The Nash Ensemble opened their 2012/13 season at the Wigmore Hall last month with a pair of programmes featuring British music from the first half of the 20th century, Bax, Britten, Bridge, Grainger, Bliss, Quilter and Elgar. Their season continues in a similar vein on Saturday 27 October with tenor John Mark Ainsley, and Ian Brown, piano, in a lovely concert which includes Britten's Three Divertimenti, music by Bridge, songs for tenor and string quartet by Warlock, some of Elgar's lighter chamber music and RVW's On Wenlock Edge. There are 10 concerts in all in the season, with some very delectable music to come.
On Saturday 17 November they are again doing a pair of concerts, one early evening, including Britten's Simple Symphony, RVW's Six Studies on English Folk Tunes and his Five Mystical Songs, Ireland's Fantasy Sonata, and Finzi's Dies Natalis. The RVW songs will be performed by Roderick Williams in the composer's arrangement for piano and string quartet, an arrangement which is new to me but sounds fascinating. Dies Natalis will be performed by soprano Susan Gritton, rather than the usual tenor. The next day they are pairing Grainger's music with Mendelssohn's Octet and Bridge's Sextet for a coffee concert.
Further ahead, there is an all Britten programme with a terrific cast on 4 December with Sandrine Piau performing Les Illuminations, John Mark Ainsley and Richard Watkins in the Serenade for tenor, horn and strings. In January with another pair of concerts, it is Mark Padmore's turn, with Britten folksongs for tenor and guitar, Walton's Anon in love, and Warlock's The Curlew plus Bax's Oboe quintet.
February sees Christopher Maltman performing Finzi's By Footpath and Stile and George Butterworth's Love Blows as the Wind Blows both for baritone and string quartet, plus Elgar's Quintet and Bridge's Phantasy Piano Quartet. In March, on Saturday 16, they explore Britten and Walton's film and radio music with showings of The Night Mail and Henry V, plus suites drawn from Britten and from Walton's film and radio work with Eleanor Bron and Samuel West as reciters. The next morning their coffee concert is devoted to RVW's early Quintet and Dvorak's Piano Quintet.
This is one of those series where I can find interesting performances of old favourites, alongside works which I have not come across before but ought to have. A fascinating and tempting programme indeed.
The final concert of the season is on March 19, with a birthday celebration from David Matthews, music by David Matthews, Michael Berkely, Julian Anderson and James Francis Brown, all the works being Nash Ensemble commissions and some world premieres.
Further information from the Nash Ensemble and Wigmore Hall websites.
Monday, 15 October 2012
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Popular Posts this month
-
Gimnazija Kranj Symphony Orchestra I get all sorts of mail, people sending my information on concerts and recordings. Everything gets gl...
-
Handel Suites de Pièces nos 1-4, 1720; Pierre Hantaï; Mirare Reviewed by Robert Hugill on 4 December 2020 Star rating: 5.0 (★★★★★)...
-
Vincent Larderet (Photo Karis Kennedy) The French pianist Vincent Larderet 's most recent discs have involved the music of his countryme...
-
On 17 October 2020, the Lithuanian composer and conductor Gediminas Gelgotas conducted musicians from his New Ideas Chamber Orchestra and ...
-
Tippett: The Heart's Assurance - Tom Elwin, English Touring Opera The week leading up to Christmas Day got off to a great musical sta...
-
The Mad King - Charles Johnston - Opera2Day The Dutch company Opera2Day (whose staging of Ambroise Thomas' Hamlet I saw in The Hague in...
-
Lee Hoiby: Bon Appetit! - Jamie Barton as Julia Child This week's listening has been quite varied, with Brahms, Mozart and Beethoven al...
-
Haydn String Quartets Op.74 , Folk music from Scotland; Maxwell Quartet; Linn Records Reviewed by Robert Hugill on 31 December 2020...
-
Puccini: Tosca - Kristján Jóhannsson, Claire Rutter - Icelandic Opera 2017 (Photo Johanna Olafsdottir) All is not happy in opera in the Lan...
-
Aberdene 1662 , Songs from John Forbes' Songs and Fancies ; Maria Valdmaa, Mikko Perkola; ERP Reviewed by Robert Hugill on 11 J...

No comments:
Post a comment