2017 May 13Th 7.30Pm Saturday Leon Mccawley - Piano June 10Th 7.30Pm Saturday Sitkovetsky Duo - Piano and Violin July 8Th 7.30Pm Saturday Camerata RCO Aug
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MUSIC AT LEAMINGTON HASTINGS 2 0 1 7 SEASON Brochure1 Music at Leamington Hastings (Reg Charity No 1121192) Welcome to the 46th Season of Music at Leamington Hastings Concerts 2017 May 13th 7.30pm Saturday Leon McCawley - piano June 10th 7.30pm Saturday Sitkovetsky Duo - piano and violin July 8th 7.30pm Saturday Camerata RCO Aug. 12th 7.30pm Saturday Duo B!zárt - piano duo Sep. 9rd 7.30pm Saturday 4 Girls 4 Harps Oct. 7th 7.30pm Saturday Adam Summerhayes Orchestra Dec. 9th 7.00pm Saturday Schola Cantorum of Oxford Tickets All seats are reserved,. It is advisable to book all seats in advance, but they are also sold at the door. Terms and Conditions are on back of the booking form, and explain why donations are suggested, and not obligatory. Most kindly do give the suggested donation hence the following Standard Throughout the church: £10 + £8 donation = £18 Youth Under 18: 1st £2 + £8 donation = £10 2nd (and more) in one party are FREE Season (6 Concerts, May-Oct only) £44 + £40 donation = £84 Super-Season (ALL 7 Concerts) £55 + £40 donation = £95 Refreshments are served gratis at all these concerts - either wine/soft drinks or Strawberries and cream in Summer or mulled wine at Christmas Note that cheap chancel tickets for Choir have been discontinued, as no-one was really interested in having them, and they did cause some confusion Please let us know if you are interested in our Patron scheme – influencing the future and helping to preserve this unique institution. The booking form is in the middle pages of the annual brochure, as are the terms & conditions that apply. A copy is available on the website. www.musicatleamingtonhastings.co.uk 2 Welcome to the 46th Season of Music at Leamington Hastings Dear Music Lover, In 2016 we heard varied programjme of music from the 12th century up to the modern day, 2 very contrasting piano recitals, and the first visit of the extremely distinguished Chilingirian string quartet. The Christmas concert, with a distinctive mediaeval flavour, was a fascinating diversion from our normal repertoire, and I must say I was a little nervous about how it would be received. You would be mistaken to think I choose progtammes that invariably reflected my own tastes, and this was a case in point. However, the players were delighted with the audience’s reaction and it proved to be a refreshing change. We return to the usual choir this year, when we welcome back Schola Cantorum of Oxford. In 2017, we have an extra concert in August. This is somewhat of an experiment to “test the market”, and I shall be interested to see how it goes. The August concert will give us the chance to hear the somewhat unusual combination of a 4-handed piano duo. I can’t remember us having one in the past, but my recollections don’t go back as far as some of yours. In any event, we can look forward to an entertaining summer evening. We begin the year, however, with a solo recital by the acclaimed English pianist, and previous visitor to our stage, Leon McCawley. I heard him give a wonderful concert last year at the Wigmore Hall, and he is delighted to come and play here again. Unfortunately, the Menuhin School have a crowded schedule this year, and are in a complex period of change with a change of both Headmaster and Director of Music. So, they cannot fit us in. However we have a worthy replacement in our schedule, the chamber players of the renowned Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. They are playing a really superb programme, including what some consider to be Mozart’s finest chamber work, the G minor quintet. In October, we have a soprano and a small string orchestra, led by Adam Summerhayes who formed this ensemble after the dissolution of the London Concertante, who were popular favorites with us for many years. We complete our line-up of artists with the return of 4 Girls 4 Harps and the prize-winning duo of Alexander Sitkovetsky and his wife Wu Qian, both Menuhin school alumni. Finally, when we listen to the Mozart G-minor quintet, we might remember Peter Ogilvie who died suddenly last year after so many years of generous support to the concerts, and whose favourite compose Mozart was. Kind Regards, David Potts 3 Concert 1 May 13th Saturday 7.30pm LEON MCCawley PIANO We are happy to welcome back Leon McCawley, one of Britain’s foremost pianists, who has forged a highly successful career since winning 1st Prize in the 1993 International Beethoven Piano Competition in Vienna and 2nd Prize at the Leeds International Piano Competition, building on his earlier success as Winner of the Piano Section of BBC Young Musician of the Year in 1990. Since then, McCawley’s international appearances and impressive discography has established him as a pianist of great integrity and variety, bringing freshness and vitality to classical, romantic and 20th century repertoire. His 2015 CD of Rachmaninov’s Complete Preludes for Somm Recordings is .... ’a distinguished issue’ (Gramophone May 2015) ’Leon McCawley is a real poet of the keyboard in these performances that are alive toRachmaninov’s wonderful melodic invention’ (The Classical Reviewer March 2015). PROGRAMME SCHUMANN: WALDSZENEN BEETHOVEN: SONATA OP.31 NO.2 “TEMPEST” LISZT: 4 PIECES FROM ANNEES DE PELERINAGE BK 1 “SUISSE” Rachmaninoff: DAISIES OP.38 NO.2 LILACS OP.21 NO.5 RAVEL: OISEAUX TRISTES, UNE BARQUE SUR L’OCEAN FROM “MIROIRS” Debussy: L’ISLE JOYEUSE 4 Concert 2 June 10th Saturday 7.30pm ALEXANDER SitkoVETSKY Violin WU QIAN piano 1st prize winners of the prestigious Trio di Trieste Duo Competition 2011 in Italy, Alexander Sitkovetsky and Wu Qian have been performing together for over 10 years. They have given concerts as a duo in various venues in Germany, Italy, estonia, at the Wigmore Hall in London, other venues in the UK and also in New York. Recent concerts include tours in Italy and Germany, performing both recitals and double concertos, as well as their Carnegie Hall Debut at Weill Hall. This is their second visit to us as a duo, they have also given us a memorable concert as part of the Sitkovetsky piano trio..Both are alumni of the Menuhin school. “Sitkovetsky and Qian maintained an agile, sympathetic dialogue and carved a great deal of open space in the music. Even short silences in the music drew in the listener.” Sitkovetsky Duo at the Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Centre, New York, George Grella, New York Classical Review, July 2105 PROGRAMME BEETHOVEN: KREUTZER SONATA BRAHMS: SONATENSATZ DE FALLA: SUITE POPULAIRE ESPAGNOLE GrIeG: VIOLIN SONATA NO.3 5 Concert 3 July 8th Saturday 7.30pm Camerata RCO ( MEMBERS OF THE ROYAL CONCerTGeBOUW ORCHESTRA) STrING qUINTeT CELLO, VIOLA(2), VIOLIN(2) The Royal Concetgebouw Orchestra is without doubt one of the world’s greatest orchestras. (Annual votes by critics usually place it No.1 or No.2 , with its close rivals the Berlin Philharmonic ocasionally getting the first spot). However not sitting on their laurels, the players also come together to play chamber music. As they themselves put it, “Camerata RCO is a unique ensemble. We are all members of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestrain Amsterdam and we enjoy playing in the orchestra tremendously. However, we like to expand this joy by playing together in a small ensemble as well. Not only is the repertoire of a small ensemble different, we also feel that chamber music is more personal and intimate. It is refreshing to get to know our colleagues in the orchestra better while working together in Camerata RCO. We are completely free to choose the repertoire we play, where we play it and with whom. With Camerata RCO we like to be in close contact with our audience.The energy that results from these concerts is what inspires us most” In this concert they play as a “Viola Quintet”, that is a string quartet plus an extra viola. They are playing three oustanding examples of the quintet repertoire.. PROGRAMME MOZart G MINOR QUINTET VaUGHN WILLIaMS PHANTASY QUINTET BRAHMS STRING QUINTET OP.111 Circumstances permitting, strawberries and cream will be served outdoors 6 Concert 4 August 12th Saturday 7.30pm B!Z’ART PIANO DUO andré roe • Geoffrey Baptiste While pianists often get together from time to time to play duets, those who dedicate themselves to this are somewhat rare. Nowadays the Labeque sisters are the most well- known and I can just remember the married couple Cyril Smith and Phyllis Sellick. Duets can be 2 hands on 2 pianos or 4 hands on one, and this is the configuration we shall hear in this concert. All of the pieces were originally written for 4 hands by the composers, with the exception of the suite from West Side Story, which was arranged for duet by Bernstein himself, and the Hungarian Dances, which have been arranged for a great many combinations of instruments. PROGRAMME Brahms HUNGARIAN DANCES, (SELECTION) GrIeg NORWEGIAN DANCES OP.35 BERNSTEIN, WEST SIDE STORY SCHUMANN BILDER AUS OSTEN OP.66 RachmaninoV SUITE OP.11 Circumstances permitting, strawberries and cream will be served outdoors 7 Concert 5 Sept 9th Saturday 7.30pm 4 GIrLS 4 HarPS (HARP QUARTET) This popular ensemble love coming to Leamington Hastings, and we are please to welcome them back once again. Since their formation in 2000, 4 Girls 4 Harps have been heard in numerous venues and festivals in the UK and across Europe, delighting audiences with their dynamic performances and innovative repertoire. The quartet has featured on BBC Radio 3’s In Tune, BBC Radio 2’s Friday Night is Music Night, BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, Classic FM, and Welsh television channel, S4C.