War Requiem & Northern Lights: Tony Cooper looks forward to Norwich Philharmonic Society's forthcoming season

The Norwich Philharmonic Society plays a vital role in the musical life of the fine city of Norwich and its wider area offering performances of a consistently high standard and attracting strong support from local music-lovers. 

And to kick off the new season (Saturday, 7th November, St Andrew’s Hall, 7.30pm), the Norwich Phil will salute and commemorate the 50th anniversary of the death of Benjamin Britten with the combined forces of the Norwich Philharmonic Orchestra, the Norwich Philharmonic Chorus and the Choristers of Norwich Cathedral Choir coming together for a grand performance of his deeply moving work, War Requiem, conducted by Matthew Andrews and Ashley Grote. 

A major figure in 20th-century British musical life, Edward Benjamin Britten (he dropped his first name early in life) was born a Suffolk lad on 22nd November 1913 (which happens to be St Cecilia’s Day, the patron saint of music) at 21 Kirkley Cliff Road, Lowestoft. His father practiced as a dentist; his mother, an amateur choral singer.  

But practically forgotten about nowadays is to the fact that Britten forged his early musical talents in Norfolk and, especially, in Norwich. From the tender age of 10, he regularly visited the city for viola lessons with Mrs Audrey Alston, a good friend of his mother and a member of the Norwich String Quartet.  

She was heavily involved with classical music in Norwich and practically knew everyone in the business including the eminent Brighton-born composer, Frank Bridge, who studied at the Royal College of Music from 1899 to 1903 under Charles Villiers Stanford. He lodged with Mrs Alston while attending meetings of the Norfolk & Norwich Triennial Festival held at St Andrew’s Hall.     

What could well be said to be an important part of Britten’s musical education occurred at St Andrew’s Hall on 30th October 1924 when he witnessed Frank Bridge conducting his suite for orchestra, The Sea, while three years later, on 27th October 1927, Mrs Alston urged Bridge (who was in the city conducting the première of his latest work, Enter Spring) to meet the young, aspiring and talented composer. He felt reluctant at first but following an inspection of Britten’s music, Bridge heartily accepted him as one of his very few composition pupils. The rest is history! 

Another important aspect relating to Britten’s connection with Norwich came in 1963 when he was invited by the Vice-Chancellor of the University of East Anglia, Frank Thistlethwaite, to offer advice about setting up a music department. 

On the 50th anniversary of Britten’s death, Britten Pears Arts is staging a weekend of events honouring his life, music and legacy.

The Red House, Aldeburgh (Photo: Britten Pears Arts)

Highlights of this very special weekend (Friday-Sunday, 4th-6th December) honouring the 50th anniversary of Britten’s death include performances of the composer’s Lachrymae, Saint Nicolas and the Oboe Quartet together with a special study session by Dr Lucy Walker and an opportunity for a moment of stillness and reflection with a service of remembrance at Aldeburgh Church. 

Two outstanding artists Timothy Ridout (viola) and James Baillieu (piano) offer what promises a spirited start to the weekend with a noonday performance (Friday, 4th December, Britten Studio) of Schubert’s highly popular Arpeggione Sonata and Britten’s Lachrymae, a lovely and inviting piece comprising variations on music by John Dowland. Completing the programme is Schubert’s Sonatina No.1, an attractive piece reflecting the graceful and lyrical influence of Mozart. 

The evening show (Britten Studio, 7pm) features cellist Guy Johnston and pianist Melvyn Tan performing a recital featuring Britten's Cello Sonata (written for Mstislav Rostropovich) heard alongside Mendelssohn's Cello Sonata No.2. The programme also includes Beethoven’s Sonata No.4 and a new work from Matthew Kaner, a composer known for his emotionally direct and poetic music. 

An expert on the life and works of Britten, writer, researcher and speaker, Dr Lucy Walker, chairs what promises to be a fascinating study session (Saturday, 5th December, 11am, Britten Studio). She’ll be joined in conversation by Alice Coote and Timothy Ridout exploring the profound impact and performance that Britten’s music has had upon them. 

And performing Schubert’s great and inspiring song-cycle, Winterreise (Saturday, 5th December, 4pm, Britten Studio) falls to mezzo-soprano, Alice Coote, accompanied by pianist, Christian Blackshaw. The work highlights the composer’s gift of transforming poetry into music combining them into an artform of intense emotional resonance. Written to poems by Wilhelm Müller, the scenario tells the painfully sorrow and emotional story of a rejected lover who wanders alone through a cold, harsh winter landscape.  

Under the baton of Owain Park, the joint forces of Britten Sinfonia, BBC Singers, Britten Pears Chamber Choir and London Youth Choir / LYC Boys (Saturday, 5th December, 7pm, Snape Maltings Concert Hall) combine to perform Britten’s cantata, Saint Nicolas, a tender and uplifting work featuring some of the composer’s brightest and boldest music with the scenario telling the tale of the saint that inspired Santa Claus.  

The programme also includes Britten’s tribute to fellow composer and teacher, Frank Bridge, as well as Arvo Pärt's Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten, a mournful, six-minute piece for string orchestra and tolling bell. Written in 1977 after Britten’s death, the piece uses a descending A minor scale and a bell toll to create a profound sense of inevitable, cascading grief. 

The following day (Sunday, 6th December, 12 noon, Jubilee Hall, Aldeburgh) oboist Nicholas Daniel teams up with Jaqueline Shave (violin), Judith Busbridge (viola) and Caroline Dearnley (cello) for a performance of Britten’s Phantasy Quartet written in 1932 when the composer was just 19 years old studying at the Royal College of Music garnering him early critical attention while stamping his professional reputation. The programme also includes Mozart’s Oboe Quartet plus a couple of relatively new works: Huw Watkins’ Oboe Quartet, which received its première earlier this year and Jacqueline Shave’s haunting and thought-provoking take on traditional tunes. 

Benjamin Britten & Peter Pears at Snape Maltings (Photo courtesy of Britten Pears Arts)

A celebration of East Anglia’s young musicians promises to light up the Snape Maltings stage in an inspiring end-of-term showcase (Sunday, 6th December, 7pm, Snape Maltings Concert Hall) highlighting the region’s upcoming musical talent. Therefore, one can expect vibrant performances by some of the region’s finest young bloods. 

The following weekend (Saturday, 12th December, 7pm, Snape Maltings Concert Hall) Britten’s Canticles, comprising five miniature cantatas modelled on Purcell’s divine hymns, contrasting and blending religious and secular poetry, were written for Peter Pears and close collaborators. 

They’ll be performed by a superb roster of singers and instrumentalists of the likes of Allan Clayton (tenor), Iestyn Davies (countertenor) and Peter Brathwaite (baritone) with James Baillieu (piano), Olivia Jageurs (harp) and Richard Watkins (horn). Intimate and spiritually-charged pieces reflecting Britten’s interests in poetry, religion and the human condition, they chart his musical evolution over an almost thirty-year period. 

As a curtain-raiser to the Britten Weekend (20th-21st November), the Master of The King’s Music, Errollyn Wallen, premières her new work at Orford Church entitled A Christmas Miracle inspired by Britten’s unrealised community opera, A Christmas Sequence. 

A dramatic story of lives that transcend time and generations, the work hosts a plethora of well-loved Christmas carols for audience members to participate in. Described by the composer as an ‘all-embracing musical adventure’, A Christmas Miracle (developed by Mahogany Opera and co-produced by Britten Pears Arts with support coming from Jubilee Opera and Orkney Music and Culture) sees Britten’s plans for an intergenerational performance of the Christmas story come to fruition. 

Director Frederic Wake-Walker collaborates with Errollyn Wallen for the third time following The Lighthouse Wave and Dido’s Ghost and together they have created a piece that combines high levels of community participation with more complex material for professional artists.  

Taking the role of the Angel Gabriel are sopranos Hilary Cronin and Emma Tring while countertenor Andrew Watts is seen as Herod with mezzo-soprano Idunnu Münch (Melchior), baritone Robert Gildon (Balthasar) and actor/singer Nick Mercer (Preco/MC).  

Conducted by John Andrews, A Christmas Miracle, scored for ten instrumentalists, will be performed by musicians from Ensemble X on Friday 20th November 6.30pm with a couple of performances on Saturday 21st at 3pm/6.30pm. 

Further information from the Britten Pears website. See also their Remembering Britten website.

 

  

Concertos for friends: Colin Currie in Tansy Davies, Tamsin Waley-Cohen in Freya Waley-Cohen with BBC National Orchestra of Wales & Kevin John Edusei at Aldeburgh Festival

Tansy Davies: Earthworks - Colin Currie, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Kevin John Edusei (Photo: Britten Pears Arts)

John Adams: Short Ride in a Fast Machine, Tansy Davies: Earthworks, Shostakovich: Symphony No.10; Colin Currie percussion, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, cond. Kevin John Edusei; Snape Maltings Concert Hall (Friday 19 June 7.30pm)

Rachmaninov: Romance (andante expressivo) from String Quartet No.1 in G minor, Freya Waley-Cohen: Dances, Songs and Hymns for Friendship, Ravel: String Quartet in F; Sacconi Quartet; Orford Church (Saturday 20th June 11am)

Elizabeth Ogonek: Sleep & Unremembrance, Freya Waley-Cohen: Violin Concerto for Tamsin Waley-Cohen, Rachmaninoff: Symphonic Dances; Tamsin Waley-Cohen, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, cond. Kevin John Edusei; Snape Maltings Concert Hall (Saturday 20 June 7.30pm)
Reviewed by Tony Cooper

A pair of high emotive concerts from BBC National Orchestra of Wales, the first high octane featuring Colin Currie in Tansy Davies' concerto, and the second more contemplative with Tamsin Waley-Cohen in concerto by her sister Freya, complemented by more Freya Waley-Cohen from the Sacconi Quartet

Opening a ‘noisy’ and high-octane Friday night concert at Snape Maltings as part of the 77th Aldeburgh Festival fell to the well-known minimalist work Short Ride in a Fast Machine by John Adams. Although only lasting a mere four minutes, this bright and driving orchestral fanfare packs a punch like no other and is always exciting and refreshing to hear especially when played by the likes of an orchestra of the calibre as the BBC National Orchestra of Wales under Kevin John Edusei.

Specifically designed to capture the exhilarating and sometimes terrifying sensation of a high-speed ride in a sports car, I liken the piece to an F1 racing car on the starting grid. Comprising a relentless beat played by a woodblock imitating a metronomic engine, the orchestra weaves complex, overlapping rhythms round a constant percussive pulse with the rush of brass fanfares simulating the fast-paced shifting of gears and the building of speed. This frenzied pace continues without pause thereby creating an energetic and hypnotic wall of sound that Stan Kenton (the innovator of the ‘Wall of Sound’) would have been truly proud of.

BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Kevin John Edusei (Photo: Britten Pears Arts)

The percussive beat of this brilliant concert continued with Tansy Davies’ Earthworks, a 25-minute percussion concerto specifically written for the internationally renowned virtuoso percussionist, Colin Currie, the work drew heavily from vast geoglyphs and ancient monuments such as the Uffington White Horse in which Davies imagines these colossal shapes carved into the earth as a form of ancient language, a primal communication, say, between our ancestors and the future.

From Young Apollo to the Cello Symphony to the Poet's Echo to Phaedra: the range of Britten's composing career explored by Britten Sinfonia at Aldeburgh Festival alongside new works

Genevieve Lacey, Gemma New, Britten Sinfonia, Aldeburgh Festival (Photo: Britten Pears Arts)

Steve (Stelios) Adam: et døgn (one day), Lisa Illean/Binchois: Chansons, Lisa Illean: New works for recorder, strings and pre-recorded sounds, Brett Dean: Carlo, Britten: Cello Symphony; Genevieve Lacey recorder, Laura van der Heijden cello, Britten Sinfonia, cond. Gemma New; Snape Maltings Concert Hall

Britten: The Poet’s Echo, Mussorgsky: Songs and Dances of Death, Ryan Wigglesworth: Till Dawning, Britten: Folksong arrangements on Moore’s Irish Melodies; Sophie Bevan soprano, Ryan Wigglesworth piano; Britten Studio, Snape Maltings.

Britten: Young Apollo, Haydn: Arianna a Naxos, Stravinsky: Apollon musagète, John Woolrich: Ulysses Awakes, Charpentier: 'Quel prix de mon amour' (from Médée), Britten: Phaedra; Britten Sinfonia, Zoë Beyers violin/director, Helen Charlston, mezzo-soprano; Snape Maltings Concert Hall

Reviewed by Tony Cooper (17 & 18 June 2026)

Two programmes curated by Britten Sinfonia featured grand performances of Brett Dean’s Carlo and Britten’s Cello Symphony, and the fresh and youthful mezzo voice of Helen Charlston in an illuminating and uplifting programme

Curated by the Britten Sinfonia, the concert on Wednesday 17 June at the Aldeburgh Festival featured an eclectic and inquisitive programme which opened with a relatively short seven-minute piece conceived by Australian futuristic composer, Steve (Stelios) Adam, who harbours a long-term fascination with music, sound and its associated technologies therefore electroacoustic composition and computer-generated music lies at the very heart of his creative output.

Scored for recorder and electroacoustic engineering, et døgn (one day), a delicately constructed work, created a hauntingly beautiful exploration and fusion of ‘live’ music and computer-generated sound witnessing virtuoso Australian recorderist, Genevieve Lacey, impeccable in her playing, employing the use of four recorders - bass, tenor, descant and treble, handmade by Joanne Saunders and Fred Morgan - which was captivating throughout the performance.

An Australian takeover, this enviable concert also projected a couple of works by Australian composer (now based in UK) Lisa Illean whose arrangement of Gilles Binchois, Chansons featured the fine strings of the Britten Sinfonia who, standing and gathered in a semicircle round their New Zealand conductor, Gemma New, created an intimate environment for what was an intimate and refreshing work originated by this well-loved composer of the 15th century renowned for his settings of secular chansons.

Lisa Illean’s second offering to this well-curated programme Swellsong received its UK première in the presence of the composer. Scored for recorder, strings and pre-recorded orchestral sounds, the mixing engineer on stage finely balanced the delicate acoustic output of the strings which were tenderly heard against a breathy subtle projection of the recorder.

A lovely, inspiring and thoughtful work, however, it incorporated the plainsong melody ‘Fulcite me floribus’ (Strengthen me with flowers), a liturgical text recollecting love and grief transfigured through faith who in Illean’s thought processes reimagines the text in relation to light, water and time thereby crafting a phantasy soundscape occupying another world!

American themes at Aldeburgh: Tony Cooper enjoys a quartet by Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson & an absorbing orchestral programme highlighting Elizabeth Ogonek.

Sphinx Piano Quintet: Nathan Amaral, Elena Urioste, Celia Hatton, Sterling Elliott, Amiri Harewood - Aldeburgh Festival (Photo: BPA)

Perkinson: String Quartet No.1 ‘Calvary’, Vaughan Williams: Rondo for Piano, Still: Suite for Cello and Piano, arr. Randall Goosby, Cassie Kinoshi: Songs of Kinship, Bridge: Phantasie Piano Quartet, Price: Piano Quintet No.1; Sphinx Piano Quintet (Nathan Amaral, Elena Urioste, Celia Hatton, Sterling Elliott, Amiri Harewood); Britten Studio, Snape Maltings

Elizabeth Ogonek: All These Lighted Things, Ravel: Piano Concerto in G, Ryan Wigglesworth: Piano Concerto, Ravel: La Valse; Steven Osborne, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Ryan Wigglesworth; Snape Maltings Concert Hall

Reviewed by Tony Cooper, 14 June 2026 

In the afternoon at the Aldeburgh Festival, the first quartet by black American composer, Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson, proved a revelation particularly with its fusion of classical-based music tinged with the genre of jazz and blues.  An absorbing and exciting evening programme came from the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra highlighting the music of American contemporary composer, Elizabeth Ogonek. 

I was more than interested to learn more about 1932-born black American composer, Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson, who was on the bill for the Sphinx Piano Quintet’s concert at the Britten Studio, Snape Maltings. Specifically named in honour of the celebrated Afro-British composer, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912) reflected his parents’ admiration for black excellence in classical music. 

He wrote a couple of string quartets in quick succession and his first quartet entitled ‘Calvary’ was the first item on an excellent programme curated by the Sphinx Piano Quintet, a dynamic artist-driven chamber ensemble formed under the acclaimed Sphinx Organization established in Detroit by Aaron P. Dworkin in 1996. A social justice and educational enterprise, Sphinx is dedicated to transforming lives through the power of diversity in the arts with a specific mission to champion exceptionally talented black and Latinx classical musicians. 

Both men were trailblazers of their day bridging classical music with their respective black heritage. Samuel was a renowned composer in late 19th-century London while Perkinson was a highly-versatile American composer whose work, although based on the classical idiom, also employed the genre of jazz and blues. Therefore, Perkinson’s first quartet, a three-movement work written in 1956, blends a traditional classical-based format with elements of jazz, blues and spirituals.  

A day at Aldeburgh: Lise Davidsen's Aldeburgh Festival début in Schubert and Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande semi-staged

Debussy: Pelléas et Mélisande - Myrna Tennant, Camilla Seale, Phoebe Rayner - Aldeburgh Festival (Photo: Craig Fuller)

Schubert: Gretchen am Spinnrade; Gesänge aus Wilhelm Meister; Der Tod und das Mädchen; Erlkönig; Lise Davidsen soprano, James Baillieu piano; Snape Maltings Concert Hall

Debussy: Pelléas et Mélisande; Jacques Imbrailo (Pelléas), Sophie Bevan (Mélisande), Gordon Bintner (Golaud), Sarah Connolly (Geneviève), Nicolas Testé (Arkël), Beth Stirling (Yniold); dir: Rory Kinnear, set/costume designer Vicki Mortimer, lighting designers Paule Constable/Imogen Clark; BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, cond. Ryan Wigglesworth; Snape Maltings Concert Hall

Reviewed by Tony Cooper, 13 June 2026

Making her Aldeburgh Festival début, Lise Davidsen delivered a memorable afternoon recital of Schubert Lieder brilliantly accompanied by the pianist, James Baillieu. In the evening, the semi-staged performance of Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande highlighted the brilliance of the orchestral playing from the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra under Ryan Wigglesworth and the conversational clarity of the singers with Sophie Bevan and Jacques Imbrailo in the title roles. 

[Elsewhere on Planet Hugill, Robert chats to James Baillieu about his new role on the Britten Pears Arts Young Artist Programme and to Ryan Wigglesworth about being Featured Artist at this year's festival]

I was more than proud being a member of the audience when Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen made her Bayreuth Festival début in 2019 as Elisabeth in Tobias Kratzer’s outstanding but unconventional modern staging of Tannhäuser. [see Tony's review] The show featured an odd assortment of characters up to no good either riding a battered old Citroën Type-H van (Venusberg on wheels), nicking burgers from Burger King or siphoning off petrol - and the rest! Get the picture?

Her Bayreuth performance was immaculate, catapulting her into the upper echelons of the opera world while cementing her status as one of the world’s leading Wagnerians. Her Aldeburgh début follows suit. I found it satisfying being in the cosy, comfortable and spartan space of the Snape Maltings Concert Hall harbouring acoustics, I feel, perfect for voice and piano and so ideal for Davidsen singing Schubert Lieder.

James Baillieu, Lise Davidsen - Aldeburgh Festival (Photo: Britten Pears Arts)

Admirably accompanied by James Baillieu on piano, Davidsen opened with such glowing and accurate accounts of Gretchen am Spinnrade and Gesänge aus Wilhelm Meister, a couple of acclaimed art-songs that Schubert set to texts by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

In his passion for the music of Richard Wagner, Tony Cooper finds himself back in Germany attending Stefan Herheim’s widely acclaimed Ring cycle at Deutsche Oper Berlin.

Wagner: Das Rheingold - Deutsche Oper Berlin (Photo: Bernd Uhlig)

Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen; director: Stefan Herheim, conductor: Sir Donald Runnicles; Deutsche Oper Berlin
Reviewed by Tony Cooper (4 June 2026)

Auf wiedersehen! Following this Ring cycle, Sir Donald Runnicles bows out as General Music Director of Deutsche Oper Berlin, a position he has grandly held since 2009. 

From my hotel on Bayreutherstraße just off Wittenbergplatz, Berlin’s most fashionable department store KaDeWe stares me straight in the face while a quick three-stop tube journey from Wittenbergplatz drops me right at the doorstep of Deutsche Oper situated at the junction of Bismarckstraße and Richard-Wagner-Straße located in the western part of the city in Charlottenburg. 

Sir Donald Runnicles

A city I favour and enjoy so much, I’m in Berlin attending Stefan Herheim’s Ring cycle at Deutsche Oper, a large, comfortable 1850-seat theatre boldly designed in the Modernist style and simply ideal for large-scale productions. And none come much larger than those penned by Richard Wagner, Richard Strauss and. Giacomo Meyerbeer. 

In fact, I fondly recall enjoying Meyerbeer’s two great masterpieces Les Huguenots and Le prophète at Deutsche Oper Berlin in 2016. Both operas were written at the peak of his career in 1836 and 1849 respectively and the finale of Le prophète - culminating in fire, destruction and death - closely mirrors the catastrophic ending of Wagner’s Götterdämmerung. 

Obviously, my mind is furiously on fast rewind, therefore I also fondly recall the final performance of Götz Friedrich’s monumental (and well-loved) ‘Cold War’ Ring that ‘lived’ on Bismarckstraße for an astonishing amount of time: 33 years, in fact, from 1984 to 2017. A disciple of Götz Friedrich, multiple-award-winning Norwegian director, Stefan Herheim, studied under him at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg from 1994 to 1999.  

Götz Friedrich crafted his ‘trade’ working as an assistant to the well-respected Austrian-born theatre/opera director, Walter Felsenstein, the iconic boss of East Berlin's Komische Oper in the early post-war years. His philosophy was that opera went beyond singing to encompass music-theatre: the intersections between music, sound and theatrical performance therefore Friedrich’s productions focused on pure dramatic and musical values which were thoroughly researched and, indeed, finely balanced. 

Such philosophy as found in Friedrich’s productions defines in my humble opinion Stefan Herheim’s direction. He has certainly crafted a brilliant Ring from the ashes of Valhalla to keep the Wagner flame truly alight at Deutsche Oper. He pulls no punches either and pays full attention to detail often incorporating ideological and historical references in his work. For instance, his celebrated 2009 production of Parsifal at Bayreuth, which I greatly enjoyed, used Parsifal and the search for the Holy Grail as a metaphor for the development of Germany as a Christian nation.  

BBC Proms: Tony Cooper makes his personal selection of events from the 2026 edition of the world’s largest classical-music festival

The BBC Proms, the world’s largest classical-music festival, salutes the USA in this year’s edition marking 250 years since the signing of the US Declaration of Independence. 

A feast of music like no other, the BBC Proms (running from Friday 17th July to Saturday 12th September) illuminates London’s famous Royal Albert Hall for eight action-packed weeks offering music lovers the sheer joy of getting to see and hear some of the world’s greatest orchestras and soloists playing some of the world’s greatest music in one of London’s most iconic venues that rock guitarist, Eric Clapton, fondly dubs ‘The Albert’. Pint of twos, please!  

So closely associated with Sir Henry Wood - lovingly known as ‘Old Timber’ who, incidentally, was no stranger to Norwich as he was artistic director/conductor of the Norfolk & Norwich Triennial Festival from 1908 to 1930 - this year’s Prom series features UK premières of major new works co-commissioned by the BBC from American composers Wynton Marsalis and Jessie Montgomery with appearances coming from prime conductors and star soloists as Simon Rattle, Marin Alsop, Angel Blue and Joyce DiDonato.  

Interestingly, there are so many associations with conductors and composers linked to Norwich and the Proms. For instance, the N&N Triennial commissioned Scottish-born composer, Thea Musgrave to write ‘The Five Ages of Man’, a masterful choral/orchestral work based on Hesiod’s ‘Works and Days’ - the scenario depicting the Greek myth of the decline and fall of humanity through five distinct ages: gold, silver, bronze, heroes and iron - premièred in St Andrew’s Hall on 6th June 1964 conducted by Charles Mackerras.  

Now 97 years old, Musgrave - who lived in Norfolk, Virginia (twinned, by the way, with Norfolk, England) for over a quarter of a century with her husband, Peter Mark, general music director of Virginia Opera from 1975 to 2010 - has come up with a new work for this year’s Prom series (a BBC commission) offering a bassoon concerto entitled ‘Out of the Darkness’ performed by Amy Harman (matinee show: 23 August) who has had works written for her by Olav Berg, Heloïse Werner, Brian Elias, Roxanna Panufnik, Robin Holloway and Simon Holt. A pretty good tally! 

Dowland 400 celebrations in Norwich

Performers at the Dowland 400 festival in Norwich

This year marks the 400th anniversary of the death of John Dowland. Numerous concerts, festivals and special projects are being held throughout the country to commemorate his legacy with Norwich at the forefront of the celebrations.  

The famous English Renaissance composer, lutenist and singer, John Dowland, is being honoured and remembered in Norwich on the 400th anniversary of his death with a four-day festival in July featuring concerts, masterclasses, talks and workshops curated by two renowned Dowland experts - lutenist Daniel Murphy and lute-maker David Van Edwards. Therefore, Dowland’s melancholic and beautiful music - either for solo lute, singer or ensemble - will be laid bare in all its ravishing beauty at Norwich’s historic Octagon Chapel in Colegate with the festival running from Thursday 23 July to Sunday 26 July.

Not only does Dowland 400 salute John Dowland - considered one of the defining and most famous musicians of the Elizabethan era - it also brings to life the lasting impact this pioneering musician had on music of the Renaissance period (circa 1400-1600) defined by a transition from single-line chanting to complex intertwining melodies. Driven by a cultural rebirth, this era saw the rise of music printing, secular courtly songs and expanded instrument families particularly the lute and harpsichord.

James Sillett: The Octagon Chapel, Norwich (Norfolk Museums Collections)

A couple of memorable concerts in this year’s Norfolk & Norwich Festival were delivered by the Britten Sinfonia and Norwich Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus.

Britten: Les Illuminations - Elizabeth Watts & Britten Sinfonia at Kings Place, London (Photo: Shoël Stadlen)

Britten: Young Apollo, Bowles: Six Piano Preludes, Copland: Clarinet Concerto, Britten: Les Illuminations, Copland: Appalachian Spring; Oleg Shebeta-Dragan (clarinet), Elizabeth Watts (soprano); Britten Sinfonia, led from the violin by Zoë Beyers; St Andrew’s Hall, Norwich.
Walton: Henry V: A Shakespeare’s Scenario, Belshazzar’s Feast; Norwich Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus, cond: Matthew Andrews, Ashley Grote; Roderick Williams (baritone), Alex Jennings (voice); St Andrew’s Hall, Norwich
Kaija Saariaho: Terra Memoria, Vaughan Williams, Barber, Webern, Mahler; Kleio String Quartet, Berniya Hamie, Andrew Hamilton; Octagon Chapel
Reviewed by Tony Cooper (11, 12, 20 & 23 May 2026)

At this year's Norfolk & Norwich Festival, the Britten Sinfonia concert focused on Britten in America while the Norwich Philharmonic saluted William Walton in all his glory, whilst the young Kleio String Quartet made a big impression in their concerts

Feeling disillusioned with Europe, Benjamin Britten spent a formative and productive period in North America from 1939 to 1942 with Peter Pears where he composed such major works as the song-cycle Les Illuminations, his first opera Paul Bunyan and Sinfonia da Requiem.

Thankfully, Britten’s time in America proved personally and professionally worthwhile paving the way for such grand and exciting works as his Suffolk-based opera, Peter Grimes. And when Britten made the dangerous sea journey back to England in the spring of 1942, he was officially registered as a ‘conscientious objector’.

One of the first works he wrote on arriving in America was Young Apollo based on the final lines of John Keats’ poem Hyperion showing the image of Apollo as a ‘new, dazzling Sun-god, quivering with radiant vitality’. A delightful ten-minute piece and one of the few works Britten wrote for piano and orchestra, the commission came from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

Receiving its first performance in August 1939 on CBC Radio with Britten as the solo pianist, the work’s characterized by a scintillating opening fanfare followed by a host of rapid and cascading glissando passages cutting through the sweeping, heroic textures of the strings comfortably played with flourish, flair and everything else by the renowned pianist, Huw Watkins, who often collaborates with the Britten Sinfonia.

Ashley Grote rehearsing the Norwich Philharmonic Chorus and Orchestra in Walton's Belshazzar's Feast at St Andrew's Hall, Norwich for Norfolk & Norwich Festival

I felt it appropriate, too, that Copland shared the stage with Britten in this remarkable and well-curated programme as both men enjoyed a close personal and professional relationship. Copland acted as a mentor and friend to Britten assisting him in navigating the American musical scene while introducing him to influential people.

Norwich Chamber Music, formally Norfolk & Norwich Music Club, one of the oldest music clubs of its kind in the country, finds itself in celebratory mood shouting about its 75th anniversary.

Fitzwilliam Quartet at the Assembly House, Norwich

The inaugural concert of the Norfolk & Norwich Music Club fell on 26th May 1951 given by the London Harpsichord Ensemble in the elegant surroundings of the Music Room of the restored Georgian-built Assembly House, a ‘crowning glory’ of the fine city of Norwich.  

Along with the historic cities of Bath, Exeter, Canterbury and York, Norwich was targeted in two major Baedeker raids during the nights of 27th-28th April and 29th-30th April 1942. The raids formed part of a series of retaliatory attacks by the Luftwaffe on historic English cities following the RAF’s bombing of Lübeck. 

Therefore, following the end of the Second World War, Norwich, like many other English cities and towns, was down at heel, slowly recovering and finding its feet and thankfully cultural activity was high on the agenda. Narrowly, the Theatre Royal survived the bombing but offered very basic fare while the Norfolk & Norwich Triennial Festival was held over a handful of days in 1947, 1951 and 1955 with a variety of small amateur groups holding fort. 

The mainstay of the classical-music scene was the Norwich Philharmonic Society founded in 1839, three years after the founding of the Huddersfield Choral Society, by Frank Noverre, grandson of French dancer, Augustin Noverre, who in 1775 came to England with a corps de ballet at the invitation of David Garrick, one of England’s greatest actors, who at that time was manager of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, where the dancers appeared. 

Noverre - whose uncle, incidentally, was Jean-Georges Noverre and known as the ‘father of modern dance’ - also established a prominent dancing academy in Norwich in 1793 based at the Assembly House and it’s fitting and proper, I feel, that the ballroom of this fine building is named after the Noverre family. 

A well-respected amateur body, the Norwich Philharmonic Society offered a regular series of orchestral and choral concerts in St Andrew’s Hall engaging professional soloists and from time to time promoted the occasional celebrity recital. For instance, I well remember (and attended) the piano recital that Ukrainian-born pianist, Benno Moisewitsch, gave in St Andrew’s Hall in the 1950s. Virtually, though, there were no professional chamber-music recitals.  

Against this rather spartan background and by the initiative of the Norwich Philharmonic Society a meeting of local music representatives was convened with a view of creating an independent body to co-ordinate chamber-music activities. 

Conveniently, the Georgian-built Assembly House (originally used by the Girls’ Public Day School Trust (Norwich High School for Girls) from 1876 to 1939 had just been restored and refurbished to its former glory by the prominent Norwich shoe manufacturer, Henry Jesse Sexton, who presented it to the city for public use. 

Therefore, when the Norfolk & Norwich Music Club formed on 31st March 1951, they found a ready-made home utilizing the elegant Music Room of this delightful ornate property in which, may I add, the famed ‘devil’s violinist’, Niccolò Paganini, thrilled a packed house in August 1831.  

His visit rests alongside other ‘celebrity’ performances at the venue topped by the renowned Hungarian pianist/composer, Franz Liszt, who dazzled yet another full house in his recital of September 1840 as part of his Grand Tour of England, Scotland and Ireland during the height of ‘Lisztomania’. 

Elegance, exuberance and one remarkable woman: the Academy of Ancient Music travels to Georgian London to discover the lost world of musical innovator, Elisabetta da Gambarini

Elisabetta da Gamberini

Handel, Elisabetta de Gambarini, Geminiani, Carlo Tessarini; Mhairi Lawson, Academy of Ancient Music led by Bojan Čičić; Milton Court Concert Hall
Reviewed by Tony Cooper, 12 March 2026

The Academy of Ancient Music plunges deep into the colourful world of Elisabetta da Gambarini - composer, virtuoso and entrepreneur as well as the first woman ever to publish music in England

The Academy of Ancient Music’s tribute to Elisabetta da Gambarini and her contemporaries proved an enjoyable and unforgettable show with an excellent programme exploring the vibrant musical landscape of Georgian London showcasing the influence of immigrant musicians and the pioneering role of women engaged in 18th-century music-making.  

Relating mostly to the late baroque and classical music period, Gambarini (who lived for only 33 years from 1731 to 1765) achieved distinction by being an all-round musician performing on and composing for a variety of instruments as well as voice. Her compositions were known to reflect that of vocal work instead of instrumental patterns.  

Born on 7th September 1731 in Holles Street, Marylebone, Elisabetta Gambarini’s father, Charles Gambarini, acted as Counsellor to the Landgrave of Hessen-Kassel. He died in 1754 while his wife Joanna (Giovanna Paula) Stradiotti died in 1774. A nobleman from Lucca, Italy, her father published A Description of the Earl of Pembroke’s Pictures 1731 while her mother, of similar status from Dalmatia, is thought to have been a tutor to the nobility. 

The third of four children, Elisabetta (who on 20th March 1764 married Etienne Chazal at St Martin-in-the-Fields) was the only sibling surviving to maturity. She died at her home in Castle Court, Strand, in the parish of St Martin-in-the-Fields, on 9th February 1765 and was interred at St James’ Church, Piccadilly, five days later - 14th February. 

Although there’s no specific information regarding her formal musical education there is speculation that Gambarini may have studied with Francesco Geminiani, composer of The Enchanted Forest, a baroque orchestral work inspired by Tasso’s Gerusalemme Liberata often performed with dance thereby depicting a mystical perilous forest. 

Not only has German-born singer, Ute Lemper, found affection on the world’s stage as a cabaret-style performer, she’s also taken on starring roles in West End and Broadway musicals.

Ute Lempe (Photo: Steffen Thalemann)

Ute Lemper: Berlin Cabaret; Ute Lempe, conductor: Robert Ziegler; Cambridge Music Festival at Cambridge Corn Exchange

Reviewed by Tony Cooper, 5 March 2026

As part of the Cambridge Music Festival, Ute Lemper wowed a full house at the Cambridge Corn Exchange in a lovely and inviting programme of Berlin cabaret songs from the era of the Weimar Republic. 

As a teenager, Ute Lemper (who, incidentally, trained at the Dance Academy in Cologne and the Max Reinhardt Seminary Drama School in Vienna) fronted the punk-rock group, Panama Drive Band, at the age of 16. As her career blossomed, she established herself as a leading interpreter of Weimar Republic cabaret songs with Kurt Weill at the forefront of her expansive repertoire. 

An ambitious and adventurous performer, Lemper (born in Munster, Germany but now resides in New York City) enjoys a prolific career in musical theatre, too. For instance, she played Sally Bowles in the original Paris production by Jerome Savary of Cabaret for which she won the 1987 Molière Award for Best Newcomer as well as taking on the role of Velma Kelly in the revival of Chicago on Broadway and in the West End which duly won her the 1998 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical.  

She also appeared in the original Viennese production of Cats (playing the roles of Grizabella and Bombalurina) and the title role in Peter Pan as well as recreating the Marlene Dietrich role of Lola in The Blue Angel directed by Peter Zadek.  

Furthermore, she dubbed the singing voices of Ariel in Disney’s The Little Mermaid and Esmeralda in The Hunchback of Notre Dame for German-speaking audiences while the Marseille-born dancer, choreographer and opera director, Maurice Bejart, created a ballet for her, La Mort Subite, premièred at the Palais des Congrès, Paris, in 1991. 

Therefore, it comes as no surprise to learn that Lemper was named Billboard’s ‘Crossover Artist of the Year’ in 1993 being such a prolific and diverse singer. Her extensive discography includes excellent interpretations of Kurt Weill’s compositions from the late 1980s in addition to German cabaret songs sung by Marlene Dietrich and, indeed, those by Parisian singer, Edith Piaf, which were politically motivated and sung in underground locations in 1930s Berlin.  

Currently, she dedicates most of her concert tours to the theatrical show Rendezvous with Marlene, telling Marlene Dietrich’s true story in words and music. A hugely popular show, performances pop up the world over. In fact, Lemper’s latest album, appropriately named Rendezvous with Marlene, features 20 of the most beloved songs that she sang but, of course, reinvented by Lemper. 

But for her show at the Cambridge Corn Exchange (forming part of the Cambridge Music Festival) Lemper treated an admiring and eager audience to her 1930s Berlin cabaret show working alongside an eight-piece band directed by Robert Ziegler comprising Karen Street  (saxophones, clarinet, accordion), Andy Tweed (saxophones, clarinet), Noel Langley (trumpet), Joel Knee (trombone), Mitch Dalton (guitar), Andy Massey (piano), Steve Pearce (bass) and Ralph Salmins (drums). A brilliant bunch of musicians, you wouldn’t getter better. 

Featuring iconic works including works by Kurt Weill, Mischa Spoliansky, Friedrich Holländer and George Gershwin, the show depicted songs from the era of the fragile and shaky Weimar Republic (active from 1918 to 1933) plagued by extreme political violence and a crippling economic crises with its systemic flaws, proportional representation and the like causing weak coalitions thus allowing radical right-wing parties, particularly the Nazis, to exploit public despair and dismantle the republic from within. 

The Norfolk & Norwich Festival, which evolved from the old Norfolk & Norwich Triennial, blazes a cultural trail for the East Anglian region

Norwich Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus who perform Walton's Belshazzar's Feast at this year's Festival

By far the largest arts festival in the East of England and the fourth largest in the UK, the 2026 Norfolk & Norwich Festival runs from Friday 8 to Sunday 24 May offering a grand cultural feast to include a performance of Walton’s magnificent Belshazzar’s Feast by the Norwich Philharmonic Society. 

Without a shadow of doubt, the Norfolk & Norwich Festival, one of the oldest music and arts festivals in England established in 1772 to raise funds for the Norfolk & Norwich Hospital, has a glorious and illustrious past of attracting major international soloists and orchestras which, I’m pleased to say, continues to this very day. 

However, the festival has moved on over the years thus becoming a triennial event in 1824 rotating between the cities of Birmingham and Leeds much in the same way as the Three Choirs Festival rotates to this very day between the cathedral cities of Hereford, Worcester and Gloucester. 

And from 1988, the festival has been held on an annual basis and, therefore, each year presents a host of international performers working alongside emerging talent and homegrown East Anglian artists in an expansive and engaging programme featuring not only classical and choral music but also taking in drama, dance and film with the literature and visual arts side of the festival ever growing. 

A charity-funded organisation supported by Arts Council England and Norwich City Council with generous support coming from a multitude of sponsors and donors, the festival also offers a year-round programme of creativity and culture for children, young people and their communities like no other. 

This year’s edition not only takes over the fine city of Norwich for 17 wondrous and action-packed days but spreads out for the first time into Norfolk with events taking place at Wells-next-the-Sea, Lowestoft, King's Lynn, Great Yarmouth, Sheringham, Diss and Swaffham thereby transforming the county into a hive of cultural activity.  

Norwich Cathedral Choir (Photo: Bill Smith / Norwich Cathedral)

Presenting an incredible series of concerts ranging from classical to contemporary music, the Strijkkwartet Biënnale Amsterdam punches well above its weight to the delight of its admiring international audience

Strijkkwartet Biënnale Amsterdam at the Muziekgebouw Amsterdam (Photo: Marco van Es)

Strijkkwartet Biënnale Amsterdam; Muziekgebouw Amsterdam
Reviewed by Tony Cooper, 26-28 January 2026

The swishy, comfortable and ultra-modern Muziekgebouw Amsterdam provided the perfect setting for the 5th edition of the Strijkkwartet Biënnale Amsterdam held over the course of eight action-packed days with concerts taking place from early morning to late evening featuring some of the world’s most renowned quartets while highlighting emerging young talent pushing the next generation forward

The Strijkkwartet Biënnale Amsterdam, a pretty impressive and world-beating event, features a host of international ensembles of the likes of the Belcea Quartet, ADAM Quartet, Cuarteto Casals, Engegard Quartet, Quatuor Ebene, Quatuor Arod, Malion Quartett, Chiaroscuro Quartet, Maxwell Quartet, Barbican Quartet, Pavel Haas Quartet, Quatuor Van Kuijk, PUBLIQuartet, Marmen Quartet, Leonkoro Quartet, Animato Kwartet, Belinfante Quartet, Attacca Quartet, Signum Quartet, Chaos String Quartet and North Sea String Quartet as well as String Quartet Competition winners from Trondheim, London and Banff.

Overall, the festival featured four Dutch premières by David Lang, Brett Dean, Denise Onen and Dizu Plaatjies and also presented twelve other world premières by Samuel Adams, Richard Ayres, Alexander Raskatov, Mathilde Wantenaar, Boris Bezemer, Eleanor Alberga, Primo Ish-Hurwitz, Vinthya Perinpanathan, Frieda Gustavs, Hanna Kulenty, Aftab Darvishi, Jan-Peter de Graaff while special guests included Elisabeth Hetherington (soprano), Tabea Zimmermann (viola), Klaus Makela (cello), DIzu Plaatjies (African instruments), Ales Brezina (musicologist), Olga Pashchenko (fortepiano), Olli Mustonen (piano), Khorshid Dadbeh (tanbur), DOMNIQ (percussion), Ariane Schluter (actress), Julian Steckel (cello), Bruno Monsaingeon (documentary film director), Takehiro Konoe (viola), Naomi Shaham (double-bass), Katy Hamilton (presenter). What a tally!

Animato Kwartet with Khorshid Dadbeh (Photo: Juri Hiensch)

All the concerts took place at the Muziekgebouw, Amsterdam, commissioned and funded by the city of Amsterdam in the eastern docklands as opposed to the historic Concertgebouw of 1888 which was funded by six prominent Amsterdam citizens to build a world-class concert hall to elevate and enhance the city’s cultural life.

Therefore, the Muziekgebouw complements so well its larger and mature neighbour while providing the perfect venue for the Strijkkwartet Biënnale founded by Yasmin Hilberdink in 2018. She established the festival based on years of experience in organizing chamber-music concerts at the Concertgebouw to create a more vibrant and spontaneous environment in which string quartets can healthily thrive.

Gracing the banks of the river IJ, the Muziekgebouw, designed by the esteemed Danish architectural firm, 3XN, emphasizes openness with its expansive glass façade inviting sunlight to penetrate the building’s interior thus creating a connection to the surrounding harbour and well beyond.

Aldeburgh Festival 2026: our East Anglia-based correspondent Tony Cooper takes a deep dive into the delights on offer at next year's festival

The 77th edition of the Aldeburgh Festival comes round in flaming June while marking the 50th anniversary of Benjamin Britten’s death and, therefore, the festival will not only celebrate his music but also the legacy he and Peter Pears established by their commitment in helping to develop the careers of young outstanding artists.

The opening event - a semi-stage performance of Debussy’s delicate, dreamlike and mysterious five-act opera, Pelléas et Mélisande, directed by Rory Kinnear - promises a hot ticket coming as it does with a stellar cast featuring Jacques Imbrailo as Pelléas and Sophie Bevan as Mélisande while Gordon Bintner, Sarah Connolly and John Tomlinson take on the roles of Golaud, Geneviève and Arkel with Ryan Wigglesworth in the pit with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.  

The French libretto was adapted from Belgian/Flemish-born playwright Maurice Maeterlinck’s symbolist and enigmatic play of the same name, a work full of symbolic and ambiguous meanings peppered with shadowy characters and perfect for the likes of the composer in his innovative approach to opera and for his startlingly new musical language.  

His only completed opera, he finished it in 1902. The critics were rather perplexed by its content but over the course of time Pelléas has become one of the most admired works in the repertoire beguiling audiences time and time again with its elusive shimmering beauty.  

A concert celebrating the legacy of the legendary classical guitarist, Julian Bream, at Wigmore Hall promises a great night for guitar aficionados.

Thibaut Garcia,

Continuing the legacy of the brilliant and pioneering British classical guitarist, Julian Bream, the equally brilliant French-born classical guitarist, Thibaut Garcia, joins forces with the award-winning ensemble, Quatuor Arod, to perform the world première of Leo Brouwer’s new guitar quintet, Cuban Landscape with Danzas, at the Wigmore Hall on Friday 21 November (7.30pm).  

Founded in 2013, Quatuor Arod enjoy a good working relationship with Garcia while enjoying a blossoming and globetrotting career. For instance, in the present season, they’re quartet-in-residence at the Mendelssohnhaus, Leipzig and with La Belle Saison (a French chamber music network that organises concerts and fosters young artists) and clarinettist, Pierre Génisson, they’ll be performing at the Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord, Paris, whilst also visiting Brussels, Tenerife, Den Haag and Hamburg. 

They are also participating at the String Quartet Biennales in both Paris (Philharmonie) and Amsterdam (Muziekgebouw) where they’ll team up with Klaus Mäkelä, chief conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic. They’ll also team up with Quatuor Danel for concerts at London’s Southbank Centre and Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw. Recently, the Danels took part in a series of celebratory concerts in Paris marking the centenary of Valentin Berlinsky, founder and cellist of the Borodin String Quartet. 

Prize-winners all the way, too, they took full honours by winning First Prize at the ARD International Music Competition of Munich in 2016 while a year earlier they were awarded the First Prize at the Carl Nielsen International Competition of Copenhagen and the First Prize at the European Competition of the FNAPEC Concours a year before. They participated in the BBC New Generation Artists scheme from 2017 to 2019 and became an ECHO Rising Star for the 2018-19 season.  

Signed to Warner Classics, Garcia’s celebrated for his poetic artistry and refined technique while Quatuor Arod - Jordan Victoria (playing a violin by Francesco Goffriller), Alexandre Vu (violin by Giovanni Battista Guadagnini), Tanguy Parisot (composite viola by Carlo Ferdinando Landolphi, Pietro Giovanni Mantegazza, 1775) and Jérémy Garbarg (cello by Giovanni Battista Ruggieri, circa 1700) - offers a delightful programme at the Wigmore Hall traversing centuries of guitar music ranging from classical masterworks to contemporary innovation. 

A new solo album from British pianist, Alexander Ullman, features a thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining selection of music by Edvard Grieg - ‘The Chopin of the North’

Edvard Grieg: Songs, Moods and Lyric Pieces; Alexander Ullman; Rubicon Classics 
Reviewed by Tony Cooper (31 October 2025)

The prize of Ullman’s album, though, is his transcription of Peer Gynt Suite, No.1, drawing out the colour of the orchestra from the piano perhaps more so than in the composer’s own version.  

First coming to international attention in 2011 after winning the Franz Liszt International Piano Competition in Budapest, Alexander Ullman has performed at such prestigious venues as Vienna’s Musikverein with the Tonkünstler Orchestra of Lower Austria under the baton of Hans Graf, the Salzburg Grosser Saal with the Mozarteum Orchestra (Patrick Hahn), the Sichuan Symphony Orchestra (Darrell Ang), Kristiansand Symfoniorkester (Julian Rachlin) and the SWR Sinfonierrchester (Joseph Bastian) whilst returning to the Sofia Philharmonic under Jonathan Bloxham.  

Other recent highlights of this globetrotting pianist include making his début at the prestigious Hamburg Elbphilharmonie, the Klavierfest Ruhr, concerto appearances with the Hong Kong Sinfonietta (under Ola Rudner), Sofia Philharmonic and Filharmonie Brno (Dennis Russell Davies), the Symphony of India Orchestra (Mikel Toms), a two-piano recital with Teo Gheorghiu at the Freiburg Festival in Switzerland while undertaken a plethora of recitals in the UK, Italy and the Netherlands.  

However, it was in the spring of 2019 that Ullman cut his first album for Rubicon featuring Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite and Prokofiev’s Six Pieces from Cinderella as well as Stravinsky’s Petrushka and Firebird suites which received rave reviews. In 2022, the label released a second album featuring Franz Liszt’s first and second piano concertos along with his B minor piano sonata with the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Andrew Litton. 

A series of high-profile concerts in Paris marked the centenary of the celebrated and distinguished Russian-born cellist, Valentin Berlinsky, founder and cellist of the Borodin String Quartet.

Schubert: Trout Quintet - Mikhail Kopelman, Loïc Rio, Laurent Marfaing, François Kieffer, Grigory Kovalevsky, Elisabeth Leonskaja (Photo © Nathanael Charpentier / © Association La Clé des Portes)

First concert (presented by Clément Rochefort)
JS Bach: Cello Suite No.3 in C major, Schubert: String Quartet in C minor (Quartettsatz’) D.703, Villa-Lobos: Bachianas Brasileiras, No.5 (first aria), Alexander Raskatov: Ode for St Valentine’s Day for eight violoncellos and a bottle of champagne, Dvořák: Piano Quintet No.2 in A major, Op.81.
Boris Andrianov (cello), Quatuor Van Kuijk, Serafima Liberman (soprano), Ludmila Berlinskaia (piano)
Thursday 16 October: Salle Cortot, Paris

Second concert (presented by Arthur Ancelle and Maria Matalaev)
Beethoven: String Quartet No.1 in F major, Op.18, Shostakovich: Piano Trio No.2 in E minor, Op.67, String Quartet No.9 in E flat major, Op.117, Prelude and Scherzo for String Octet, Op.11
Quatuor Danel, Kazakh State String Quartet, Mikhail Kopelman (violin), Boris Andrianov (cello), Ludmila Berlinskaia (piano)
Friday 17 October: Salle Cortot, Paris

Third concert (presented by Maria Matalaev and Arthur Ancelle)
Haydn: String Quartet No.29 in G major, Op.33, Brahms: Clarinet Trio in A minor, Op.114, Gaziza Zhubanova: String Quartet No.1, Prokofiev: Overture on Hebrew Themes, Op.34
Kazakh State String Quartet, Anastasia Ushakova (cello), Nicolas Baldeyrou (clarinet), Ludmila Berlinskaia (piano).
Saturday 18 October: Salle Cortot, Paris

Fourth concert (presented by Clément Rochefort and Maria Matalaev)
Schubert: Piano Quintet in A major, D.667 (The Trout), Rodion Shchedrin: Diptych for Violin Solo; Glinka: Grand Sextet for Piano and Strings in E flat major - Gran Sestetto originale
Mikhail Kopelman, Dmitry Sitkovetsky, Loïc Rio (violins), Laurent Marfaing (viola), François Kieffer (cello), Grigory Kovalevsky (double-bass), Elisabeth Leonskaja (piano), Ludmila Berlinskaia (piano)
Sunday 19 October: Salle Cortot, Paris

Reviewed by Tony Cooper

An initiative of Valentin Berlinsky’s daughter, Ludmila Berlinskaia, together with her French-born husband, Arthur Ancelle, a couple of prominent international pianists based in Paris, they curated a brilliant and fitting programme in which to honour the memory of Valentin Berlinsky (known to many as ‘Mr Berlinsky’) in the year of his centenary.

Valentin Berlinsky in concert with his daughter Ludmila Berlinskaia

One hundred years after his birth, the musical world rightly celebrates the centenary of Valentin Berlinsky (1925-2008), an exceptional and gifted cellist, influential pedagogue, founded the Moscow Conservatoire Quartet whilst a student there in 1944. A decade later it was renamed the Borodin String Quartet in honour of Alexander Borodin, one of the founders of Russian chamber music. 

The Borodin Quartet’s cohesion and vision has survived many personnel changes over the years mainly due to the common ground shared by its players from their training at the Moscow Conservatoire while their style is characterised by an almost symphonic volume and a highly developed ability of phrasing thereby creating a unified, connected and consistent sound of tonal beauty and technical excellence largely due to the efforts, wisdom and stewardship, I feel, of Valentin Berlinsky, their cellist for six glorious, adventurous and thrilling decades. 

His father, a violinist and pupil of Leopold Auer, was his first teacher: Berlinsky began on the violin before turning to the cello, a transition that came to him with remarkable ease and natural affinity. He then entered the Central Music School in Moscow, studying with E. M. Gendli and went on to the Moscow Conservatoire, from which he graduated in 1947 after studying with S. M. Kozolupov. 

Alongside his performing career, Berlinsky taught chamber music first at the Ippolitov-Ivanov Institute (from 1947) and later at the Gnessin School of Music (from 1970) where he trained several generations of musicians and ensembles. He also founded major institutions such as the Dmitri Shostakovich International String Quartet Competition (1987-2004) and the Sakharov Festival in Nizhny Novgorod, a pioneering event combining classical music and human-rights advocacy. He contributed as well to the creation of ProQuartet in France alongside Georges Zeisel.

Becoming one of the Soviet Union's best-known and revered ensembles in the West during the Communist era (they performed at the funerals of both Stalin and Prokofiev who died on the same day - 5 March 1953) through multiple recordings as well as concert performances in the USA and continental Europe, members of the Borodin Quartet enjoyed a close and flourishing relationship with Shostakovich who personally consulted them on each of his 15 string quartets which they recorded as well as all of Beethoven’s quartets thus becoming widely known throughout the world for the quality and interpretations of both composers’ quartets.  

Borodin Quartet with Sviatoslav Richter & Grigory Kovalevsky

In between performances of Wagner’s Ring cycle at Staatsoper Berlin, Tony Cooper finds time to fit in a thrilling concert by the Berlin Philharmonic.

Daniele Gatti, Berlin Philharmonic - Philharmonie, Berlin

Webern: Langsamer Satz, Stravinsky: Symphony in C, Brahms: Symphony No.3 in F major, Op.90; Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, cond: Daniele Gatti; Philharmonie, Berlin
Reviewed by Tony Cooper on 9 October 2025

Hearing the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, under Daniele Gatti, in the confines of the swishy Philharmonie Berlin proved a big treat 

Never really wanting a day off, especially in Berlin, I thoroughly enjoyed a marvellous concert by the Berlin Philharmonic under Daniele Gatti at the Philharmonie Berlin offering a programme right up my street. They performed a trio of handsome and entertaining works comprising Webern’s Langsamer Satz - Slow Movement for String Quartet in E flat major, Stravinsky’s Symphony in C and Brahms’ Symphony No.3 in F major, Op.90. 

Completing Langsamer Satz in June 1905, Webern was inspired to write it by the innermost feelings for his future wife, Wilhelmine Mörtl, whom he enjoyed a mountain holiday prior to marriage. An emotionally charged work, for sure, it conveys themes of yearning, turmoil and tranquillity and is notable for its post-Brahmsian tonal idiom.  

Born in 1883 into a wealthy aristocratic Viennese family, Webern was close to Alban Berg and Arnold Schoenberg, a trio of progressive composers dubbed the ‘Second Viennese School’. Schoenberg, of course, invented the twelve-tone technique therefore Webern was well acquainted with this musical style and kept up to date with the latest developments in music.