Madeleine Brown at St John’s Upper Norwood
Madeleine Brown, Winner of the Kent International Piano Competition, joins us at Upper Norwood.
Archives
Summer Classics: The Lark Ascending
This concert is repeated on 13 August and 21 October.
Mozart Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
Barber Adagio for Strings
Grieg Holberg Suite
Vaughan Williams The Lark Ascending
Simon Blendis director/violin
If there’s one work that paints a simple and serene picture of summer, it’s Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending. Having been voted the number one choice in Classic FM’s Hall of Fame nine times in recent years, it’s a work that is full of folk tunes and a soaring violin melody which evokes a delicate image of a carefree lark flying over the rolling British countryside. Add to this Barber’s iconic Adagio for Strings which presents passionate music of a heart-wrenching sadness that has been used so often in films and commercials; Mozart’s delightful and ever popular Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, and we have some of the most popular and instantly recognisable hits from the classical repertoire.
Summer Classics: The Four Seasons
This concert is repeated on 6 August 2022 and 27 August 2022.
Bach Brandenberg Concerto No.3
Bach Double Violin Concerto
Vivaldi The Four Seasons
Ruth Rogers director
If this is your first experience of the world of Baroque music you can do no better than Bach’s famous ‘Brandenburg’ Concertos, or possibly his most popular orchestral work the Double Violin Concerto with its sublime slow movement. But Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons surely needs no introduction with each of the four movements painting an evocative picture of the seasons. In just one concert you will hear some of the best of Baroque performed in what is arguably the most perfect setting for the music, within the beautiful architecture and acoustic of St Martin’s.
JAM on the Marsh
Debussy Danse sacrée et danse profane
Judith Bingham OBE Concerto for Clarinet (world premiere)
Grieg Holberg Suite, Op. 40
Copland Clarinet Concerto
One of the UK’s finest musicians and one of the UK’s finest composers come together in this year’s Festival Commission: Judith Bingham’s Concerto for Clarinet. Michael Collins (clarinet) is the soloist and directs this concert, which pairs Bingham’s world premiere with Aaron Copland’s irresistible Clarinet Concerto, alongside Grieg’s Holberg Suite. Both soloist and composer have ‘significant birthdays’ this year, so this is a wonderful way to celebrate such significant artists of our time.
The World of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
Vaughan-Williams Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis
Coleridge-Taylor Violin Concerto
Elgar The Spirit of the Lord
Coleridge-Taylor Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast
Richard Cooke conductor
Fenella Humphreys violin
Benjamin Hulett tenor
Royal Choral Society
Croydon Philharmonic Choir
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Composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor was a household name in the early twentieth century thanks to popularity of his biggest hit Hiawatha. Every summer for some 30 years, thousands of people descended on the Royal Albert Hall for ‘Hiawatha Season’; a dedicated two-week stint of Coleridge-Taylor’s immense choral work, sung by the Royal Choral Society.
Born in Holborn and raised in Croydon, Coleridge-Taylor was regarded, by Elgar no less, as the most talented composer in Britain. So why don’t we hear more about him today? Joined by the Croydon Philharmonic Choir and the Royal Choral Society in their 150th year, this concert celebrates all things Coleridge-Taylor, including an exploration of his Croydon connections, his experience as a black composer in Edwardian London and a delve into the context of the original Hiawatha text and its depiction of native American culture.
In this concert, which includes Coleridge-Taylor’s Violin Concerto, we reimagine Hiawatha for a modern audience, surrounding it in music from Coleridge-Taylor’s contemporaries – Elgar’s The Spirit of the Lord and Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis.
Who is Samuel Coleridge-Taylor?
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor was born in 1875 to an English mother and a Sierra Leone Creole father whom he never met. He was named after the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge and raised in Croydon by his mother. His maternal grandfather was a violinist who saw the young Coleridge-Taylor’s talent and encouraged him to enrol at the Royal College of Music. He won a scholarship, beating out Gustav Holst amongst others, and began studying as a violinist before switching to composition.
He was deeply involved with African-American networks, counting amongst his friends W. E. B. Dubois, Frederick Loudin, Booker T. Washington and Paul Laurence Dunbar, whose poems he set to music. In works such as ‘Symphonic Variations on an African Air’, he sought to integrate the melodies of African-American spirituals within the classical music tradition. Like Brahms, Dvořák or Grieg, Coleridge-Taylor was participating in the nineteenth-century trend of musical nationalism.
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor died at 37 of pneumonia. Despite his popular successes, he had been prevented from reaping the financial rewards. With public support, a memorial concert was held at the Royal Albert Hall which raised significant funds for his family. His widow Jessie was granted a pension from the king and the Performing Rights Society was established to ensure composers were paid adequately for their works’ success. Later, his daughter became a composer-conductor and his son worked to ensure his father’s music was performed after his death.
Wandsworth Arts Fringe – The Four Seasons
When Baroque legend, Vivaldi, wrote The Four Seasons, he can’t have thought that his music would become a pop-culture powerhouse some 300 years later. We hear The Four Seasons in ring tones, film scores and adverts and its instantly recognisable tunes maintain its reputation as one of the most well-loved pieces of classical music.
Perhaps it’s the evocative depictions of the blazing sun to the shivering cold, or the accompanying sonnets that Vivaldi himself may have penned that make the piece so popular . Or maybe it’s because the music is just plain catchy.
LMP are excited to be back at St Mary’s Church in Putney for the Wandsworth Arts Fringe. Wandsworth Arts Fringe is brought to you by Wandsworth Council, supporting the arts and culture industries across the borough. The festival is funded by Wandsworth Council and has received generous contributions from Arts Council England.
Noye’s Fludde at Holy Trinity, Sloane Square
An incredible tempest, a massive boat and an angry God take centre stage in this imaginative re-telling of the biblical story of Noah, his family, and their unlikely cargo of animals as they fight for survival for 40 long days and nights on the ark.
Based on the fourteenth century Chester Miracle Play, Benjamin Britten’s Noye’s Fludde was conceived as a community opera, to be performed by children with one or two adult speaking parts. The work has become a firm favourite, combining the naïve sincerity and humanity of the medieval original with inventive musical material that is as accessible as it is joyful.
London Mozart Players
Simon Blendis leader
Noye Alex Ashworth
Mrs Noye Kate Symonds-Joy
Will Vann conductor
With the combined choirs of Christ Church and Holy Trinity Schools, Trinity Boys School and Old Palace School
Thanks to Men in Sheds Penge and SJUN Hive
LMP and Howard Shelley at Thaxted Festival
Mozart Symphony No 25 in G minor K 183
Shostakovich Piano Concerto No 2 in F major Op 102
Schubert Symphony No 5 in Bb major D 485
LMP and distinguished pianist and conductor Howard Shelley return to Thaxted to open their 2022 season with a wonderfully varied programme spanning nearly 200 years of music. This programmes features Mozart’s youthful ‘little G minor’ symphony, through the lyrical and exuberant Schubert, to the very popular and vivacious piano concerto of Shostakovich.
LMP Friends Concert & Lunch
Book here for the LMP Friends concert and lunch at Woldingham School. Please note this event is only open to LMP Friends.
Jess Gillam in Bury St Edmunds
London Mozart Players
Jess Gillam saxophone
Ruth Rogers director
23-year-old saxophone superstar Jess Gillam has wowed audiences with her dazzling virtuosity ever since the 2016 BBC Young Musician competition. She joins the London Mozart Players at Deal Festival for an evening that balances Mozart and Haydn with Marcello’s baroque trills and Glazunov’s lyricism. Don’t miss an extraordinary night of music making!
Haydn Symphony No. 44 in E minor (‘Trauer’)
Marcello Concerto in C minor for soprano saxophone
Glazunov Concerto in E flat major for alto saxophone Op. 109
Mozart Symphony No.29 in A, K.201
Jess Gillam at Deal Festival
London Mozart Players
Jess Gillam saxophone
Ruth Rogers director
23-year-old saxophone superstar Jess Gillam has wowed audiences with her dazzling virtuosity ever since the 2016 BBC Young Musician competition. She joins the London Mozart Players at Deal Festival for an evening that balances Mozart and Haydn with Marcello’s baroque trills and Glazunov’s lyricism. Don’t miss an extraordinary night of music making!
Haydn Symphony No. 44 in E minor (‘Trauer’)
Marcello Concerto in C minor for soprano saxophone
Glazunov Concerto in E flat major for alto saxophone Op. 109
Mozart Symphony No.29 in A, K.201
Ryedale Festival
Martin James Bartlett piano/conductor
Ben Johnson tenor
Alec Frank Gemmill horn
Arvo Pärt Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten
Mozart Piano Concerto no.9 in E-flat major Jeunehomme
Britten Young Apollo
Britten Serenade for tenor, horn and strings
Since winning BBC Young Musician 2014, Martin James Bartlett has built an international reputation for the wit and colourful range of his playing. In this programme, he explores the idea of youth, exploring Benjamin Britten as a young composer, but also encapsulating his own growth as a musician, pianist and conductor, and looking back to the young Mozart’s first unequivocal masterpiece – the sparkling Jeunehomme (or Jenamy) concerto.
London Mozart Players with Jack Gonzalez-Harding & friends
London Mozart Players
Jack Gonzalez-Harding conductor
Nicholas Daniel oboe
Fenella Humphreys violin
Daisy Noton flute
Bach Orchestral Suite No. 2
Bach Concerto for Oboe and Violin
Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 5
Albinoni Oboe Concerto No. 2
The brilliant 19 year old conductor Jack Gonzalez-Harding makes his guest conducting debut with the London Mozart Players in a joyous programme which celebrates the beginning of a new concert series in Etchingham, Sussex. With the surrounding of Etchingham’s stunning 14th century church and a line up of star soloists who’s accolades include a Queen’s Medal for Music, a BBC music magazine instrumental award and 2020 BBC Young Musician catogary finalist, it promises to be a profound and thrilling musical offering.
Jess Gillam & LMP at the Festival of Chichester
London Mozart Players
Jess Gillam saxophone
Ruth Rogers director
23-year-old saxophone superstar Jess Gillam has wowed audiences with her dazzling virtuosity ever since the 2016 BBC Young Musician competition. She joins the London Mozart Players at the Festival of Chichester in the exquisite surroundings of Chichester Cathedral for an evening that balances Mozart and Haydn with Marcello’s baroque trills and Glazunov’s lyricism. Don’t miss an extraordinary night of music making!
Haydn Symphony No. 44 in E minor (‘Trauer’)
Marcello Concerto in C minor for soprano saxophone
Glazunov Concerto in E flat major for alto saxophone Op. 109
Mozart Symphony No.29 in A, K.201
LMP at the Cheltenham Music Festival
London Mozart Players
Martin James Bartlett piano/conductor
Ben Goldscheider horn
Ben Johnson tenor
Arvo Pärt Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Piano Concerto No 9 in E flat major ‘Jeunehomme’, K271
Benjamin Britten Young Apollo, Op. 16
Benjamin Britten Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings Op. 31
LMP joins forces with three exceptional soloists for a fabulous concert at the Cheltenham Music Festival.
The tolling bell of Pärt’s poignant Cantus in memoriam Benjamin Britten sets the scene for a celebration of Britten, whose early work evoking the brilliance of the dazzling young sun-God contrasts with the Serenade for tenor, horn and strings – a setting of six poems on the subject of night and one of the great masterpieces of 20th century music. Mozart’s elegant piano concerto is performed by Martin James Bartlett who achieved early success as the winner of the 2014 BBC Young Musician of the Year.
Concert kindly supported by Philip Loubser Foundation
London Mozart Players ‘Take Time’ in Bexhill
London Mozart Players
Simon Blendis (director/solo violin)
Jeff Moore (conductor –Take Time)
musicians from Create Music
Mozart Symphony No. 29
Vaughan Williams The Lark Ascending
Bartok Romanian Dances
Bacewicz Concerto for String Orchestra: II. Andante, I. Allegro
Jeff Moore Take Time
This year marks Vaughan Williams’ 150th anniversary, and the elegiac The Lark Ascending perfectly showcases his work. Full of nostalgic, lyrical melodies, it evokes glorious images of the English countryside, with the violin taking the role of the lark, soaring ever higher on a silver chain of sound. LMP leader Simon Blendis takes the solo spot for this most popular of works.
The tempo changes with Bartok’s Romanian Dances, an upbeat arrangement of folk tunes from Transylvania, bringing the colourful variety of Romanian villages to the Sussex coast. Staying with the Eastern European theme we move to Poland for two movements from Grazyna Bacewicz’s Concerto for String Orchestra, which combines Polish folksongs with neoclassicism, drawing on the classical greats for inspiration. LMP’s preferred ‘classical great’ is Mozart, and his Symphony No. 29 is the perfect choice for LMP’s spring seaside sojourn! It’s a gem, full of light-hearted charm and elegance, designed to entertain and delight.
But the work which may stay longest in the memory is Jeff Moore’s epic Take Time, a rousing and exuberant work designed to bring together musicians of all ages, abilities and experience, from near-beginners to professional players. Young musicians from all over Sussex will join the LMP to play this exciting work, in a performance which is bound to be truly memorable!
Vaughan Williams: A Sea Symphony
Cecilia McDowall Shipping Forecast
Grace Williams Sea Sketches
Vaughan Williams A Sea Symphony
London Mozart Players
Joanna Tomlinson conductor
Constanza Chorus
Eleanor Dennis soprano
Matthew Brook bass-baritone
Constanza Chorus is delighted to be joined once again by the London Mozart Players at Cadogan Hall for a performance of Vaughan Williams’ A Sea Symphony, during the 150th anniversary year of the composer’s birth. This choral symphony sets poems by Walt Whitman in a folk-inspired epic masterpiece.
The nautical theme is continued in Cecilia McDowall’s Shipping Forecast and Grace Williams’ Sea Sketches.
Constanza Chorus, under Music Director Joanna Tomlinson, has previously performed with the London Mozart Players and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment at Cadogan Hall, and sung Mass at St Peter’s Basilica, Rome and Thomaskirche, Leipzig.