written as the first movement of Schubert’s twelfth string quartet which was never completed.  It was written in 1820, a turbulent year for the composer, which saw a number of compositions started then left incomplete.  Schubert wrote no further quartets for four years until composition of the Rosamunde Quartet and later the quartet which became known as “Death and the Maiden”.  The Quartettsatz movement received its première in 1867 and has since proved to be a popular work with performers and audiences alike. © Christine Talbot-Cooper 2011 

	 

	“Notturno” from String Quartet no 2 in D - Alexander Borodin (1833-1887)

	 

	Although an enthusiastic musician and composer, who had weekly meetings with other like-minded Russian composers including Rimsky-Korsakov, Glazounov, Balakirev and Arensky,  Borodin was by profession a professor of chemistry and his composition had to be fitted in round a very busy medical career. He wrote three string quartets, of which the second, dedicated to his wife and written between 1881 and 1885 and published in 1888 after his death, remains the most popular. The Notturno is the third movement of this quartet. The Notturno has frequently been taken out of context, including its use as a song from “Kismet” and so listeners will be very familiar with its rich melodies and equally rich harmonies. It is of interest to hear the different accompaniments used by Borodin at the various appearances of this theme. © Christine Talbot-Cooper 2011

	 

	String Quartet No 2 in A Minor, Op 13 - Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)

	Adagio – Allegro Vivace ~ Adagio non lento ~ Intermezzo – Allegretto con moto - Allegro di molto ~ Presto - Adagio non lento

	 

	Born into a prosperous German family, Mendelssohn received a private education, excelling in everything he undertook, including music.  So it was that at the age of 16 he wrote his String Octet and the following year the Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream. His second string quartet was written a year later in 1827, although it was not published until 1830, one year after the publication of the Op 12 which is known as his first string quartet. Mendelssohn had been fascinated by the late Beethoven quartets which had been published a few years earlier and there are many tributes to Beethoven to be found in this work. Also notable is the use of a motto theme, taken from a song Mendelssohn had written a few months earlier and mentioned on the title page ("Ist es wahr?" – Is it true?) and also the unusual feature of the work beginning and ending in the major key rather than the home key of A minor. The opening adagio in the major key is followed by a stormy sonata form first movement in the minor key. The second movement begins in a similar mood to the opening of the work, and includes a fugal middle section which becomes more agitated until a violin cadenza restores a calmer mood. In the third movement we meet a theme reminiscent of a folk song and with a pizzicato accompaniment. This alternates with a second theme which is typical of the fleeting scherzos so characteristic of the composer. Throughout the work, the key of A minor has played a large part and the final movement begins in this key, before ending as it began in A major.  There are references to the slow movement and to the opening adagio and the work ends calmly. © Christine Talbot-Cooper 2011

	 

	

	 

	The Manasseh Quartet comprises Lyrit Milgram, Hannah Tarley, Joshua Hayward and Anton Crayton - all students at the Royal College of Music. Formed in 2010, the Quartet has since enjoyed widely acknowledged success, recently performing Shostakovich's Eight Quartet at the RCM's ‘Behind the Iron Curtain’ series, a recital at St. Stephen’s Church and a performance of Schubert's Quartettsatz in Cadogan Hall. The Quartet has recently been chosen to participate in an intense chamber music course with visiting professor of the RCM, David Dolan. They receive frequent coaching by prominent musicians including Simon Rowland-Jones, Mark Messenger and Levon Chilingirian. As well as their chamber work, all four members of the Quartet are pursuing active solo careers. The Manasseh Quartet looks forward to many future performances, including appearances later this year at St. Mary Abbott's Church in Gloucester Road.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/ManassehQt_StJohn_24Nov11.mp3" length="52220143" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/schubert_and_mendelssohn_quartets/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Thu, 24 Nov 2011 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>43:18</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Mozart, Schumann & Messiaen violin duets ]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Roxana Rumney (violin) Dominic John (piano) at St John's 1-2pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[Roxana Rumney (violin) Dominic John (piano)

	W.A. Mozart (1756-1791)                  Sonata for Violin and Piano in E Minor, K. 304

	                                                           Allegro ~ Tempo di Menuetto

	 

	This sonata was composed in 1778 while Mozart was in Paris during the same period that his mother, Anna Maria, died. The mood reflects this, it is the only instrumental work by Mozart whose home key is E minor. With his two violin sonatas, Schumann, more than Beethoven or Schubert, supplied the model for the great violin sonatas of the second half of the nineteenth century. Themes from the three movements are related through similar intervals, or “germ cells,” with first theme of movement one returning as a fleeting memory in movement three. The second movement serves as an enchanting intermezzo that incorporates elements of a missing Scherzo. The Finale is a demonic perpetuum mobile that, in its use of canonic style, reflects Schumann's intensive study of JS Bach's work. Schumann was, together with Mendelssohn, one of the first great German artists to be fully aware of the “incommensurable” (to quote Schumann) geniality of Bach’s music. Like much of Schumann’s music, this Sonata plays on the contrasting personas of his literary alter egos, the gentle Eusebius and the impassioned Florestan. Messiaen's piece was a youthful wedding present to his first wife.

	 

	Robert Schumann (1810-1856)           Sonata No. 1 in A minor Op 105

	                                                             Mit leidenschaftlichem Ausdruck ~ Allegretto ~ Lebhaft

	 

	This Sonata portrays the dark side of intense emotion; that is, joy and rage may both give way to ecstatic feelings, though an ecstatic rage is a perversion, decidedly dark and demented. Schumann wrote the piece in 1851, only a few years before going completely crazy, and it is not difficult to hear the schizophrenic outbursts in the music. What is perhaps most moving is not so much the depth of despair, but the poignant moments of lucidity and warmth that break through, like unexpected sunlight. The marking of the first movement, "Mit leidenschaftlichem Ausdruck," is translated "with passionate expression." As the Sonata moves from this pulsating, impassioned first movement, through a bi-polar Allegretto, and to the final Lebhaft, passionate expression gives way to a tortured, stormy, tumultuous ending. © Nicholas DiEugenio

	 

	Olivier Messiaen (1908 – 1992)            Theme et Variations

	
		                                                               Thème—Modéré ~ Var 1 - Modéré ~ Var 2 - Un peu moins Modére
	
		                                                               ~ Var 3 - Modéré, avec éclat ~ Var 4 - Vif et passionné ~ Var 5 - Tres modéré
	
		 
	
		Written in 1932 this work was originally written as a wedding present for the composer's first wife, the violinist, Claire Delbos, whom he married on 22 June that year. The young couple premiered it in November. The piece does not have the careful scholarship he gave to compositions from his later years. However, comparatively naive as it may be, the piece bears the strong roots of Messiaen's distinguishing musical language.


	 

	 

	

	 

	Roxana Rumney began the violin with a local Suzuki teacher, Bridget Gibbs. As a child, she performed in concert tours all over Europe with the London Suzuki Group, then in its infancy. She attended Pimlico School as a member of the specialist music department, and took lessons with Bela Katona. She continued to learn with Katona, and with his wife Eszter Boda, at Trinity College of Music. She took summer schools in Israel directed by Itzhak Rashkovsky, and studied under him in London. After Trinity, she did a postgraduate course at the Guildhall designed to broaden the outlook of the music graduate while giving something back to the community. The Guildhall Ensemble presented new compositions, performed theatre pieces and ran projects in schools. After the course, Roxana organised her own series of concerts in hospitals and care homes for the elderly. Her professional career has been a combination of teaching and performing, having played with various chamber groups and orchestras, including the Scottish BBC Symphony. On becoming a mother and instantly knowing she would want her children to be Suzuki students, she herself trained as a Suzuki teacher and now has her own teaching practice. In the last few years she has rededicated herself to the violin giving regular performances, most recently at the Royal Naval College in Greenwich. Roxana’s violin is 18th Century Genovese. 

	 

	Dominic John studied at the Junior Royal Academy of Music under Patsy Toh. He continued his studies at the Royal College of Music with John Barstow and Andrew Ball, where he held the RCM Society Junior Fellowship from 2004-2006. A versatile musician, Dominic is an active soloist, member of various chamber ensembles and accompanist to a wide variety of singers and instrumentalists. Performances in this country include the Wigmore Hall, St. John's Smith Square, St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Purcell Room, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Fairfield Hall and the Barbican Hall. Overseas he has played in France, Holland, Poland, America, Korea and Japan. He has won several prizes including First Prize in the 22nd Brant International Piano Competition, the prestigious Chappell Gold Medal of the RCM, a Director's Golden Jubilee Award at the RCM, 2004 British Music Society Awards, 2004 Eastbourne Symphony Orchestra Young Soloist Competition and 4th Prize in the 2005 Corpus Christi, U.S.A. International Competition for Piano and Strings. He has given Concerto performances of the Beethoven "Emperor", Grieg, Liszt No.1, Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue, Rachmaninov 3rd and Prokofiev 2nd. Of particular note was a performance with Itzhak Perlman at an evening soirée and performances of Tchaikovsky Concerto and Saint-Saens "Carnival of the Animals" with the Osaka Philharmonic in Symphony Hall, Osaka. Dominic is a staff accompanist at the Junior Department, Royal Academy of Music. He is also a regular guest entertainer on Cunard Line and P &amp; O cruises.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/RumneyJohn_StJohn_15Dec2011.mp3" length="41526574" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/mozart_schumann_and_messiaen_violin_duets/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Thu, 15 Dec 2011 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>34:26</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Mozart & Schumann Quartets]]></title>
		<itunes:author>Music Chamber</itunes:author>
		<itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Evropska Quartet at St John's 1-2pm]]></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary><![CDATA[The Evropska Quartet  (Violin I – Rowena Kennally Violin II – Adam Hill Viola – Anisa ArslanagiÄ Cello – Max Ruisi) play:

	WA Mozart: String Quartet in D major, K. 575
	Allegretto ~ Andante ~ Menuetto and Trio ~ Allegretto

	In 1789 King Friedrich Wilhelm II of Prussia commissioned Mozart to write six string quartets after the composer's visit to Berlin. As it turned out, Mozart completed only three "Prussian" quartets: the last of his work in this form. The King was an excellent cellist, and Mozart was challenged to write music that would feature the cello without becoming either too difficult or too concerto-like. Every movement includes cello solos with the instrument playing at the top of its range. To balance the prominent cello, Mozart wrote parts of greater consequence for the two inner voices, the second violin and the viola. This ‘concertante’ style has a number of limitations: it dilutes the music since so much has to be stated four times, and it predisposes the music to a moderate tempo since hurried solos would be absurd and repeated slow ones wearisome. Therefore, all the movements proceed at a moderate tempo, the outer ones and the minuetto marked Allegretto with the Andante offering some variation in tempo. The quartet opens with buoyant good spirits as the first theme, a rising arpeggio followed by a descending scale, is stated in the first violin and then the viola. The second theme also features the rising arpeggio, this time ending in a long held note. A four-note turn also announces the sprightly Menuetto, wherethe music glitters with sharp contrasts -- soft and loud, staccato and legato. The cello introduces the main theme of the serenely happy last movement, which begins with a rising arpeggio that recalls the first movement. Tightly organized and highly contrapuntal - contrasting interludes spring from ascending arpeggios, but in different keys, settings, and scorings, so that they sound like new material.

	Robert Schumann: String Quartet No. 1 in A minor Op. 41 No. 1
	Introduzione: Andante espressivo - Allegro ~ Scherzo: Presto - Intermezzo ~ Adagio ~ Presto

	In 1842, Robert Schumann turned his intense if not manic focus to the daunting genre of the string quartet. In what has been called his “year of chamber music”, he voraciously studied the masters that preceded him and produced a set of three quartets, Op. 41 that he dedicated to Mendelssohn. They are particularly engaging as “missing links” between the quartets of Mendelssohn and Brahms some thirty years hence. Op. 41/1 opens with a slow, mournful contrapuntal introduction, a clear reference to Beethoven’s mystical late quartets. The main body is a massive “textbook” sonata built according to classic rules that historically were only just being codified for the first time as explicit formal principles. There are multiple themes, a heightened development, and, at every turn, a tendency towards imitative counterpoint that suggest Schumann’s intimate familiarity with Bach. This is the longest movement of the quartet by a substantial margin. The scherzo immediately suggests Mendelssohn’s trademark sprightliness with perhaps a dash of Schubert’s galloping fervor. The middle trio has, by contrast, a suave, chromatic languor that suggests Mozart albeit in Schumann’s language. Note that the scherzo occurs second, not third as “textbook” descriptions prescribe. A long look through the quartet literature demonstrates that this requisite quick dance-oriented movement generously varies in its placement. The divine adagio alone justifies Schumann’s mighty efforts of 1842. Here again the ghost of Beethoven hovers close at hand as well as a sense of textural color and dramatic declamation recalling Schubert’s more romantic angst. The part writing is supple and devastating. And it is within the nearly holy folds of this elegantly undulating melancholy that the rootless wanderlust of Wagner, Brahms and Schoenberg remarkably if fleetingly appear. Full of bluster and celebration with mighty textures broaching the orchestral, the finale follows a trend in many of Schumann’s closing movements. There are hints of other voices again including Mendelssohn’s driving rhythms and the throbbing pastoral drone’s of Beethoven’s sixth symphony. A forceful juggernaut presses forward, surging and dancing with abandon until it encounters a small clearing, a glade. For a moment, an ancient, misty musette holds all movement in check, savoring a golden simplicity in the stark, rustic manner of late Beethoven. The surge awakens and rises again, sweeping toward a conclusion of epic proportions. (prog. notes by ‘earsense’)

	The Evropska Quartet is a young British string quartet comprising graduates of the Royal Northern and Guildhall colleges of music. Formed in the summer of 2010, a month later they were awarded a full scholarship to study at The Curso Internacional de Musica with The Badke Quartet. Following this the quartet were offered the opportunity to study with Pavel Fischer (1st Violin of the original Skampa Quartet) in Prague. During this time they also received tuition from The Wihan Quartet, both in Prague and after winning a full Leverhulme Scholarship to study with them on the Musical Encounters Course at Pro-Corda, Aldebrough. The quartet attended a week-long set of masterclasses in London with The Badke Quartet early in 2011, followed by a series of enthusiastically received concerts. Following a successful round of recent auditions, the quartet have accepted places on the masters programme at The Netherlands String Quartet Academy, Amsterdam, studying with Marc Danel and Stefan Metz, and at Basel Conservatoire, Switzerland, studying with Rainer Schmidt.]]></itunes:summary>
		<enclosure url="http://www.music-chamber.com/podcasts/EvropskaQt_StJohn_5Jan12.mp3" length="57916137" type="audio/mpeg" />
		<guid><![CDATA[http://www.music-chamber.com/concert/mozart_and_schumann_quartets/]]></guid>
		<pubDate>Thu, 5 Jan 2012 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		<itunes:duration>47:58</itunes:duration>
		<itunes:keywords>music, chassical</itunes:keywords>
	</item>
</channel>
</rss>

