Sundays 3:00pm, Holywell Music Room

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Schumann Piano Quintet

Alasdair Beatson & friends

Dvorak Piano Quartet in D Op 23
Hindemith String Trio No 2
Suk Elegie Op 23
Schumann Piano Quintet Op 44

The highly accomplished Scottish pianist and chamber musician Alasdair Beatson is joined by well-known players from leading string ensembles to perform a varied programme framed by Dvorak's lovely D major Piano Quartet and Schumann's exuberant Piano Quintet.   Alasdair Beatson works prolifically as soloist and chamber musician and, despite the shadow of Covid, kept busy during 2020/21 playing with colleagues at Wigmore Hall and for BBC Radio 3. For this concert he is joined by the leader of the Castalian String Quartet, the cellist of the Doric String Quartet and two other highly accomplished musicians.

Alasdair Beatson and friends: Sini Simonen, Beatrice Philips – violins, Oscar Perks – viola, John Myerscough – cello, Alasdair Beatson – piano

Handel: Oxford Water Music

The Brook Street Band

Bach Trio Sonata BWV1038
Handel Oxford Water Music Suites
Handel Trio sonata Op 5 No 6
Telemann Trio sonata TWV 42 D10

Baroque music specialists, the Brook Street Band (flute/recorder, violin, cello & harpsichord), 'play with zest and style' [Richard Wigmore, BBC]. They include in their balanced programme Handel’s earliest version of the famous Water Music suites, drawn from part-books now housed in Christ Church library.  Named after the London street where Handel lived, the award-winning Brook Street Band has established itself as one of the country’s foremost interpreters of his music. The Band regularly broadcasts for the BBC and has performed and taught extensively at prestigious British and European Festivals and at UK concert venues including Wigmore Hall, St. John’s Smith Square and The Maltings, Snape.

The Brook Street Band: Lisete da Silva Bull – baroque flute/recorder, Rachel Harris – baroque violin, Tatty Theo – baroque cello, Carolyn Gibley – harpsichord

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'Oriental Brahms'

Dudok Quartet Amsterdam

Glinka Overture from Ruslan & Ludmilla (arr. by the DQA)
Brahms String Quartet in A minor Op 51 No 2
Shostakovich String Quartet No 5 Op 92

With their flair for exploring new connections and pathways in music, the enterprising Dudok take us on an inspired musical journey — from Glinka's riotous fizz of 'Persian' melodies to the darkness of Shostakovich under Stalinist suppression and, in between, a wonderful, gypsy music influenced masterpiece by Brahms, featuring his 'free but lonely' motto theme.   Acclaimed for the 'immaculate ensemble' and 'powerfully expressive playing' of their recordings and noted for their intelligent and imaginative approach to programming, the Dudok's name — taken from a Dutch modernist architect — is one to watch.

Dudok Quartet Amsterdam: Judith van Driel, Marleen Wester – violins, Marie-Louise de Jong – viola, David Faber – cello

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Mozart & Dvorak Masterworks

Maggini String Quartet

Mozart Quartet K465 Dissonance
Ireland Quartet No 1 in D minor
Dvorak Quartet No 14 in A flat Op 105

The Maggini Quartet has long been a favourite of Oxford audiences and continues to be much admired by chamber music playing enthusiasts. They play Dvorak's positive and joyful final quartet, a Mozart masterpiece and a romantic work from the English repertoire that they have made very much their own.   The Maggini's recordings have won international awards including Gramophone Chamber Music Award of the Year, Diapason d’Or of the Year and a Cannes Classical Award, and they have twice been nominated for Grammy Awards.

Maggini String Quartet: Julian Leaper, Ciaran McCabe – violins, Martin Outram – viola, Michal Kaznowski – cello

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Piano Quintet Contrasts

The Fibonacci Sequence

Mozart Concerto in A K414 arr. Mozart
John McCabe Nocturnal Piano Quintet Op 42
Dohnanyi Piano Quintet No 1 in C

'...no praise can be too high for the Fibonacci Sequence's polished and dashingly committed performances...' [Gramophone]. Mozart produced the chamber version of his piano concerto to please home performers and Dohnanyi's lyrical early piano quintet was much admired by Brahms. John McCabe's 1966 Nocturnal is a quintet in miniature by a much respected musician.   The Fibonacci Sequence has long been admired as one of this country's most distinguished chamber ensembles. They take their name from the great mediaeval mathematician Fibonacci, after whom is named a series of numbers which is held by many to determine the most harmonious proportions in art and music.

The Fibonacci Sequence: Robert Salter, Jonathan Stone – violins, Yuko Inoue – viola, Benjamin Hughes – cello, Kathron Sturrock – piano

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Mozart Clarinet Quintet

London Haydn Quartet

Eric Hoeprich – Bassett clarinet

Beethoven String Quartet Op 18 No 1
Haydn String Quartet Op 77 No 2
Mozart Clarinet Quintet

All-time favourites of the classical repertoire played by one of the world’s leading period instrument string quartets whose recordings have received international critical acclaim.   The Quartet's use of gut stringed instruments and classical bows facilitates interpretations which provide an illuminating delicacy of nuance and sensitivity to harmonic colour. Eric Hoeprich, who joins the quartet for the Mozart, is an internationally recognised specialist in historical clarinet performance.

London Haydn Quartet: Catherine Manson, Michael Gurevich – violins, John Crockatt – viola, Jonathan Manson – cello

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Schubert 'Trout' Quintet

Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective

Fanny Mendelssohn Piano Quartet in A flat
Felix Mendelssohn Piano Sextet in D Op 110
Schubert Piano Quintet in A Major Trout

Tom Poster (piano) and his friends of the Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective play three appealing works by Schubert and the Mendelssohns. The Collective is a diverse, flexible ensemble of wonderful musicians committed to bringing people together through the power of innovative programming and performance.  Felix Mendelssohn's sextet is a charming, youthful work. Fanny Mendelssohn, if born in a later era, might have become as celebrated as her brother in whose name her music was sometimes published. The programme closes with Schubert's ever popular chamber masterpiece.

Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective: Tom Poster – piano, Elena Urioste – violin, Juan-Miguel Hernandez, Rosalind Ventris – violas, Laura van der Heijden – cello, Stacey Watton – double bass, (replacing Xavier Foley).

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