Music in the Round May Festival 2016 brochure

6 – 14 May 2016

festival of classical chamber music, jazzofamily concerts

beethoven Revisited

Book at www.musicintheround.co.uk or on 0114 249 6000

Everyone is welcome... at a Music in the Round concert and our annual May Festival is no different. There is no dress code, no big stage to keep the performers at a distance, nothing you need to know about the music in advance.

Photo: Benjamin Ealovega

At the heart of every Festival is the music. A rich variety of exciting, moving and thought-provoking classical chamber music, performed by the eleven worldclass musicians who are Ensemble 360. Together with their guests, they present inspiring concerts in the intimate setting of the Crucible Theatre’s Studio, where the audience is only ever a few feet away from the performers.

Beethoven Revisited

Our Artistic Director, Angus Smith, introduces our May Festival 2016 “Picture to yourself the dirtiest, most disorderly place imaginable – blotches of moisture covering the ceiling; an oldish grand piano, on which the dust vies for a place with various pieces of music; under the piano an unemptied chamber pot; beside it a small walnut table and a quantity of pens encrusted with ink; then more music.”

These words of Baron de Tremont, written in 1809, introduce the focus of our 2016 May festival – Ludwig van Beethoven. As always, the music is the foundation of the event, and what music this is! But we relish the opportunity to consider many facets of this extraordinary man – his imagination, his invention and his personality. And from there it is natural to consider the world he lived in, his impact on his contemporaries, and the legacy that has passed to followers.

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Ensemble 360 present not just a comprehensive survey of Beethoven’s music, but also a programme that is full of thrilling and dramatic twists and turns and which embraces a wonderful array of pieces by numerous other composers whose lives have been touched by Beethoven. We are also joined by a glittering line-up of guests: old friends the Vertavo String Quartet, Julian Joseph, Roderick Williams, Benjamin Frith and the Avison Ensemble feature alongside an unmissable newcomer – Harry the Piano!

Ensemble 360 are: “Unforgettable… The players

Claudia Ajmone-Marsan VIOLIN / Naomi Atherton HORN Juliette Bausor FLUTE / Laurène Durantel DOUBLE BASS Ruth Gibson VIOLA / Amy Harman BASSOON Matthew Hunt CLARINET / Tim Horton PIANO Benjamin Nabarro VIOLIN / Gemma Rosefield CELLO Adrian Wilson OBOE

have such involvement with the music and with each other.

They are a delight to see as well as hear!”

Audience member

We dedicate this year’s “Here is a man who has more to say about life in chamber music than any other composer.”

Beethoven Revisited Festival to his Peter Cropper, Beethoven Festival programme, Peter Cropper, founder of Music in the Round May 1984

More music for less money!

Friday 6 May, 7.15pm Crucible Theatre, Studio

magnificent seven

We aim to make our concerts as affordable as possible.

Ticket prices are listed on each page.

enjoy the whole festival for less, with a full subscription* £180 / £126 disabledounemployed

A full subscription is worth over £270 standard price (£190 Disabled & Unemployed). It includes all daytime and evening concerts (except the family concert on 14 May) as well as 4 talks.

enjoy 10 concerts for the price of 8 £133 / £91 disabledounemployed Choose any 10 concerts and save up to £22.*

enjoy 5 concerts for the price of 4 £70 / £48 disabledounemployed Choose any 5 concerts and save up to £17.50.*

Ensemble 360

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tickets from just £5!

If you’re under 35 years old or completely new to our classical concerts, then you’re eligible for £5 tickets for most of our concerts*.

ONSLOW Septet Grand in B flat Op.79 for piano, wind quintet and double bass BEETHOVEN Septet in E flat Op.20 for clarinet, horn, bassoon, violin, viola, cello and double bass

Our first-time deal offers you your first pair of tickets for just £5** each. Please make yourself known at the Sheffield Theatres box office, in person or on the phone. (Offer not available online.

A maximum of two tickets can be purchased per household.)

Ensemble 360 launch the May Festival with two sparkling works for seven players. Beethoven’s irresistible and vivacious Septet, premiered in 1800 together with the 1st Symphony, achieved rapid and enduring popularity and was subsequently arranged for numerous instrumental combinations for performance by amateur musicians. The work’s success was paradoxically a continual irritation to Beethoven as he believed the piece came to overshadow many of his more ambitious works.

If you’re under 35, then simply present your ID at the Sheffield Theatres box office when booking your tickets. You can also claim an Under 35 card for free – we’ll send you details of forthcoming concerts, special offers and news. For more details, visit www.musicintheround.co.uk/U35.

George Onslow was a French composer, descended from English aristocracy, writing music in a Germanic style. He came to composing music for wind instruments late in his career – the Septet was first performed in 1850 – but this disarmingly charming and lyrical piece is just one of a number of pieces for seven players by French composers including Adolphe Blanc and Louise Farrenc that pay tribute to Beethoven’s masterful Septet.

save 10% when booking as a family

Family groups of four (to include at least 2 under 18s) can save 10%** on tickets for most concerts*; this offer is only available in advance.

Tickets for Harry the Piano on Saturday 7 and the family concert on Saturday 14 May have their own special prices. * PLEASE NOTE that these offers and subscriptions do not include the family concert on 14 May or any workshops. Tickets for these must be purchased additionally, at the stated prices.

All tickets within a subscription must be purchased in one transaction. Subscriptions cannot include more than one ticket for each concert. ** A transaction fee of £1.50 (£1 online) applies to all bookings (excluding cash) for events at Sheffield Theatres.

Tickets*: £17.50 / £12 Disabled and Unemployed / £5 Under 35s and Students

Talk Q&A

Pre-concert talk, 6.15pm - FREE to concert ticket holders Talk Professor William Drabkin of Southampton University talks about Beethoven’s popular Septet and other large-scale chamber works. (See also ‘In Beethoven’s Hand’ talk, *A transaction fee of £1.50 (£1 online) page 8.)

Q&A

applies to all bookings (excluding cash) made at Sheffield Theatres.

Book at www.musicintheround.co.uk or on 0114 249 6000

This year’s opening Saturday of the Festival is packed with musical events for all ages.

Photo: Andrew Stepan

Saturday 7 May at a glance

Saturday 7 May, 11am – 3.30pm Arundel Room, Millennium Gallery & Winter Garden

Saturday 7 May, 11.30am Tudor Square

BringoPlay Strings

Brilliant Brass Heroics with beethoven

HANDEL CONCERTI GROSSI

Led by Ian Naylor

For string players of all ages, of Grade 5+ standard

ALL DAY CREATIVE COMPOSITION free exhibition (see page 21)

11am - 3.30pm TAKE PART!

Bring & Play Strings: HANDEL CONCERTI GROSSI (free performance at 3pm in the Winter Garden)

11.30am - noon

BRILLIANT BRASS WITH BEETHOVEN free performance

12.45pm - 1.45pm HEROICS concert, Ensemble 360.

Beethoven’s great 3rd Symphony up close

3pm - 3.50pm IN BEETHOVEN’S HAND Discover how the great man composed!

4.30pm - 5.30pm HARRY THE PIANO concert for all the family

The day culminates with a free informal performance at 3pm in the Winter Garden to which everyone is welcome.

If you play a brass instrument and would like to take part, contact rachel@brassbandsengland.co.uk before 1 April and she’ll arrange for you to be included.

7.15pm - 9.15pm KREUTZER VS KREUTZER

Book online at www.tinyurl.com/handelstrings or call Kate on 0114 281 4660

Laura Wade’s gripping play for voices.

7 There’s no more barnstorming way to celebrate the Festival than with this assembly of hundreds of brass instruments! Players from bands across the region come together to fill Tudor Square with marvellous music. Come and enjoy this thrilling sound as the Festival gets into full swing.

6pm - 6.45pm INTRODUCING RODERICK WILLIAMS Meet Music in the Round’s new Singer in Residence.

Ensemble 360

Come and be part of a string orchestra exploring the finer points of two of Handel’s beautiful Concerti Grossi! Led by award-winning conductor Ian Naylor (Sheffield Music Hub), this workshop explores colour, shape, character and expressivity in Handel’s music, and how to generate these with the bow. An enjoyable and informative combination of inspiring coaching, playing and sharing.

Participants’ tickets: £10 / £8 Disabled & Unemployed / £6 Under 18s ((includes a special offer on tickets for our concert on Tuesday 10 May with the Avison Ensemble)

Harry Potter and Beethoven meet in sparkling improvisation!

Please bring a packed lunch

Saturday 7 May, 12.45pm Crucible Theatre, Studio

FREE to attend; no need to book

BEETHOVEN Symphony No.3 in E flat Op.55 Eroica arranged HUMMEL In an age well before recording, broadcasting and the internet, and when it would often be difficult or even impossible to attend symphonic concerts, how was music circulated so that everyone could share the experience? One answer was to create portable editions of great pieces, suitable for amateur musicians to play for personal enjoyment in the comfort of their own homes.

The task of producing and playing such editions should not be underestimated: musical training and a discerning ear were essential for the preparation of the scores, and often few concessions were made to performing ability. The Eroica Symphony was arranged by, amongst others, Czerny, Schubert, Ries and Liszt, but for today’s concert Ensemble 360 have chosen the sophisticated and sparkling flute quartet arrangement by Johann Nepomuk Hummel.

Tickets*: £11 / £7.50 Disabled & Unemployed / £5 Students & Under 35s *A transaction fee of £1.50 (£1 online) applies to all bookings (excluding cash) made at Sheffield Theatres.

Book at www.musicintheround.co.uk or on 0114 249 6000

Saturday 7 May, 4.30pm Crucible Theatre, Studio

Professor William Drabkin

Sparkling improvisation for all the family

Saturday 7 May, 6pm Crucible Theatre, Studio

in beethoven’s hand harry the piano

The eminent Beethoven scholar William Drabkin gives a 50-minute talk about the composer’s sketchbooks and surviving autographed manuscripts. These are fascinating documents that bring us all a step closer to Beethoven and which disclose compelling information about the great composer’s writing process, not least through his many revealing corrections.

William Drabkin is an Emeritus Professor of Music at the University of Southampton. In addition to his lifetime work on Beethoven, Professor Drabkin researches the documents of the great Austrian theorist Heinrich Schenker and edits the journal Music Analysis.

Tickets*: £5 / Under 18s & Students FREE Complimentary tea and coffee included

introducing roderick williams

Harry’s extraordinary talent and breathtaking creativity have earned him a reputation as one of the most gifted improvising pianists in the world. No other musician can spontaneously reinvent Michael Jackson in the style of Mozart, or improvise a seamless medley of audience requests ranging from James Bond and Harry Potter to Shostakovich via West Side Story.

Quite simply he does things with the instrument that you have never heard before, moving effortlessly between jazz, cabaret and classical in a manner that has not been seen in the UK since the heyday of Dudley Moore.

Tickets*: £8 / £5 Under 18s & Students

Photo: Benjamin Ealovega

Saturday 7 May, 3pm Upper Chapel, Channing Hall

“His phenomenal talent, unobtrusive charm and wit are a delight.”

Stephen Fry

“You practise all your life and think you can play the piano. Then you hear Harry.”

Martin Roscoe, international concert pianist

*A transaction fee of £1.50 (£1 online) applies to all bookings (excluding cash) made at Sheffield Theatres.

Book at www.musicintheround.co.uk or on 0114 249 6000

Saturday 7 May, 7.15pm Crucible Theatre, Studio

kreutzer vs kreutzer A play for voices by Laura Wade

Presented in partnership with Sheffield Theatres Directed by Celine Lowenthal, Resident Assistant Director at Sheffield Theatres

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in conversation with Angus Smith

Two actors** & Ensemble 360

We are delighted to announce acclaimed British baritone Roderick Williams as Music in the Round’s first ever Singer-in-Residence.

Meet him at this pre-concert event as we unveil plans that will see Roddy performing the three great Schubert song cycles and a variety of British song, and also work with us on projects with Music in the Community from his perspective not only as a singer, but also as a composer and a former secondary school teacher. Rumour has it, he may even perform a song or two!

BEETHOVEN Violin Sonata in A major Op.47 Kreutzer Sonata JANÁČEK String Quartet No.1 Kreutzer Sonata

FREE to all festival ticket holders, booking essential*. *Ticket must be requested at time of concert ticket purchase.

“Roderick Williams is a national treasure…his approach to the English Romantic song repertoire is revelatory.”

BBC Music Magazine

Based on Leo Tolstoy’s searing tale of a conversation on a train in which a man confesses to killing his wife while in a state of obsessively jealous rage, Laura Wade’s critically acclaimed play brings to the fore two voices that are not heard in the original novella – those of the violinist and the murdered woman. The immediacy of interwoven words and music amplifies the intensity of this bitter and tragic love-triangle to fever-pitch levels.

The wild elements of Beethoven’s Kreutzer Sonata immediately evoke the turbulent passion embedded in Tolstoy’s story, while Janáček’s portrayal of “the suffering of a woman, beaten and tortured to death” is evident in the composer’s tormented writing. This promises to be a riveting evening of musical and theatrical drama.

Tickets*: £17.50 / £12 Disabled and Unemployed / £5 Under 35s and Students ** Actors to be announced in February 2016; see website for details

“Brilliant… This nimble, sensitive study of the impact of music was revelatory as well as enthralling.”

Fiona Maddocks, The Observer

Sunday 8 May, 2pm Crucible Theatre, Studio

Seascapes

Sunday 8 May, 4pm Crucible Theatre, Studio

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

Sheffield Young Singers (Helen Cowen, director) The Cassia Quartet Roderick Williams BARITONE Ensemble 360 David Ashworth, composition leader Ensemble 360 DAVID BEDFORD Seascapes We open this sea-themed Sunday with a unique performance of this extraordinary work, which features new soundscapes especially composed for the occasion by young Sheffielders, alongside sea shanties including the Rio Grande and vivid musical images. Inspired by the Rime of the Ancient Mariner, the piece is by turns dramatic, storm-lashed, and eventually becalmed as we sail home.

Tickets*: £5 / £3 Under 18s

“Skempton’s the rime of the ancient mariner is a remarkable work which needs to become part of the cannon of british music” Opera Today

Monday 9 May, 12.45pm Crucible Theatre, Studio

Monday 9 May, 7.15pm Crucible Theatre, Studio

Ensemble 360

Ensemble 360

Inspiration: Part I

Inspiration: Part II 11

BEETHOVEN String Quartet in E minor, Op.59 No.2 Razumovsky SKEMPTON The Rime of the Ancient Mariner* for baritone and chamber ensemble

BARTÓK String Quartet No.1 Op.7 MOZART Quintet for Piano and Winds in E flat K.452

HAYDN Divertimento No.2 in G Op.100 BEETHOVEN Quintet for Piano and Winds in E flat Op.16 BEETHOVEN String Quartet in C sharp minor Op.131

We are delighted to present a major new piece by award-winning composer Howard Skempton, based on Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s epic tale of tragedy and salvation. In the composer’s words, “the aim has been to be true to the character of Coleridge’s haunting, sometimes visionary poem. The piece proceeds at a steady pace, and lasts about thirty-five minutes.”

The figure of Beethoven towers over classical music and this concert features music by one of the many composers who have paid homage to the master. Bela Bartók’s tribute in his first quartet takes the form of imitating the structure of Beethoven’s wonderful Op.131 quartet, although the sound-world is very much that of a young composer who has already achieved his own mature and individual style, notably through the appearance of folk-inspired themes.

Although he was one of the most original composers of all, Beethoven enthusiastically studied the works of his peers and elders. Haydn’s ‘Divertimenti’ are rarely performed, although they are full of the graceful, easy charm that runs through so much of his chamber music. Beethoven’s Quintet for Piano and Winds is clearly written in the full knowledge of Mozart’s earlier work for the same instrumental combination, yet it also has an improvisational element that pushes at conventional boundaries. It is particularly remarkable that, in a work written so late in his life, Beethoven’s use of fugal writing in his Op.131 string quartet looks back reverently to an even earlier master, J.S. Bach.

The violinist Mark Steinberg has noted that the abruptness in the opening of Beethoven’s Op.59 No.2 quartet mirrors the stark and compelling opening lines of Coleridge’s poem, transfixing the listener as resolutely as the wedding guest stopped by the mariner who “cannot choose but hear.”

Tickets*: £17.50 / £12 Disabled & Unemployed / £5 Students & Under 35s

Talk

Pre-concert talk, 3pm Talk FREE to concert ticket holders Howard Skempton talks about The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

Q&A Q&A The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is commissioned by

Maurice and Sheila Millward, who have also generously supported this concert.

“Skempton’s music is elegant, British, civilised, with a touch of anarchy. I see him as a gentleman in a bowler hat, a briefcase – and sandals.”

BBC Music Magazine

Mozart wrote to his father following the first performance of his Quintet for Piano and Winds, saying “I myself consider it to be the best thing I have written in my life.” Nothing more needs to be said.

Tickets*: £11 / £7.50 Disabled & Unemployed / £5 Students & Under 35s

Tickets*: £17.50 / £12 Disabled & Unemployed / £5 Students & Under 35s

Talk Q&A

Pre-concert talk, 6.15pm - FREE to concert ticket holders Talk Tim Horton sheds light on the connections linking today’s concerts.

Q&A

*A transaction fee of £1.50 (£1 online) applies to all bookings (excluding cash) made at Sheffield Theatres.

Book at www.musicintheround.co.uk or on 0114 249 6000

Monday 9 May, 10.15am & 11.30am Crucible Theatre, Adelphi Room

Tuesday 10 May, 10.15am & 11.30am Crucible Theatre, Adelphi Room

music box: for ages 2-4

music box: babies

Photos: Andy Brown

Led by Vanessa Johnson and Ensemble 360’s Juliette Bausor on the flute, these workshops get little ones playing percussion instruments, singing and moving to live music. With familiar and new tunes to enjoy together, there’s also fun with puppets, masks and musical statues, and the chance to make your own horns to take home!

Tickets*: £6 per child; accompanying grown-ups free Duration 55 minutes.

Spaces are limited; early booking is recommended

Tickets*: £6 per adult; babies are free Duration 55 minutes.

Spaces are limited; early booking is recommended

Tuesday 10 May, 7.15pm Crucible Theatre, Studio

Ensemble 360 and guests

Pavlo Beznosiuk VIOLIN Caroline Balding VIOLIN Richard Tunnicliffe CELLO Roger Hamilton HARPSICHORD

serenade

A classical concert for babies and their grown-ups in a relaxed, friendly environment. Silver Strings Quartet presents an engaging concert of music by Mozart, Pachelbel, Tchaikovsky and Duke Ellington. Join in and move with lullabies and bouncing, or just sit back and enjoy.

Soft mats and toys will be provided. You are very welcome to bring coffee and cake from the Crucible Café into the session.

Tuesday 10 May, 12.45pm Crucible Theatre, Studio

more family highlights

Saturday 7 May, 11.30am

BRILLIANT BRASS WITH BEETHOVEN (see page 7)

Saturday 7 May, 4pm

HARRY THE PIANO (see page 8)

Saturday 14 May, 1pm

WHY BEETHOVEN THREW THE STEW (see page 20)

*A transaction fee of £1.50 (£1 online) applies to all bookings (excluding cash) made at Sheffield Theatres.

Book at www.musicintheround.co.uk or on 0114 249 6000

avison ensemble

HOFFMEISTER Partita No.2 Echo BEETHOVEN Serenade in D Op.25 for flute, violin and viola BEETHOVEN Sextet in E flat Op.71 for 2 horns, 2 clarinets and 2 bassoons

“Serenade: A musical form, contemporary with and related to other mid-18th-century orchestral genres including the symphony and the orchestral partita. The term originally signified a musical greeting, usually performed out of doors in the evening, to a beloved or a person of rank.”

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians

The Serenade was not only an immensely popular musical form but it was also of significance and importance in the development of modern chamber music. This light and airy work by Beethoven is hugely entertaining and is partnered with two other notably lively works. Beethoven’s Sextet was written for Maximilian Franz, Archbishop and Elector of Mainz – allegedly as an aid to digestion! – and Franz Anton Hoffmeister’s ‘Echo’ Partita contains a joke of which Haydn would have been proud.

Tickets*: £11 / £7.50 Disabled & Unemployed / £5 Students & Under 35s

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HANDEL Trio Sonata in B flat Op.2 no.3 J.S. BACH arr MOZART 2 Preludes and Fugues K.404a HANDEL Keyboard Suite in B flat HWV 434 HANDEL Trio Sonata in D Op.5 No.2 HANDEL Violin Sonata in D major HWV 371 STAMITZ Orchestra Trio in B flat Op.1 No.5 HANDEL Trio Sonata in F Op.2 No.4 Trio sonatas abounded in the Baroque era and the true master of the form was Handel. His writing inspired the development of the string trio which reached a high point in Mozart and Beethoven’s landmark works. The brilliant Avison Ensemble take Beethoven’s admiration for Handel as the starting point for their fascinating programme, combining Handel’s masterpieces with seminal transitional compositions from two towering figures in the development of the symphony, Johann Stamitz and Mozart.

Talk Talk/ £12.50 Disabled & Unemployed / Tickets*: £17.50 £5 Students & Under 35s

Q&A

Post-concert Q&A - FREE to ticket holders Q&A with Pavlo Beznosiuk (violin)

Wednesday 11 May, 10am – 4pm Crucible Theatre, Adelphi Room

bbc ten pieces filming BBC Ten Pieces opens up the world of classical music to a new generation of children. Over the past year, young people in schools across the country have been developing their own creative responses to ten pieces of music, ranging from Bernstein and Gabriel Prokofiev to Bach and Anna Clyne. Today, four schools bring their new creations to our Festival and, with the help of animateur Andy Smith and Soundhouse Media, film a documentary about the project and their own musical inventions.

FREE to pop in and enjoy. Keep an eye on our website for filming and performance times.

Wednesday 11 May, 12.45pm Crucible Theatre, Studio

Wednesday 11 May, 7pm Crucible Theatre, Studio

Wednesday 11 May, 9pm Crucible Theatre, Studio

Ensemble 360 Members of the Vertavo String Quartet (Øyvor Volle VIOLIN; Bjørg Lewis CELLO)

Ensemble 360 Members of the Vertavo String Quartet (Berit Cardas VIOLA; Bjørg Lewis CELLO)

Tim Horton PIANO

BACH Flute Sonata in E flat BWV 1031 BEETHOVEN Horn Sonata in F Op.17 SCHOENBERG Verklärte Nacht Op.4 for string sextet

BEETHOVEN Clarinet Trio Op.11 WEBERN 5 Movements for String Quartet Op.5 BRAHMS String Sextet in B flat Op.18

BEETHOVEN 33 Variations in C on a Waltz by Anton Diabelli Op.120

Revolution… or evolution? There are certain composers and pieces of music that are paraded as examples of turning points in music and one of these is Arnold Schoenberg, ‘father of modern music’. Yet there is a natural trajectory that stretches from Bach through Beethoven, Brahms, Wagner and Strauss that arrives at Verklärte Nacht, Schoenberg’s supremely lush and gloriously romantic ‘chamber music tone poem’ written just before the composer’s departure towards new harmonic horizons.

Robert Schumann proclaimed that Brahms would be the torch-carrier of Beethoven and, such was the young man’s regard for the great master, a marble bust of Beethoven occupied pride of place in his music studio. It may be that it was the weight of expectation that inspired the young Brahms to write this beautiful sextet, deliberately choosing an instrumental combination that would avoid obvious comparison with Beethoven’s incomparable symphonies and quartets.

lineage

The poem ‘Transfigured Night’ was written by Richard Dehmel and the rapturous spirit of transfiguration is captured even in his opening and closing lines: “Two people walk through a bare, cold grove…Two people walk through the lofty, bright night.”

Tickets*: £11 / £7.50 Disabled & Unemployed / £5 Students & Under 35s

We are delighted that the Vertavo String Quartet, guest artists in Ensemble 360’s debut Festival 10 years ago, are joining us again this year.

the torch-carrier

diabelli

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Webern’s short but intense and expressive miniature movements for string quartet are a landmark composition for a composer who combined the greatest respect for composers of previous generations with a determination to forge his own new musical paths.

Tickets*: £11 / £7.50 Disabled & Unemployed / £5 Students & Under 35s

It is quite surprising to discover that a composition that is considered by such eminent authorities as Alfred Brendel and Hans von Bülow to be one of the greatest ever achievements in solo piano writing should have been created from an inconsequential piece of music that was once dismissed

by Beethoven himself as a ‘cobbler’s patch’. From such unpromising material Beethoven crafted a magisterial work of just under an hour’s duration that embraces humour, allusion and parody, while maintaining an extraordinary coherence across the whole of its ambitious structure.

For those who enjoy a true pianistic ‘tour de force’, and also for everyone who enjoyed Tim Horton’s complete Beethoven piano sonata cycle, this is a performance that is not to be missed.

Tickets*: £11 / £7.50 Disabled & Unemployed / £5 Students & Under 35s *A transaction fee of £1.50 (£1 online) applies to all bookings (excluding cash) made at Sheffield Theatres.

Book at www.musicintheround.co.uk or on 0114 249 6000

Thursday 12 May, 11am-12 noon Crucible Theatre, Adelphi Room

Thursday 12 May, 2pm - 5.15pm Crucible Theatre, Adelphi Room

Thursday 12 May, 12.45pm Crucible Theatre, Studio

Thursday 12 May, 7.15pm Crucible Theatre, Studio

how we make our music

comeo compose

heritage

greatness

Ensemble 360 Vertavo String Quartet

Ensemble 360 Vertavo String Quartet

Talk and discussion with Platform 4

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Creative workshop with Platform 4 Platform 4 composers present an engaging exploration of their contrasting creative processes. Illustrated with live and recorded musical excerpts and with time for questions, it’s a chance to find out more about the fascinating process of making new music with four local professional composers.

Why not stay for the lunchtime concert and try your hand at composing in the afternoon workshop too?

Tickets*: £5

A Day with PLATFORM 4

As part of Sheffield’s Year of Making, the four members of the city’s composers’ collective Platform 4 help us to take a look at where musical inspiration comes from and how it is notated and performed.

Platform 4 are:

Tom James, Jenny Jones, Chris Noble, and Tom Owen www.platform4composers.co.uk

An afternoon of exploration and discovery! Use your musical imagination to help compose a new sequence of music inspired by Sheffield’s industrial heritage.

Each participant will be encouraged to develop the group’s composition in their own way, contributing ideas and inspiration to the emerging piece. You might not (yet!) feel that you can compose, but this afternoon will enable you to explore what it means to be musically creative, and give you the chance to study and shape new music from your own unique perspective.

The afternoon includes refreshment breaks and plenty of space for reflection, culminating at 5pm with an informal performance of the new work. No previous composing experience is needed – only a bit of musical imagination, and a willingness to give it a go!

Places: £10 / £8 Disabled & Unemployed / £6 Under-18s

“Truly an amazing day” a recent first-time composer

SCHOENBERG String Trio Op.45 (Ensemble 360) BEETHOVEN String Quintet in E flat Op.4 (Vertavo String Quartet & Ruth Gibson VIOLA) Schoenberg’s String Trio Op.45 was first performed in Spring 1947. The composer had suffered a major heart attack just two and a half weeks before beginning to work on the trio in earnest and he told the author Thomas Mann that the music that emerged reflected his physical and psychological suffering in that period.

Beethoven’s String Quintet in E flat is a major re-writing of an earlier wind octet – conceived as light-hearted entertainment rather than as a serious concert work – that was not published until after the composer’s death. This revised version shows Beethoven’s growing maturity: it is significantly longer than the original yet it comes across as a much more concise, compact and engaging piece.

Tickets*: £11 / £7.50 Disabled & Unemployed / £5 Students & Under 35s

BEETHOVEN String Quartet Op.74 Harp (Vertavo String Quartet) SCHUBERT String Quintet in C D.956 (Ensemble 360 & Bjørg Lewis CELLO) Beethoven’s Op.74 String Quartet has a reputation for being a ‘light and genial’ work that marks it out from the ‘more serious Beethoven’, but this only tells part of the story. Outer movements of smooth and placid character encompass intensely passionate and rough inner movements.

It is astonishing to think that Schubert’s final, majestic composition – his String Quintet in C – was not heard in public until 22 years after the composer’s death. In choosing a second cello as a fifth instrument Schubert diverged from the quintet examples of Mozart and Beethoven, but there can be no doubt that the extra sonority of another low instrument adds an extraordinarily profound and rich layer of sound.

Tickets*: £17.50 / £12 Disabled and Unemployed / £5 Under 35s and Students

*A transaction fee of £1.50 (£1 online) applies to all bookings (excluding cash) made at Sheffield Theatres.

Book at www.musicintheround.co.uk or on 0114 249 6000

Friday 13 May, 12.45pm Crucible Theatre, Studio

on the shoulders of mozart Ensemble 360 BEETHOVEN 7 Variations on Bei Männern, welche Liebe fühlen (Mozart) WoO 46 for double bass and piano BEETHOVEN String Trio in E flat Op.3 The ‘Opus’ numbers of Beethoven give an incomplete picture of his compositional output. Numerous pieces that remained unpublished were only discovered after his death and it appears that many of these works – now catalogued with WoO (without opus) numbers – were held back for having been written for entertainment rather than enrichment. The lively and enchanting variations on Pamina and Papageno’s charming duet from Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute are delightful.

The String Trio in E flat Op.3 was modelled on Mozart’s Divertimento K.563 and was Beethoven’s first composition for string ensemble. As with so many of Beethoven’s works, the piece underwent numerous revisions before arriving at its final, effortlessly fluent version.

Tickets*: £11 / £7.50 Disabled & Unemployed / £5 Students & Under 35s

the art of improvisation “His extemporisations were the most extraordinary things one could hear. No artist that I ever heard came at all near the height which Beethoven attained.”

Ferdinand Ries, friend, pupil and secretary of Beethoven

Over the course of 2016 Music in the Round is exploring improvisation in classical music. Once considered an essential skill in the armoury of composers and performers, our Friday evening features a great modern improviser and works such as fantasies and variations designed as ‘written down improvisations’.

Other Festival events drawing on this theme include Harry the Piano (see page 8) on Saturday 7 May.

“Remember that Bach, Beethoven and Mozart were great improvisers. I can hear that in their music.”

Dave Brubeck, jazz pianist and composer

Friday 13 May, 7pm Crucible Theatre, Studio

Friday 13 May, 9pm Crucible Theatre, Studio

Ensemble 360

julian joseph

improvisation

PIANO

BEETHOVEN Fantasia in G minor Op.77 for piano BEETHOVEN Variations on Là ci darem la mano from Mozart’s Don Giovanni, WoO 28 SCHOENBERG Phantasy for Violin with Piano Accompaniment Op.47 BEETHOVEN Duo for clarinet and bassoon WoO 27 HAYDN String Quartet in E flat Op.76 No.6 Beethoven’s ‘Fantasy’ Op.77 gives the strong impression of a composer temporarily throwing off the restraints of form and convention – the word, and the idea, clearly appealed to successors such as Schubert, Schumann, Liszt and even Schoenberg, who allowed himself in his own Phantasy to abandon formal structure in favour of ‘so-called free-form’. In this short work, Schoenberg successfully packs in an extraordinary range of virtuoso effects.

The random rhythmic tricks that appear designed to throw off both the audience and the players in the ‘Fantasia’ movement of Haydn’s Op.76 No.6 Quartet is just one of the many features that gives this work a deliciously unpredictable and exuberant character.

Tickets*: £11 / £7.50 Disabled & Unemployed / £5 Students & Under 35s

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BEETHOVEN String Quartet in A minor Op.132 This is not a misprint! We are delighted to welcome the contemporary jazz pianist, composer, arranger and band leader Julian Joseph to the Studio Theatre to share his vision of one of Beethoven’s greatest works. His credentials in the classical world are impressive: recitals at Wigmore Hall, a repertoire that includes Bartók, Prokofiev, Stravinsky and Poulenc, and collaborations with artists such as the violinist Viktoria Mullova.

Absorbing these influences and the music of other genres, he has developed his own unique voice that displays an immediate and irresistible jazz perspective.

We can expect a version of this great Beethoven quartet that is born out of complete respect and which comes alive with infectious commitment and passion.

Tickets*: £11 / £7.50 Disabled & Unemployed / £5 Students & Under 35s *A transaction fee of £1.50 (£1 online) applies to all bookings (excluding cash) made at Sheffield Theatres.

Book at www.musicintheround.co.uk or on 0114 249 6000

EVENT Saturday 14 May at a glance Join us for a sequence of events that crescendos towards a wonderful Festival Finale!

ALL DAY CREATIVE COMPOSITION free exhibition in the Adelphi Room

1 - 2pm WHY BEETHOVEN THREW THE STEW family concert, Crucible Theatre, Studio

from 2pm THE GREAT FESTIVAL ‘BAKE-HOVEN’ EVENT, Tudor Square. Bring a cake, or buy a cake, or do both!

3 - 4pm THE MAN REVEALED talk with broadcaster and Beethoven expert John Suchet, Crucible Theatre, Studio

4.30pm - 5.30pm PIANO FOUR HANDS concert with Tim Horton and Benjamin Frith, Crucible Theatre, Studio

7.15pm RADIANT BEAMS concert, Ensemble 360,

Crucible Theatre, Studio . The Grand Festival Finale

Saturday 14 May, 1pm Crucible Theatre, Studio

why beethoven threw the stew FAMILY CONCERT

Ensemble 360 with Rachel Leach NARRATOR / COMPOSER / ARRANGER This entertaining family concert is packed with well-known tunes, surprising facts and witty anecdotes that bring Beethoven and his music to life. Based on the much-loved illustrated storybook by renowned cellist Steven Isserlis, and commissioned by the Leonore Piano Trio, it includes extracts from many of Beethoven’s most popular works interwoven with new material by Rachel Leach.

Perfect for the whole family, especially ages 5+.

Throughout the week

Tickets*: £8 / £5 Under 18s

Saturday 14 May, from 2pm Tudor Square

EVENT

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On the Festival’s final day, join us for a feast of cakes, biscuits and sweet treats in Tudor Square. Everyone is invited to show off their baking skills by making a cake, biscuits, or other sweet concoction for our light-hearted Bake-hoven competition. Register online and then simply bring along your creation on the day - music-themed entries are especially encouraged! Our special guest judges, Classic FM presenter John Suchet and Sheffield Newspapers journalist Julia Armstrong, will be around to judge the entries and award some fun prizes from 2pm. All cakes will then be on sale for the rest of the afternoon (until they’re gone!).

CREATIVE COMPOSITION

Register to take part at www.tinyurl.com/bakehoven

Pop into the Adelphi Room and discover a FREE exhibition on the theme of CREATIVE COMPOSITION, featuring fascinating perspectives on the art and science of creating music, much of it with a local flavour. Listen to new works “made in Sheffield”, read about and explore the creative process, and share your own thoughts and ideas on where music comes from and what it means.

All proceeds from Bake-hoven will go to the Lindsay Foundation, established by Peter Cropper to support the next generation of musicians.

Keep an eye on our website for full details.

*A transaction fee of £1.50 (£1 online) applies to all bookings (excluding cash) made at Sheffield Theatres.

Book at www.musicintheround.co.uk or on 0114 249 6000

Saturday 14 May, 3pm Crucible Theatre, Studio

the man revealed

Saturday 14 May, 4.30pm Crucible Theatre, Studio

Saturday 14 May, 7.15pm Crucible Theatre, Studio

Tim Horton & Benjamin Frith

Ensemble 360

piano four hands

radiant beams

with John Suchet

“These wonderful pieces are really symphonies in their own right, but they have the advantage of no conductor.”

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Peter Cropper on the Beethoven String Quartets

We are delighted to welcome John Suchet to the Studio for a talk that sheds light on the many facets of Beethoven’s complex personality. This is a portrait of a great composer that adds colour, depth and understanding to our appreciation of the musical achievement of an extraordinary man.

Praise for John Suchet’s biography of Beethoven: “By exercising a genuine authority in identifying how Beethoven, the man, manifests himself in our appreciation of the music, Suchet brings an incisive freshness to an extraordinary life.”

Jonathan Freeman-Attwood, Principal of the Royal Academy of Music

Tickets*: £5 / Under 18s & Students FREE

BEETHOVEN Three Marches Op.45 8 Variations in C on a Theme by Count Waldstein WoO 67 Grosse Fuge in B flat Op.134 Witnessing a piano four-hands recital can be compared to experiencing the cut and thrust of a major sporting event, except with added musical sensitivity! Tim Horton and Benjamin Frith join their considerable forces for the energetic, sometimes humorous Three Marches, and the sparkling variations on Count Waldstein’s theme. And then comes Beethoven’s own epic arrangement of the Grosse Fuge…

Tickets*: £11 / £7.50 Disabled & Unemployed / £5 Students & Under 35s This concert is generously supported by James and Angela Kellie.

“…the Great Fugue is more than a piece; it’s a musicological Holy Grail, a vortex of ideas and implications. It is the most radical work by the most formidable composer in history.”

Alex Ross, The New Yorker

BEETHOVEN String Quartet Op.95 Serioso HANDEL Trio Sonata Op.2 No.2 SCHUBERT Octet D.803 Ensemble 360 bring the Festival to a close with a flourish of glorious music, moving from deep despair to unalloyed joy.

Beethoven’s Serioso quartet was written at a bleak time in Beethoven’s life as failing hearing, poor health and financial insecurity all bore down on him, although the seething atmosphere and melancholy nature of the music eventually give way to a wild almost manic exuberance.

The comparisons in the genesis of Beethoven’s Septet (see page 5) and Schubert’s Octet are numerous and clearly more than a coincidence. Both can be described as being in the spirit of entertaining Divertimenti – written as pure entertainment and for diversion rather than profundity – and the construction of the individual movements of Schubert’s Octet clearly follow the pattern of the Septet. Yet for all the signs of respect and admiration, is it just possible that in adding an instrument and exceeding the great master in the length of the piece, that Schubert was even trying to surpass Beethoven?

Tickets*: £17.50 / £12 Disabled & Unemployed / £5 Students & Under 35s

“Beethoven’s music opens the realms of the colossal and the immeasurable. It evokes terror, fright, horror and pain, and awakens that endless longing which is the essence of romanticism.”

E.T.A. Hoffman

This concert is generously supported by Kate Dugdale.

*A transaction fee of £1.50 (£1 online) applies to all bookings (excluding cash) made at Sheffield Theatres.

Book at www.musicintheround.co.uk or on 0114 249 6000

Festival Diary

Friday 6 May 7.15pm MAGNIFICENT SEVEN

Ensemble 360 present two sparkling septets to open the Festival

Saturday 7 May 11am BRING & PLAY STRINGS WORKSHOP

Play a string instrument? Join in!

11.30am

Free performance in Tudor Square.

Play a brass instrument? Join in!

BRILLIANT BRASS WITH BEETHOVEN

12.45pm HEROICS

Ensemble 360 perform BEETHOVEN’s great 3rd symphony up close.

3pm IN BEETHOVEN’S HAND

Professor William Drabkin reveals Beethoven’s composing secrets in this talk

4.30pm

6pm

HARRY THE PIANO

Dazzling improvisation for all the family

INTRODUCING RODERICK WILLIAMS

Meet our new Singer-in-Residence

7.15pm KREUTZER VS KREUTZER Laura Wade’s gripping play for voices featuring BEETHOVEN’s

Violin Sonata in A major and JANÁČEK’s String Quartet No.1 Sunday 8 May 2pm SEASCAPES

Extraordinary new soundscapes composed by young Sheffielders

4pm THE RIME OF THE Roderick Williams and Ensemble 360 perform a dramatic

ANCIENT MARINER new telling of Coleridge’s epic poem by HOWARD SKEMPTON. Monday 9 May 10.15am & MUSIC BOX for 2-4 year olds Live music for little ones, including singing, moving,

11.30am puppets and more!

12.45pm INSPIRATION: PART I

The Beethoven effect: Ensemble 360 present BARTÓK and MOZART

7.15pm INSPIRATION: PART II

BEETHOVEN at his finest: Quintet for Piano and Winds in E flat; String Quartet Op.131

Tuesday 10 May

Relaxed concert for grown-ups with babies

10.15am & MUSIC BOX: BABIES 11.30am

12.45pm SERENADE

7.15pm AVISON ENSEMBLE

Beguiling Beethoven and a joke thrown in! BEETHOVEN Serenade in D; Sextet in E flat HOFFMEISTER Echo Partita Captivating Baroque music by BACH, STAMITZ and Beethoven’s hero, HANDEL

Wednesday 11 May 10am – 4pm BBC TEN PIECES

12.45pm LINEAGE

Documentary filming with schools. Feel free to drop in The before and after effect: BACH, BEETHOVEN & SCHOENBERG

7pm THE TORCH-CARRIER

The Legacy of Beethoven: BEETHOVEN, WEBERN & BRAHMS

9pm ‘DIABELLI’

Piano fireworks! BEETHOVEN’s formidable Diabelli’s Variations

HOW WE MAKE OUR MUSIC Talk and discussion led by composers, PLATFORM 4 Thursday 12 May 11am

12.45pm HERITAGE The Shadow of Beethoven : SCHOENBERG String Trio;

BEETHOVEN String Quintet in E flat.

2.15pm COME AND COMPOSE

Workshop with our resident composers for the day, PLATFORM 4

7.15pm GREATNESS

The pinnacle of musical achievement? BEETHOVEN Harp String Quartet; SCHUBERT String Quintet in C

Friday 13 May 12.45pm

Something borrowed, something new: including BEETHOVEN’s magnificent String Trio in E flat

ON THE SHOULDERS OF MOZART

7pm IMPROVISATION

Flights of unlikely fancy: BEETHOVEN, SCHOENBERG and HAYDN’s String Quartet in E flat

9pm JULIAN JOSEPH

From one improviser to another... Jazz pianist Julian Joseph plays BEETHOVEN’s String Quartet Op.132 arranged by Joseph!

Saturday 14 May 1pm WHY BEETHOVEN THREW THE STEW

Family concert

2pm THE GREAT FESTIVAL

BAKE-HOVEN EVENT

Epic cakes in Tudor Square

3pm THE MAN REVEALED

An enlightening talk by broadcaster and Beethoven expert, John Suchet

4.30pm TIM HORTON &

BENJAMIN FRITH

One piano, four hands, even more fireworks!

Featuring BEETHOVEN’s incomparable Grosse Fuge

7.15pm RADIANT BEAMS

A grand festival finale of BEETHOVEN, HANDEL & SCHUBERT

A Sheffield Theatres Production

Venues & booking information Crucible Theatre, Studio and Adelphi Room 55 Norfolk Street, Sheffield, S1 1DA

Seating Areas: All seats in the Studio are unreserved, but please specify which area you wish to sit in when booking, i.e. stage level, tier one or tier two. All seats in the main house are reserved at the time of booking.

Talks and Q&As: All pre-concert talks are free to concert ticket holders but please request a separate ticket for talks at the box office. A separate ticket is not required for post-concert Q&As. Drinks: You may take drinks purchased from the Crucible bars into our concerts in plastic glasses which can be provided by Sheffield Theatres staff.

Access: These venues offer easy access for wheelchair users although spaces are limited in the auditoriums; please inform the box office at the time of booking if you require a wheelchair space.

Latecomers: The auditorium will open 30 minutes before the advertised start time (15 minutes for pre-concert talks). Please note that latecomers will not be admitted until a suitable break in the performance.

Upper Chapel, Channing Hall Norfolk Street, Sheffield S1 2JD (Entry to Channing Hall is from Surrey Street.)

Seating Areas: All seats are unreserved.

Access: Upper Chapel offers access for wheelchair users although spaces are limited; please inform the box office at the time of booking if you require a wheelchair space.

Transport information

Parking: There is a 24-hour Q-Park on Charles Street, which offers discounted parking for Sheffield Theatres concertgoers. Present your concert ticket to the Sheffield Theatres box office to obtain a car park voucher. For Upper Chapel concerts, present your NCP Arundel Gate car-park ticket to a member of staff at the Chapel, and receive a carpark discount voucher that reduces the charge to £4.70.

For blue badge holders, spaces are available in the Q-Park, NCP car park, and outside the theatre on Surrey Street and Norfolk Street.

Public Transport: The nearest bus stops are on Arundel Gate (50m) and High Street (300m). There are two Supertram stops in close proximity to the theatres and Upper Chapel: Castle Square and Cathedral (both 400m).

Booking Your Tickets

0114 249 6000 | sheffieldtheatres.co.uk In person at Sheffield Theatres box office Opening Hours: Monday – Saturday, 10am – 8pm On non-performance days the box office closes at 6pm.

Booking Dates

Advanced booking for Friends opens on Saturday 9 January at 10am in person or by phone.

Tickets at this time are limited to two per Friend per event / four per event for Joint Friends.

General booking opens on Saturday 16 January at 10am in person, by phone or online.

Concessions: Concessions are available for people with disabilities, those registered unemployed, students and under 35s. Prices are indicated on each concert page.

Re-Sales: If the event is sold out Sheffield Theatres will endeavour to re-sell your tickets on your behalf at a charge of £2.00 per ticket.

Booking Fees: A transaction fee of £1.50 (£1.00 online) applies to all bookings (excluding cash) made at Sheffield Theatres. The fee remains the same irrespective of the number of tickets you purchase.

MAKE FRIENDS WITH MUSIC IN THE ROUND

Based on the novel by Paul Gallico A new musical by Richard Taylor and Rachel Wagstaff

For a modest annual donation, Friends receive priority booking, exclusive newsletters, invitations to special events and the chance to be closely involved in the life of Music in the Round. Our Friends make an enormous contribution to our work, and without their commitment, loyalty and support we could not achieve our aims, develop as an organisation or present such a wide range of artists and programmes. There is a great sense of community between Friends, which adds to the warmth and spirit of every concert that musicians often comment upon. Do join us and enjoy playing your part in keeping this spirit alive.

You can become a Friend by donating £60 a year (£75 for joint givers – two people at the same address), or be an Online Friend for a minimum of £25 a year to get just the newsletter and priority booking.

For more information on the Friends scheme and opportunities to volunteer, please visit the Support Us section of our website at www.musicintheround.co.uk, pick up a leaflet at any concert, call us on 0114 281 4660 or emailinfo@musicintheround.co.uk

Daniel Evans directs this heart-warming new musical about a London cleaning lady who pursues an impossible dream.

World Première

Wed 18 May - Sat 4 June Box Office 0114 249 6000 sheffieldtheatres.co.uk Image by AKA

“When he came to us, he used to stick his head in the door and make sure there was no one there whom he disliked.

He was small and plain-looking with an ugly, red, pock-marked face. His hair was quite dark and hung shaggily around his face. He spoke in a strong dialect and in a rather common way…”

Frau von Bernhard on Ludwig van Beethoven

Thank you

MUSIC IN THE ROUND IS ENORMOUSLY GRATEFUL TO ALL ITS FUNDERS, SPONSORS, SUPPORTERS AND FRIENDS, WITHOUT WHOM THESE CONCERTS WOULD NOT BE POSSIBLE.

Funders: Arts Council England Mayfield Valley Arts Trust The Lindsay Foundation The Andrew McEwan Fund With additional funding from a legacy payment by Miss D R Kurzman, awarded by Arts Council England Lifelong Patrons: John Cowling Kate Dugdale James & Angela Kellie David Megginson & Vivien Whitaker Prudence Scott Maurice & Sheila Millward Alan & Ellen Reid

All images of Ensemble 360 in this brochure were taken during live concerts by David Shapiro, who has donated their use to Music in the Round.

We are very grateful to him. www.davidshapirophotography.com Cover photo of Roderick Williams (top row, 2nd from left) by Benjamin Ealovega and of Bring and Play Day (top row, far right) by Andrew Stepan.

Music in the Round, 4th Floor, Sheffield Central Library, Surrey Street, Sheffield S1 1XZ Tel: 0114 281 4660 info@musicintheround.co.uk All details are correct at time of going to press.

Music in the Round reserves the right to make alterations to the programme or artists if necessary.

Registered Charity No. 326811 Registered company number; 1880734.

VAT number; 391 1875 33.