Not all Brahms - Kings Place autumn season

If you enjoy exploring the music of Brahms then there will be of plenty of interest in the Kings Place autumn season, with the conclusion of their Brahms Unwrapped theme. Now I have to admit that Brahms is not too high on my list, but even for a philistine like me, there are plenty of other rather enticing events. Their autumn season starts with the Kings Place Festival (14-19 September) and following that the autumn programme runs from 19 September to the end of December..



In late September the Hebrides Ensemble, with Synergy Vocals (featuring Brindley Sherratt) will be performing James MacMillan's Since it was the Day of Preparation... which was written specifically for the Hebrides Ensemble. It is an hour long piece based on the story of the Resurrection, unmissable. The same week, the Sixteen drop in as part of their Choral Pilgrimage.

In October, oboist Nicholas Daniels celebrates his 50th birthday (already! I can remember him being a Young Musician), with a pair of concerts playing with a whole host of distinguished friends. More birthdays in November with the Carducci Quartet celebrating Malcolm Lipkin's 80th birthday with his 1989 piece Variations on a theme of Bartok. And Malcolm Roscoe is 60 and celebrating with a lovely concert where he plays a series of piano duo works with pianists Kathryn Stott, Ronan O'Nora, Ashley Wass, Anthony Hewitt, Noriko Ogawa and Peter Donohoe. Quite a line up! And the music? Mozart, Schubert, Brahms, Holst, Debussy and Grainger/Gershwin. The same week, the Mercury Quartet are giving a programme of Debussy and music by young composers inspired by Debussy.

Still in November, pianist Daniel Tong and friends spend a delightful week exploring Elgar, including Elgar's own arrangement of his Sea Pictures for voice and piano (with baritone Ivan Ludlow), the quintet and even the Cello Concerto with Alice Neary (cello) and the Wye Valley Festival Orchestra.

The year finishes with a little taster of next year's Unwrapped theme, Bach Unwrapped. Florilegium perform Bach's Christmas and New Year Cantatas on 30 December and the Wallfisch Band perform cantatas 12,22, 131, 170 on New Year's eve and New Year's day.

There are, of course, plenty of other events including folk, comedy and spoken word. Amongst the spoken word events, is the ever wonderful potter Edmund de Waal talks about silence.

Further details from the Kings Place website.