Spohr, Gade and a huge Viola Cadenza!
Today we managed to play through seven complete works - two for string quartet, then as Louise (violinist) had to leave early, we tried out a further five for string trio.
Firstly, it was a special moment to finally play the Spohr Quartet in G (Op. 82 no. 2) - having spent so many hours re-setting the score [...]
Surprisingly Good Concerts - In a church near you…
We’re very lucky in the UK to have such a strong tradition of church concerts – from the many excellent lunchtime recitals in our city churches to regular evening performances in rural churches up and down the country.
In these days of the ‘credit crunch’, saving on the train fare and enjoying classical music nearer [...]
Bruch, Coleridge - Taylor, Spohr, D’Indy
This week we seized another opportunity to get together for a sociable day of chamber music and explore some more pieces. Whereas last week I’d played the first violin parts and Louise had played second violin, we kept it interesting by swapping over today.
Playing second violin in the quartet is a completely different experience as [...]
Schubert, Van Bree and Spain Dunk!
One of the greatest pleasures of being a musician is getting together with colleagues just to play through chamber music for our own enjoyment. Rather than working hard in rehearsals preparing a piece for a concert or recording, we can just sight-read through new repertoire that we’ve never played before, try out lesser known pieces and sometimes [...]
Concert at St Olave’s Church
People are often surprised to discover just how many wonderful classical concerts there are in and around the city of London on weekday lunchtimes, often with free entrance and a retiring collection for the church or charity.
From the point of view of the audience, a free lunchtime recital usually lasts about 45 minutes, commonly starting just [...]
A very special private concert….
On Thursday morning, April the 2nd, Tony Woollard (cellist) and I gave a little impromptu recital at the Wimbledon home of Theo and Kitty Wyatt, where the local U3A music appreciation group meet every other week. We performed a programme of works for Violin / Cello duo by Beethoven, Dotzauer, Giordani and Fiorillo.
The 13 members [...]
