Winter 2019 Wigmore Series

2 0 1 9/ 2 0 S E A S O N JANUARY - MARCH 2020

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Director’s Introduction

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We are delighted to welcome the French mezzo-soprano Marianne Crebassa for her Wigmore Hall debut this spring, presenting a programme of her native repertoire alongside two works from the distinguished Turkish pianist, Fazıl Say, who will accompany Crebassa in January.

Vijay Iyer continues his contemplations on musicality with two events in January. Ritual Ensemble draws on various musical systems to forge a unity of orchestrated and ecstatic expressions in their music. The following afternoon, Iyer is joined in conversation by Professor Georgina Born for an exchange of ideas traversing the arts, humanities, and social and natural sciences.

Our Beethoven celebrations continue with the cycles begun in autumn, including Trio Shaham Erez Wallfisch’s complete piano trios, Jonathan Biss in the complete piano sonatas, and James Ehnes and Andrew Armstrong’s exploration of the composer’s violin sonatas. An evening in March is dedicated to Beethoven’s string trios with Daniel Sepec, Tabea Zimmermann and Jean-Guihen Queyras.

The Dover Quartet presents two consecutive concerts in January covering composers from Mozart and Rossini to Hindemith and double bassist Edgar Meyer. Meyer joins the quartet on the Sunday night for a Rossini duet and his own Quintet for strings.

In February 2020, Wigmore Hall Learning presents its annual Learning Festival. From Monday 10 to Saturday 22 February, we will explore the concept of Musical Conversations, with a special Bechstein Session event with the Sacconi Quartet to open the festival on 10 February.

The celebrated soprano Nelly Miricioiu will be leading what promises to be an insightful masterclass in March, following her lunchtime recital a week before.

In February, two evening concerts draw on the talents of many gifted chamber musicians, as they are brought together in new or unusual combinations to form the Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective.

The Hall continues its focus on two more eminent composers, Britten and Brahms. Allan Clayton spearheads our Britten focus in a programme juxtaposing the composer’s works with those of John Dowland. Stephen Hough’s residency culminates in January, collaborating with numerous musicians to highlight Brahms alongside Beethoven and Frühling, and the Vienna Piano Trio brings further works by the composer to the fore.

We are pleased to welcome the rising star Katharina Konradi for a BBC lunchtime concert in February. Our Chamber Ensemble in Residence, the Nash Ensemble, continues this season’s series Around Schubert, and presents its annual Inventions concert, this year focussing on MarkAnthony Turnage. Renowned baritone Christian Gerhaher is joined by his long-time pianist Gerold Huber for two concerts in January which are not to be missed. The wonderful Jerusalem Quartet, a Wigmore Hall regular, joins us for a lunchtime and evening recital in January.

We are looking forward to welcoming you to Wigmore Hall for an exciting line-up of performances and events this spring.

Contents At a Glance

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Calendar 8 January 10 February 40 March 68 Contemporary Music Series

94

Booking Information

98

At a Glance

January - March 2020

See pages 10-92 for full details of these concerts and page 98 for booking information.

Series and Events to look out for…

Nelly Miricioiu

72

Schumann Song Series

10

Sean Shibe

73

Pavel Kolesnikov

11

Stéphane Degout/Simon Lepper

74

Britten Series

12

Brahms Plus Series

79

Stephen Hough Residency

14

80

Marianne Crebassa/Fazıl Say

16

Mahan Esfahani: Bach Harpsichord Project

Vijay Iyer Residency: Musicality

18

81

Rachel Podger Residency

17

Dame Sarah Connolly/ Malcolm Martineau

Brahms Series

20

Alexander Melnikov

19

Mozart and the Second Viennese School 21 Christian Gerhaher/Gerold Huber

22

Philippe Jaroussky/Jérôme Ducros

26

Nash Ensemble: Around Schubert

28

European Chamber Music Academy Showcase 2020

24

Jerusalem Quartet

30

La Nuova Musica

31

Andreas Scholl/Tamar Halperin

32

MILOŠ

33

Beethoven Series

34

Beethoven Piano Trios

34

Beethoven Piano Sonatas

35

Christian Blackshaw

37

Christiane Karg Focus

36

25

84

Sun 19 Jan Dover Quartet/Edgar Meyer 27

86

Mon 20 Jan Dover Quartet

27

Tue 21 Jan Jerusalem Quartet

30

Wed 22 Jan Britten Sinfonia Principal Musicians/Katie Bray

29

Weinberg/Shostakovich Cycle

85

L’Arpeggiata

88

Angela Hewitt: The Bach Odyssey

89

Johannes Kammler/Roger Vignoles

90

Ensemble Marsyas Residency

91

BBC Radio 3 Lunchtime Concerts Mon 6 Jan Louise Alder/ Joseph Middleton

15

Mon 13 Jan Alexander Melnikov

19

Mon 20 Jan Jerusalem Quartet

30

Mon 27 Jan Jennifer Pike/ Martin Roscoe

37

Elsa Dreisig/Jonathan Ware

43

Mon 10 Feb Lucie Horsch/ Thomas Dunford

47

Kuss Quartet

42 44

Mon 17 Feb Daniel Müller-Schott/ Annika Treutler

55

Max Raabe/Christoph Israel Beatrice Rana

46

Mon 24 Feb Meta4

63

Learning Festival: Musical Conversations

48

Mon 2 Mar Lise Berthaud/ David Saudubray

71

Bechstein Session Special Event: Sacconi Quartet

49

Mon 9 Mar Ruby Hughes/Natalie Clein/ 76 Julius Drake

Paul Lewis/Steven Osborne

50

Beethoven Violin Sonatas

52

Mon 16 Mar Alessandro Fisher/ Roger Vignoles

Carolyn Sampson Album Launch

53

Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective

54

Michael Collins Residency

57

79

Mon 23 Mar Brentano String Quartet

83

Mon 30 Mar Anastasia Kobekina/ Jean-Sélim Abdelmoula

92

Anna Caterina Antonacci/Donald Sulzen 57

Chamber Music Season

Leif Ove Andsnes/Musicians from the Mahler Chamber Orchestra

58

14

The Sixteen

60

Mon 6 Jan Stephen Hough/ Michael Collins/ Castalian String Quartet Tue 7 Jan Stephen Hough/ Castalian String Quartet

14

Sat 11 Jan Stephen Hough/ Renaud Capuçon

14

73

Sun 19 Jan ECMA: Trio Hélios/ Simply Quartet

Iestyn Davies Residency

45

Inon Barnatan

28

Nash Inventions: Mark-Anthony Turnage 60th Birthday

Mon 3 Feb Katharina Konradi/ Eric Schneider

68

Sat 18 Jan Nash Ensemble: Around Schubert

83

39

66

Sat 18 Jan ECMA Masterclass: 25 Professor Johannes Meissl/ Trio Incendio

82

40

Beethoven Quartet Cycle

Fri 17 Jan ECMA: Quatuor 25 Métamorphoses/Trio Incendio

Cuarteto Casals

BBC New Generation Artists 20th Anniversary Celebration

Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin

20

Brentano String Quartet

Mauro Peter/Helmut Deutsch

Cédric Tiberghien: Beethoven Variations 63

Sun 12 Jan Vienna Piano Trio/ Radovan Vlatković

Fri 24 Jan Mark Padmore/ Sacconi Quartet

31

Sat 25 Jan MILOŠ

33

Thu 30 Jan Borodin Quartet

39

Sat 1 Feb

Meta4/Khatia Buniatishvili

Sat 1 Feb

Elena Urioste/ 41 Eivind Ringstad/Andrei Ioniţă/ Cédric Tiberghien

Sat 1 Feb

Fatma Said/ Catriona Morison/ Alessandro Fisher/ Ashley Riches/Martin Fröst/ Eivind Ringstad/ Joseph Middleton

Sat 1 Feb

Allan Clayton/Martin Fröst/ 41 Lawrence Power/ Elias String Quartet/ Christian Ihle Hadland

Tue 4 Feb Kuss Quartet Sat 8 Feb

Nash Ensemble: Around Schubert

40

41

42 46

Wed 12 Feb The Endellion String Quartet 51 Thu 13 Feb James Ehnes/ Andrew Armstrong

52

Fri 14 Feb Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective

54

Sat 15 Feb Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective

54

Mon 17 Feb Michael Collins/ 57 London Winds/Peter Sparks/ Michael McHale Wed 19 Feb Pavel Haas Quartet/ Boris Giltburg

59

Thu 20 Feb Leif Ove Andsnes/ Musicians from the Mahler Chamber Orchestra

58

Sat 22 Feb Artemis Quartet

61

wigmore-hall.org.uk

Wed 26 Feb Castalian String Quartet/ Cédric Tiberghien

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64

Fri 21 Feb The Sixteen/ Harry Christophers

60

Tue 25 Feb The English Concert/ Laurence Cummings

64

Thu 27 Feb Septura

65

Mon 2 Mar Belcea Quartet

68

Tue 3 Mar Belcea Quartet

68

Fri 6 Mar

Sean Shibe

73

Sat 7 Mar Nash Ensemble: Around Schubert

75

Wed 11 Mar Daniel Sepec/ Tabea Zimmermann/ Jean-Guihen Queyras

76

Sat 14 Mar Doric String Quartet

78

Mon 16 Mar Škampa Quartet

79

Sat 21 Mar Brentano String Quartet

83

Mon 23 Mar Cuarteto Casals

82

Tue 24 Mar Nash Inventions: Mark-Anthony Turnage 60th Birthday

86

Wed 25 Mar Quatuor Danel

85

Tue 31 Mar Wye Valley Chamber Music 92 Festival 20th Anniversary

Sunday Morning Concerts Sun 5 Jan Phoenix Piano Trio

11

Sun 12 Jan Rachel Podger

17

Sun 19 Jan Edgar Meyer

27

Sun 26 Jan Trio Shaham Erez Wallfisch 34 Sun 2 Feb Chiaroscuro Quartet

43

Sun 9 Feb Heath Quartet

47

Sun 16 Feb Andreas Brantelid/ Christian Ihle Hadland

53

Sun 23 Feb Meccore Quartet

62

Sun 1 Mar Caroline Goulding/ Danae Dörken

69

Sun 8 Mar Nash Ensemble: Around Schubert

75

Sat 29 Feb Isabelle Faust/ 66 Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin/ Bernhard Forck/Xenia Löffler Wed 4 Mar Florilegium/Ashley Solomon/ 71 Alexandra Bellamy/ Bojan Čičić/Reiko Ichise Tue 10 Mar London Handel Orchestra/ Adrian Butterfield

76

Thu 12 Mar Early Opera Company/ 77 Christian Curnyn/Anna Dennis/ Keri Fuge/Benjamin Appl

16

Sun 12 Jan Peter Kellner/Pedro Costa

19

Mon 13 Jan Simon Bode/ Graham Johnson

19

Wed 15 Jan Christian Gerhaher/ Gerold Huber

22

Thu 16 Jan Philippe Jaroussky/ Jérôme Ducros

26 23

Wed 18 Mar Mahan Esfahani

80

29

Fri 27 Mar L’Arpeggiata/ Christina Pluhar/ Luciana Mancini/ Vincenzo Capezzuto

88

Wed 22 Jan Graham Johnson Songmakers’ Almanac Fri 24 Jan Andreas Scholl/ Tamar Halperin

32

Sun 26 Jan Royal Academy of Music Song Circle

33

Wed 29 Jan Christiane Karg/ Malcolm Martineau

36

Fri 31 Jan Mauro Peter/ Helmut Deutsch

39

Mon 30 Mar Ensemble Marsyas/ 91 Peter Whelan/ Rachel Redmond/ Christopher Lowrey/ Nicholas Mulroy/Edward Grint

Sun 2 Feb Elsa Dreisig/Jonathan Ware 43

London Pianoforte Series Fri 3 Jan

Pavel Kolesnikov

11

Sun 5 Jan Jeremy Denk

15

Tue 14 Jan Elisabeth Leonskaja

21

Sun 26 Jan Jonathan Biss

35

Mon 27 Jan Christian Blackshaw

37

Sun 2 Feb Ermonela Jaho/ Steven Maughan

Wed 5 Feb Max Raabe/Christoph Israel 44 53

Tue 18 Feb Anna Caterina Antonacci/ Donald Sulzen

57

Sun 23 Feb Julia Sitkovetsky/ Roger Vignoles

62 69

Beatrice Rana

46 47

Tue 11 Feb Paul Lewis/ Steven Osborne

50

Sun 1 Mar Anna Huntley/ Graham Johnson Fri 6 Mar

Fri 7 Feb

Sun 23 Feb Cédric Tiberghien

63

Fri 28 Feb Jonathan Biss

67

Sun 29 Mar Jack Liebeck/ Katya Apekisheva

90

Sun 1 Mar Julien Brocal

69

Thu 5 Mar Inon Barnatan

73

Sun 15 Mar Piers Lane

78

Early Music and Baroque Series

Tue 17 Mar Jonathan Plowright

79

Thu 9 Jan The Mozartists/Ian Page/ 17 Samantha Clarke/Ida Ränzlöv

Fri 20 Mar Joseph Moog

83

Sat 28 Mar Angela Hewitt

89

Song Recital Series Thu 2 Jan Sir Simon Keenlyside/ Malcolm Martineau

10

45

Fri 14 Feb Carolyn Sampson Album Launch

Sun 9 Feb Richard Goode

78

45

Wed 8 Jan Marianne Crebassa/ Fazıl Say

Fri 17 Jan Christian Gerhaher/ Gerold Huber

82

Thu 6 Feb Concentus Musicus Wien/ Stefan Gottfried

11

80

Sun 15 Mar Armida Quartet

31

Sun 5 Jan Julien Van Mellaerts/ James Baillieu

Wed 18 Mar Film Screening: Zuzana: Music is Life

Sun 22 Mar Cuarteto Casals

Thu 23 Jan La Nuova Musica/ David Bates/ Christopher Lowrey/ Nick Pritchard

Sat 4 Jan Allan Clayton/ 12 Timothy Ridout/Sean Shibe/ James Baillieu

Nelly Miricioiu/ David Gowland

72

Sun 8 Mar Bethan Langford/ Sholto Kynoch

75

Sun 8 Mar Stéphane Degout/ Simon Lepper

74

Fri 13 Mar Martin Mitterrutzner/ Gerold Huber

77

Thu 19 Mar Dame Sarah Connolly/ Malcolm Martineau

81

Sun 22 Mar Iestyn Davies/ Thomas Dunford

84

Sun 29 Mar Johannes Kammler/ Roger Vignoles

90

6•

Box Office: 020 7935 2141

At a Glance

January - March 2020

Jazz Series Fri 10 Jan Vijay Iyer presents Ritual Ensemble

18

Sat 11 Jan Of Musicalities and 18 Musical Experience: Vijay Iyer and Georgina Born in conversation Thu 26 Mar Dianne Reeves

88

Contemporary Music Series

Tue 31 Mar Wye Valley Chamber Music 92 Festival 20th Anniversary

Mon 24 Feb Wigmore Study Group: Beethoven

64

The Contemporary Music Series is supported by

Thu 27 Feb Exploring Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas with Jonathan Biss

65

Thu 27 Feb Wigmore Study Group: Beethoven

64

Wigmore Hall Learning Mon 6 Jan Artist in Conversation: Stephen Hough

14

Fri 28 Feb Bärenreiter Pre-Concert Talk 65

Thu 9 Jan Introduction to Music: Brahms

15

Fri 28 Feb Post-Concert Talk with Jonathan Biss and Sally Beamish

67

Sat 29 Feb Chamber Tots: Growing in the Garden

67

Sun 5 Jan Julien Van Mellaerts/ James Baillieu

11

Wed 8 Jan Marianne Crebassa/ Fazıl Say

16

Sat 11 Jan Of Musicalities and Musical 18 Experience: Vijay Iyer and Georgina Born in conversation 21

Mon 2 Mar Wigmore Study Group: Beethoven

64

Fri 10 Jan Vijay Iyer presents Ritual Ensemble

18

Tue 14 Jan Bechstein Sessions: Beaten Track Ensemble

23

Wed 4 Mar Chamber Tots: In Space

71

Sun 19 Jan Edgar Meyer 27

Wed 15 Jan Chamber Tots: Growing in the Garden

Sun 19 Jan Dover Quartet/Edgar Meyer 27

Thu 16 Jan For Crying Out Loud!

23

Wed 22 Jan Britten Sinfonia Principal Musicians/Katie Bray

29

Thu 16 Jan Introduction to Music: Brahms

15

Fri 24 Jan Mark Padmore/ Sacconi Quartet

31

Wed 22 Jan Pre-Concert Talk: Freya Waley-Cohen

Fri 24 Jan Andreas Scholl/ Tamar Halperin

32

Sat 25 Jan MILOŠ

33

Mon 27 Jan Jennifer Pike/Martin Roscoe 37 Sat 1 Feb

Meta4/Khatia Buniatishvili 40

Fri 13 Mar Nelly Miricioiu Masterclass

72

Sat 14 Mar CAVATINA Family Concert: Viola’s Time-Travelling Musical Adventures

77

29

Wed 18 Mar Film Screening: Zuzana: Music is Life

80

Thu 23 Jan Introduction to Music: Brahms

15

Sat 25 Jan Exploring Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas with Jonathan Biss

33

Thu 19 Mar CAVATINA Schools Concert: 81 Viola’s Time-Travelling Musical Adventures

35

Tue 4 Feb Kuss Quartet

42

Fri 14 Feb Carolyn Sampson Album Launch

53

Sun 26 Jan Post-Concert Talk with Jonathan Biss and Brett Dean

15

Mon 17 Feb Michael Collins/London Winds/Peter Sparks/ Michael McHale

57

Thu 30 Jan Introduction to Music: Brahms Fri 31 Jan Chamber Tots: In Space

39

Sat 22 Feb Artemis Quartet

61

Sun 23 Feb Meccore String Quartet

62

Sun 23 Feb Cédric Tiberghien

63

Thu 5 Mar Inon Barnatan

Learning Festival: Musical Conversations 48 Mon 10 Feb Bechstein Session Special Event: Sacconi Quartet

49

73

Wed 12 Feb For Crying Out Loud!

51

Fri 6 Mar

Nelly Miricioiu/ David Gowland

72

Thu 13 Feb Schools Concert: Talking Drums

51

Fri 6 Mar

Sean Shibe

73

Mon 17 & Musical Portraits Tue 18 Feb

55

Wed 19 Feb Family Day: Handel & Hendrix

59

Thu 20 Feb Relaxed Concert: The Bad Mood

59

Fri 21 Feb Chamber Tots: Jungles and Rivers

61

Sat 22 Feb Family Concert: Talking Drums

61

Mon 9 Mar Ruby Hughes/Natalie Clein/ 76 Julius Drake Sat 14 Mar Doric String Quartet

78

Sun 15 Mar Piers Lane 78 Sat 21 Mar Brentano String Quartet

83

Mon 23 Mar Brentano String Quartet

83

Tue 24 Mar Nash Inventions: Mark-Anthony Turnage 60th Birthday

86

Fri 20 Mar Chamber Tots: Jungles and Rivers

81

Tue 24 Mar Nash Inventions Pre-Concert Talk

87

Wed 25 Mar Side by Side

85

Sun 29 Mar Julia Neuberger Talk

90

Mon 30 Mar Artist in Conversation: 91 Peter Whelan

Lara Melda © Mark Woods-Nunn

TO BOOK £5 TICKETS: Visit wigmore-hall.org.uk/u35 Or call the Box Office on 020 7935 2141

Calendar January – March 2020 January Thu 2 Jan 7.30pm Sir Simon Keenlyside/ 10

Malcolm Martineau Fri 3 Jan 7.30pm Pavel Kolesnikov 11 Sat 4 Jan 7.30pm Allan Clayton/Timothy Ridout/ 12 Sean Shibe/James Baillieu Sun 5 Jan 11.30am Phoenix Piano Trio 11 3.00pm Julien Van Mellaerts/James Baillieu 11 7.30pm Jeremy Denk 15 Mon 6 Jan 1.00pm Louise Alder/Joseph Middleton 15 6.00pm Artist in Conversation: Stephen Hough 14

7.30pm Stephen Hough/Michael Collins/ 14 Castalian String Quartet Tue 7 Jan 7.30pm Stephen Hough/Castalian String Quartet 14 Wed 8 Jan 7.30pm Marianne Crebassa/Fazıl Say 16 Thu 9 Jan 4.45pm Introduction to Music: Brahms 15 6.00pm Pre-Concert Talk: Ian Page 16

7.30pm The Mozartists/Ian Page/ 17 Samantha Clarke/Ida Ränzlöv Fri 10 Jan 7.30pm Vijay Iyer presents Ritual Ensemble 18 Sat 11 Jan 1.00pm Of Musicalities and Musical Experience: 18

Vijay Iyer and Georgina Born in conversation 7.30pm Stephen Hough/Renaud Capuçon 14 Sun 12 Jan 11.30am Rachel Podger 17 3.00pm Peter Kellner/Pedro Costa 19 7.30pm Vienna Piano Trio/Radovan Vlatković 20 Mon 13 Jan 1.00pm Alexander Melnikov 19 7.30pm Simon Bode/Graham Johnson 19 Tue 14 Jan 6.15pm Bechstein Sessions: 21

Beaten Track Ensemble 7.30pm Elisabeth Leonskaja 21 Wed 15 Jan 12.30pm Chamber Tots: Growing in the Garden 23 2.00pm Chamber Tots: Growing in the Garden 23 7.30pm Christian Gerhaher/Gerold Huber 22 Thu 16 Jan 11.30am For Crying Out Loud!

23

12 noon For Crying Out Loud!

23 4.45pm Introduction to Music: Brahms 15 7.30pm Philippe Jaroussky/Jérôme Ducros 26 Fri 17 Jan 3.00pm ECMA: Quatuor Métamorphoses/ 25

Trio Incendio 7.30pm Christian Gerhaher/Gerold Huber 23 Sat 18 Jan 3.00pm ECMA: Masterclass: Professor Johannes 25

Meissl and Trio Incendio 5.30pm Nash Ensemble: Around Schubert 28 7.30pm Nash Ensemble: Around Schubert 28 Sun 19 Jan 11.30am Edgar Meyer 27 3.00pm ECMA: Trio Hélios/Simply Quartet 25 7.30pm Dover Quartet/Edgar Meyer 27 Mon 20 Jan 1.00pm Jerusalem Quartet 30 7.30pm Dover Quartet 27 Tue 21 Jan 7.30pm Jerusalem Quartet 30 Wed 22 Jan 12.15pm Pre-Concert Talk: Freya Waley-Cohen 29 1.00pm Britten Sinfonia Principal Musicians/ 29

Katie Bray 7.30pm Graham Johnson Songmakers’ Almanac 29 Thu 23 Jan 4.45pm Introduction to Music: Brahms 15 Thu 23 Jan 7.30pm La Nuova Musica/David Bates/ 31 Christopher Lowrey/Nick Pritchard Fri 24 Jan 1.00pm Mark Padmore/Sacconi Quartet 31 7.30pm Andreas Scholl/Tamar Halperin 32

Sat 25 Jan 4.30pm Exploring Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas

with Jonathan Biss 7.30pm MILOŠ Sun 26 Jan 11.30am Trio Shaham Erez Wallfisch 3.00pm Royal Academy of Music Song Circle 7.30pm Jonathan Biss

9.30pm Post-Concert Talk: Jonathan Biss and Brett Dean Mon 27 Jan 1.00pm Jennifer Pike/Martin Roscoe 7.30pm Christian Blackshaw Wed 29 Jan 7.30pm Christiane Karg/Malcolm Martineau Thu 30 Jan 4.45pm Introduction to Music: Brahms 7.30pm Borodin Quartet Fri 31 Jan 10.15am Chamber Tots: In Space 11.45am Chamber Tots: In Space 7.30pm Mauro Peter/Helmut Deutsch

33 33 34 33 35 35 37 37 36 15 39 39 39 39

February Sat 1 Feb 11.30am Meta4/Khatia Buniatishvili 2.00pm Elena Urioste/Eivind Ringstad/

Andrei Ioniţă/Cédric Tiberghien 4.30pm Fatma Said/Catriona Morison/

Alessandro Fisher/Ashley Riches/

Martin Fröst/Eivind Ringstad/

Joseph Middleton

7.30pm Allan Clayton/Martin Fröst/ Lawrence Power/Elias String Quartet/ Christian Ihle Hadland Sun 2 Feb 11.30am Chiaroscuro Quartet 3.00pm Elsa Dreisig/Jonathan Ware 7.30pm Ermonela Jaho/Steven Maughan Mon 3 Feb 1.00pm Katharina Konradi/Eric Schneider Tue 4 Feb 7.30pm Kuss Quartet Wed 5 Feb 7.30pm Max Raabe/Christoph Israel Thu 6 Feb 7.30pm Concentus Musicus Wien/Stefan Gottfried Fri 7 Feb 7.30pm Beatrice Rana Sat 8 Feb 5.30pm Nash Ensemble: Around Schubert 7.30pm Nash Ensemble: Around Schubert Sun 9 Feb 11.30am Heath Quartet 7.30pm Richard Goode Mon 10 Feb 1.00pm Lucie Horsch/Thomas Dunford 6.15pm Bechstein Session Special Event:

Sacconi Quartet Tue 11 Feb 7.30pm Paul Lewis/Steven Osborne Wed 12 Feb 11.00am For Crying Out Loud!

12.30pm For Crying Out Loud!

7.30pm The Endellion String Quartet Thu 13 Feb 11.00am Schools Concert: Talking Drums 7.30pm James Ehnes/Andrew Armstrong Fri 14 Feb 1.00pm Carolyn Sampson Album Launch 7.30pm Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective Sat 15 Feb 7.30pm Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective Sun 16 Feb 11.30am Andreas Brantelid/

Christian Ihle Hadland Mon 17 Feb 11.00am Musical Portraits 1.00pm Daniel Müller-Schott/Annika Treutler 7.30pm Michael Collins/London Winds/

Peter Sparks/Michael McHale

40 41 41

41

43 43 45 45 42 44 45 46 46 46 47 47 47 49 50 51 51 51 51 52 53 54 54 53 55 55 57

wigmore-hall.org.uk

•9

Tue 18 Feb 11.00am Musical Portraits 55 7.30pm Anna Caterina Antonacci/Donald Sulzen 57 Wed 19 Feb 10.30am Family Day: Handel & Hendrix 59 7.30pm Pavel Haas Quartet/Boris Giltburg 59 Thu 20 Feb 11.00am Relaxed Concert: The Bad Mood 59

7.30pm Leif Ove Andsnes/Musicians from 58 the Mahler Chamber Orchestra Fri 21 Feb 10.15am Chamber Tots: Jungles and Rivers 61 11.45am Chamber Tots: Jungles and Rivers 61 7.30pm The Sixteen/Harry Christophers 60 Sat 22 Feb 3.00pm Family Concert: Talking Drums 61 7.30pm Artemis Quartet 61 Sun 23 Feb 11.30am Meccore Strign Quartet 62 3.00pm Julia Sitkovetsky/Roger Vignoles 62 7.30pm Cédric Tiberghien 63 Mon 24 Feb 1.00pm Meta4 63 3.00pm Wigmore Study Group: Beethoven 64 Tue 25 Feb 7.30pm The English Concert/Laurence Cummings 64 Wed 26 Feb 7.30pm Castalian String Quartet/ 64

Cédric Tiberghien Thu 27 Feb 3.00pm Wigmore Study Group: Beethoven 64 3.00pm Exploring Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas 65

with Jonathan Biss 7.30pm Septura 65 Fri 28 Feb 6.00pm Bärenreiter Pre-Concert Talk 65 7.30pm Jonathan Biss 67

9.30pm Post-Concert Talk: Jonathan Biss and 67 Sally Beamish Sat 29 Feb 10.15am Chamber Tots: Growing in the Garden 67 11.45am Chamber Tots: Growing in the Garden 67

7.30pm Isabelle Faust/Akademie für Alte 66 Musik Berlin/Bernhard Forck/Xenia Löffler

March Sun 1 Mar 11.30am Caroline Goulding/Danae Dörken 3.00pm Anna Huntley/Graham Johnson 7.30pm Julien Brocal Mon 2 Mar 1.00pm Lise Berthaud/David Saudubray 3.00pm Wigmore Study Group: Beethoven 7.30pm Belcea Quartet Tue 3 Mar 7.30pm Belcea Quartet Wed 4 Mar 10.15am Chamber Tots: In Space 11.45am Chamber Tots: In Space

7.30pm Florilegium/Ashley Solomon/ Alexandra Bellamy/Bojan Čičić/ Reiko Ichise Thu 5 Mar 7.30pm Inon Barnatan Fri 6 Mar 1.00pm Nelly Miricioiu/David Gowland 7.30pm Sean Shibe Sat 7 Mar 7.30pm Nash Ensemble: Around Schubert Sun 8 Mar 11.30am Nash Ensemble: Around Schubert 3.00pm Bethan Langford/Sholto Kynoch 7.30pm Stéphane Degout/Simon Lepper Mon 9 Mar 1.00pm Ruby Hughes/Natalie Clein/Julius Drake Tue 10 Mar 7.30pm London Handel Orchestra/ Adrian Butterfield Wed 11 Mar 7.00pm Daniel Sepec/Tabea Zimmermann/ Jean-Guihen Queyras

69 69 69 71 64 68 68 71 71 71

73 72 73 75 75 75 74 76 76 76

Thu 12 Mar 7.30pm Early Opera Company/Christian Curnyn/ 77

Anna Dennis/Keri Fuge/Benjamin Appl Fri 13 Mar 1.00pm Nelly Miricioiu Masterclass 72 7.30pm Martin Mitterrutzner/Gerold Huber 77 Sat 14 Mar 3.00pm CAVATINA Family Concert: Viola’s 77

Time-Travelling Musical Adventures 7.30pm Doric String Quartet 78 Sun 15 Mar 11.30am Armida Quartet 78 7.30pm Piers Lane 78 Mon 16 Mar 1.00pm Alessandro Fisher/Roger Vignoles 79 7.30pm Škampa Quartet 79 Tue 17 Mar 7.30pm Jonathan Plowright 79 Wed 18 Mar 5.30pm Zuzana: Music is Life 80 7.30pm Mahan Esfahani 80 Thu 19 Mar 11.00am CAVATINA Schools Concert: Viola’s 81

Time-Travelling Musical Adventures 7.30pm Dame Sarah Connolly/Malcolm Martineau 81 Fri 20 Mar 10.15am Chamber Tots: Jungles and Rivers 81 11.45am Chamber Tots: Jungles and Rivers 81 7.30pm Joseph Moog 83 Sat 21 Mar 7.30pm Brentano String Quartet 83 Sun 22 Mar 11.30am Cuarteto Casals 82 7.30pm Iestyn Davies/Thomas Dunford 84 Mon 23 Mar 1.00pm Brentano String Quartet 83 7.30pm Cuarteto Casals 82 Tue 24 Mar 5.00pm Nash Inventions Mark-Anthony Turnage 86

60th Birthday 6.15pm Pre-Concert Talk: 87

Mark-Anthony Turnage

7.30pm Nash Inventions Mark-Anthony Turnage 87 60th Birthday Wed 25 Mar 1.00pm Side by Side 85 7.30pm Quatuor Danel 85 Thu 26 Mar 7.30pm Dianne Reeves 88 Fri 27 Mar 7.30pm L’Arpeggiata/Christina Pluhar/ 88 Luciana Mancini/Vincenzo Capezzuto Sat 28 Mar 7.30pm Angela Hewitt 89 Sun 29 Mar 11.30am Jack Liebeck/Katya Apekisheva 90 3.00pm Julia Neuberger Talk 90 7.30pm Johannes Kammler/Roger Vignoles 90 Mon 30 Mar 1.00pm Anastasia Kobekina/ 92

Jean-Sélim Abdelmoula 6.00pm Artist in Conversation: 91

Peter Whelan 7.30pm Ensemble Marsyas/Peter Whelan/ 91

Rachel Redmond/Christopher Lowrey/

Nicholas Mulroy/Edward Grint Tue 31 Mar 7.30pm Wye Valley Chamber Music Festival 92 20th Anniversary

10 • JANUARY

Schumann Song Series Dear to the heart of the Lieder public is the output of Robert Schumann, much of it produced within a single miraculous year of intense concentration in 1840. In this ongoing series co-devised by pianist Malcolm Martineau and Lieder expert Susan Youens, Schumann’s songs are explored in the context of his predecessors, contemporaries and followers.

Thursday 2 January 7.30pm

Sir Simon Keenlyside

baritone

Malcolm Martineau piano

Programme to include: Schumann Kerner Lieder Op. 35 Songs by Mahler and Strauss Two of today’s great Lieder exponents come together for one of Schumann’s finest sequences in the genre alongside works by two of the composer’s greatest successors. £40 £35 £30 £25 £18

Sir Simon Keenlyside © Robert Workman

Box Office: 020 7935 2141

wigmore-hall.org.uk

JANUARY • 11

Friday 3 January 7.30pm

Sunday 5 January 11.30am

Pavel Kolesnikov piano

Phoenix Piano Trio

Dusk to Dawn

Haydn Piano Trio in E flat HXV:30 Mendelssohn Piano Trio No. 2 in C minor Op. 66

Chopin Fantaisie-impromptu in C sharp minor Op. 66; Nocturne in F sharp Op. 15 No. 2; Scherzo No. 3 in C sharp minor Op. 39; Prelude in D flat Op. 28 No. 15 ‘Raindrop’ Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 14 in C sharp minor Op. 27 No. 2 ‘Moonlight’ Schumann Nachtstück Op. 23 No. 1 Bartók The Night’s Music from Out of Doors Debussy Feux d’artifice from Préludes Book II Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 21 in C Op. 53 ‘Waldstein’

The three leading musicians forming the Phoenix Piano Trio came together in 2010. One of their recent commitments has been to music produced in Leipzig during the 1840s, here represented by a work in which Mendelssohn introduces the old chorale melody known in England as the ‘Old Hundredth’. £16 concs £14 inc. programme and coffee/sherry/juice

One of the most admired pianists of his generation explores his nocturnal theme via music from the start of the 19th century through to the beginning of the 20th.

Sunday 5 January 3.00pm

Julien Van Mellaerts

baritone

James Baillieu piano Mahler Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen Gareth Farr Ornithological Anecdotes (UK première) Britten Sally in our Alley; The Plough Boy; The Salley Gardens; O Waly, Waly; Oliver Cromwell Poulenc Chansons gaillardes Winner of the 2017 Wigmore Hall/ Kohn Foundation International Song Competition, the New Zealand baritone brings a group of songs from his homeland that celebrate its wildlife: composer Gareth Farr has set four texts

by Bill Manhire extolling the country’s birds. £16

£40 £35 £30 £25 £18

Pavel Kolesnikov © Eva Vermandel

Phoenix Piano Trio © Fran Marshall

Julien Van Mellaerts © Diana Roberts

12 • JANUARY

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Britten Series As both a performer and a composer who made vital contributions to the genres of chamber music and song, early in his career Benjamin Britten developed a long-lasting relationship with Wigmore Hall – the venue of several important premières of his works.

This series is made possible with additional support from the Wigmore Hall Endowment Fund Saturday 4 January 7.30pm

Allan Clayton tenor Timothy Ridout viola Sean Shibe guitar James Baillieu piano Dowland Preludium; Come again, sweet love doth now invite; Away with these self-loving lads; Sleep wayward thoughts; Come, heavy sleep Britten The Second Lute Song of the Earl of Essex from Gloriana; Songs from the Chinese Op. 58; Lachrymae: Reflections on a Song of John Dowland Op. 48; Nocturnal after John Dowland Op. 70; Evening, Morning & Night from This Way to the Tomb; Winter Words Op. 52 The relationship between Britten and a much earlier English song composer is highlighted in a programme that contains two instrumental works specifically based on Dowland originals. £40 £35 £30 £25 £18

Allan Clayton © Sim Canetty-Clarke

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JANUARY • 13

Forthcoming Concerts in the Series Sunday 23 February 3.00pm Julia Sitkovetsky soprano Roger Vignoles piano Wednesday 22 April 7.30pm Allan Clayton tenor James Baillieu piano Thursday 14 May 7.30pm Vox Luminis Thursday 21 May 7.00pm NB time Iestyn Davies countertenor Allan Clayton tenor James Newby baritone Alec Frank-Gemmill horn Olivia Jageurs harp James Baillieu piano Thursday 21 May 10.00pm Allan Clayton tenor James Baillieu piano Monday 13 July 1.00pm Allan Clayton tenor James Baillieu piano

14 • JANUARY

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Stephen Hough Residency Brahms – in some instances arranged by Hough himself – is a staple feature of the pianist’s residency.

Few musicians possess Hough’s diverse creativity and intellectual curiosity, his 2001 award of a MacArthur Fellowship marking the international reputation he has continued to enjoy.

Monday 6 January 6.00pm

Artist in Conversation: Stephen Hough Ahead of the third concert of his residency, Stephen Hough discusses the inspiration behind tonight’s programme. £5

Monday 6 January 7.30pm

Stephen Hough piano Michael Collins clarinet Castalian String Quartet Brahms Clarinet Sonata in F minor Op. 120 No. 1 Beethoven Violin Sonata in F Op. 24 ‘Spring’ (arr. Stephen Hough for clarinet and string quartet) Brahms Clarinet Sonata in E flat Op. 120 No. 2; Clarinet Quintet in B minor Op. 115 Brahms’ intense interest in the clarinet blossomed towards the end of his life due to his friendship with Richard Mühlfeld, a leading exponent of the instrument. Here one of today’s finest clarinettists takes on Mühlfeld’s role, adding a beloved Beethoven work arranged by tonight’s pianist. £50 £40 £30 £25 £18

Tuesday 7 January 7.30pm

Stephen Hough piano Castalian String Quartet Frühling Piano Quintet in F sharp minor Op. 30 Brahms Piano Quintet in F minor Op. 34 Following its successful Wigmore debut in 2017, the Castalian String Quartet went on to receive the Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award and the Merito String Quartet Award/ Valentin Erben Prize; tonight’s collaboration includes a recently rediscovered work. £50 £40 £30 £25 £18 Saturday 11 January 7.30pm

Stephen Hough piano Renaud Capuçon violin Brahms Violin Sonatas: No. 1 in G Op. 78, No. 2 in A Op. 100 & No. 3 in D minor Op. 108

All concerts featuring the Castalian String Quartet in the 2019/20 Season are supported by a contribution from Sir Siegmund Warburg's Voluntary Settlement

Two of today’s leading Brahms interpreters come together to perform all three of the composer’s violin sonatas, representing his art at its most richly lyrical and expressive. £50 £40 £30 £25 £18

Stephen Hough © Sim Canetty-Clarke

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JANUARY • 15

Sunday 5 January 7.30pm

Monday 6 January 1.00pm

Jeremy Denk piano

Louise Alder soprano Joseph Middleton piano

Bach English Suite No. 2 in A minor BWV807 Ligeti Etudes Book I Liszt Mephisto Waltz No. 1 S514 Schubert Piano Sonata in A D959 His intellectual interests informing his musicianship, the American pianist has won numerous awards, including a MacArthur Fellowship. Returning to Wigmore Hall in a year that also sees his Edinburgh Festival debut, he brings a characteristically varied programme that covers three centuries. £40 £35 £30 £25 £18

Grieg 6 songs Op. 48 Medtner Sie liebt mich!; Mailied; Nähe des Geliebten Tchaikovsky Sérénade; Les larmes Britten The Poet’s Echo Op. 76 Rachmaninov Sing not to me, beautiful maiden; How fair this spot Sibelius Säv, säv, susa; Den första kyssen; Flickan kom ifrån sin älsklings möte The acclaimed soprano returns with a programme taking in songs from Russian, British and Scandinavian composers, including Britten’s settings of poetry by Alexander Pushkin. £16 concs £14

Introduction to Music: Brahms Thursday 9 January Thursday 16 January Thursday 23 January Thursday 30 January All dates 4.45pm – 6.00pm In many ways, Johannes Brahms stands outside the mainstream of the Romantic movement. His interest lay far more in abstract music, sonatas, symphonies, variations and concertos rather than opera or programme music, although he did of course compose a great number of wonderful Lieder. His music is a fascinating combination of traditional forms and powerful, romantic harmony; the often profound emotional effect that his music exerts perhaps arises from the tension between these two forces. We will look at the huge range of his output with particular emphasis on his extraordinary contribution to chamber music.

Series ticket price £33

Jeremy Denk © Michael Wilson

Louise Alder © Gerard Collett

Johannes Brahms

16 • JANUARY

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Wednesday 8 January 7.30pm

Thursday 9 January 6.00pm

Marianne Crebassa mezzo-soprano Fazıl Say piano

Pre-Concert Talk

Ravel Vocalise-étude en forme de habanera; Shéhérazade Debussy From Préludes Book I: La cathédrale engloutie & Minstrels Fauré From Mirages: Cygne sur l’eau & Danseuse Satie 3 Gnossiennes Debussy La mer est plus belle; Le son du cor; L’échelonnement des haies Duparc Chanson triste; Au pays où se fait la guerre Fazıl Say Gezi Park 2 Op. 52 (Sonata for piano); Gezi Park 3 Op. 54b (Ballad for mezzo-soprano and piano)

Conductor Ian Page discusses tonight’s programme ahead of the evening concert. £5

The French mezzo explores her native repertoire in tandem with the distinguished pianist, two of whose works recording a protest in his native Turkey feature in this programme. £40 £35 £30 £25 £18

Marianne Crebassa © Simon Fowler

Ian Page © Sheila Rock

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JANUARY • 17

Rachel Podger Residency Thursday 9 January 7.30pm

The Mozartists Ian Page conductor Samantha Clarke soprano Ida Ränzlöv mezzo-soprano 1770 – a retrospective Vanhal Symphony in E minor Bryan e1 Gluck From Paride ed Elena: O del mio dolce ardor & Tutto qui mi sorprende... Le belle immagini Haydn Già si vede i vezzi e vanti from Le pescatrici JC Bach Guardami in volto, o madre from Gioas, re di Giuda Haydn Caro Volpino amabile from Lo speziale (2nd version) Jommelli Guardalo, è quell’istesso... Misero pargoletto from Demofoonte JC Bach Symphony in G minor Op. 6 No. 6 Mozart Se viver non degg’io from Mitridate, re di Ponto Ian Page’s visionary MOZART 250 series continues with an illuminating overview of the musical year 1770, featuring dramatically charged minor-key symphonies, lyrical and virtuosic arias and spellbinding duets. £40 £35 £30 £25 £18 Samantha Clarke © Sallie Manford

Widely acclaimed as a Baroque violinist and orchestral director, Rachel Podger has made superlative recordings of Bach’s music – her set of the solo sonatas and partitas was the recommended choice in BBC Radio 3’s Building a Library, while her discs of concertos and accompanied sonatas have been equally highly praised.

Sunday 12 January 11.30am

Rachel Podger violin Bach Sonata No. 2 in A minor for solo violin BWV1003; Partita No. 2 in D minor for solo violin BWV1004 Their original shared manuscript dating from 1720, the A minor work conforms to the standard sonata da chiesa pattern of the period, while the D minor is couched in the form of a suite of dance movements, ending with the mighty Ciaconna described by Yehudi Menuhin as ‘the greatest solo structure for violin that exists’. £16 concs £14 inc. programme and coffee/sherry/juice Forthcoming Concerts in the Series Saturday 18 April 4.00pm and 7.30pm with Kristian Bezuidenhout harpsichord Sunday 10 May 11.30am Solo Bach Monday 6 July 7.30pm Bach Double and Triple Concertos

Rachel Podger © Theresa Pewal

18 • JANUARY

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Vijay Iyer Residency: Musicality A creative figure of exceptional range and reach, as well as a writer and Harvard Professor, the American jazz pianist is Wigmore Hall’s Composer in Residence for 2019/20.

Friday 10 January 7.30pm

Vijay Iyer presents Ritual Ensemble Vijay Iyer piano Ganavya vocals Yosvany Terry saxophone, percussion Rajna Swaminathan mridangam

The Ritual Ensemble draws from various musical systems to forge a unity of orchestrated and ecstatic expressions. Through emotionally resonant collective interpretations of compositions by each of its members, the group combines contrasting energies in pursuit of the sacred. Vijay Iyer is joined by GRAMMY-nominated Afro-Cuban composer-saxophonist-percussionist Yosvany Terry, groundbreaking composer-percussionist Rajna Swaminathan, and riveting composervocalist Ganavya. £40 £35 £30 £25 £18

Saturday 11 January 1.00pm

Of Musicalities and Musical Experience: Vijay Iyer and Georgina Born in conversation Georgina Born, Professor of Music and Anthropology at Oxford University and Professorial Fellow of Mansfield College, joins Vijay Iyer for an exchange of ideas traversing the arts, the humanities, and the social and natural sciences. The two musicianscholars will each give a brief mini-lecture, Iyer on ‘Musicality’ and Born on ‘Musical Experience’, followed by a dialogue considering the intersections of these two concepts.

Approximately 1 hour in duration, without an interval £5 Forthcoming Concert in the Series Wednesday 10 June 7.30pm

Ritual Ensemble © Vivek Bald

Vijay Iyer and Aurora Orchestra

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JANUARY • 19

Sunday 12 January 3.00pm

Monday 13 January 1.00pm

Monday 13 January 7.30pm

Peter Kellner bass Pedro Costa piano

Alexander Melnikov

Simon Bode tenor Graham Johnson piano

Schumann Belsazar Op. 57; 6 Gedichte von N Lenau und Requiem Op. 90 Dvořák Biblické písne Op. 99 Tchaikovsky I bless you, forests; Does the day reign?; None but the lonely heart The Slovakian bass and Portuguese pianist present a programme that includes at its heart an 1894 song cycle by Dvořák, in which the composer sets ten texts from the Book of Psalms. £16

fortepiano Clementi Prelude alla Haydn in C from Musical Characteristics Haydn Piano Sonata in C sharp minor HXVI:36 Clementi Prelude alla Mozart in A from Musical Characteristics Mozart Fantasia in D minor K397 Clementi Piano Sonata in G minor Op. 34 No. 2 With wide-ranging musical interests that have led him to explore an exceptional breadth of repertory with tenacity and imagination, the Russian pianist focusses on the Italian-born, London-based pianist-composer Muzio Clementi, including his homages to two major contemporaries. £16 concs £14

Purcell/Britten I attempt from Love’s sickness to fly; I take no pleasure; Hark the ech’ing air!; Take not a woman’s anger ill; Music for a while; A Morning Hymn Weldon (attrib. Purcell)/ Britten Alleluia Schumann Liederkreis Op. 39 Brahms Botschaft; Sonntag; O liebliche Wangen; Am Sonntag Morgen; An ein Veilchen; Wiegenlied; Wach auf mein Herzensschöne; Es steht ein Lind; Lerchengesang; In Waldeseinsamkeit Britten On This Island Op. 11 Successful in both opera and Lieder, the Hamburg-born artist returns with one of today’s leading accompanists, who partnered him on his first CD – of songs by Brahms – in 2011. £35 £30 £26 £22 £18

Peter Kellner

Alexander Melnikov © Molina Visuals

Simon Bode © Kroeger Photography

20 • JANUARY

Brahms Series Few composers have left such an exceptional heritage of music for the recital hall as Johannes Brahms, whose equal mastery in the fields of song, piano music and chamber music has rewarded innumerable listeners and interpreters ever since his earliest works appeared in the early 1850s.

This series is made possible with additional support from the Wigmore Hall Endowment Fund Sunday 12 January 7.30pm

Vienna Piano Trio Radovan Vlatković horn Brahms Scherzo in C minor from F-A-E Sonata (Sonatensatz); Horn Trio in E flat Op. 40; Piano Trio No. 2 in C Op. 87 Established in 1988, the Vienna Piano Trio has long maintained a regular presence at Wigmore Hall. Renewing its current concentration on Brahms, this appearance sees two of its members join with the Croatian horn player Radovan Vlatković for a work composed in 1865 in the composer's mother’s memory. £40 £35 £30 £25 £18

Box Office: 020 7935 2141

Other Concerts and Events in the Series Monday 6 January 6.00pm Artist in Conversation: Stephen Hough Monday 6 January 7.30pm Stephen Hough piano Michael Collins clarinet Castalian String Quartet Tuesday 7 January 7.30pm Stephen Hough piano Castalian String Quartet Saturday 11 January 7.30pm Stephen Hough piano Renaud Capuçon violin Wednesday 26 February 7.30pm Castalian String Quartet Cédric Tiberghien piano Tuesday 17 March 7.30pm Jonathan Plowright: Brahms Plus Chopin Friday 3 April 7.30pm Castalian String Quartet Nils Mönkemeyer viola Ursula Smith cello Monday 11 May 7.30pm Takács Quartet Roger Tapping viola Monday 18 May 7.30pm Garrick Ohlsson piano Tuesday 19 May 7.30pm Vienna Piano Trio Wednesday 20 May 7.30pm Michael Collins clarinet Vienna Piano Trio Tuesday 30 June 7.30pm Castalian String Quartet

Vienna Piano Trio © Nancy Horowitz

Saturday 4 July 7.30pm Jonathan Plowright: Brahms Plus Liszt

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JANUARY • 21

Mozart and the Second Viennese School Tuesday 14 January 6.15pm – 7.05pm

Bechstein Sessions: Beaten Track Ensemble Join us for an informal performance in the Bechstein Bar from Beaten Track Ensemble. Enjoy percussionists Beth Higham-Edwards, Alice Angliss and Rosie Bergonzi’s joyful programme and vibrant performances as they showcase the musical range and storytelling capabilities of their favourite percussion instruments including the marimba, vibraphone and handpan in this specially curated celebration of life in music. £5

Vienna has been home to several musical traditions. In this series the magisterial Russian pianist brings together music by Mozart – who made the Austrian capital his home for the last nine years of his life – with works by the school founded by Arnold Schoenberg, whose impact on the course of musical history would be profound.

Tuesday 14 January 7.30pm

Elisabeth Leonskaja piano Mozart Piano Sonata in F K280 Schoenberg 3 Klavierstücke Op. 11 Mozart Piano Sonata in B flat K570; Rondo in A minor K511; Piano Sonata in F K533/494 Here the Second Viennese component comprises Schoenberg’s 3 Piano Pieces of 1909 – works that marked the beginning of his atonal period, while the three Mozart sonatas cover almost his entire engagement with the form in terms of surviving works. £40 £35 £30 £25 £18 Forthcoming Concert in the Series Monday 8 June 7.30pm

Rosie Bergonzi and Beth Higham-Edwards © Elisa Spigariol

Elisabeth Leonskaja © Marco Borggreve

22 • JANUARY

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Wednesday 15 January 7.30pm

Christian Gerhaher baritone Gerold Huber piano Mahler From Das Lied von der Erde: Der Einsame im Herbst & Der Abschied; Rückert Lieder; From Des Knaben Wunderhorn: Revelge, Der Tamboursg’sell & Wo die schönen Trompeten blasen One of the world’s most admired Lieder singers and his equally expert regular pianist focus on Mahler, for whom the genre of song held as significant importance as, and also fed into, his symphonic output. £50 £40 £30 £25 £18 Concert repeated Friday 17 January 7.30pm

Christian Gerhaher © Gregor Hohenberg

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JANUARY • 23

Wednesday 15 January 12.30pm and 2.00pm

Thursday 16 January 11.00am and 12.30pm

Friday 17 January 7.30pm

Chamber Tots: Growing in the Garden

For Crying Out Loud!

Christian Gerhaher

Liselotte Östblom/ Rupert Cox Duo

Gerold Huber piano

Join us on a musical adventure in the garden in these interactive music sessions for children aged 1 to 5 and their parents or carers. Discover exciting instruments, songs, and stories with experienced music leaders and emerging chamber ensembles. March to your own beat as we explore, play and move together!

Liselotte Östblom voice Rupert Cox piano

Parents or carers and their babies under 1 can enjoy an informal concert featuring a jazz duo from the Royal Academy of Music.

Move and groove to the music or sit back and unwind. Parents-tobe are also warmly welcomed.

12.30pm–1.30pm (1–2 year-olds) 2.00pm–3.00pm (3–5 year-olds)

Approximately 45 minutes in duration

Children £7 Adults £5

In partnership with the Royal Academy of Music

First Time Booker Offer New to Family events at Wigmore Hall? Buy your tickets for half price, either by phone or in person.

Chamber Tots © Benjamin Ealovega

baritone

Mahler From Das Lied von der Erde: Der Einsame im Herbst & Der Abschied; Rückert Lieder; From Des Knaben Wunderhorn: Revelge, Der Tamboursg’sell & Wo die schönen Trompeten blasen £50 £40 £30 £25 £18 Repeat of concert Wednesday 15 January 7.30pm

Adults £8.50 (babies come free)

First Time Booker Offer New to Family events at Wigmore Hall? Buy your tickets for half price, either by phone or in person.

For Crying Out Loud! © Benjamin Ealovega

Gerold Huber © Marion Köll

24 • JANUARY

European Chamber Music Academy Showcase 2020 The ECMA Showcase has been supported by a gift from the estates of the late Thomas and Betty Elton in memory of Sigmund Elton

Box Office: 020 7935 2141

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Friday 17 January 3.00pm

Quatuor Métamorphoses Trio Incendio Beethoven String Quartet in C Op. 59 No. 3 ‘Razumovsky’ Martinů Piano Trio No. 3 in C With its commitment to the support and development of young musicians and a longstanding connection to Wigmore Hall, the European Chamber Music Academy – founded by Hatto Beyerle in 2004 – here highlights a talented trio from Prague plus a quartet from France. £10

JANUARY • 25

Saturday 18 January 3.00pm

Masterclass with Professor Johannes Meissl and Trio Incendio Already the winner of the 2017 Gianni Bergamo Classic Music Award, the recently formed Czech trio will develop its artistry further as it works in this masterclass on Dvořák’s Piano Trio in F minor Op. 65 under the guidance of the vice rector and former Head of the Joseph Haydn Department of Chamber Music at the University of Vienna, Professor Johannes Meissl. £5

Sunday 19 January 3.00pm

Trio Hélios Simply Quartet Beethoven Piano Trio in C minor Op. 1 No. 3 Mendelssohn String Quartet in E minor Op. 44 No. 2 Two further ensembles benefit from the generous guidance of the European Chamber Music Academy: students of Johannes Meissl, the Simply Quartet returns to Wigmore Hall to explore Mendelssohn, while the Trio Hélios – its three members of the Paris Conservatoire – tackles Beethoven. £10

Quatuor Métamorphoses © J Hanck

Simply Quartet © Roland Unger

Trio Incendio © Danijel Radanović

Trio Hélios © Andrej Grilc

26 • JANUARY

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Thursday 16 January 7.30pm

Philippe Jaroussky countertenor Jérôme Ducros piano Works by Schubert and Schumann A singer who deploys his mellifluous voice to explore a wide range of music, one of the leading countertenors of our day returns for a programme of Schubert and Schumann partnered by a pianist/composer who specialises in early 19th-century and Romantic repertoire. £50 £40 £30 £25 £18

Philippe Jaroussky © Simon Fowler

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JANUARY • 27

Sunday 19 January 11.30am

Sunday 19 January 7.30pm

Monday 20 January 7.30pm

Edgar Meyer double bass

Dover Quartet Edgar Meyer double bass

Dover Quartet

Bach Cello Suite No. 1 in G BWV1007 Edgar Meyer Work in Progress* *Commissioned by Linda and Stuart Nelson, the Savannah Music Festival and San Francisco Performances, and funded by a generous grant from Linda and Stuart Nelson There are few styles available to his instrument that American double bassist Edgar Meyer has not explored: jazz, world music, progressive and bluegrass stand alongside classical in his programming and discography.

Bach has featured prominently – including all the solo cello suites transcribed for double bass.

Mozart Divertimento in D K136 Rossini Duetto in D for cello and double bass Ravel String Quartet in F Edgar Meyer Quintet for strings

Beethoven String Quartet in F minor Op. 95 ‘Serioso’ Britten String Quartet No. 1 in D Op. 25 Hindemith String Quartet No. 3 Op. 16

The double bass is once again highlighted in a programme in which Edgar Meyer collaborates with what is assuredly the most prominent and individual American ensemble of its generation. The Rossini Duetto is a rare example of a work for its unusual combination, while Meyer’s own folk-influenced Quintet seems likely to attain classic status.

Since its exceptional success in the Banff International String Quartet Competition in 2013, the American quartet has maintained a high profile with its widely acclaimed performances and recordings of a range of repertoire.

Beethoven is to the fore in a programme that also sees the quartet champion a neglected masterpiece by Hindemith.

£40 £35 £30 £25 £18

£40 £35 £30 £25 £18

£16 concs £14 inc. programme and coffee/sherry/juice

Edgar Meyer © Jim McGuire

Dover Quartet © Carlin Ma

In Memory of Peter Flatter

28 • JANUARY

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Nash Ensemble: Around Schubert Saturday 18 January 5.30pm

Nash Ensemble Simon CrawfordPhillips piano Richard Hosford clarinet Stephanie Gonley violin Adrian Brendel cello Moscheles Fantasy, Variations and Finale Op. 46 Schubert Notturno in E flat D897; Arpeggione Sonata in A minor D821 An inventive piece by the Prague-born Ignaz Moscheles, based on a Bohemian folk ong, precedes two Schubert

gems: the single-movement Nocturne for piano trio, and the Sonata originally written for the short-lived arpeggione, a cross between guitar and cello. £5

horns, full of delights, including a set of variations on Handel’s ‘Harmonious Blacksmith’ theme; the familiar one by Schubert the epitome of the divertimento in its variety and tunefulness. £38 £33 £27 £20 £15

Saturday 18 January 7.30pm

Forthcoming Concerts in the Series

Nash Ensemble

Saturday 8 February 5.30pm and 7.30pm

Rossini Sonata No. 1 in G for strings Spohr Octet in E Op. 32 Schubert Octet in F D803 The first of Rossini’s elegant string sonatas precedes a pair of octets for wind and strings: the one by Spohr, with a pair of

Saturday 7 March 7.30pm Sunday 8 March 11.30am

Schubertiade © Julius Schmid

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JANUARY • 29 Graham Johnson Songmakers’ Almanac

Wednesday 22 January 12.15pm

Wednesday 22 January 1.00pm

Wednesday 22 January 7.30pm

Pre-Concert Talk

Britten Sinfonia Principal Musicians Katie Bray mezzo-soprano

Soraya Mafi soprano Neal Davies bass-baritone Adrian Thompson tenor Graham Johnson piano

Join composer Freya WaleyCohen in conversation with Dr Kate Kennedy ahead of the lunchtime concert, in which musicians from Britten Sinfonia will be performing her new work.

Free (with lunchtime concert ticket)

Programme to include: Mahler Rückert Lieder (arr.

Freya Waley-Cohen for mezzo-soprano and chamber ensemble) Freya Waley-Cohen New work (London première) A performance featuring music

by Wigmore Hall’s Associate Composer 2019/20, Freya WaleyCohen, including her arrangement of Mahler’s Rückert Lieder, settings of five emotive poems by the influential German Romantic author whose poetry was a huge influence on Mahler’s composition.

The concert also features a new chamber piece for mezzo-soprano and chamber ensemble, as part of its world première tour. £16 concs £14

Further singers to be announced Gounod and Mrs Weldon In the second half of the 19th century, the Paris Commune of 1871 exacted such terror on Parisian citizens that a number of French people came to live in London. One of them was Charles Gounod, who came to England for three years and wrote many songs in English.

In his time here, he became caught up with one of the most interesting characters in all Victorian history, Mrs. Georgina Weldon. Graham Johnson continues his Songmakers’ Almanac series with a celebration of Charles Gounod, told through this little known story of Victorian drama and humour. £35 £30 £26 £22 £18

Freya Waley-Cohen © Patrick Allen

Britten Sinfonia © Benjamin Ealovega

Neal Davies © Gerard Collett

30 • JANUARY

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Jerusalem Quartet Monday 20 January 1.00pm Haydn String Quartet in D minor Op. 76 No. 2 'Fifths' Bartók String Quartet No. 4 BB95 Since its foundation in 1996, the ensemble has attracted a loyal following, notably at Wigmore Hall, where last season it performed the cycle of Bartók’s six quartets. Here, it repeats the Fourth alongside an example by Haydn, whose opening movement makes frequent use of a motif based on perfect fifths – hence its nickname. £16 concs £14

Tuesday 21 January 7.30pm Mozart String Quartet in D minor K421 Shostakovich String Quartet No. 2 in A Op. 68 Brahms String Quartet in C minor Op. 51 No. 1 In their second programme, the Jerusalem players perform Brahms' C minor quartet, alongside one of Mozart’s set dedicated to his elder colleague and an early but substantial piece from Shostakovich’s series, written in 1944. £40 £35 £30 £25 £18

Jerusalem Quartet © Felix Broede

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JANUARY • 31

Thursday 23 January 7.30pm

Friday 24 January 1.00pm

La Nuova Musica David Bates conductor Christopher Lowrey countertenor Nick Pritchard tenor

Mark Padmore tenor Sacconi Quartet

Purcell and Blow

Rachmaninov Romance for string quartet Jonathan Dove In Damascus

Blow God spake sometime in visions Purcell Jehova, quam multi sunt hostes Monteverdi Lamento della ninfa Purcell Incassum, Lesbia, incassum rogas (Ode on the death of Queen Mary) Monteverdi Beatus vir (Primo) Purcell Rejoice in the Lord alway; In Guilty Night (Saul and the Witch of Endor) Blow Salvator mundi Carissimi Jephte

Mark Padmore and the Sacconis premièred Jonathan Dove’s moving work in 2016, when The Guardian described it as ‘an unforgettable example of the power of art to convey something terrible through an expression that is paradoxically in itself beautiful’; it is partnered by an early movement by Rachmaninov.

Amongst the leading practitioners of Baroque repertoire, David Bates and his ensemble offer a programme placing John Blow and his pupil Purcell in the context of their Italian predecessors.

£16 concs £14

£50 £40 £30 £25 £18 Forthcoming Concert in the Series Wednesday 8 July 7.30pm

Christopher Lowrey © Rebecca Fay

Mark Padmore © Marco Borggreve

32 • JANUARY

Friday 24 January 7.30pm

Andreas Scholl countertenor Tamar Halperin piano The Twilight People Ari Frankel The Rest from Wiping Ceramic Tiles Copland From Old American Songs II: The Little Horses & At the River; I Bought me a Cat from Old American Songs I Vaughan Williams In the Spring; Silent Noon from The House of Life; The Twilight People; Tired from 4 Last Songs Berg Wo der Goldregen steht; Abschied; Vielgeliebte schöne Frau; Ferne Lieder Cage Soliloquy; Jazz Study; In a Landscape (for solo piano) Britten The Ash Grove; Greensleeves; The Salley Gardens Joseph Tawadros Beauty is Life (arr. Matt McMahon); A Truth (arr. Matt McMahon) Arvo Pärt Es sang vor langen Jahren; Vater Unser The German countertenor’s wide-ranging programme takes its name from Vaughan Williams’ setting of a haunting poem by the Irish writer Seamus O’Sullivan. £50 £40 £30 £25 £18

Andreas Scholl © James McMillan

Box Office: 020 7935 2141

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JANUARY • 33

Saturday 25 January 4.30pm – 5.30pm

Saturday 25 January 7.30pm

Sunday 26 January 3.00pm

Exploring Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas with Jonathan Biss

MILOŠ guitar

Royal Academy of Music Song Circle

Join Jonathan Biss in the Bechstein Room, where the pianist will discuss his Coursera lectures on Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas coursera.org/learn/Beethovenpiano-sonatas Free (ticket required)

Bach Lute Partita (Suite) in C minor BWV997 (arr. MILOŠ) Granados From 12 danzas españolas: Andaluza & Orientale (arr. Michael Lewin) Albéniz Asturias from Suite española (arr. Michael Lewin) Villa-Lobos 5 preludes Lennon/McCartney Blackbird (arr. Sérgio Assad); Yesterday (arr. Sérgio Assad) Harrison While My Guitar Gently Weeps (arr. Sérgio Assad) Mathias Duplessy Cavalcade One of the most captivating exponents of the classical guitar in our time, tonight’s soloist brings arrangements of works conceived for lute and piano, as well as some classic Beatles songs. £40 £35 £30 £25 £18 In Memory of Peter Flatter

Samantha Quillish soprano Yuki Akimoto mezzo-soprano Robert Forrest tenor Michael Ronan baritone Benjamin Mead piano Julia Klimek piano The complete songs of Clara Schumann Royal Academy of Music Song Circle presents the complete songs of Clara Schumann. Unlike Fanny Mendelssohn and Alma Mahler, whose creative talents were stifled by their families, Clara was encouraged to compose by both her father and Robert. In addition to touring as a concert pianist and bringing up her family, this remarkable woman composed piano and chamber music and some 30 songs. This concert features her entire Lieder output.

Approximately 75 minutes in duration without an interval £16 WIGMORE HALL EMERGING TALENT Supported by Mayfield Valley Arts Trust

Jonathan Biss © Benjamin Ealovega

MILOŠ © Lars Borges

Royal Academy of Music © Frances Marshall

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Beethoven Series Throughout the 2019/20 Season, Wigmore Hall continues to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the birth of Beethoven with a survey of almost all of his instrumental and chamber works.

Our Beethoven Celebration has been made possible thanks to a lead gift from André and Rosalie Hoffmann, with additional support from the Beethoven Circle

Beethoven Piano Trios Three leading musicians – violinist Hagai Shaham, cellist Raphael Wallfisch and pianist Arnon Erez – came together in 2009 to form a subsequently highly successful trio. Their contribution to Wigmore’s Beethoven season comprises the entirety of his piano trios, works that continue to provide the bedrock of the modern repertoire.

Sunday 26 January 11.30am

Trio Shaham Erez Wallfisch Beethoven Piano Trio in G Op. 1 No. 2 Brahms Piano Trio No. 3 in C minor Op. 101 Here the ensemble’s members place an early work by Beethoven alongside a relatively late one by Brahms: dating from 1795, the second trio from Beethoven’s official Opus 1 is particularly warmhearted, while the Brahms work, written on holiday in Switzerland in 1886, reveals the composer at his most intensely soulful. £16 concs £14 inc. programme and coffee/sherry/juice

Trio Shaham Erez Wallfisch © Michael Pavia

Forthcoming Concerts in the Series Sunday 3 May 11.30am Saturday 20 June 7.30pm

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JANUARY • 35

Beethoven Piano Sonatas Beethoven is a specialism of the American pianist Jonathan Biss, whose recording of the complete series is an ongoing project. In addition he has collaborated with Coursera to create the free video course Exploring Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas, which will eventually cover all 32 examples, and in 2011 released the eBook Beethoven’s Shadow, a meditation on the performance of the works themselves.

Each of Jonathan’s evening concerts will be followed by post-concert talks about the repertoire; he will also be providing more informal talks in the Bechstein Room on his Coursera lectures in collaboration with the Curtis Institute.

Sunday 26 January 7.30pm

Jonathan Biss piano Beethoven Piano Sonatas: No. 15 in D Op. 28 ‘Pastoral’, No. 20 in G Op. 49 No. 2, No. 3 in C Op. 2 No. 3, No. 27 in E minor Op. 90 & No. 28 in A Op. 101 This selection brings together works from various phases of Beethoven’s creativity, from the C major Op. 3 No. 2 sonata of 1795 to the substantial A major sonata of 1816, which heralds the composer’s final period. £40 £35 £30 £25 £18 9.30pm

Post-Concert Talk with Jonathan Biss and Brett Dean Following each concert in the Beethoven sonata cycle, Jonathan Biss will be joined by one of his favourite musicians to discuss the repertoire.

Free (with evening concert ticket) Forthcoming Concerts in the Series Friday 28 February 7.30pm Monday 20 April 7.30pm Saturday 9 May 7.30pm Thursday 25 June 7.30pm All followed by a post-concert talk at 9.30pm Jonathan Biss © Benjamin Ealovega

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Christiane Karg Focus Christiane Karg’s career as a lyric soprano has seen her succeed in a wide range of repertoire in many of the leading opera houses as well as in the concert and recital hall.

Wednesday 29 January 7.30pm

Christiane Karg soprano Malcolm Martineau piano R Schumann Seit ich ihn gesehen; Widmung; Rose, Meer und Sonne; Die Lotosblume; Nun hast du mir den ersten Schmerz getan C Schumann Er ist gekommen; Liebst du um Schönheit; Warum willst du and’re fragen; 6 Lieder Op. 13; Oh weh des Scheidens; Lorelei; Das Veilchen; 6 Lieder aus Jucunde Op. 23; Die gute Nacht Brahms 3rd movement from Piano Sonata No. 2 in F sharp minor Op. 2; Liebe und Frühling II Op. 3 No. 3; An ein Veilchen; Wie Melodien zieht es mir; Mondnacht The German soprano’s programme is a reminder of the close ties that bound together Robert and Clara Schumann and Johannes Brahms. £40 £35 £30 £25 £18

Christiane Karg © Gisela Schenker

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JANUARY • 37

Monday 27 January 1.00pm

Monday 27 January 7.30pm

Jennifer Pike violin Martin Roscoe piano

Christian Blackshaw piano

Dani Howard New work* (world première) Elgar Violin Sonata in E minor Op. 82 Rózsa Variations on a Hungarian Peasant Song Op. 4

Mozart Piano Sonatas: in C K279, in G K283, in D K311, in F K332 & in A minor K310

*Commissioned by BBC Her career launched with her winning performance of the Mendelssohn concerto at BBC Young Musician of the Year in 2012, the much admired violinist once more joins with her regular pianist partner in a programme featuring Elgar’s intimate duo sonata, written at the end of the First World War and containing, according to the composer’s wife, ‘wood magic’.

Mozart Revisited

Who better to celebrate Mozart’s birthday than Christian Blackshaw? This programme is the first in a sequence extending over four of the next five years in which the pianist once more revisits the composer’s piano sonatas – works he has recorded to great acclaim in the Wigmore Live series. £40 £35 £30 £25 £18

£16 concs £14

Jennifer Pike © Arno

Christian Blackshaw © Benjamin Ealovega

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TRAINEE MUSIC LEADER SCHEME Our Trainee Music Leader scheme is a unique opportunity for a musician to develop their workshop leadership skills in the context of our learning and participation events and projects, working with a diverse range of groups and settings through a structured apprenticeship.

During their time with us previous trainees have participated in and led activity with babies and young children, families, school groups, women and children who have experienced domestic violence, people who have experienced homelessness, young people with Autism Spectrum Conditions, and people living with dementia.

Former trainees have gone on to lead work with organisations including London Symphony Orchestra,

Š James Berry

Royal Opera House, Royal Academy of Music, Philharmonia Orchestra and Glyndebourne, as well as in countries across the world including the USA, Canada, Australia, Iran, Indonesia, India and Nigeria.

It is an 11-month bursary scheme, made possible through a grant from the Michael Watson Charitable Trust.

'This year has changed the way I think about music and people. I will leave Wigmore Hall as a more complete individual, with a greater ability to connect with people and enhance these connections through music.'

Luke Newby, Trainee Music Leader 2018

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JANUARY • 39

Thursday 30 January 7.30pm

Friday 31 January 10.15am and 11.45am

Friday 31 January 7.30pm

Borodin Quartet

Chamber Tots: In Space

Mauro Peter tenor Helmut Deutsch piano

Join us on a musical adventure in space in these interactive music sessions for children aged 1 to 5 and their parents or carers. Discover exciting instruments, songs, and stories with experienced music leaders and emerging chamber ensembles. March to your own beat as we explore, play and move together!

Songs after poems by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Shostakovich String Quartet No. 6 in G Op. 101 Beethoven String Quartet in F Op. 18 No. 1 Borodin String Quartet No. 2 in D An historic ensemble, the Borodin Quartet was founded in 1945 in Moscow, where all its members – original, subsequent and current – have studied.

The group’s close association with Shostakovich has given it particular authority in his works, and equally in the music of its namesake, Alexander Borodin. £40 £35 £30 £25 £18

10.15am–11.15am (1–2 year-olds) 11.45am–12.45pm (3–5 year-olds) Children £7 Adults £5

First Time Booker Offer New to Family events at Wigmore Hall? Buy your tickets for half price, either by phone or in person.

Borodin Quartet © Simon van Boxtel

Chamber Tots © Benjamin Ealovega

Schubert Der Sänger; Sehnsucht D123; Rastlose Liebe; Meeres Stille D216; Wandrers Nachtlied II; An den Mond D296; Der Fischer; Der Rattenfänger; Der König in Thule; Erlkönig; Gesänge des Harfners I-III; Ganymed; Erster Verlust; Versunken; Geheimes; An die Entfernte; Wilkommen und Abschied The Swiss tenor’s programme celebrates Schubert’s birthday on this day in 1797, and consists entirely of the composer’s Goethe songs – the final item published during the composer’s lifetime. £40 £35 £30 £25 £18

Mauro Peter © Christian Felber

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BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists 20th Anniversary Celebration

In 1999, BBC Radio 3 launched its New Generation Artists scheme, with the aim of nurturing some of the world’s most talented young musicians at the beginning of their international careers through prestigious broadcasting and concert-giving opportunities. 20 years on, the scheme boasts well over a hundred alumni, including the Belcea String Quartet, Alice Coote, Janine Jansen, Mahan Esfahani and Igor Levit. This celebration invites a host of former members of the scheme back for a wide-ranging feast of chamber music.

Saturday 1 February 11.30am

Khatia Buniatishvili piano Meta4 Kaipainen String Quartet No. 6 'The Terror Run' Franck Piano Quintet in F minor Formed in 2001, the Finnish quartet won the International Shostakovich Quartet Competition in Moscow in 2004 and was a BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist between 2008 and 2010, while the Franco-Georgian pianist was a member from 2009-11. £16 concs £14

Cédric Tiberghien © Jean-Baptiste Millot

Khatia Buniatishvili © Gavin Evans

wigmore-hall.org.uk

Saturday 1 February 2.00pm

Elena Urioste violin Eivind Ringstad viola Andrei Ioniţă cello Cédric Tiberghien piano Debussy Violin Sonata in G minor Schumann Fantasiestücke Op. 73 (version for cello and piano) Mozart Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor K478 Former BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists, violinist Elena Urioste (2012-14), violist Eivind Ringstad (2016-18), cellist Andrei Ioniţă (2016-18) and pianist Cédric Tiberghien (2005-7) come together to perform one of Mozart’s two piano quartets, preceded by Debussy’s late sonata and Schumann’s set of character pieces, intended for clarinet but with alternative options for viola or cello. £16 concs £14

FEBRUARY • 41

Saturday 1 February 4.30pm

Fatma Said soprano Catriona Morison

mezzo-soprano

Alessandro Fisher tenor Ashley Riches bass-baritone Martin Fröst clarinet Eivind Ringstad viola Joseph Middleton piano

Brahms 2 Songs with viola Op. 91 Schubert Der Hirt auf dem Felsen Plus songs and ensembles by Duparc, and Robert and Clara Schumann One current (tenor Alessandro Fisher) and five former members of the BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists scheme come together for a programme of song – the two late examples by Brahms notable for their emotive viola obbligatos, Schubert’s popular The Shepherd on the Rock for its colourful clarinet line. £16 concs £14

Elena Urioste © Alessandra Tinozzi

Fatma Said © Felix Broede

Saturday 1 February 7.30pm

Allan Clayton tenor Martin Fröst clarinet Lawrence Power viola Elias String Quartet Christian Ihle Hadland

piano

Vaughan Williams On Wenlock Edge Britten String Quartet No. 3 Op. 94 Mozart Clarinet Trio in E flat K498 ‘Kegelstatt’ Mendelssohn String Quintet No. 2 in B flat Op. 87 A further group of former BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists explore a varied selection of chamber works from three centuries, including Vaughan Williams’ powerful AE Housman settings, Britten’s final quartet with its references to his last opera Death in Venice, and a Mozart trio curiously named after 'a place where skittles are played'. £35 £30 £26 £22 £18 All four concerts will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3

Lawrence Power © Jack Liebeck

42 • FEBRUARY

Tuesday 4 February 7.30pm

Kuss Quartet Beethoven String Quartet in F Op. 135 Bruno Mantovani String Quartet No. 6 ‘Beethoveniana’* (UK première) Beethoven String Quartet in C sharp minor Op. 131 *Co-commissioned by Suntory Hall Tokyo, Philharmonie de Paris, Pro Quartet, Norddeutscher Rundfunk NDR Hannover, Concertgebouw Amsterdam and Wigmore Hall Intriguing programme ideas have characterised the ongoing success of the Kuss Quartet, which continually explores new contexts for familiar masterpieces. In this instance, it gives the first UK performance of a new work premièred in Tokyo in June 2019 and co-commissioned from the French composer by Wigmore Hall. £35 £30 £26 £22 £18

Kuss Quartet © Molina Visuals

Box Office: 020 7935 2141

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FEBRUARY • 43

Sunday 2 February 11.30am

Sunday 2 February 3.00pm

Chiaroscuro Quartet

Elsa Dreisig soprano Jonathan Ware piano

Mozart String Quartet in D minor K421 Mendelssohn String Quartet No. 2 in A minor Op. 13 Four distinguished musicians came together in 2005 to form a quartet whose subsequent trajectory has indeed been high-flying: their recording of the two works in this programme won them the 2015 Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik.

The Last Journey Duparc L’invitation au voyage; Aux étoiles (for solo piano); Chanson triste; La vie antérieure Strauss 4 Last Songs; Andante from 5 Klavierstücke Op. 3 No. 1 Rachmaninov Daisies; Etude-tableau in C Op. 33 No. 2 (for solo piano); The pied piper; In my garden at night; Dreams A recital by the multi-award-winning Franco-Danish soprano focusses on ‘The Last Journey’ including, in its exploration of three composers, final sets of songs by Strauss and Rachmaninov. £16

£16 concs £14 inc. programme and coffee/sherry/juice

Chiaroscuro Quartet © Eva Vermandel

Elsa Dreisig © Simon Fowler

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Wednesday 5 February 7.30pm

Max Raabe singer Christoph Israel piano

Max Raabe is best known for his unique interpretations of songs from the 20s and 30s.

The songs in tonight´s programme stem from Germany's Weimar Era and in few words they tell little stories; often they are part of a story.

Many have gone on to inspire whole feature films and operettas – these ‘three-minute operas’ tell us about the confusion of interhuman relationships.

Most of tonight’s songs will be in German and some in English.

Approximately 55 minutes in duration without an interval £40 £35 £30 £25 £18 Max Raabe © Gregor Hohenberg

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FEBRUARY • 45

Sunday 2 February 7.30pm

Monday 3 February 1.00pm

Thursday 6 February 7.30pm

Ermonela Jaho soprano Steven Maughan piano

Katharina Konradi soprano Eric Schneider piano

Concentus Musicus Wien Stefan Gottfried director,

An Evening with Rosina Storchio

Schubert Suleika II; An mein Herz; Suleika I Rachmaninov Lilacs; Beloved, let us fly; How fair this spot; Vocalise Strauss 3 Lieder der Ophelia Op. 67 Barber Nuvoletta Schubert Im Abendrot; Lied des Florio; Lied der Delphine

The acclaimed soprano Ermonela Jaho, making an exclusive London concert appearance as well as her Wigmore Hall recital debut, explores music championed by the renowned Italian soprano Rosina Storchio, creator of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, Leoncavallo’s Zazà and Mascagni’s Lodoletta. As well as recreating Storchio’s operatic repertoire for today’s audience, she will explore the salon pieces of the period, including rare but beautiful songs by Bellini, Verdi, Toscanini and Tosti. £40 £35 £30 £25 £18 Promoted by Opera Rara

By now the recipient of many international awards, the Kyrgyzstan-born, German-resident soprano has won plaudits in both Lied and opera and here presents a programme with a leading pianist who has been one of her teachers. The programme includes an unusual setting of a fragment of James Joyce’s Finnegan’s Wake, described as ‘slightly ironic’

by Barber himself and including quotes from Wagner’s Tristan. £16 concs £14

Ermonela Jaho © Fadil Berisha

Katharina Konradi © Christoph Gellert

harpsichord, organ

Biber Sonata No. 1 in C from Sonatae tam aris quam aulis servientes; Sonata No. 11 in C minor from Fidicinium sacroprofanum; Battalia Purcell Suite from King Arthur Vivaldi Concerto in F for violin, strings and continuo RV293 ‘L’autunno’ Telemann Overture in D TWV55:D1 Founded in 1953 by the late Nikolaus Harnoncourt and his wife Alice, the Viennese early music ensemble’s debut Wigmore Hall programme combines the familiar with the unfamiliar, including examples from Heinrich Biber’s Sonatas Suitable for Altar or Court and his Sacred and Profane Fiddle Music. £50 £40 £30 £25 £18

Concentus Musicus Wien © Johannes Baumann

46 • FEBRUARY

Friday 7 February 7.30pm

Beatrice Rana piano Bach Italian Concerto in F BWV971 Schumann Piano Sonata in F minor Op. 14 (1836 version) Albéniz Iberia Book 3 Stravinsky 3 Movements from Petrushka The Italian pianist made her orchestral debut at the age of nine and took first prize in the Montreal International Piano Competition at the age of 18. Her programme includes the 1836 version of Schumann’s ‘Concerto Without Orchestra’ and the third volume of Albéniz’s extensive Spanish suite. £35 £30 £26 £22 £18 With grateful thanks to the Patron, Benefactor & Supporter Friends of Wigmore Hall

Box Office: 020 7935 2141 Chamber Ensemble in Residence Nash Ensemble: Around Schubert

Chamber Ensemble in Residence Nash Ensemble: Around Schubert

Saturday 8 February 5.30pm

Saturday 8 February 7.30pm

Nash Ensemble

Nash Ensemble James Gilchrist tenor Richard Watkins horn Simon Crawford-Phillips

Simon Crawford-Phillips piano Richard Hosford clarinet Stephanie Gonley violin Michael Gurevich violin Lawrence Power viola Adrian Brendel cello Beethoven Clarinet Trio in B flat Op. 11 Weber Variations on a theme from Silvana J128 Fanny Mendelssohn String Quartet in E flat Beethoven’s Op. 11 Trio, with its closing variations on a theme from a comic opera, and Weber’s clarinet variations on a theme from an opera of his own, precede one of the major works of Felix Mendelssohn’s gifted sister Fanny, her only string quartet.

Approximately 1 hour in duration, without an interval £5

piano

Roger Vignoles piano* Songs by Loewe, Reichardt and Zelter* Mendelssohn String Quartet No. 2 in A minor Op. 13 Schubert Auf dem Strom D843 Schubert Piano Trio No. 1 in B flat D898 Sought-after tenor James Gilchrist explores the repertoire of German Lieder by contemporaries of Schubert, and adds Schubert’s late song with obbligato horn ‘Auf dem Strom’. The main works in the programme are Felix Mendelssohn’s A minor Quartet, with its echoes of late Beethoven, and Schubert’s B flat Trio, a work of buoyant lyricism. £38 £33 £27 £20 £15 Forthcoming Concerts in the Series Saturday 7 March 7.30pm Sunday 8 March 11.30am

Beatrice Rana © Nicolas Bets

Schubertiade © Julius Schmid

Nash Ensemble © K Leighton

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FEBRUARY • 47

Sunday 9 February 11.30am

Sunday 9 February 7.30pm

Monday 10 February 1.00pm

Heath Quartet

Richard Goode piano

Beethoven String Quartet in D Op. 18 No. 3 Brahms String Quartet in A minor Op. 51 No. 2

Bach Partita No. 5 in G BWV829 Mozart Piano Sonata in F K533/494 Debussy Images Series 2 Chopin Nocturne in E flat Op. 55 No. 2; Mazurkas: in C Op. 56 No. 2, in A minor Op. 59 No. 1, in A flat Op. 59 No. 2 & in F sharp minor Op. 59 No. 3 Debussy Pour les sonorités opposées from Etudes Book II; Pour les octaves from Etudes Book I; Pour les arpèges composés from Etudes Book II; La soirée dans Grenade from Estampes; L’isle joyeuse

Lucie Horsch recorder Thomas Dunford lute

Firm favourite at Wigmore Hall, the British quartet founded at the Royal Northern College of Music in 2002 has won exceptional praise for such live releases as the Tippett quartets and those by Bartók. Here it follows Beethoven’s early work (17981800) with one of Brahms’ mature masterpieces (1873), with its distinctive Hungarian references. £16 concs £14 inc. programme and coffee/sherry/juice

A welcome return for one of the great musicians of our time.

‘Every time we hear him,’ wrote Gramophone of the American pianist, ‘he impresses us as better than we remembered, surprising us, surpassing our expectations and communicating perceptions that stay in the mind.’

Castello Sonata Seconda in stil moderno Dowland Preludium; Flow my tears Dieupart Suite No. 5 in F Debussy Syrinx A Philidor Sonata in D minor Marais Les Voix Humaines Couperin Le rossignol-en-amour Eyck Lavolette Ortiz Recercadas Dalza Calate ala spagnola Marais Couplets de folie (Les folies d'Espagne) Together with her regular duo partner French lutenist Thomas Dunford, the Dutch recorder player has given new dignity and impetus to her chosen instrument, its surprising potential demonstrated in their diverse programme. £16 concs £14

£40 £35 £30 £25 £18

Heath Quartet © Simon Way

Richard Goode © Steve Riskind

Lucie Horsch © Dana Van Leeuwen

48 • FEBRUARY

Diphonon Duo © Benjamin Ealovega

Learning Festival Musical Conversations Our Learning Festival in 2019/20 invites you to explore the many different ways we create, perform, listen to and respond to music. We delve into the concept of musical conversation, a notion at the heart of chamber music, and invite you, your ears and your voices to take part.

We mark 250 years since the birth of one of the world’s most celebrated composers, Ludwig van Beethoven, whose own modes of musical conversation shifted when he began to lose his hearing. Yet he continued to make music, and went on to compose some of the greatest works he would ever create.

FEBRUARY • 49

Monday 10 February 6.15pm Bechstein Session Special Event: Sacconi Quartet

Friday 21 February 10.15am and 11.45am Chamber Tots: Jungles and Rivers

Wednesday 12 February 11.00am and 12.30pm For Crying Out Loud!

Saturday 22 February 10.00am and 1.00pm Family Sounds

Thursday 13 February 11.00am Schools Concert: Talking Drums

Saturday 22 February 3.00pm Family Concert: Talking Drums

Friday 14 February 10.00am and 1.00pm Family Sounds Monday 17 & Tuesday 18 February 11.00am Musical Portraits Wednesday 19 February 10.30am Family Day: Handel & Hendrix Thursday 20 February 11.00am Relaxed Concert: The Bad Mood

Monday 10 February 6.15pm

Bechstein Session Special Event: Sacconi Quartet Beethoven in the Dark The award-winning Sacconi Quartet performs one of the most emotionally demanding pieces in the repertoire, Beethoven’s iconic String Quartet No. 14 in C sharp minor Op. 131, entirely from memory, in almost complete darkness.

This is a unique performance of a profound and deeply moving piece, with neardarkness in the Bechstein Room allowing a closer connection with Beethoven’s world. £5

50 • FEBRUARY

Box Office: 020 7935 2141

Paul Lewis © Josep Molina

Tuesday 11 February 7.30pm

Paul Lewis piano Steven Osborne piano Fauré Dolly Suite Op. 56 Poulenc Sonata for Piano Four Hands Debussy 6 épigraphes antiques; Petite Suite Stravinsky 3 pièces faciles Ravel Ma mère l’Oye Two leading pianists present an attractive programme of duets almost entirely conceived within the French tradition: even Stravinsky was based in a French-speaking part of Switzerland when he wrote his 3 Easy Pieces. £50 £40 £30 £25 £18 Steven Paul Lewis Osborne © Benjamin Josep Molina/Harmonia Ealovega Mundi

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FEBRUARY • 51

Wednesday 12 February 11.00am and 12.30pm

Wednesday 12 February 7.30pm

Thursday 13 February 11.00am

For Crying Out Loud!

The Endellion String Quartet

Schools Concert: Talking Drums

Beethoven String Quartet in B flat Op. 18 No. 6 Bartók String Quartet No. 6 BB119 Mendelssohn String Quartet in E minor Op. 44 No. 2

Key Stage 2

Orix Duo Parents or carers and their babies under 1 can enjoy an informal concert featuring musicians from the Royal Academy of Music.

Move and groove to the music or sit back and unwind. Parents-tobe are also warmly welcomed.

Approximately 45 minutes in duration Adults £8.50 (babies come free) In partnership with the Royal Academy of Music

First Time Booker Offer New to Family events at Wigmore Hall? Buy your tickets for half price, either by phone or in person.

Don’t miss The Endellion String Quartet in its 41st and final season. Beethoven’s Op. 18 No. 6 is full of high spirits, invention and affection and in the finale we hear a pre-echo of the depth and spirituality of his late period.

Bartók’s highly expressive and striking last quartet was one of the first pieces in the Endellion’s repertoire. Mendelssohn’s E minor Quartet veers between extreme turbulence and captivating lyricism and includes a delightful Scherzo in his unique Midsummer Night’s Dream style.

Join percussionists Owen and Toby, otherwise known as O Duo, for a whistle stop tour through 350 years of music all played on percussion instruments. From Bach to Bongos and beyond! We invite Key Stage 2 pupils and teachers to explore a magical soundworld of marimbas, vibraphones, glockenspiels and drums a-plenty. This is set to be an exciting adventure through music from films, stage and bygone years presented in an interactive concert.

Approximately 1 hour in duration Children £4 Accompanying adults free (ticket required)

£40 £35 £30 £25 £18

For Crying Out Loud! © Benjamin Ealovega

The Endellion String Quartet © Eric Richmond

Schools Concert © Benjamin Ealovega

52 • FEBRUARY

Beethoven Violin Sonatas This season the great Canadian violinist and his fellow countryman and pianist partner explore the entirety of Beethoven’s sonatas written for their duo, demonstrating the composer’s development between the late 1790s and 1812 in works that reflect the two instruments balanced in a partnership of true equals.

Our Beethoven Celebration has been made possible thanks to a lead gift from André and Rosalie Hoffmann, with additional support from the Beethoven Circle Thursday 13 February 7.30pm

James Ehnes violin Andrew Armstrong piano Beethoven Violin Sonata in F Op. 24 ‘Spring’; Violin Sonata in A Op. 30 No. 1; Violin Sonata in C minor Op. 30 No. 2 In this sequence, the works are consecutive in this particular genre within Beethoven’s output: the much loved ‘Spring’ sonata dates from 1801, while the two sonatas from the set of three Op. 30 were composed either in that year or the following one. £40 £35 £30 £25 £18 Forthcoming Concert in the Series Thursday 4 June 7.30pm

James Ehnes © Benjamin Ealovega

Box Office: 020 7935 2141

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FEBRUARY • 53

Friday 14 February 1.00pm

Sunday 16 February 11.30am

Carolyn Sampson soprano Joseph Middleton piano

Andreas Brantelid cello Christian Ihle Hadland

Album Launch Recital Walton A Song for the Lord Mayor’s table Quilter My Life’s Delight; By a Fountainside; Dream Valley; Arab Love Song; Fair House of Joy Huw Watkins 5 Larkin Songs Bridge When most I wink; Go not happy day; Adoration; Come to me in my dreams; Love went a-riding The English soprano’s latest album focusses on English song, with classic works by three major 20th-century composers plus settings by Huw Watkins of Philip Larkin, which she premièred in 2010. £16 concs £14

piano

Myaskovsky Cello Sonata No. 1 in D Op. 12 Rachmaninov Cello Sonata in G minor Op. 19 Both former BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists, the SwedishDanish cellist and his Norwegian pianist partner bring two duo works, Rachmaninov’s sole and powerfully impassioned sonata of 1901, and his younger contemporary Nikolay Myaskovsky’s richly lyrical first example, an early work dating from 1911. £16 concs £14 inc. programme and coffee/sherry/juice In Memory of Peter Flatter

Carolyn Sampson © Marco Borggreve

Andreas Brantelid © Marios Taramides

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Box Office: 020 7935 2141

Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective Drawing on the talents of many gifted chamber musicians brought together in new or unusual combinations, the Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective is committed to the celebration of diversity in its creative line-up.

Friday 14 February 7.30pm

Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective

Mark Simpson clarinet Amy Harman bassoon Elena Urioste violin Juan-Miguel Hernandez viola Laura van der Heijden cello Joseph Conyers double bass Alec Frank-Gemmill horn Tom Poster piano Strauss Till Eulenspiegel einmal anders (arr. Franz Hasenöhrl) F Mendelssohn Fantasia in G minor for cello and piano Schumann Adagio and Allegro in A flat Op. 70 Glinka Trio pathétique Schubert Piano Quintet in A D667 ‘The Trout’ In the first of two programmes, the focus is on the Romantic era, highlighting various instruments while beginning with a kind of ‘highlights’ quintet arrangement (1954) of Richard Strauss’s tone-poem by the Austrian composer Franz Hasenöhrl (1885-1970). £40 £35 £30 £25 £18 Saturday 15 February 7.30pm

Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective

Mark Simpson clarinet Amy Harman bassoon Elena Urioste violin Juan-Miguel Hernandez viola Laura van der Heijden cello Joseph Conyers double bass Alec Frank-Gemmill horn Tom Poster piano Mozart Bassoon Quartet in B flat (after Bassoon Sonata K292) (arr. Iain Farrington) Dohnányi Sextet in C Op. 37 Beethoven Septet in E flat Op. 20 In a programme that extends from four parts to six and then seven, Kaleidoscope commences with a quartet arrangement of Mozart’s Bassoon Sonata (1775), followed by Ernő Dohnányi’s richly Romantic Sextet of 1935 and then Beethoven’s delightful Septet (1800) – an immensely popular work during the composer’s lifetime. £40 £35 £30 £25 £18

wigmore-hall.org.uk

FEBRUARY • 55

Monday 17 & Tuesday 18 February 11.00am - 3.30pm

Monday 17 February 1.00pm

Musical Portraits

Daniel Müller-Schott cello Annika Treutler piano

For young people with Autism Spectrum Conditions We invite young people with Autism Spectrum Conditions to be inspired by paintings in the National Portrait Gallery, and to create their own works of art and music with inspiring visual artists alongside Ignite ensemble.

For more information, and to apply for a place, contact Charlotte Cunningham at Turtle Key Arts on 020 8964 5060 or email charlotte@turtlekeyarts.org.uk

Dvořák 4 Romantic Pieces Op. 75 (arr. Daniel Müller-Schott for cello and piano) Webern 3 kleine Stücke Op. 11 Franck Sonata in A for cello and piano (arr. Jules Delsart) The leading German cellist returns with a programme largely consisting of late-Romantic works, two of them arrangements.

Of the numerous transcriptions of his popular Violin Sonata, César Franck gave his approval solely to the edition for cello, while Dvořák’s Romantic Pieces, scored at an intermediate stage for violin and piano, began life as a set of Miniatures for two violins and viola. £16 concs £14

Free (application required) In partnership with the National Portrait Gallery and Turtle Key Arts

Musical Portraits © Brian Slater

Daniel Müller-Schott © Uwe Arens

56 • FEBRUARY

MUSIC FOR THOUGHT In partnership with Resonate Arts and the Royal Academy of Music, we lead creative projects for people living with dementia and their families, friends and carers. Participants are recruited through Resonate Arts, who support people before, during and after each project. Sessions are led by musicians from our Music for Life programme alongside students from the Royal Academy of Music. The music making is responsive to each group, but typically includes a combination of improvisation, exploration of instruments, performances of existing repertoire, lyric writing and singing.

Š James Berry

Box Office: 020 7935 2141

wigmore-hall.org.uk

Michael Collins Residency

FEBRUARY • 57

The first ever BBC Young Musician of the Year and recipient of the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Instrumentalist Award, the virtuoso clarinettist and more recently conductor enjoys an international reputation as one of his instrument’s leading exponents who possesses a vast and still expanding repertoire of classic works and arrangements plus many new works written specially for him.

Tuesday 18 February 7.30pm

Monday 17 February 7.30pm

Respighi Deità silvane N Boulanger Versailles; Cantique; Soleils couchants; Chanson: Elle a vendu mon cœur; Mon cœur; From Les heures claires: Vous m’avez dit & C'était en juin Britten On This Island Op. 11 Poulenc Le travail du peintre

London Winds

Philippa Davies flute Gareth Hulse oboe Michael Collins clarinet, director Robin O’Neill bassoon Richard Watkins horn

Peter Sparks bass clarinet Michael McHale piano

Ligeti 6 Bagatelles Janáček Mládi Thuille Sextet in B flat for piano and winds Op. 6 Mozart Quintet in E flat for piano and winds K452 A varied collection of ensemble pieces involving London Winds, founded by Michael Collins in 1988, and ranging from Ligeti’s entertaining Bagatelles through Janáček’s hymn to youth and Ludwig Thuille’s generously romantic Sextet to Mozart’s masterpiece. £40 £35 £30 £25 £18 Forthcoming Events in the Series

Anna Caterina Antonacci soprano Donald Sulzen piano

One of the leading vocal artists of our time offers a 20thcentury programme, including Respighi’s Woodland deities song cycle, Britten’s first published group of songs with piano, Poulenc’s cycle focussing on poetry about numerous painters, and a group of songs by the composer and teacher Nadia Boulanger (1887-1979). £40 £35 £30 £25 £18

Tuesday 19 May 1.00pm Michael Collins Masterclass Tuesday 21 July 7.30pm London Winds © Eric Richmond

Anna Caterina Antonacci © JD Shaw

58 • FEBRUARY

Box Office: 020 7935 2141

Thursday 20 February 7.30pm

Leif Ove Andsnes piano Musicians from the Mahler Chamber Orchestra Mozart Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor K478; Piano Trio No. 3 in B flat K502; Fantasia in C minor K475; Piano Quartet No. 2 in E flat K493 An all-Mozart programme from the outstanding Norwegian pianist who has formed a close association as an Artistic Partner to the orchestra whose members join him for three works – the whole programme forming part of their ongoing concentration on the crucial years 1785-6. £50 £40 £30 £25 £18

Leif Ove Andsnes © Gregor Hohenberg

wigmore-hall.org.uk

FEBRUARY • 59

Wednesday 19 February 10.30am – 3.30pm

Wednesday 19 February 7.30pm

Thursday 20 February 11.00am – 12 noon

Family Day: Handel & Hendrix

Pavel Haas Quartet Boris Giltburg piano

Relaxed Concert: The Bad Mood

Recommended for families with children aged 7-11

Prokofiev Sonata in C for 2 violins Op. 56; Suite from Romeo and Juliet Op. 64 (arr.

Jiří Kabát for string quartet) Shostakovich Piano Quintet in G minor Op. 57

For ages 6 plus

Explore the musical worlds of George Frideric Handel and Jimi Hendrix with the help of Handel & Hendrix in London. Visit the rooms they lived in, discover what inspired them, and imagine the musical conversations between them before creating your own music, rounding off the day with a performance on the Wigmore Hall stage.

Children £10 Adults £15

The Russian-born Israeli pianist joins the consistently acclaimed Czech quartet for Shostakovich’s 1940 masterpiece, preceded here

by Prokofiev’s 1932 sonata for an unusual combination and a selection of movements from the same composer’s popular ballet arranged by the ensemble’s violist, Jiří Kabát. £35 £30 £26 £22 £18

TROUPE invites sound-makers everywhere to join them for an afternoon at Sonic HQ. HQ does its best to keep the world ticking tidily along, but when a Bad Mood arrives on the grid, HQ’s sound-makers find they haven’t a clue how to reach it.

Join TROUPE in a playful musical adventure, featuring movement, storytelling and music by Bach, Ravel and Cage. Weaving together brand new poetry and music from across the ages, TROUPE presents an eclectic performance of humour, colour and invention.

This relaxed concert is open to everyone aged 6 and over and provides an opportunity to hear live music in an informal environment. There is a relaxed attitude to noise and movement, and house lights remain up. Audience members can move in and out of the auditorium as they wish, and there is a designated quiet area. £5

Family Day © Benjamin Harte

Pavel Haas Quartet © Marco Borggreve

TROUPE © Benjamin Ealovega

60 • FEBRUARY

Friday 21 February 7.30pm

The Sixteen Harry Christophers conductor Byrd and Dowland Byrd Retire my soul; Come woeful Orpheus; Come, let us rejoice unto our Lord; How vain the toils; Arise Lord into thy rest; Make ye joy to God; This day Christ was born; Sing we merrily; Come jolly swains; Crowned with flowers and lilies; This sweet and merry month of May a4; Praise our Lord, all ye Gentiles; Turn our captivity, O Lord Dowland Disdain me still, that I may ever love; Welcome black night/Cease these false sports; Thou mighty God; In darkness let me dwell; Up merry mates; Sweet stay awhile; Galliard to Lachrimae; Shall I strive with words to move Having recently celebrated its 40th anniversary, one of the world’s leading choral groups returns to explore collections by two great Elizabethan composers: Byrd’s Psalmes, Songs and Sonnets (1611) and Dowland’s A Pilgrimes Solace (1612). £60 £50 £40 £30 £18

The Sixteen © Molina Visuals

Box Office: 020 7935 2141

wigmore-hall.org.uk

FEBRUARY • 61

Friday 21 February 10.15am and 11.45am

Saturday 22 February 3.00pm – 4.00pm

Saturday 22 February 7.30pm

Chamber Tots: Jungles and Rivers

Family Concert: Talking Drums

Artemis Quartet

Join us on a musical adventure in the jungle in these interactive music sessions for children aged 1 to 5 and their parents or carers. Discover exciting instruments, songs, and stories with experienced music leaders and emerging chamber ensembles. March to your own beat as we explore, play and move together!

Recommended for families with children aged 7-11

10.15am–11.15am (1–2 year-olds) 11.45am–12.45pm (3–5 year-olds) Children £7 Adults £5

First Time Booker Offer New to Family events at Wigmore Hall? Buy your tickets for half price, either by phone or in person.

Chamber Tots © Benjamin Ealovega

Join percussionists Owen and Toby, otherwise known as O Duo, for a whistle stop tour through 350 years of music all played on percussion instruments. From Bach to Bongos and beyond!

Recommended for children aged 7-11 and their parents and carers to explore a magical soundworld of marimbas, vibraphones, glockenspiels and drums a-plenty.

Arrive early for free arts activities in the Bechstein Room, run on a first come, first served basis. Drop in between 1.45pm and 2.30pm.

Children £10 Adults £12

Haydn String Quartet in C Op. 20 No. 2 Jörg Widmann String Quartet No. 7 ‘Studie über Beethoven’ (UK première) Beethoven String Quartet in B flat Op. 130 with Grosse Fuge Op. 133 Founded in Lübeck in 1989, and now based in Berlin, the ensemble takes its name from that of the Greek goddess of hunting and the wilderness. Experienced and devoted advocates of the classical repertoire, they include a new work by the highly revered contemporary German master inspired by Beethoven. £40 £35 £30 £25 £18

First Time Booker Offer New to Family events at Wigmore Hall? Buy your tickets for half price, either by phone or in person.

Family Concert © Belinda Lawley

Artemis Quartet © Felix Broede

62 • FEBRUARY

Box Office: 020 7935 2141 Britten Series

Sunday 23 February 11.30am

Sunday 23 February 3.00pm

Meccore String Quartet

Julia Sitkovetsky soprano Roger Vignoles piano

Krzysztof Penderecki String Quartet No. 3 ‘Leaves of an unwritten diary’ Smetana String Quartet No. 1 in E minor ‘From my life’ Prizewinners at the 2012 Wigmore Hall London International String Quartet Competition, the Polish ensemble offers Smetana’s poignantly autobiographical work (1876), which refers to his hearing problems, while Krzysztof Penderecki’s 2008 work also delineates what the composer has described as his ‘personal journey’.

Debussy Clair de lune from Fêtes galantes Book I; Apparition; Le jet d’eau Britten The Poet’s Echo Op. 76 Strauss Einerlei; O wärst du mein; Befreit Rachmaninov 6 Songs Op. 38 The London-born soprano with Russian and American antecedents sings Britten’s 1965 Pushkin cycle, first performed in Moscow in that year by its dedicatees – Galina Vishnevskaya and Mstislav Rostropovich. £16

£16 concs £14 inc. programme and coffee/sherry/juice

Meccore String Quartet © Anita Wąsik-Płocińska

Julia Sitkovetsky © Christina Haldane

wigmore-hall.org.uk

FEBRUARY • 63

Cédric Tiberghien: Beethoven Variations Over two seasons the versatile French pianist creates a focus on Beethoven’s extensive contributions to the variation form – something that occupied him intermittently from an early set varying a march by Dressler and dating from his 13th year to the significant achievements of his maturity – which include one of the greatest sets of variations ever composed.

Our Beethoven Celebration has been made possible thanks to a lead gift from André and Rosalie Hoffmann, with additional support from the Beethoven Circle Sunday 23 February 7.30pm

Cédric Tiberghien piano Beethoven 5 Variations on ‘Rule Britannia’ in D WoO. 79 Feldman Last Pieces Beethoven 6 Variations on an Original Theme in G WoO. 77 Cage 7 Haiku Beethoven 9 Variations on a March by Dressler in C minor WoO. 63 George Crumb Processional Beethoven 12 Variations on ‘Menuet à la Viganò’ from Haibel’s Le nozze disturbate in C WoO. 68 Cage In a Landscape Beethoven 7 Variations on ‘God save the King’ in C WoO. 78

Monday 24 February 1.00pm

Meta4 F Mendelssohn String Quartet in E flat Bartók String Quartet No. 1 BB52 Making its second Wigmore appearance this season, amongst other prizes the quartet has been awarded the Finland Prize by the Finnish Ministry of Culture in recognition of its international cultural influence, and last year made its debut at the Edinburgh International Festival. Gramophone described its recording of Bartók’s First Quartet as ‘lovingly indulged’. £16 concs £14

Here the Beethoven items – written between 1782 and 1803 – are interspersed with works by 20th-century American experimentalists. £40 £35 £30 £25 £18 Forthcoming Concert in the Series Thursday 2 July 7.30pm Cédric Tiberghien © Jean-Baptiste Millot

Meta4 © Tero Ahonen

64 • FEBRUARY

Wigmore Study Group: Beethoven Monday 24 February Thursday 27 February Monday 2 March All dates 3.00pm – 6.00pm Come and immerse yourself in the string quartets of Beethoven.

To the 18th-century listener, the four-voice texture of the string quartet was closely associated with both the contrapuntal learned style and the art of conversation.

He had always been fascinated by the minutiae of the instruments he wrote for, instructing himself in his Tagebuch to ‘share a meal with someone, where one can discuss this and that, instruments etc., violins, cellos...’. In this study series, we will look at works from all periods of the composer’s life, exploring his monumental contribution to the genre. The series is presented by composer, Julian Philips, with pianist, Laura Roberts, guest speakers and student performers from the Guildhall School of Music & Drama.

Series ticket price £70 including 3 study sessions and a ticket for the evening concert on Monday 2 March Ludvig van Beethoven © Joseph Karl Stieler

Box Office: 020 7935 2141 Brahms Series Tuesday 25 February 7.30pm

Wednesday 26 February 7.30pm

The English Concert

Castalian String Quartet Cédric Tiberghien piano

Nadja Zwiener violin Lisa Beznosiuk flute Tabea Debus recorder Sarah Humphrys recorder Laurence Cummings director, harpsichord Bach Orchestral Suite No. 4 in D BWV1069; Sinfonia from Geist und Seele wird verwirret; Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D BWV1050; Sinfonia from Gott soll allein mein Herze haben; Concerto in D for 3 violins BWV1064R; Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in G BWV1049 The English Concert presents a series of superlative instrumental works by Bach, each of which has a fascinating back-story – a journey of discovery that takes in the ebullient dances of the Orchestral Suite in D, the scintillating virtuosity of the Concerto for 3 violins, and the fireworks of the fifth Brandenburg Concerto.

Schumann String Quartet in F Op. 41 No. 2 Brahms String Quartet in B flat Op. 67 Schumann Piano Quintet in E flat Op. 44 In a programme in which it is partnered by Cédric Tiberghien in Schumann’s ebullient quintet, the impressive Castalian String Quartet, which has won numerous awards since its formation in 2011, explores Brahms’ final quartet (1876) and the second of three by his mentor Schumann (1842). £40 £35 £30 £25 £18 Supported by the members of the Rubinstein Circle All concerts featuring the Castalian String Quartet in the 2019/20 Season are supported by a contribution from Sir Siegmund Warburg's Voluntary Settlement

£40 £35 £30 £25 £18 The English Concert © Dario Acosta

Castalian String Quartet © Kaupo Kikkas

wigmore-hall.org.uk

FEBRUARY • 65

Thursday 27 February 3.00pm - 4.00pm

Thursday 27 February 7.30pm

Friday 28 February 6.00pm

Exploring Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas with Jonathan Biss

Septura

Bärenreiter Pre-Concert Talk

G Gabrieli Exultavit cor meum (arr. Simon Cox) Strozzi Il Primo Libro de Madrigali (a selection) (arr. Matthew Knight) Lassus Lagrime di San Pietro (arr.

Matthew Knight) Mendelssohn Organ Sonata in C minor Op. 65 No. 2 (arr. Simon Cox) C Schumann Piano Sonata in G minor (arr. Simon Cox)

Join Jonathan Biss in the Restaurant, where the pianist will discuss his Coursera lectures on Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas. coursera.org/learn/Beethovenpiano-sonatas Free (ticket required)

Bringing together some of London’s leading brass players, the members of the Royal Academy of Music’s Ensemble in Residence hold principal positions in some of the country’s top orchestras. The fate of brass chamber music mirrors that of the female composers of the past. Septura’s counterfactual history redresses both balances: placing the music of two female composers, Barbara Strozzi and Clara Schumann, alongside that of their historically more celebrated male contemporaries; and imagining that these women had written for brass.

Ever since conductor and musicologist Jonathan Del Mar embarked on his edition of the nine Beethoven symphonies in 1996, Bärenreiter have become, step by step, the premier Beethoven publishing house. Join Jonathan in the launch and examination of the new Bärenreiter Urtext Edition of Beethoven’s complete piano sonatas.

Free (ticket required)

£40 £35 £30 £25 £18 Jonathan Biss © Benjamin Ealovega

Septura

Jonathan Del Mar

66 • FEBRUARY

Box Office: 020 7935 2141

Saturday 29 February 7.30pm

Isabelle Faust violin Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin Bernhard Forck violin, leader Xenia Löffler oboe JS Bach Concerto in D minor for 2 violins BWV1043 CPE Bach Symphony in C Wq. 182 No. 3 JS Bach Concerto for violin and oboe in C minor BWV1060R (reconst. Wilfried Fischer); Violin concerto in G minor BWV1056R reconstructed from Concerto in F minor for harpsichord; Trio Sonata in C BWV529 for 2 violins and continuo; Concerto in D minor for 2 violins and continuo BWV1052R Johann Sebastian Bach and his son Carl Philipp Emanuel share a programme in which a leading violinist joins with members of one of the world’s foremost period-instrument orchestras. £50 £40 £30 £25 £18

Isabelle Faust © Felix Broede

wigmore-hall.org.uk

FEBRUARY • 67

Beethoven Sonata Cycle Friday 28 February 7.30pm

Saturday 29 February 10.15am and 11.45am

Jonathan Biss piano

Chamber Tots: Growing in the Garden

Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 6 in F Op. 10 No. 2; Piano Sonata No. 10 in G Op. 14 No. 2; Piano Sonata No. 18 in E flat Op. 31 No. 3; Piano Sonata No. 29 in B flat Op. 106 ‘Hammerklavier’ Four sonatas in sequence, leading up to one of the greatest of all challenges within Beethoven’s output – a work whose rewards are as immense as its musical and technical aspects are demanding. £40 £35 £30 £25 £18 9.30pm

Post-Concert Talk with Jonathan Biss and Sally Beamish Following each concert in the Beethoven sonata cycle, Jonathan Biss will be joined by one of his favourite musicians to discuss the repertoire.

Free (with evening concert ticket) Our Beethoven Celebration has been made possible thanks to a lead gift from André and Rosalie Hoffmann, with additional support from the Beethoven Circle

Jonathan Biss © Benjamin Ealovega

Join us on a musical adventure in the garden in these interactive music sessions for children aged 1 to 5 and their parents or carers. Discover exciting instruments, songs, and stories with experienced music leaders and emerging chamber ensembles. March to your own beat as we explore, play and move together!

10.15am–11.15am (1–2 year-olds) 11.45am–12.45pm (3–5 year-olds) Children £7 Adults £5

First Time Booker Offer New to Family events at Wigmore Hall? Buy your tickets for half price, either by phone or in person.

Chamber Tots © Benjamin Ealovega

68 • MARCH

Box Office: 020 7935 2141

Beethoven Quartet Cycle Though he contributed with distinction to every medium open to him, few would dispute the notion that Beethoven’s string quartets form an essential genre within his oeuvre, one that reflected his ongoing development both as an artist and an individual and which called forth some of his most profound creations.

Our Beethoven Celebration has been made possible thanks to a lead gift from André and Rosalie Hoffmann, with additional support from the Beethoven Circle Monday 2 March 7.30pm

Tuesday 3 March 7.30pm

Belcea Quartet

Belcea Quartet

Beethoven String Quartet in C minor Op. 18 No. 4; String Quartet in E flat Op. 74 ‘Harp’; String Quartet in F Op. 59 No. 1 ‘Razumovsky’

Beethoven String Quartet in A Op. 18 No. 5; String Quartet in C Op. 59 No. 3 ‘Razumovsky’; String Quartet in E flat Op. 127

Three major works from different periods, including the ‘Harp’ quartet, named for the pizzicato textures of its opening movement, and the first of the set dedicated to the Russian ambassador to Vienna, with its variations on a Russian theme.

The Belcea selects works from each of the three periods into which Beethoven’s creativity is traditionally divided: from the first comes the A major (1799-1800); from the second, another ‘Razumovsky’ quartet (1808); and from the final period the E flat quartet of 1824-5.

£40 £35 £30 £25 £18

£40 £35 £30 £25 £18 Forthcoming Concerts in the Series Friday 5 June 7.30pm Sunday 7 June 7.30pm

Belcea Quartet © Marco Borggreve

wigmore-hall.org.uk

MARCH • 69

Sunday 1 March 11.30am

Sunday 1 March 3.00pm

Sunday 1 March 7.30pm

Caroline Goulding violin Danae Dörken piano

Anna Huntley mezzo-soprano Graham Johnson piano

Julien Brocal piano

Fauré Violin Sonata No. 1 in A Op. 13; Morceau de lecture for violin and piano Elgar Violin Sonata in E minor Op. 82

Confinement and Freedom: women abandoned and on the open road

During a career that commenced when the violinist was in her early teens, Caroline Goulding has risen to a prominent international position amongst her generation’s musicians. Alongside a brief piece by Fauré written for a Paris Conservatoire competition, two major late-Romantic sonatas form her programme. £16 concs £14 inc. programme and coffee/sherry/juice In Memory of Peter Flatter

Schubert Vedi quanto adoro (Didone Abbandonata) Schumann Gedichte der Königin Maria Stuart Op. 135 Berlioz Zaïde Saint-Saëns L’attente Duparc Au pays où se fait la guerre Liszt Die drei Zigeuner Tchaikovsky Gypsy Song Dvořák Gypsy Songs Op. 55

Mozart Piano Sonata in B flat K333 Bach English Suite No. 3 in G minor BWV808 Chopin 24 Preludes Op. 28 The French pianist studied and has frequently performed with Maria João Pires. His first disc – a recording of Chopin, including tonight’s set of 24 Preludes – received the highest critical praise, together with a five-star rating from BBC Music Magazine. £35 £30 £26 £22 £18

A recipient of a Wigmore Hall/ Independent Opera Vocal Fellowship awarded by the judges of the 2011 Wigmore Hall/ Kohn Foundation International Song Competition, the admired mezzo recitalist has selected an unusual theme for her programme accompanied by the indefatigable Graham Johnson. £16

Caroline Goulding © Girgia Bertazzi

Anna Huntley © Kaupo Kikkas

Julien Brocal © Billy Collins

70 • MARCH

Box Office: 020 7935 2141

CAVATINA U25s SCHEME

Date time

Date time

As part of a new partnership with CAVATINA

Free concert tickets for young people and school groups Wigmore Hall and CAVATINA Chamber Music Trust have been offering free tickets to young people since 1999.

This year we are delighted to offer over 2,000 free tickets to young people aged 8–25 and school groups, as well as free pre-concert workshops for schools.

Visit wigmore-hall.org.uk/chamberzone or check our Learning brochure for forthcoming concert dates.

Supported by CAVATINA Chamber Music Trust

© James Berry

Date time

wigmore-hall.org.uk

MARCH • 71

Monday 2 March 1.00pm

Wednesday 4 March 10.15am and 11.45am

Wednesday 4 March 7.30pm

Lise Berthaud viola David Saudubray piano

Chamber Tots: In Space

Florilegium Ashley Solomon flute,

Schubert Arpeggione Sonata in A minor D821 (transc. Ulrich von Wrochem) Brahms Viola Sonata in F minor Op. 120 No. 1

Join us on a musical adventure in space in these interactive music sessions for children aged 1 to 5 and their parents or carers.

Discover exciting instruments, songs, and stories with experienced music leaders and emerging chamber ensembles.

March to your own beat as we explore, play and move together!

A widely admired French viola player and her pianist compatriot offer two major pieces actually conceived for other instruments: Schubert’s 1824 sonata was written for the bowed guitar after which it is still named, and has been transcribed for several other instruments; while the 1894 Brahms piece was originally for clarinet. £16 concs £14

10.15am–11.15am (1–2 year-olds) 11.45am–12.45pm (3–5 year-olds) Children £7 Adults £5

First Time Booker Offer New to Family events at Wigmore Hall? Buy your tickets for half price, either by phone or in person.

recorder, director

Alexandra Bellamy oboe Bojan Čičić violin Reiko Ichise viola da gamba L’Europe Galante Handel Sonata a5 in B flat HWV288 Vivaldi Concerto in C RV87 Abel Prelude WK194; Andante WK187; Tempo di minuet WK188; Adagio WK189; Vivace WK190 Buffardin Concerto a5 in E minor for flute and strings Telemann Concerto in A minor for recorder, viola da gamba and strings TWV52:a1 Vivaldi La Follia in D minor RV63 Bach Concerto for violin and oboe in C minor BWV1060R (reconst. Wilfried Fischer) Join Florilegium for a dazzling programme including double concertos by Bach and Telemann and a rarely performed concerto by one of the greatest flute virtuosos of the 18th century. £40 £35 £30 £25 £18

Lise Berthaud © Neda Navaee

Chamber Tots © Benjamin Ealovega

Florilegium © Amit Lennon

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Box Office: 020 7935 2141

Friday 6 March 1.00pm

Nelly Miricioiu soprano

David Gowland piano

Felicia Donceanu Balci in Aldebaran; Pasii Brediceanu Cine m-aude cîntînd…; Cântă puiul cucului Stoia Cînd treci, bade, pe la noi Dima Și dacă ramuri bat în geam; Ziua bună; Te iubesc o Margareta; Eu simt a ta suflare Bretan Departe; Somnoroase păsărele; Pribeag; Ce te legeni, codrule?

Enescu Si j’étais Dieu; Languir me fais; Aux damoyselles paresseuses d’escrire à leurs amys Donizetti Piangete voi … Al dolce guidami from Anna Bolena; Havvi un dio from Maria di Rohan

Friday 13 March 1.00pm – 4.00pm

Nelly Miricioiu Masterclass

One of the leading sopranos of our time returns to Wigmore Hall with a programme including some bel canto specialities as well as representative works from her homeland.

When Nelly Miricioiu fled the repressive regime of her native Romania in 1981 to settle in Britain, it launched an international career that has seen her acclaimed as one of the greatest exponents of bel canto singing in our time. In this masterclass, she works with students from London music colleges.

£16

£10 concs £8

Nelly Miricioiu © Alex Schröder

wigmore-hall.org.uk

MARCH • 73

Thursday 5 March 7.30pm

Friday 6 March 7.30pm

Inon Barnatan piano

Sean Shibe guitar

Bach Wacht auf and BWV645 (arr. Busoni); Schafe können sicher weiden BWV208 (arr.

Petri); Nun freut euch, lieben Christen BWV734 (arr. Busoni) Mendelssohn Songs without Words: in A Op. 19 No. 3 ‘The Hunt’, in F sharp minor Op. 67 No. 2, in B minor Op. 30 No. 4, in B minor Op. 67 No. 5, in E Op. 19 No. 1, in A Op. 102 No. 5, in F sharp minor Op. 19 No. 5 , in D Op. 85 No. 4 ‘Elegie’, in C Op. 67 No. 4 ‘Spinnerlied’, in G minor Op. 19 No. 6 ‘Venetian Gondola Song’ & in B flat Op. 62 No. 2; Rondo Capriccioso in E Op. 14 Thomas Adès Concert Paraphrase on Powder Her Face Schubert Piano Sonata in B flat D960

Dowland A selection of fantasies and galliards David Fennessy Rosewood Rautavaara Serenades of the Unicorn Bach Suite in E minor BWV996 Georges Lentz Ingwe In 2018, the Scottish guitarist became the first exponent of his instrument to receive the Royal Philharmonic Society Award for Young Artists. His programme concentrates on Georges Lentz’s Ingwe, the inspiration for which came to Lentz from a lone guitarist in a pub in the middle of the desert one night in 2004. £35 £30 £26 £22 £18

American conductor Alan Gilbert has described the American-Israeli pianist as ‘a complete artist, a wonderful pianist, a probing intellect, and passionately committed’. £35 £30 £26 £22 £18

Inon Barnatan © Marco Borggreve

Sean Shibe © Kaupo Kikkas

74 • MARCH

Sunday 8 March 7.30pm

Stéphane Degout baritone

Simon Lepper piano

Programme to include: Fauré La bonne chanson Op. 61 Russian songs Schumann Dichterliebe Op. 48 Widely regarded as one of the world’s leading baritones both on the operatic stage and in the concert and recital halls, Stéphane Degout sings some of his native repertory before journeying further east. £35 £30 £26 £22 £18

Stéphane Degout © Jean-Baptiste Millot

Box Office: 020 7935 2141

wigmore-hall.org.uk

MARCH • 75

Chamber Ensemble in Residence Nash Ensemble: Around Schubert

Chamber Ensemble in Residence Nash Ensemble: Around Schubert

Saturday 7 March 7.30pm

Sunday 8 March 11.30am

Sunday 8 March 3.00pm

Nash Ensemble Elizabeth Watts soprano Alasdair Beatson piano Roger Vignoles piano* Richard Hosford clarinet Marianne Thorsen violin Adrian Brendel cello

Nash Ensemble

Bethan Langford

Schubert String Trio in B flat D471 Beethoven Septet in E flat Op. 20

Sholto Kynoch piano

Ries Piano Quintet Op. 74 Rossini Songs from Les soirées musicales and Péchés de vieillesse* Schubert The Shepherd on the Rock D965*; Piano Trio No. 2 in E flat D929 The radiant soprano Elizabeth Watts sings a group of songs from Rossini’s later years, and Schubert’s much-loved cantata with obbligato clarinet The Shepherd on the Rock. The concert begins with a piece by Beethoven’s pupil Ferdinand Ries for the instruments of Schubert’s ‘Trout’ Quintet, and ends with the later and more brilliantly ambitious of Schubert’s two piano trios.

This concert in the Nash Ensemble’s Around Schubert series begins with an isolated String Trio movement from Schubert’s teenage years, written around the same time as his Fifth Symphony and with a similar fund of elegant Classical melody. It prefaces Beethoven’s six-movement Septet for wind and strings, one of the composer’s most popular works with the Viennese public of his day and a favourite with audiences ever since. £16 concs £14 inc. programme and coffee/sherry/juice

mezzo-soprano

Haydn Arianna a Naxos Schubert From 4 Canzonen: Non t’accostar all’urna & Guarda, che bianca luna; Die Blumensprache; Der Blumenbrief; An Silvia Brahms Sapphische Ode; O kühler Wald; Von ewiger Liebe Rossini La regata veneziana Her profile rising steadily, the mezzo-soprano here joins with Lieder and song specialist Sholto Kynoch for a programme that focusses on the Viennese classics and makes a detour to Venice for the Rossini item. £16

£38 £33 £27 £20 £15 Elizabeth Watts © Marco Borggreve

Schubertiade © Julius Schmid

Bethan Langford © Clive Barda

76 • MARCH

Box Office: 020 7935 2141 Beethoven String Trios

Monday 9 March 1.00pm

Tuesday 10 March 7.30pm

Wednesday 11 March 7.00pm NB time

Ruby Hughes soprano Natalie Clein cello Julius Drake piano

London Handel Orchestra Adrian Butterfield

Daniel Sepec violin Tabea Zimmermann viola Jean-Guihen Queyras

Kodály Sonatina for cello and piano Deborah Pritchard Storm Song Tavener From Akhmatova Songs: Boris Pasternak, Couplet & Dante Debussy Chansons de Bilitis Judith Weir On palmy beach Schubert Auf dem Strom A new work by the Master of the Queen’s Music is a highlight of a programme shared by three unusually talented musicians and focussing on works by John Tavener, who died seven years ago.

director

cello

Soloists to be announced

Beethoven String Trios: in E flat Op. 3, in G Op. 9 No. 1, in D Op. 9 No. 2 & in C minor Op. 9 No. 3; Serenade for String Trio in D Op. 8

Handel Parnasso in festa HWV73 This year’s London Handel Festival includes a rare revival of a serenata composed to celebrate the wedding in March 1734 of Anna, Princess Royal, the eldest daughter of George II and a pupil of the composer himself, to Prince William of Orange, and which was sufficiently successful to be revived in Handel’s later seasons. £40 £35 £30 £25 £18

£16 concs £14

In this concert bringing together three exceptional musicians whose confluence has been described as forming a ‘super trio’, Beethoven’s major works for string trio comprise the programme – all of them early pieces, dating from between 1794 and 1798.

Approximately 2 hours 30 minutes in duration, including two intervals £40 £35 £30 £25 £18 In Memory of Peter Flatter

Ruby Hughes © Phil Sharp

Adrian Butterfield

Tabea Zimmermann © Marco Borggreve

wigmore-hall.org.uk

MARCH • 77

Thursday 12 March 7.30pm

Friday 13 March 7.30pm

Saturday 14 March 3.00pm – 4.00pm

Early Opera Company Christian Curnyn director Anna Dennis soprano

Martin Mitterrutzner tenor Gerold Huber piano

CAVATINA Family Concert: Viola’s TimeTravelling Musical Adventures

(as Venus)

Keri Fuge soprano

(as Cupid)

Benjamin Appl baritone (as Adonis)

Locke Selections from Cupid and Death Blow Venus and Adonis A delightful reminder that stage masques thrived at the Cromwellian court, Cupid and Death reveals Matthew Locke as the father of English Opera. Venus and Adonis, John Blow’s exquisite ‘masque for the entertainment of the king’, ranks as one of the most entertaining and heartbreaking works in the English language. £40 £35 £30 £25 £18

Liszt Comment, disaient-ils; Oh! quand je dors; Enfant, si j’étais roi; S’il est un charmant gazon Britten A Poison Tree; When you’re feeling like expressing your affection; Not even summer yet; The red cockatoo; Wild with passion; If thou wilt ease thine heart; A Cradle Song; Birthday Song for Erwin; Um Mitternacht Schubert Entzückung an Laura I; Als ich sie erröten sah; Laura am Klavier; Der Jüngling am Bache; Abendstern; An Laura, als sie Klopstocks Auferstehungslied sang; Der Jüngling an der Quelle Liszt Kling leise, mein Lied; Freudvoll und leidvoll II; Es muss ein Wunderbares sein; Es rauschen die Winde; Go not, happy day!; Du bist wie eine Blume; Was Liebe sei The Austrian tenor’s programme includes a selection of unusual Britten songs.

Recommended for families with children aged 5-7 When a mysterious parcel arrives for Viola, she finds herself in the centre of an epic adventure through space and time. Travel with Viola, explore different musical times and places, and help her find her way home. Join presenter Lucy Drever and the fantastic Diphonon Duo on this exciting musical journey suitable for children aged 5-7 and their parents and carers.

Arrive early for free arts activities in the Bechstein Room. Drop in between 1.45pm and 2.30pm.

Children £10 Adults £12 CAVATINA Chamber Music Trust is delighted to present this concert in association with Wigmore Hall

£35 £30 £26 £22 £18 Christian Curnyn © Phil Poynter

Martin Metterrutzner © Altenberger

Family Concert © James Berry

78 • MARCH

Box Office: 020 7935 2141

Saturday 14 March 7.30pm

Sunday 15 March 11.30am

Sunday 15 March 7.30pm

Doric String Quartet

Armida Quartet

Piers Lane piano

Haydn String Quartet in E flat Op. 33 No. 2 ‘The Joke’ Britten 3 Divertimenti for String Quartet Andrea Tarrodi String Quartet No. 3 ‘Light Scattering’ Sibelius String Quartet in D minor Op. 56 ‘Voces Intimae’

Mozart Divertimento in F K138 Wolf Italian Serenade in G Mendelssohn String Quartet in D Op. 44 No. 1

Mozart Piano Sonata in C K545; Adagio in B minor K540 Brahms 4 Klavierstücke Op. 119 interspersed with Brett Dean Etude: Hommage à Brahms Schubert Impromptu in G flat D899 No. 3 Schubert/Godowsky Rosamunde Schubert/Liszt Ständchen S560 No. 7 Schubert Fantasy in C D760 ‘Wanderer’

Its diverse performances enthusiastically received wherever it plays, the Doric Quartet has maintained the highest musical standards over 22 years of appearances; its programme includes a 2014 work by the Swedish composer Andrea Tarrodi, born in 1981. £40 £35 £30 £25 £18

Named after an opera by Haydn – the father of the string quartet – the Armida was founded in Berlin in 2006 and has gone on to win important prizes as well as enjoying a period as a BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist from 2014-16; its programme features three popular classics of the medium, including Mendelssohn’s buoyant quartet of 1838. £16 concs £14 inc. programme and coffee/sherry/juice

Variety of repertoire has been one of the hallmarks of this evening’s pianist, who includes a work by his fellow Australian Brett Dean, its individual movements designed to intersperse Brahms’ final set of piano pieces. £40 £35 £30 £25 £18

Doric String Quartet © George Garnier

Armida Quartet © Felix Broede

Piers Lane © Keith Saunders

wigmore-hall.org.uk

MARCH • 79

Brahms Plus Series Monday 16 March 1.00pm

Monday 16 March 7.30pm

Alessandro Fisher tenor Roger Vignoles piano

Škampa Quartet

Schumann 5 Lieder on texts by Hans Christian Andersen Op. 40 Grieg From Hjertets melodier: To brune øjne & Jeg elsker dig; En svane; Med en vandlilie; Prinsessen; Fra Monte Pincio Delius Evening Voices; Sweet Venevil; The Nightingale; Longing Frumerie Hjärtats Sånger Op. 27 The young tenor was the joint winner of the first prize at the Kathleen Ferrier Awards in 2016 and is currently a BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist; his career, including much-praised appearances in opera as well as in other genres, is unquestionably in the ascendant.

Suk Meditation on an old Bohemian Chorale (St Wenceslas) Op. 35a Janáček String Quartet No. 1 ‘Kreutzer Sonata’ Dvořák String Quartet No. 13 in G Op. 106

The authoritative Brahms performer has devised a format in which works by the German late-Romantic master are heard alongside those of one of his major contemporaries or predecessors, thereby shedding light on both.

Tuesday 17 March 7.30pm

Jonathan Plowright piano

Among the greatest Czech quartets, their native repertoire deep within their musical bones, the musicians of the Škampa Quartet bring three key works, the 1914 Meditation by Suk reflecting on an iconic national melody, and his father-in-law and teacher’s Op. 106 a late-Romantic gem.

Brahms Plus Chopin

£40 £35 £30 £25 £18

Here the second figure is Chopin, in some ways a contrasting figure to Brahms, but one whose devotion to the piano was absolute: every one of his works includes the piano, and the vast majority are for piano alone.

£16 concs £14

Brahms Piano Sonata No. 2 in F sharp minor Op. 2 Chopin Berceuse in D flat Op. 57 Brahms Scherzo in E flat minor Op. 4 Chopin Fantaisie in F minor Op. 49 Brahms 3 Intermezzi Op. 117 Chopin Scherzo No. 2 in B flat minor Op. 31

£40 £35 £30 £25 £18 Forthcoming Concert in the Series Saturday 4 July 7.30pm Alessandro Fisher © Gerard Collett

Škampa Quartet © Vojtěch Havlík

Jonathan Plowright © Diane Shaw

80 • MARCH

Box Office: 020 7935 2141

Mahan Esfahani: Bach Harpsichord Project Wednesday 18 March 5.30pm

Zuzana: Music is Life Preceding the evening’s concert, Wigmore Hall will screen the film Zuzana: Music is Life, about the legendary harpsichordist and humanitarian figure Zuzana Růžičková, who performed for many seasons at the Hall between the 1960s and 1990s.

Music is Life is the dark and triumphant story told by Růžičková, who died in 2017 aged 90, about how she became the world-famous harpsichordist and interpreter of Bach under the Communist regime in Czechslovakia, after surviving three concentration camps during her teenage years.

Despite constant surveillance, marginal employment and confiscation of foreign currency wages by the Czech Communist Party, Zuzana became the only person worldwide to record all the keyboard works of Bach.

Since he gave the first ever solo harpsichord recital at the Proms in 2011, the Iranian-American has brought his chosen instrument to a new level of international prominence, his exuberant personality enabling him to engage with audiences throughout a repertoire he is determined to expand but which retains the works of JS Bach as its focal point.

Wednesday 18 March 7.30pm

Mahan Esfahani harpsichord Bach French Suite No. 2 in C minor BWV813; Prelude in A minor BWV922; Fugue in B minor BWV951; French Suite No. 3 in B minor BWV814; Suite in A minor BWV818a; French Suite No. 4 in E flat BWV815 Exactly what makes Bach’s French suites French is hard to define, but their use of the standard dance forms of the day such as the Allemande, Courante, Sarabande and Gigue have made them unusually attractive to generations of listeners as well as keyboard players. £35 £30 £26 £22 £18

Approximately 83 minutes in duration £10 Directed/produced by Getzels Gordon Productions Zuzana Růžičková © Getzels Gordon Productions

Mahan Esfahani © Bernhard Musil

wigmore-hall.org.uk

Thursday 19 March 11.00am – 12 noon

CAVATINA Schools Concert: Viola’s TimeTravelling Musical Adventures Key Stage 1 When a mysterious parcel arrives for Viola, she finds herself in the centre of an epic adventure through space and time. Travel with Viola, explore different musical times and places, and help her find her way home. Join presenter Lucy Drever and the fantastic Diphonon Duo on this exciting musical journey suitable for Key Stage 1 school groups.

Children £4 Accompanying adults free (ticket required) CAVATINA Chamber Music Trust is delighted to present this concert in association with Wigmore Hall

MARCH • 81

Thursday 19 March 7.30pm

Friday 20 March 10.15am and 11.45am

Dame Sarah Connolly

Chamber Tots: Jungles and Rivers

mezzo-soprano

Malcolm Martineau piano

Beethoven 6 Lieder von Gellert Op. 48 Webern 8 frühe Lieder Songs by Schoenberg Roussel Le bachelier de Salamanque; Le jardin mouillé; Invocation; Nuit d’automne Debussy Le promenoir des deux amants Chaminade Ne souviens-tu?; Attente (Au pays de Provence); Viens! mon bien-aimé!; Si j’étais jardinier A selection of English songs The versatile mezzo selects a wide-ranging programme, with a focus on the Second Viennese School plus the neglected French figures Albert Roussel and Cécile Chaminade. £40 £35 £30 £25 £18

Schools Concert © James Berry

Dame Sarah Connolly © Peter Warren

Join us on a musical adventure in the jungle in these interactive music sessions for children aged 1 to 5 and their parents or carers.

Discover exciting instruments, songs, and stories with experienced music leaders and emerging chamber ensembles.

March to your own beat as we explore, play and move together!

10.15am–11.15am (1–2 year-olds) 11.45am–12.45pm (3–5 year-olds) Children £7 Adults £5

First Time Booker Offer New to Family events at Wigmore Hall? Buy your tickets for half price, either by phone or in person.

Chamber Tots © Benjamin Ealovega

82 • MARCH

Box Office: 020 7935 2141

Cuarteto Casals – Mozart Sunday 22 March 11.30am

Monday 23 March 7.30pm

Cuarteto Casals

Cuarteto Casals

Mozart Adagio and Fugue in C minor K546; String Quartet in D K499 ‘Hoffmeister’; String Quartet in B flat K589 ‘Prussian’

Mozart Serenade in G K525 ‘Eine kleine Nachtmusik’; String Quartet in F K590 ‘Prussian’; String Quartet in D K575 ‘Prussian’

Founded in Madrid in 1991, the quartet went on to win the 2000 London International String Quartet Competition and is now resident at the Barcelona Conservatory; a current project is the late quartets of Mozart, whose works it has successfully recorded.

A further instalment of the Spanish quartet’s Mozart series includes two of the three works he wrote in 1789-90 to a commission for the King of Prussia – hence their collective nickname – as well as the composer’s most popular serenade.

£16 concs £14 inc. programme and coffee/ sherry/juice

£40 £35 £30 £25 £18

Cuarteto Casals © Igor Cat

In Memory of Peter Flatter

wigmore-hall.org.uk

MARCH • 83

Friday 20 March 7.30pm

Saturday 21 March 7.30pm

Monday 23 March 1.00pm

Joseph Moog piano

Brentano String Quartet

Brentano String Quartet

Schubert Adagio and Rondo in E D506 Liszt Piano Sonata in B minor S178 Fauré Barcarolle No. 1 in A minor Op. 26; Barcarolle No. 3 in G flat Op. 42 Ravel Gaspard de la nuit

Songs of Thanksgiving

Shostakovich String Quartet No. 11 in F minor Op. 122 Bruce Adolphe Coiled Mendelssohn String Quartet No. 6 in F minor Op. 80

The German pianist and composer received the accolade of Gramophone’s Young Artist of the Year in 2015, while the following year his first concerto recording was nominated for a GRAMMY. Liszt is one of his specialities, while his recording of Ravel’s challengingly virtuosic suite has been much praised. £40 £35 £30 £25 £18

Palestrina Gloria Patri (arr.

Mark Steinberg) Beethoven String Quartet in A minor Op. 132 Mario Davidovsky String Quartet No. 5 (Dank an Op. 132) Mendelssohn String Quartet No. 2 in A minor Op. 13 Named after Antonie Brentano – a candidate for Beethoven’s ‘immortal beloved’ – the distinguished American quartet places that composer’s ‘Holy Song of Thanksgiving’ in between a Renaissance motet of divine praise and a 1998 work by the Argentine Mario Davidovsky whose musical material derives from Op. 132. £40 £35 £30 £25 £18

Joseph Moog © T Mardo

Brentano String Quartet © Juergen Frank

Born in New York in 1955, the composer and educator Bruce Adolphe has written a new piece for the Brentanos based on the first movement of Beethoven’s intensely dramatic F minor Quartetto serioso, and offset by two further compositions in the same compelling key. £16 concs £14

84 • MARCH

Box Office: 020 7935 2141

Iestyn Davies Residency The pre-eminent countertenor spent his 40th birthday in September inaugurating his Residency, an occasion heightened with Davies receiving the prestigious Wigmore Medal. Few singers can match his range of activities, which includes regular appearances in Baroque and contemporary opera, concerts and recitals, as well as performing in the West End and on Broadway.

Sunday 22 March 7.30pm

Iestyn Davies countertenor Thomas Dunford lute England’s Orpheus Purcell Lord, what is man?; Sweeter than Roses Marais Les Voix Humaines Visée Chaconne Handel Ombra cara di mia sposa from Radamisto Dowland Preludium; Behold a wonder here; Flow my tears; Can she excuse my wrongs; Lachrimae; Frog Galliard Handel Hendel, non può mia musa Bach Cello Suite No. 1 in G BWV1007, interspersed with: Purcell Music for a while Dowland Come again, sweet love doth now invite Purcell O solitude, my sweetest choice Handel Oh Lord, whose mercies numberless from Saul Purcell Evening Hymn In the countertenor’s collaboration with a leading lutenist, the works of the ‘Orpheus Britannicus’ are placed in the context of his musical predecessors and descendants. £40 £35 £30 £25 £18 Forthcoming Concerts in the Series Saturday 13 June 7.30pm with Joseph Middleton piano Saturday 25 July 7.30pm with Dunedin Consort

Iestyn Davies © Chris Sorensen

wigmore-hall.org.uk

MARCH • 85

Weinberg/Shostakovich Cycle Wednesday 25 March 1.00pm - 2.00pm

Important to both Weinberg's personal life and career was his friendship with Shostakovich, which began during the Second World War and continued until the latter’s death.

Side by Side

Financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland as part of the multi-annual programme NIEPODLEGŁA 2017–2022

The Prince Consort is renowned for its imaginative programming, world-class performances and its original approach to commissioning new works. The ensemble is also passionate about supporting the development of the next generation of singers and pianists.

For this project, members of the ensemble have worked with students from Guildhall School of Music & Drama towards this performance, in which the students and ensemble perform side by side. £5

Wednesday 25 March 7.30pm

Quatuor Danel Shostakovich String Quartet No. 4 in D Op. 83 Weinberg String Quartet No. 4 Op. 20 Shostakovich String Quartet No. 5 in B flat Op. 92 Currently essaying a dual cycle of two composers who were mutual supporters as well as friends, the Russian-specialist French ensemble places Weinberg’s Fourth Quartet (1945) in between two consecutive works of Shostakovich dating respectively from 1949 and 1952. £40 £35 £30 £25 £18 Forthcoming Concerts in the Series Saturday 16 May 7.30pm Thursday 9 July 7.30pm

Side by Side © Benjamin Ealovega

Quatuor Danel © Marco Borggreve

86 • MARCH

Box Office: 020 7935 2141

Nash Inventions: Mark-Anthony Turnage 60th Birthday Tuesday 24 March 5.00pm

Royal Academy of Music students Side by Side with

members of the Nash Ensemble Introduced by Gillian Moore CBE Director of Music, Southbank Centre Programme to include: Knussen Cantata for oboe and string trio Op. 15 Mark-Anthony Turnage Five Processionals for piano, clarinet, violin and cello Two newly-commissioned works by RAM Student Composers As a preface to the evening’s ‘Nash Inventions’ concert for Mark-Anthony Turnage’s 60th birthday year, members of the Nash Ensemble are joined by Royal Academy of Music students in a ‘Side by Side’ event. The programme includes Turnage’s incisive 2008 Five Processionals and the eloquent 1977 Cantata for oboe quartet by Turnage’s teacher and mentor Oliver Knussen, together with two specially written new works by RAM students. £5

Nash Ensemble © K Leighton

Mark-Anthony Turnage © Philip Gatward

wigmore-hall.org.uk

Tuesday 24 March 6.15pm

Pre-Concert Talk Join composer Mark-Anthony Turnage in conversation with broadcaster and journalist Tom Service.

Free (with evening concert ticket)

MARCH • 87

Tuesday 24 March 7.30pm

Nash Ensemble Jonathan Berman conductor Claire Booth soprano Benjamin Nabarro violin Lawrence Power viola Timothy Ridout viola Adrian Brendel cello Martin Robertson soprano saxophone Mark-Anthony Turnage 60th Birthday Concert Stravinsky Three Pieces for string quartet Mark-Anthony Turnage Sarabande for soprano saxophone and piano Knussen Songs without Voices Op. 26 Mark-Anthony Turnage Slide Stride for piano and string quartet Ravel Sonata for violin and cello Sir George Benjamin Viola, Viola Mark-Anthony Turnage Owl Songs for soprano and ensemble* (world première) *Co-commissioned by Wigmore Hall and Nash Ensemble The Nash Ensemble’s annual ‘Nash Inventions’ concert celebrates the 60th birthday of Mark-Anthony Turnage, one of the most admired and widely performed British composers of his generation. There are three works by Turnage, including the jazz-inspired Slide Stride and a specially written new commission dedicated to the memory of his mentor Oliver Knussen. The programme, devised in collaboration with the composer, also includes 20th-century classics by Stravinsky and Ravel and pieces

by Knussen and Turnage’s contemporary Sir George Benjamin. £35 £30 £25 £20 £15

88 • MARCH

Box Office: 020 7935 2141

Thursday 26 March 7.30pm

Friday 27 March 7.30pm

Dianne Reeves singer

L’Arpeggiata Christina Pluhar theorbo, director Luciana Mancini mezzo-soprano Vincenzo Capezzuto alto

One of the most admired jazz singers of our time, Dianne Reeves has been described as the successor to such other distinguished artists as Dinah Washington and Carmen MacRae. Five of her albums have received a GRAMMY Award for Best Female Vocal Jazz Performance, while in addition she has been awarded honorary doctorates from Juilliard and Berklee.

Here she returns to Wigmore Hall with her band for what is sure to be an unforgettable night. £50 £40 £30 £25 £18

Pájarillo y duende Cazzati Ciaccona Trad/Carpino La Carpinese (Tarantella) Trad/Venezuelan Montilla Trad/Venezuelan Zumba che zumba Kapsberger Canario with improvisation Trad/Mexican La Llorona (arr. Christina Pluhar) Matteis La Dia Spagnola (arr. Christina Pluhar) with improvisation Trad/Venezuelan Pájarillo Ribayaz Jácaras (arr. Christina Pluhar) Ramones La embarazada del viento (Gaita Margariteña) Rivera La Cocoroba (Joropo Oriental) Improvisation - Follia Trad/Venezuelan Pájarillo Verde Soler Fandango Plaza El Curruchá Trad/Mexican El Guapo One of the most individual ensembles of our time, Christina Pluhar’s group creates intriguing cultural mixes in its thematically widely ranging performances and recordings: here they propose a dialogue between the Spanish Baroque and traditional South American music.

Approximately 85 minutes in duration without an interval £50 £40 £30 £25 £18

Dianne Reeves

L'Arpeggiata © Michael Kneffel

wigmore-hall.org.uk

Angela Hewitt: The Bach Odyssey Bach’s keyboard works have been part of Angela Hewitt’s daily life since childhood – an ongoing involvement that continues to inform her inspiring performances today. ‘To develop in his company one’s musical intelligence, technique, beauty of sound and spirit,’ she has written, ‘is a great gift and a lifelong adventure’.

Saturday 28 March 7.30pm

Angela Hewitt piano Bach 4 Duettos from Clavier-Ubung (Book III) BWV802-805; 18 Little Preludes: in C BWV924, in G minor BWV930, in D BWV925, in D minor BWV926, in F BWV927, in F BWV928, 6 Little Preludes BWV933938, 5 Preludes BWV939-943 & in C minor BWV999; Fantasia and Fugue in A minor BWV944; Ouvertüre nach französischer Art BWV831; Italian Concerto in F BWV971 JS Bach continues to be as central to the Canadian pianist’s performance as it has been to her own musical life; here she plays a diverse selection of pieces large and small. £40 £35 £30 £25 £18 Forthcoming Events in the Series Tuesday 2 June 7.30pm Wednesday 3 June 1.00pm Angela Hewitt Masterclass

Angela Hewitt © Keith Saunders

MARCH • 89

90 • MARCH

Box Office: 020 7935 2141

Sunday 29 March 11.30am

Sunday 29 March 3.00pm

Jack Liebeck violin Katya Apekisheva piano

Julia Neuberger Talk

R Schumann Violin Sonata No. 1 in A minor Op. 105 C Schumann 3 Romances Op. 22 Brahms Violin Sonata No. 3 in D minor Op. 108 A violinist of exceptional range and mastery, as well as an artist willing to collaborate with specialists in other fields in realising distinctive creative projects, Jack Liebeck and his pianist partner play works by both Clara and Robert Schumann as well as their friend and protégé Johannes Brahms.

Rabbi Baroness Julia Neuberger DBE gives a talk on her 2019 book Antisemitism: What It Is. What It Isn't. Why It Matters., exploring the troubling recent rise in antisemitism and how building a shared understanding can help challenge discrimination. Cellist Jamal Aliyev joins to perform Bloch’s From Jewish Life.

Free (ticket required)

Sunday 29 March 7.30pm

Johannes Kammler

baritone

Roger Vignoles piano

Strauss 5 Lieder Op. 15 Vaughan Williams Songs of Travel Schumann Dichterliebe Op. 48 Steadily acquiring a reputation as one of Germany’s leading young baritones, Johannes Kammler once more collaborates with Roger Vignoles in three important cycles or sets of songs, including Richard Strauss’s settings of Michelangelo and Adolf Friedrich von Schack of 1884-6. £35 £30 £26 £22 £18

£16 concs £14 inc. programme and coffee/sherry/juice

Jack Liebeck © Kaupo Kikkas

Baroness Julia Neuberger © Derek Tamea

Johannes Kammler © Besim Mazhiqi

wigmore-hall.org.uk

MARCH • 91

Ensemble Marsyas Residency Under the direction of founder Peter Whelan – ‘as exciting a live wire as Ireland has produced in the world of period performance’ (Irish Times) – the flexible Edinburgh-based ensemble has steadily built a reputation for vital performances and imaginatively researched repertoire, much of it brought to modern attention for the first time.

Monday 30 March 6.00pm

Artist in Conversation: Peter Whelan Peter Whelan, founder and director, discusses the Ensemble Marsyas Residency ahead of the evening concert.

Monday 30 March 7.30pm

Ensemble Marsyas Peter Whelan director Rachel Redmond soprano Christopher Lowrey countertenor Nicholas Mulroy tenor Edward Grint bass Purcell – ‘Come, Ye Sons of Art’ Purcell Suite from The Fairy Queen (Clifford Bartlett edition); Great Parent, Hail (Ode for the Centenary of Trinity College Dublin, 1694) Z327; Come, ye sons of art away (Ode for the birthday of Queen Mary, 1694) Z323 Cousser Les Festins des Muses Suite No. 1 Purcell’s Irish connections are stressed in a programme that reminds us that Nahum Tate was born in Dublin; he provided the texts for ‘Come, ye sons of art’ and ‘Great Parent, Hail!’, the latter produced for the centenary in 1694 of Dublin’s Trinity College.

£5

£50 £40 £30 £25 £18 With grateful thanks to the Patron, Benefactor & Supporter Friends of Wigmore Hall

Ensemble Marsyas © Mirjam Devriendt

92 • MARCH

Box Office: 020 7935 2141

Monday 30 March 1.00pm

Tuesday 31 March 7.30pm

Anastasia Kobekina cello Jean-Sélim Abdelmoula piano

David Adams violin Malin Broman violin Tim Crawford violin Mathilde Milwidsky violin Matthew Truscott violin Tom Dunn viola Tom Hankey viola Lawrence Power viola Kate Gould cello Robin Michael cello Alice Neary cello Robert Plane clarinet Simon Crawford-Phillips piano Daniel Tong piano

Debussy Cello Sonata Juon Fairy Tale in A minor Op. 8; Cello Sonata Op. 54 Schumann Fantasiestücke Op. 12 The young but already widely experienced Russian cellist is currently a BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist; her programme makes a feature of two works by the Russian-born, Swiss composer Paul Juon (1872-1940), widely admired in his day and currently being rediscovered. £16 concs £14

Wye Valley Chamber Music Festival 20th Anniversary Bridge Phantasy Piano Quartet in F sharp minor Huw Watkins Piano Quartet Purcell Selection of Fantasias Britten Lachrymae: Reflections on a Song of John Dowland Op. 48 Howells Rhapsodic Quintet Op. 31 Colin Matthews Piano Trio No. 2 ‘Hidden Agenda’ Bridge Piano Quintet Wye Valley Chamber Music was founded in 2000 to bring the finest music making to intimate venues in one of the loveliest parts of the country: British music of various periods and styles forms the heart of this anniversary celebration. £40 £35 £30 £25 £18

Anastasia Kobekina © Dmitri Kamanin

Simon Crawford-Phillips

Daniel Tong © Benjamin Harte

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Be involved from just £50 a year Visit wigmore-hall.org.uk/friends Call the Friends Office on 020 7258 8230 Registered Charity No. 1024838

Contemporary Music Series

94 • Contemporary music

Box Office: 020 7935 2141

‘Wigmore Hall regularly commissions

Sunday 5 January 3.00pm

new works and champions living

Julien Van Mellaerts baritone James Baillieu piano

composers, bringing fresh repertoire to the stage as part of our artistic programming and hosting numerous London, UK and world premières.

We are very pleased to welcome Vijay Iyer as our Composer in Residence for the 2019/20 Season,

Gareth Farr Sunday 5 January 7.30pm Jeremy Denk piano Ligeti Wednesday 8 January 7.30pm

as well as Freya Waley-Cohen as

Marianne Crebassa mezzo-soprano Fazıl Say piano

Associate Composer.’

Fazıl Say

John Gilhooly, Director

Friday 10 January 7.30pm Vijay Iyer presents Ritual Ensemble Vijay Iyer piano Ganavya vocals Yosvany Terry saxophones, percussion Rajna Swaminathan mridangam Sunday 19 January 11.30am Edgar Mayer double bass Edgar Meyer Sunday 19 January 7.30pm Dover Quartet Edgar Meyer double bass Edgar Meyer Wednesday 22 January 1.00pm Britten Sinfonia Principal Musicians Katie Bray mezzo-soprano Freya Waley-Cohen Friday 24 January 1.00pm Mark Padmore tenor Sacconi Quartet Jonathan Dove

wigmore-hall.org.uk

Contemporary music • 95

Friday 24 January 7.30pm

Saturday 22 February 7.30pm

Saturday 14 March 7.30pm

Andreas Scholl countertenor Tamar Halperin piano

Artemis Quartet

Doric String Quartet

Jörg Widmann

Andrea Tarrodi

Sunday 23 February 11.30am

Sunday 15 March 7.30pm

Meccore String Quartet

Piers Lane piano Brett Dean

Ari Frankel, Joseph Tawadros, Arvo Pärt Saturday 25 January 7.30pm MILOŠ guitar Lennon/McCartney, Harrison, Mathias Duplessy Monday 27 January 1.00pm Jennifer Pike violin Martin Roscoe piano

Krzysztof Penderecki Sunday 23 February 7.30pm Cédric Tiberghien piano George Crumb

Mario Davidovsky

Thursday 5 March 7.30pm

Monday 23 March 1.00pm

Inon Barnatan piano

Dani Howard Saturday 1 February 11.30am Khatia Buniatishvili piano Meta 4 Kaipainen

Kuss Quartet

Bruce Adolphe

Friday 6 March 1.00pm

Tuesday 24 March 5.00pm

Nelly Miricioiu soprano David Gowland piano

Friday 6 March 7.30pm Sean Shibe guitar

Bruno Mantovani* Friday 14 February 1.00pm Carolyn Sampson soprano Joseph Middleton piano Huw Watkins Monday 17 February 7.30pm Michael Collins clarinet London Winds Peter Sparks bass clarinet Michael McHale piano

Brentano String Quartet

Thomas Adès

Felicia Donceanu

Tuesday 4 February 7.30pm

Saturday 21 March 7.30pm Brentano String Quartet

David Fennessy, Rautavaara, Georges Lentz Monday 9 March 1.00pm Ruby Hughes soprano Natalie Clein cello Julius Drake piano Deborah Pritchard, Tavener, Judith Weir

Royal Academy of Music students side by side with Members of the Nash Ensemble Knussen, Mark-Anthony Turnage, RAM Student Composers Tuesday 24 March 7.30pm Nash Ensemble Mark-Anthony Turnage*, Knussen, Sir George Benjamin Tuesday 31 March 7.30pm Wye Valley Chamber Music Festival 20th Anniversary Huw Watkins, Colin Matthews

Ligeti

*Co-commissioned by Wigmore Hall © Benjamin Ealovega

The Contemporary Music Series is supported by

Box Office: 020 7935 2141

96 •

PARTNER SCHOOLS PROGRAMME We are delighted to be working in partnership with our three partner Music Education Hubs and schools until July 2021: Chestnuts Primary School and Haringey Music Service St Mary’s Catholic Primary School and Havering Music School Weald Rise Primary School and Harrow Music Service

© Benjamin Ealovega

We are working in partnership to make their schools musical places, co-creating a programme of opportunities which meets their needs and places music at the heart of their ethos, and empowering them to become culturally engaged, proactive schools. With the Hubs, we’ll share the learning and activity across the boroughs, developing music leadership across the local areas.

Supporting Wigmore Hall With nearly £2.5 million to raise each season every gift, no matter the size, is important to us. If you would like to support Wigmore Hall by becoming a Friend or making a donation towards our Artistic Series or Learning programme, please call 020 7258 8230 or email friends@wigmore-hall.org.uk for more information.

The Wigmore Hall Trust is very grateful to the individuals and organisations listed below who have made an investment in our concert and Learning programmes: Royal Patron HRH The Duke of Kent, KG Honorary Patrons Aubrey Adams OBE André and Rosalie Hoffmann Kohn Foundation Mr and Mrs Paul Morgan Director’s Circle Aubrey Adams OBE* Tony and Marion Allen* Karl Otto and Ingemo Bonnier*L Alan Bradley* Peter and Lucy Chadlington* The Harbour FoundationL André and Rosalie Hoffmann‡ Pauline and Ian Howat* David and Louise Kaye* Simon Majaro MBE Hamish Parker Victoria and Simon RobeyL William and Alex de Winton TrustL and several anonymous donors Season Patrons 2019/20 Aubrey Adams OBE* Tony and Marion Allen* American Friends of Wigmore Hall Karl Otto and Ingemo Bonnier* Henry and Suzanne Davis Mark Echlin and Victoria Gath The Hargreaves and Ball Trust Pauline and Ian Howat* Hamish Parker Victoria and Simon Robey David Rockwell and Zsombor Csoma* Julia Schottlander* Kathleen Verelst Michael and Rosemary Warburg William and Alex de Winton Trust and several anonymous donors Season Benefactors 2019/20 Lord and Lady Lloyd Judy Davies and Kingsley Manning* The Tertis Foundation Philip and Emeline Winston* Beethoven Circle André and Rosalie Hoffmann Aubrey Adams OBE* Tony and Marion Allen* Karl Otto and Ingemo Bonnier* John and Julia Boyd* Wolf-Reiner Braun and John Sinclair Clive Butler Nicola Coldstream Peggy Czyzak-Dannenbaum J L Drewitt Vernon and Hazel Ellis* Alan and Joanna Gemes* Nicholas and Judith Goodison* Margery Gray Gillian and Lennie Hoffmann Geoffrey and Joy Lawrence Ian and Megan Richardson Jackie Rosenfeld OBE* Serena Simmons and Michael Thomas* Jo and Barry Slavin In Memory of Robert Streit Marina Vaizey* Gerry Wakelin*

Gwen and Stanley Burnton Pauline Del Mar Philip and Susan Feakin Benjamin Hargreaves Pauline and Ian Howat* Graham and Amanda Hutton* Dr Jennifer Jones Christian Kwek and David Hodges* Alan Leibowitz and Barbara Weiss* Susan Lund Virginia Lynch* Karen McLernon Alison and Antony Milford Don Moore Oliver and Helen Prenn Helen Thornton John and Ann Tusa and several anonymous donors Early Music and Baroque Circle Geoffrey Barnett Sandra Carlisle Dr C Endersby and Prof. D Cowan OBE Dr M T A Evans Felicity Fairbairn* Deborah Finkler and Allan Murray Jones Gilbert and Vahideh Hall Daniel Hochberg Alan Sainer Professor Christopher Thompson Marina Vaizey* Anne and David Weizmann Voices at Wigmore Tony and Marion Allen* Geoffrey Barnett Michael Brind Richard Dorment CBE Mrs David Dugdale Alan and Joanna Gemes* Dame Felicity Lott Anne and Brian Mace Roy and Celia Palmer Gift to honour Rick Rogers Julia Schottlander* Gerry Wakelin* Susan Ward David Evan Williams and an anonymous donor Corporate Supporters Capital Group (corporate matched giving) Complete Coffee Ltd The Howard de Walden Estate Martin Randall Travel Ltd Steinway & Sons Donors and Sponsors Mr Eric Abraham* Adam Mickiewicz Institute Ralph and Elizabeth Aldwinckle Lady Alexander of Weedon Ian Allan American Friends of Wigmore Hall The Andor Charitable TrustL Ann Andrews David and Jacqueline Ansell* Arts Council England Art Mentor Foundation Lucerne‡L Mrs Arlene Beare Alan Bell-Berry Ms. Paula Best*

Mr Nicholas J Bez Mrs Arline Blass The Nicholas Boas Charitable Trust David and Mary Bowerman* Hilary Browne-Wilkinson Donald Campbell Cavatina Chamber Music TrustL Charities Advisory TrustL Colin Clark The John S Cohen Foundation Peter Crisp and Jeremy Crouch* Michael and Felicia Crystal* Celia and Andrew Curran Anthony Davis* James Dooley The Dorset Foundation - in memory of Harry M Weinrebe Jane Douglas The du Plessis Family Foundation Mrs David Dugdale Dunard Fund† Douglas and Janette Eden Annette Ellis* The Elton Family The Emmanuel Kaye FoundationL The Fidelio Charitable Trust Jim Fisher In Memory of Peter Flatter John and Amy FordL The Foyle Foundation Neil and Deborah Franks* Friends of Wigmore Hall Jonathan Gaisman* The Garfield Weston Foundation John Gilhooly* John and Lauren Goldsmith* Nicholas and Judith Goodison*‡ Peter Goodwin Spencer and Lucy de Grey Charles Green Barbara and Michael Gwinnell Mr and Mrs Rex Harbour* The Hargreaves and Ball Trust‡L The Harold Hyam Wingate FoundationL Malcolm Herring* Simone Hyman* Independent Opera at Sadlers Wells Marc Jourdren* In Memory of Donald Kahn Su and Neil Kaplan* Mr Julian Korn Maryly La Follette* Gabor Lacko Janet and Leo Liebster C Lillywhite and B Jasper The Linbury TrustL Tim Llewellyn The Loveday Charitable TrustL Simon and Sophie Ludlam* Marianne and Andy Lusher* David Lyons* Julia MacRae* The Estate of Pamela Majaro MBE The Marchus Trust‡ Selina and David MarksL Mayfield Valley Arts Trust Michael and Lynne McGowan* Colin Menzies George MeyerL Michael Watson Charitable TrustL Milton Damerel TrustL The Monument Trust

Amyas and Louise Morse* Valerie O'ConnorL P. Parkinson Paxos Festival Trust Robert Podro Isabel and Jonathan Popper Nick and Claire Prettejohn* The Radcliffe Trust Edith Randall Charles Rose* Jackie Rosenfeld OBE, HonRCM*L The Lady R Foundation* Iain Rothnie and Julie Fewtrell The Rubinstein Circle S E Franklin Charitable Trust No. 3L The Sampimon TrustL Louise Scheuer Julia Schottlander*L Richard Sennett and Saskia Sassen* Rhona Shaw Sir Siegmund Warburg's Voluntary Settlement Sir Jack Lyons Charitable Trust Sir Martin and Lady Smith* Michael Smith and Nicholas Bartlett* Spencer Hart Charitable TrustL Nigel and Johanna Stapleton* Gill and Keith Stella* John Stephens OBE, Hon FTCL* Lord and Lady Stirrup* Anne and Paul Swain* The Tertis FoundationL Coen Teulings Robin Vousden* Andrew and Hilary Walker* David and Margaret Walker* Professor Janet Walker CD and Professor Doug Jones AO* Dame Fanny Waterman* Frances and David Waters* Tony & Sheelagh Williams Charitable FoundationL David and Martha Winfield* and several anonymous donors * Rubinstein Circle members ‡ Contemporary Music Series supporters † Early Music and Baroque Series supporters L Learning Programme supporters Details correct as of July 2019 The Wigmore Hall Trust Registered Charity No. 1024838

Booking information Box Office: 020 7935 2141

Online Booking: wigmore-hall.org.uk

Booking Dates

Wigmore Hall Box Office

Booking Period 2

36 Wigmore Street, London W1U 2BP

Thursday 2 January – Tuesday 31 March 2020 Priority Booking opens on Tuesday 17 September 2019 Season Patrons, Season Benefactors and Rubinstein Circle: Requests to be submitted by Tuesday 8 October 2019

Tel: 020 7935 2141 Online Booking: wigmore-hall.org.uk Email (not for bookings): boxoffice@wigmore-hall.org.uk

Tickets

Patron, Benefactor, Supporter and Member Friends: Requests to be submitted by Thursday 10 October 2019 Mailing List: Requests to be submitted by Thursday 17 October 2019 General Public: By phone/online from Tuesday 5 November 2019 We strongly recommend early booking for Pre-Concert Talks, Artists in Conversation and Study Events

Unless otherwise stated, tickets are divided into five price ranges: ■ Stalls C – M: Highest price ■ Stalls A – B, N – P: 2nd highest price ■ Balcony A – D: 2nd highest price ■ Stalls BB, CC, Q – S: 3rd highest price ■ Stalls AA, T – V: 4th highest price ■ Stalls W – X: Lowest price

Telephone Bookings AA AA AA BB CC A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X

AA AA AA BB CC A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X

STAGE

FRONT STALLS

FRONT STALLS

REAR STALLS

A B C D

REAR STALLS

BALCONY

A B C D

7 days a week: 10.00am–7.00pm.

Days without an evening concert: 10.00am–5.00pm.

There is a non-refundable £4.00 administration charge for each transaction.

Online Bookings Visit wigmore-hall.org.uk to book seats. There is a non-refundable administration charge of £3.00.

Tickets for Concessions Where a concession (concs) ticket price is listed these are available to students, senior citizens and the unemployed.

Visit wigmore-hall.org.uk/concessions for full details.

Wigmore Hall/Classic FM Under 35s Ticket Scheme Ticket buyers under the age of 35 are entitled to reduced price tickets for selected concerts. Visit wigmore-hall.org.uk/u35 for full details.

Facilities for Families Wigmore Hall is proud to meet the Family Arts Standards reflecting its commitment to offering family-friendly events and spaces.

wigmore-hall.org.uk

BOOKING INFORMATION • 99

36 Wigmore Street, London W1U 2BP HARLEY ST

QUEEN ANNE ST

ND

BON

MARGARET ST

E LN

R E G E N T ST

YLE

R EGENT ST

MAR

JAMES ST

CAVENDISH SQUARE

HENRIET TA PL

PL

MORTIMER ST

P

OXFORD ST BOND STREET

LA

L D P

P

PO R T

N PO RT L A

WIMPOLE ST

THAYER ST

NEW CAVENDISH ST

OXFORD CIRCUS

Transport Tubes: Bond Street (Central & Jubilee lines), Oxford Circus (Bakerloo, Central & Victoria lines).

Buses: A number of bus routes pass along Oxford Street.

Car Parking There is limited street parking after 6.30pm (Mon–Sat) and all day Sunday in permitted areas. Alternatively there are public car parks in Cavendish Square and Harley Street, both of which are less than a five-minute walk from the Hall. Wigmore Hall participates in the Theatreland Parking Scheme which gives all Wigmore concert-goers 50% discount on their parking when using the Cavendish Square (Q Park Oxford Street) car park.

Please contact the Box Office for further details.

Disabled Access and Facilities Full details from 020 7935 2141 or access@wigmore-hall.org.uk

Wigmore Hall has been awarded the Bronze Charter Mark from Attitude is Everything

Make a night of it Our restaurant is the perfect place to start your evening. Join us for a quick bite to eat or even a three course dinner.

The Wigmore Hall Restaurant and Bar is open for lunch through to dinner every day of the week.

Whether you are organising a gathering for friends and family before enjoying a performance, or simply stopping for lunch away from the hustle and bustle of nearby Oxford Street, our Restaurant offers the perfect setting.

For private entertaining such as personal celebrations, business lunches and events, the Wigmore Hall Restaurant and Bechstein Room are available for hire, with a full range of catering options.

For opening times and more information,

This brochure is available in alternative formats.

If this would be of assistance to you, please email access@wigmore-hall.org.uk or call 020 7935 2141.

Information in this brochure was correct at the time of printing. The right is reserved to substitute artists and to vary programmes if necessary.

visit wigmore-hall.org.uk or for table reservations and event enquiries, email wigmore@baxterstorey.com

Director: John Gilhooly OBE, HonFRAM, HonRCM, HonFGS, HonFRIAM 36 Wigmore Street, London W1U 2BP wigmore-hall.org.uk Box Office Tel: 020 7935 2141 The Wigmore Hall Trust, Registered Charity Number 1024838

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