CONCERT SERIES

w w w. h e x h a m m u s i c . n e t

Come and join us at the Queen’s Hall for our new season. Discover the richness and diversity of chamber music. Whether you like solo recitals or bigger ensembles, baroque or Romantic, classical or folk-inspired music, we have something for you.

Our aim is simple - great music played by great musicians. As audiences at all our concerts last season discovered, experiencing chamber music live in a small, intimate theatre is something special.

The new season begins with a concert by the Danish phenomenon, KOTTOS, of music from all over Europe (and by Argentina’s tango king, Piazzolla). The wind ensemble, Boxwood & Brass, play Beethoven in October and the Zimro Trio pair Mozart’s Kegelstatt Trio with jazz- and folk-inspired music from the early 20th century.

The brilliant pianist, Vadym Kholodenko, joins us in January and is followed by Toby Hughes and Daniel King Smith in a programme showing what the double bass can do when it’s allowed into the spotlight.

The season closes with two acclaimed young ensembles: the Sacconi Quartet perform three masterpieces for string quartet and the Pelléas Ensemble include Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet and a glorious Debussy sonata in their concert of music for flute, viola and harp.

All this can be yours for £75. Find out how to subscribe at the back of this brochure or visit www.hexhammusic.net. Why wait?

Jess Gillam and Zeynep Özsuca in February 2019 (Photo © David Theobald)

WelcomeCover photo: KO

TTO

S Photo © M

artin Mydtskov Rønne

Visit our website

A welcome return to Hexham for KOTTOS who wowed audiences at the 2018 Nordic Voices Festival. Join us for an afternoon of music ranging from Vivaldi to Piazzolla and the group’s own compositions. KOTTOS are no conventional quartet. They play recorders of all sizes, a Russian concert accordion, bouzouki and cello. Once heard, never forgotten!

ProgrammeVivaldi (arr. KOTTOS) La FoliaMogensen Green MountainOpsahl EncryptoPetersen CrowdsFarmakis ReptileNielsen (arr. KOTTOS) Aladdin SuitePiazzolla (arr. Mogensen) Maria de Buenos AiresSkalkottas (arr. Farmakis) 4 DancesVaughan Williams (arr. Mogensen) 6 Studies in English

Folk SongLiadov (arr. Mogensen) 8 Russian Folk Songs, op. 58Rimsky-Korsakov (arr. Petersen) Song of IndiaRimsky-Korsakov (arr. Petersen, Mogensen) Lithuanian DanceJacob Gade (arr. Mogensen) Tango Jalousie

KOTTOS

Sunday, 22nd September - 3.00pmQueen’s Hall, Hexham - note starting-time

Joint presentation with Hexham Abbey Festival

Photo © Martin Mydtskov Rønne

Sponsored byPatricia J Arnold & Co Ltd, Chartered Accountants

The Violin Shop, Hexham | Nordic Voices Festival

www.hexhammusic.net

Boxwood & Brass are a period-instrument wind ensemble specialising in music from the late 18th & early 19th centuries. They recreate the tradition of ‘Harmonien’, small ensembles popular with the aristocratic courts of central Europe at that time and known for their inventive and virtuosic chamber music arrangements. Their programme for us includes an arrangement of Beethoven’s famous op. 20 septet by the composer’s pupil, Carl Czerny. Czerny was just 14 when he made it!

‘Boxwood & Brass’s sound is nothing short of revelatory’ - Early Music Today

ProgrammeBeethoven Sextet in E flat major, op. 71Beethoven (arr. Czerny) Septet in E flat major, op. 20

Boxwood & Brass

Tuesday, 15th October - 7.30pmQueen’s Hall, Hexham

Photo © Tom Bowles

Annual General MeetingThe society’s AGM will be held in the White Room at the Queen’s Hall immediately before this concert at 6.30pm.

Join us in the discussion over a glass of wine.

Visit our website

Formed in 2006 at the Swaledale Festival, the Zimro Trio is an exuberant force on the chamber music scene. Its three members - Neyire Ashworth (clarinet), Daniel Becker (piano) and Paul Barritt (violin, viola) - are among the UK’s leading chamber musicians. Paul is well-known to north-east audiences from his days as leader of the Northern Sinfonia.

Their concert includes Mozart’s delightful Kegelstatt Trio and a new work by Huw Watkins, whom many will remember as composer-in-residence and pianist at the 2018 Corbridge Chamber Music Festival.

‘(We have) never heard such perfect ensemble playing at our venue’ - Steyning Music Society

ProgrammeMilhaud Suite for Violin, Clarinet and Piano, op. 157bHuw Watkins DreamBartók Contrasts for Violin, Clarinet and Piano, Sz. 111Mozart Clarinet Trio in E flat major, K498 (Kegelstatt Trio)Gershwin (arr. Birtel) Three PreludesCopland (arr. Hannan) Suite from Appalachian Spring

Zimro Trio

Friday, 15th November - 7.30pmQueen’s Hall, Hexham

www.hexhammusic.net

Winner of the prestigious Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2013, Vadym Kholodenko is fast building a reputation as one of the most musically dynamic and technically gifted young pianists performing today. He has worked with several of today’s leading conductors including Valery Gergiev, Leonard Slatkin and Kirill Karabits, and his 2015 recording of the Grieg piano concerto was hailed by Gramophone magazine as ‘truly outstanding’. He is equally distinguished as a recitalist and chamber musician. His programme for us includes Schubert’s ‘little’ A major sonata and Rachmaninov’s majestic and lyrical second sonata.

‘Without doubt an exceptional artist’ - Le Figaro

ProgrammeMozart Piano Sonata no. 14 in C minor, K457Schubert Piano Sonata no. 13 in A major, D664Saariaho BalladeScriabin Preludes (selection)Rachmaninov Piano Sonata no. 2 in B flat minor

Vadym Kholodenko (piano)

Tuesday, 28th January - 7.30pmQueen’s Hall, Hexham

Photo © Van Cliburn

Visit our website

There’s more to the double bass than you think and Toby Hughes, still only in his mid-20s, is a true virtuoso on it. He was the first double bassist to win the Bromsgrove International Music Competition, has performed with major orchestras in the UK and Europe, and has already given a recital at London’s Wigmore Hall. Daniel King Smith has given concerts all over the world as both soloist and accompanist, including recitals with Michael Collins and Susan Milan, among many others. Tonight’s eclectic programme includes rarely heard sonatas by the Czech Romantic composer and bassist, Adolf Mišek, and the American composer, Lowell Liebermann.

ProgrammeDutilleux Sarabande et CortègeLowell Liebermann Sonata for Contrabass and Piano, op. 24Fauré Romance in A major, op. 69Berio PsyMišek Sonata no. 2 in E minor for Double Bass

and Piano, op. 6

Toby Hughes (double bass) & Daniel King Smith (piano)

Thursday, 20th February - 7.30pmQueen’s Hall, Hexham

Daniel King Smith - Photo © Ian Dingle

www.hexhammusic.net

Formed in 2001, the Sacconi Quartet have enjoyed a highly successful international career, performing regularly throughout Europe, at London’s major venues, in recordings and on radio broadcasts. They are Quartet in Association at the Royal College of Music. Their 2017 CD - with the tenor, Mark Padmore, and pianist, Charles Owen - of music by Jonathan Dove was named as one of Gramophone magazine’s recordings of the year. They will be playing three string quartet masterpieces for us, including Mendelssohn’s extraordinary first published quartet, written when the composer was still a teenager.

‘The chemistry between these four young players is tangible and magical’ - The Scotsman

ProgrammeHaydn String Quartet in D major, op. 64 no. 5 (The Lark)Beethoven String Quartet no. 11 in F minor, op. 95 (Serioso)Mendelssohn String Quartet no. 1 in E flat major, op. 12

Sacconi Quartet

Monday, 16th March - 7.30pmQueen’s Hall, Hexham

Photo © Alejandro Tamagno

Visit our website

The Pelléas Ensemble was formed at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 2011. They have already won several awards, including the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Henderson Chamber Ensemble award in 2017, and made a well-received debut at the Wigmore Hall in 2016. In this evening’s fascinating programme, Debussy’s enchanting sonata for flute, viola and harp, and music by Rameau and Jolivet sit alongside Robert Peate’s Three Diversions and Gilad Cohen’s arrangement of music from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet.

‘Pelléas Ensemble presented both fresh and familiar fare…. playing with captivating vitality… (and)…with deceptive effortlessness and delicacy.’ - Seen and Heard International

ProgrammeRameau (arr. Pelléas) Cinquième Concert (from Pièces de Clavecin

en Concerts)Robert Peate Three DiversionsJolivet Petite SuiteProkofiev (arr. Cohen) Selections from Romeo and JulietDebussy Sonata for Flute, Viola and Harp

Pelléas Ensemble

Friday, 3rd April - 7.30pmQueen’s Hall, Hexham

Photo © Alessandro Tear

www.hexhammusic.net

If you book before 31st August, you pay just £75 for the entire series of seven concerts. Working out at less than £11 per concert, this is exceptional value and saves you £37 on the price of single tickets.

By subscribing, you are helping the society to plan with confidence and book the high-quality performers that Hexham deserves.

What’s more, all subscriptions are fully transferable. If you can’t get to a concert, you are welcome to lend your ticket to someone who can.

Subscriptions bought after 31st August cost £95 - a saving of £17 on seven single tickets.

Adults - £16

Students - £8

Schoolchildren - £1

Disabled people’s companions - free of charge

Book all single tickets through the Queen’s Hall box office -

By phone - 01434 652477

Online - www.queenshall.co.uk

In person - Queen’s Hall, Beaumont Street, Hexham, NE46 3LS

Box office opening hours - 10.00am to 5.00pm (Monday to Friday), 10.00am to 4.00pm (Saturday) and one hour before each concert.

The Queen’s Hall charges a handling fee of 50p per ticket for online bookings and £1.50 for sending tickets out by post.

Subscribe now - and save £37!

Single tickets

How to book

Visit our website

Name……………………………………………………………....................

Address ………………………………………………………..................….

……………………………………………………………………....................

…………………………………............. Postcode……………………........

Phone…………………………………………………………..................….

E-mail ………………………………………………….................………….

Please send me …...... subscription tickets at £95 each.(£75 each, if paid before 31st August 2019.)

(Optional) I wish to donate £………. towards the work of the society.

• I enclose a cheque for £………. payable to ‘Hexham and District Music Society’.

• I will pay by bank transfer. Bank: HSBC Account name: Hexham & District Music Society Sort code: 40-24-16 Account No: 11063316 Reference: YOUR NAME & ‘2019/2020 subscription’.

I would like to receive the society’s e-mail newsletter - YES/NO

I am a UK taxpayer and wish to Gift Aid my donation - YES/NO

Please return this form and a stamped addressed envelope to

Jim CurtisMembership SecretaryHexham and District Music SocietyDelegate Cottage Fellside HexhamNE46 1RB

Privacy noticeWe hold and keep secure a list of subscribers’ contact details, together

with details of donations and Gift Aid declarations. These are for our own use only. We never pass your data to anyone else and would expect to

phone you only if a concert is cancelled.

Yes, I’d like to subscribe

www.hexhammusic.net

All concerts (except KOTTOS) start at 7.30pm in the Queen's Hall, Hexham

Sunday, 22nd September at 3.00pmNote earlier starting-time

KOTTOS

Tuesday, 15th October

Boxwood & Brass

Friday, 15th November

Zimro Trio

Tuesday, 28th January

Vadym Kholodenko (piano)

Thursday, 20th February

Toby Hughes (double bass)

and Daniel King Smith (piano)

Monday, 16th March

Sacconi Quartet

Friday, 3rd April

Pelléas Ensemble

For more information, visit www.hexhammusic.net

or e-mail info@hexhammusic.net. We are also on Twitter - @hexhammusic.

Programme arranged and presented by the Hexham and District Music Society The society's annual general meeting will be held in the White Room at the

Queen's Hall on Tuesday, 15th October at 6.30pm. All are welcome. The Hexham and District Music Society is a registered charity - Number 253761

2019/2020 season at a glance