We are pleased to announce our programme for the forthcoming season of chamber music in Oxford’s Holywell Music Room. These Sunday afternoon concerts will take place once a month from November 2026 to May 2027. The programme will include three outstanding string quartets – from the Czech Republic, Germany, and the UK; an electrifying Spanish saxophone quartet; an internationally renowned trio of clarinet, viola, and piano; the world’s supreme viol consort; and a sparkling Polish-Welsh violin and piano duo.
We are looking forward to a fascinating variety of musical invention, ranging from the Renaissance England of the 17th century to new compositions of the 21st century. Several concerts of our new season will explore connections across time, highlighting how composers of different eras have turned to inherited genres (the English viol consort) and musical forms (the fugue and the suite of the Baroque era) as a source of inspiration.
Season tickets are available now by contacting the
Treasurer@oxfordchambermusic.org.
Single tickets for each concert will be bookable from July. Please keep these dates in your diary.
The first concert of our new season will be on the 8th November.The Martinů Quartet from the Czech Republic is renowned for its vibrant interpretations, refined ensemble playing, and deep connection to the Central European chamber tradition. They will play Ravel’s quartet and Martinů’s quartet No.2. They will be joined by the brilliant cellist, Gemma Rosefield, in Schubert’s radiant String Quintet.
On December 6th, the Leonkoro Quartet from Germany will perform Haydn’s quartet Op.76, Britten’s No.2 quartet, and Mendelssohn’s quartet No.6. The Leonkoro is one of Europe’s most exciting young chamber ensembles, acclaimed for its electrifying energy, precision, and musical imagination. A recent performance at the Wigmore Hall can be viewed herehttps://www.wigmore-hall.org.uk/whats-on/202602031930
Our first concert of the New Year on the 10th January 2027 is a special treat from the renowned Fretwork Viol Consort. Specialising in Renaissance and contemporary repertoire for viols, their programme will range across six centuries of fascinating music for the viol from William Byrd and Henry Purcell to Gavin Bryars and Arvo Pärt.
The concert on the 7th February will be given by the Kebyart Saxophone Quartet who bring fresh colour, rhythmic vitality, and infectious energy to their playing. This exciting Spanish group will present their programme ‘Punta di Fuga’, exploring new soundworlds from Bach and Mozart to György Ligeti and a commissioned piece by Jörg Widmann.
We welcome the Trio Meister Raro on the 7th March. These distinguished musicians, combine technical brilliance with shared musical sensitivity that creates compelling and deeply engaging performances. Their programme ‘Fantasie and Fairytales’ will include Debussy’s Rhapsodie and Schumann’s Märchenerzählungen, and will conclude with Mozart’s ravishing clarinet Trio, K.498.
On the 11th April the outstanding and experienced musicians of the London Chamber Ensemble Quartet will play Debussy’s quartet Op.10, and the John Whittaker quartet ‘In Our Time’. They will conclude with Herbert Howells’s, quartet No.3 ‘In Gloucestershire’, their recording of which was widely praised: “Perfection” BBC Music Magazine, “full of vitality… expertly played” The Observer.
Rounding off our season on 9th May we are delighted to present Polish violinist Maria Włoszczowska and Welsh pianist Jâms Coleman (piano). Their programme ‘Suite’ will open with Bach’s sonata, BVW 1016 and will include Suites by Schnittke, Debussy, Coleridge-Taylor, Korngold, Britten, and Shostakovich.
Images are subject to copyright by each group.
