Past Concerts | adbastonccs

He is a successful recording artist and is particularly highly regarded for his solo recordings for Naxos. His account of Finzi’s Clarinet Concerto won Classic CD Magazine’s ‘Best Concerto Recording’ Award and was selected as BBC Radio 3’s recommended version in ‘Building a Library’, whilst his recording of Bax Sonatas was shortlisted for a Gramophone Award. His recording of Messiaen’s ‘Quartet for the End of Time’ with the Gould Trio was praised by BBC Music Magazine as the ‘best modern account’ of this monumental work. A new CD of Hungarian repertoire, ‘Contrasts’, has just been released on Champs Hill Records.

Robert has played concertos with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Ulster Orchestra, City of London Sinfonia, Dortmund Philharmonic, Zurich Chamber Orchestra, RTE National Symphony Orchestra and the Scottish Ensemble in concert halls across Europe, from Madrid’s Auditorio Nacional and the Zurich Tonhalle to London’s Barbican and the Royal Albert Hall. He toured China as soloist with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales in Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto, including a performance at the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing, broadcast live to a TV audience of 6 million. He made his BBC Proms debut in 2011 in Simon Holt’s double concerto ‘Centauromachy’ and in 2013 made his US concerto debut with the Virginia Symphony. He has given premiere performances of concertos by Piers Hellawell, Diana Burrell and Nicola LeFanu.

Robert’s chamber music collaborations have included quintets with a number of well-known string quartets as well as with the chamber ensemble of the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields and the Soloists of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and has included tours to South America, New Zealand and China. Together with the Gould Piano Trio he directs the Corbridge Chamber Music Festival in Northumberland.

Robert teaches at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and has given masterclasses around the world, including at both the Royal Academy and Royal College of Music in London, the Central Conservatory in Beijing and at the San Francisco Conservatory.

BENJAMIN FRITH

Life student of Dame Fanny Waterman, Benjamin Frith won the Dudley National Concerto Competition at age fourteen, performing Saint-Saens 2nd Piano Concerto. His many awards culminated in joint top prize at the Busoni International Piano Competition in Bolzano, then in 1989, the Gold Medal at the Artur Rubinstein Piano Master's Competition, where he was also awarded the special prize for Chamber Music.Many engagements with world renowned orchestras followed, such as IPO (Mehta), Warsaw Philharmonic (Atzmon) and later the Halle under John Wilson and Sir Mark Elder and recital tours from India, Kazakhstan, Israel and Egypt to the Far East and North America. He soon made recording contracts with ASV, then with Naxos, for whom he made a best-selling John Field Concerto Cycle with the Royal Northern Sinfonia. His solo recording of Schumann's highly personal Davidsbundler op. 6 received the top recommendation on Radio Three's programme, "Building a Library".

During the latter half of his career there has been a concentration on the chamber repertoire, principally as pianist in the Gould Piano Trio, which has made regular tours to N. America being described recently in the Washington Post as ‘near musical perfection’. He has also partnered the great Messiaen specialist, Peter Hill, in two pianos and four hands, formed the enterprising Frith Piano Quartet with cellist Richard Jenkinson and been the guest pianist of such illustrious ensembles as the Elias, Endellion, Chilingarian, Wihan and Dante quartets.Recent releases include the 2nd Piano Concerto of C.V.Stanford with BBCNOW coupled with his Dante Rhapsodies for solo piano, warmly received by BBC Music Magazine and chosen by the Gramophone’s critic, Jeremy Dibble, as his ‘Disc of the Year 2016‘.This season sees Ben performing at the Wigmore Hall in Schumann’s Piano Quintet (Elias) plus a Beethoven Piano Trio cycle as pianist in the Gould Piano Trio, with whom he has

Sunday 3rd September 2017

Hannah Roberts

Hannah Roberts, principal cellist at Manchester Camerata, and Simon Parkin (piano)

Beethoven: Sonata in F major for Cello and Piano, op. 5 no 1

Barber: Sonata for Cello and Piano, op. 6

Bach, Goldberg Variations (a selection - piano solo)

Mendelssohn: Sonata for Cello and Piano in D, op. 58

Hannah Roberts is one of the outstanding cellists of her generation, winner of numerous international prizes and regular player with well-known orchestras including the London Mozart Players, LSO, BBC Concert Orchestra, and the Halle, also making frequent broadcasts for BBC radio and recording for ASV. Hannah is Principal Cellist for our leading regional chamber orchestra Manchester Camerata, with which she did a memorable recent performance of the Elgar Cello Concerto at the Stafford Gatehouse. She is a sought-after teacher and is Professor of Cello at the RAM in London and at the RNCM in Manchester. Many of her students have gone on to hold positions as leading chamber musicians, soloists and principal cellists internationally.

Pianist and composer, Simon Parkin has broadcast and performed across Europe and USA. As a young talent, he won a place at the Yehudi Menuhin School and trained with famous teachers including Nadia Boulanger. His own teaching includes the role as Head of Musicianship at the RNCM and he is also very active as an arranger, currently being Arranger-in-Residence for Manchester Camerata. He has extensive concert experience, with a range of internationally respected partners, and his duo with Hannah Roberts was acclaimed in The Strad for its 'rare ensemble and musical intelligence.'

Hannah and Simon will play the following works for cello and piano: Beethoven’s Sonata in F major, op.5 no.1; Barber’s Sonata op.6 ; Mendelssohn’s Sonata in D, op.58. Simon will also play his own arranged selection of Bach’s Goldberg Variations for solo piano. It promises to be another memorable concert by these celebrated musicians.

SIMON PARKIN was born in Manchester and at the age of ten won a place at the Yehudi Menuhin School, where his teachers included Marcel Ciampi, Vlado Perlemuter and Nadia Boulanger. Subsequent study was in Manchester, where he gained concurrent degrees at the University and the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM), where his composition teacher was Anthony Gilbert.

Upon graduation, Simon secured a lectureship at the RNCM. where he is currently Head of Musicianship. He has taught both composition and improvisation at the Purcell School and the Yehudi Menuhin School and is in demand as a consultant on methods of teaching these subjects.

As a composer, Simon has had many broadcasts and performances in the U.K., on the continent and in the U.S.A. He has had pieces performed at the Park Lane Group series in the Purcell Room on three separate occasions, won an international prize with a 'cello concerto written for his wife, Hannah Roberts, and had a large-scale choral work broadcast twice on German radio. He has been awarded a Doctorate from the University of Manchester on the strength of a portfolio including major works for orchestra and for choir. He is also very active as an arranger, and is currently Arranger in Residence for the Manchester Camerata

He has also broadcast on BBC radios 1, 2, 3, and 4 as well as Classic FM, BBCTV, ITV and Channel 4, and has had articles published by BBC Music Magazine.

This year, Simon was appointed Director of Concerts for the Manchester Midday Concert Society.

Concert experience started while still at school, and is now extensive, with a range of internationally respected partners. His duo with Hannah Roberts has been acclaimed in The Strad for its 'rare ensemble and musical intelligence.' He gave a successful and highly praised performance of the Elliott Carter Piano Sonata in the 2005 Edinburgh Festival, and is a regular pianist at both IMS Prussia Cove and the London Master Classes, as well as the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival.

He has released a recital disk with violinist Detlef Hahn on the ASV label.

Sunday 4th June 2017

Ilya Kondratiev

Award winning virtuoso pianist

Scarlatti: Three Sonatas, K466, K27, K141

Beethoven: Sonata in E flat major op.31 no.3

Allegro

Scherzo – allegretto vivace

Menuetto - moderato e grazioso

Presto con fuoco

Chopin: Scherzo no.1 op.20, no.3 op.39

Interval

Handel/Liszt: Sarabande and Chaconne from Almira

Liszt: Sonata in B minor

In 2010, pianist Ilya Kondratiev won a German Academic Exchange scholarship to study in Germany in 2011. Since then, he has won such renowned competitions as the International F. Chopin Piano Competition (Hannover 2011), International Liszt Piano Competition (Budapest 2011), International Liszt Piano Competition (Weimar 2011), the Fifth Tbilisi International Piano Competition (Tbilisi 2013) and Brant International Piano Competition (Birmingham 2015). He also won the Beethoven Senior Intercollegiate Competition in December 2015 and the Chappell Medal Piano Competition in March 2016.

Ilya performs extensively as a soloist and as a chamber music player. His repertoire is mostly based on classic and romantic music, but also includes many contemporary works.

The venues he has performed at include the Great Hall of Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatoire, Gasteig Munich, Weimarhalle, Palacio de Festivales de Santander, the Palace of Arts in Budapest, and the Great Hall of Tbilisi Conservatoire. In 2009 he founded a chamber music ensemble ‘Robert-Quintet’, which successfully played at the Sixth Stasys Vainunas Chamber Music Competition (Vilnius 2009, Second prize, First was not awarded) and at the ‘Premio Vittorio Gui’ Chamber Music Competition (Florence 2011, 3rd prize).

In 2011, Ilya was invited to take part in the Franz Liszt Piano Academy in Schillingfurst (Germany) with E. Leonskaya and in the Eppan Piano Academy (Italy) with P. Gililov. He frequently takes part in master classes with Rolf-Dieter Arens, Dina Yoffe, Konstantin Shcherbakov, Willem Brons, Paul Gulda, Dmitry Bashkirov, Jerome Rose, Leslie Howard, Vanessa Latarshe, Lang Lang, and Arie Vardi. In 2015 Ilya took part in ‘Encuentro’ festival in Santander. In the summer 2016 Ilya Kondratiev was invited as a guest artist to the Gumusluk Festival in Turkey and Beethoven Music Festival and Academy in Altaussee, Austria.

Currently, he is studying with Vanessa Latarche for the prestigious Artist Diploma Course after having obtained a Master of Performance from the Royal College of Music London. He previously studied with People Artist of Russia Zinaida Ignatieva at the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatoire, and Victoria Soifer at the Samara College of Music.

Ilya is supported by the Henry Wood Trust Foundation, the Future of Russia Foundation, the Talent Unlimited Foundation and Mark Zetland Foundation.

www.ilyakondratiev.com

This concert is kindly supported by the Keyboard Charitable Trust and by SDAC [Stafford District Arts Council]

Sunday 5th March 2017

Rakhi Singh

Rakhi Singh (violin) co-leader of Manchester Camerata accompanied by Guillaume Mathias piano

Beethoven: violin sonata no 2, opus 12 no.2

Ysaÿe: sonata no 2 for solo violin

Prokofiev: violin sonata no 1

Bartok: Romanian Dances

Many local people were deeply disappointed when it was announced in 2016 that Manchester Camerata’s annual orchestral concerts at the Gatehouse Theatre would no longer be supported.

Nevertheless, Camerata have maintained their outreach commitment to our Stafford area and there is an opportunity to see the Orchestra’s co-leader, virtuoso violinist Rakhi Singh when she performs at Adbaston (near Eccleshall) on Sunday, 5th March, supported by French pianist, Guillaume Mathias.

They will play a programme of violin and piano music, including works by Beethoven, Ysaye, Prokofiev and Bartok. The concert is at 5:30pm in the mediaeval Adbaston Church, which has excellent acoustics; tickets are £8 (at the door or reserved via 01785-850967) and include an interval drink and refreshments. Postcode for satnav is ST20 0QE.

About the artists:

Born in Wales to an Indian father and English mother, Rakhi Singh first picked up a violin at the age of 3. She attended Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester, winning many national competitions while still a teenager, including the Audi Junior Musician prize after performing Bruch’s violin concerto with the London Philharmonic live on Classic FM, aged just 14! She has gone on to a career playing concertos, recitals, leading and guest leading many UK orchestras including the RLPO, CBSO, Orpheus Sinfonia, Manchester Camerata and LCO. As well as her role as co-leader of Manchester Camerata, she is Music Director of Manchester Collective, a new and exciting chamber ensemble.

Rakhi is not just an accomplished violinist, she is also an explorative musician. She has been involved with a number of collaborations over the years, most notably as a solo violinist with the National Dance Company of Wales and Clod Ensemble. Throughout 2017 she will be performing with the internationally acclaimed Scottish Ensemble in their collaboration of Goldberg Variations with Swedish company Andersson Dance.

Award-winning pianist, Guillaume Mathias has recently moved from his home city Paris to be based in the UK, where he is teaching, performing and working for the Kodaly Society of Wales and Music’all in London. Through his successful international career, he has proven to be a wonderful musician, exploring the sounds of what the piano has to offer, often working with star instrumentalists like Rakhi Singh.

This concert is kindly supported by Stafford District Arts Council and the Manchester Camerata

Sunday 6th November 2016

Eira Lynn Jones

Harp

For more information please click here

Sunday 4th September 2016

Another Story

jazz ensemble featuring Chris Gumbley (sax'/clarinet) and colleagues

Chris Gumbley - clarinet, sax, piano, Nicola Farnon - double bass, cello, Fred Thelonius Baker - guitars, bass guitar and Karen Street - accordion

The programme will range from American jazz classics, through French traditional song, to Argentinian music by Piazzolla, plus some striking original arrangements and compositions, including an exciting version of the Hebrew song, Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen as a highlight.

Sunday 5th June 2016

Amina Cunningham

Principal flautist of Manchester Camerata, with piano accompaniment Andrew Dunlop

Music for flute and piano by Bolling, Glinka, Schumann, Liebermann, Marais, Dunlop, and Prokofiev

Sunday 6th March 2016

Evgeny Genchev

Piano

This concert is supported by The Keyboard Trust

Sunday 1st November 2015

Svetlana Mochalova cello and Slava Sidorenko piano

Sunday 6th September 2015

Chris Gumbley Clarinet

with a string quartet of CBSO members

Sunday 7th June 2015

Naomi Atherton

Horn

Supported by Manchester Camerata

Sunday 1st March 2015

Maulen Alimbayev

Piano

Supported by The Keyboard Trust

Sunday 2nd November 2014

Terrence Ayebare (baritone)

accompanied by

Daniel Browell (piano)

A recital of songs and solo piano music

Sunday 7th September 2014

Clarino trio - Claire Hawkes

Bassett horn and period instruments

Sunday 1st June 2014

Lawrence Perkins

Principal Bassoonist, Manchester Camerata with piano accompaniment Harvey Davies

Music from Baroque to 20th century including works by Elgar, Weber and Vaughan-Williams

Sunday 2nd March 2014

Neil Aston - clarinet, Ed Smith - cello, Jonathan French - piano

Beethoven - Trio for clarinet, cello and piano op. 11 in B flat major

Chopin - Cello Sonata in G minor

Schumann - Fantasy Pieces op. 73

Brahms - Trio in A minor op 114

There will be a short AGM after the concert

Sunday 3rd November 2013

Meeta Raval with David Gowland

Voice and piano

Four Last Songs by Richard Strauss, operatic arias and a mix of songs by Samuel Barber, George Gershwin and others.

Meeta Raval was BBC Cardiff Singer of the World finalist 2011.

Sunday 1st September 2013

Fascinating Rhythm, featuring Chris Gumbley

Sunday 2nd June 2013

Rachel Clegg

Principal Oboe, Manchester Camerata accompanied by Elena Nalimova Piano

Music for oboe and piano from Handel, Saint-Saens, Ravel, Schumann, Benjamin Britten and Francis Poulenc