200 UK-Based Musicians to Perform 40 Concerts at Wigmore Hall

Press Release

Date of Issue: Wednesday 17 February 2021

 

200 UK-BASED MUSICIANS TO PERFORM

40 CONCERTS AT WIGMORE HALL

IN THE RUN UP TO EASTER

 

• Over 200 UK-based musicians including soloists, singers, string quartets, choirs and small ensembles to perform 40 concerts, streamed on HD free-of-charge on Wigmore Hall’s website
• Live-streaming returns to Wigmore Hall every weeknight from 22 February
• Special Good Friday concert featuring the first major UK performance of St. Matthew Passion by German composer Johann Sebastiani
• Online donations on course to meet GBP£1-million landmark by the first anniversary UK’s first nationwide lockdown on 23 March

In anticipation of UK government’s announcement of the roadmap forward on 22 February, Wigmore Hall today unveils its spring series of 40 concerts from Monday 22 February to Easter, Saturday 3 April. 

Over six weeks, more than 200 UK-based musicians will come through the doors of Wigmore Hall to perform 40 concerts, from solo recitals to a panoply of choral concerts for the Easter season.  Every weeknight concert and most of the matinee concerts will be streamed live on HD on Wigmore Hall’s website.  Each concert, lasting 60–90 minute in length with no interval, will be performed behind closed doors with no audience present.

John Gilhooly, Director of Wigmore Hall said, ‘As the anniversary of UK’s first national lockdown approaches, the livelihoods of most musicians remain hugely precarious.  Compounded by uncertainty over European travel in the next few months, it is more important than ever that Wigmore Hall plays a part in providing refuge for musicians in these impossibly challenging circumstances.’

‘We are heartened and grateful for the overwhelming support that music lovers around the world have shown since we first started streaming concerts on 1 June last year.  I hope this generosity will continue as our online donations edge ever closer to the £1-million landmark.  I cannot emphasise enough how vital every single contribution has been in enabling us to put on concerts to support musicians.’

Wigmore Hall’s spring series culminates in Easter week that sees the return of UK’s leading choirs and baroque ensembles including The Sixteen, Stile Antico, La Serenissima, Fretwork and Tenebrae.  The week includes a performance of Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater led by British singers Iestyn Davies and Carolyn Sampson.  Fretwork marks Good Friday with the first ever Wigmore Hall performance of St. Matthew Passion by the 17th-century German composer Johann Sebastiani.

For St. Patrick’s Day on 17 March, Limerick-born Gilhooly has devised a special programme featuring Irish singers Ailish Tynan and Robin Tritschler with pianist James Baillieu in a concert including some of the most beloved traditional folksongs which reflect the cultural ties between the two nations.  Adrian O’Neill, the Ambassador of Ireland to Great Britain, will introduce the concert with a message of friendship from the Irish government. 

Line-up of Wigmore Hall’s 2021 Spring Series:

Ensembles

12 Ensemble, Apartment House, Arcangelo, Carducci String Quartet, Doric String Quartet, Dunedin Consort, The English Concert, Fretwork, Gould Piano Trio, Heath Quartet, Leonore Piano Trio, London Handel Players, Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective, Nash Ensemble, Septura, La Serenissima, The Sixteen, Stile Antico, Tenebrae

Singers

Claire Booth (soprano), Ian Bostridge (tenor), Lucy Crowe (soprano), Jess Dandy (mezzo-soprano), Iestyn Davies (countertenor), Gweneth Ann Rand (soprano), Ashley Riches (bass-baritone), Kathryn Rudge (mezzo-soprano), Carolyn Sampson (soprano), Robin Tritschler (tenor), Ailish Tynan (soprano)

Instrumentalists

James Baillieu (piano), Benjamin Baker (violin), Kristian Bezuidenhout (harpsichord), Julius Drake (piano), Danny Driver (piano), Kirill Gerstein (piano), Christopher Glynn (piano), Tim Horton (piano), Alina Ibragimova (violin), Steven Isserlis (cello), Jean Johnson (clarinet), Isata Kanneh-Mason (piano), Daniel Lebhardt (piano), Simon Lepper (piano), Bjørg Lewis (cello), Paul Lewis (piano), Petr Limonov (piano), Leon McCawley (piano), Joseph Middleton (piano), Mishka Rushdie Momen (piano), Steven Osborne (piano), Jennifer Pike (violin), Timothy Ridout (viola), Martin Roscoe (piano), Sean Shibe (guitar), Katherine Stott (piano), Llyr Williams (piano)

High-resolution images available for download:  https://bit.ly/2ZlKpjr

https://wigmore-hall.org.uk 

Media enquiries:

Dennis Chang

Bolton & Quinn

44 (0)20 7221 5000 / dennis@boltonquinn.com

Concert listings:

Monday 22 February 7.30pm

Doric String Quartet

Mozart String Quartet No. 23 in F K590 'Prussian'
Beethoven Razumovsky Op. 59 No. 1

 

Tuesday 23 February 1.00pm

Sean Shibe guitar

Dowland Preludium; Forlorn Hope Fancy; Fantasia
Bach Prelude, Fugue, and Allegro in E flat major for Lute BWV998
Thomas Adès Habanera from The Exterminating Angel
Falla Homenaje: pièce de guitare écrite pour 'Le Tombeau de Claude Debussy'
Poulenc Sarabande
Britten Nocturnal after John Dowland Op. 70
Anon Rowallan manuscript A Scots Tune

 

Tuesday 23 February 7.30pm

Dunedin Consort

Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D BWV1050; Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 in B flat major BWV1051; Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in G BWV1049

 

Wednesday 24 February 7.30pm

Benjamin Baker violin

Daniel Lebhardt piano

Copland Sonata for violin and piano
Janácek Violin Sonata
Brahms Violin Sonata No. 3 in D minor Op. 108

 

Thursday 25 February 7.30pm

Fretwork

Holborne The Honeysuckle; Heres Paternus; Muy Linda; The Fairie-round
Locke Flat Consort No. 5 in A minor
Jenkins Fantasia No. 7
Gibbons Duo for two trebles
Lawes Consort Sett a 5 in C major

Locke Flat Consort No. 1 in C minor
Purcell Fantasia a 4 No. 7 in C minor Z738; Fantasia a 4 No. 11 in G major Z742
White In Nomine
Cranford Fantasy in 3 parts

Lawes Consort Sett a 5 in C minor

 

Friday 26 February 7.30pm

Tim Horton piano

Mozart Fantasia in C minor K396
Chopin Ballade No. 1 in G minor Op. 23; Ballade No. 2 in F Op. 38
Szymanowski Masques Op. 34 I. Schéhérazade; Masques Op. 34 II. Tantris le bouffon
Chopin Ballade No. 3 in A flat Op. 47; Ballade No. 4 in F minor Op. 52; Mazurkas Op. 63 Mazurka in C sharp minor No. 3

 

Monday 1 March 1.00pm

Gould Piano Trio

Beach Piano Trio Op. 150
Schubert Piano Trio No. 1 in B flat D898

 

Monday 1 March 7.30pm

Septura

Ravel Ma mère l'Oye
Debussy Préludes Book I La fille aux cheveux de lin; Préludes Book I Minstrels; Préludes Book II Bruyères
Gershwin 3 Preludes; An American in Paris

 

Tuesday 2 March 1.00pm

The English Concert

Kristian Bezuidenhout director, harpsichord

Matthew Truscott guest leader

Purcell Dioclesian Z627 Overture; The Fairy Queen Z629 Hornpipe; The Gordion Knot Unty’d Z597 Rondeau Minuet; The Virtuous Wife, or Good Luck at Last Z611Second music; The Virtuous Wife, or Good Luck at Last Z611 First act Tune; The Indian Queen Z630 No. 8 3rd Act Tune (Rondeau); Chacony in G minor Z730
Bach Harpsichord Concerto in D minor BWV1052
Erlebach Overture No. 5 in F major

 

Tuesday 2 March 7.30pm

Gweneth Ann Rand soprano

Simon Lepper piano

Wagner Wesendonck Lieder
Messiaen Poèmes pour Mi
Barber Despite and Still Op. 41

 

Wednesday 3 March 7.30pm

Leonore Piano Trio

Dvorák Piano Trio No. 1 in B flat Op. 21
Brahms Piano Trio No. 2 in C Op. 87

 

Thursday 4 March 7.30pm

Kirill Gerstein piano

Haydn Fantasia in C HXVII 4
Beethoven Fantasia in G minor Op. 77
Schubert Wanderer D760
Chopin Fantasy in F minor Op. 49

 

Friday 5 March 7.30pm

Carolyn Sampson soprano

Joseph Middleton piano

Schumann Album für die Jugend Op. 68 Winterszeit I
Fauré La bonne chanson Op. 61 L'hiver a cessé
Gounod Le Temps des roses
Chausson Le colibri Op. 2 No. 7
Fauré Mai Op. 1 No. 2
Debussy Chansons de Bilitis
Schumann Sechs Gesänge Op. 89 Röselein, Röselein! No. 6; 6 Gedichte von N Lenau und Requiem Op. 90 Meine Rose No. 2
C Schumann 6 Lieder aus Jucunde Op. 23 No. 2 An einem lichten Morgen
Schumann Lieder und Gesänge Op. 51 Volksliedchen No. 2
C Schumann Sechs Lieder Op. 13 No. 3 Liebeszauber
Schumann Lieder und Gesänge Op. 27 Jasminenstrauch No. 4; Lieder-Album für die Jugend Op. 79 Schneeglöckchen; Vier Gesänge Op. 142 Mädchen-Schwermut No. 3
Schubert Die Blumensprache D519; Im Haine D738; Ganymed D544; Der liebliche Stern D861
Copland 12 poems of Emily Dickinson Dear March, Come In!
Britten The Red Cockatoo & other songs Not even summer yet
Barber The Daisies Op. 2 No. 1
Ireland Spring sorrow
Coates Bird songs at eventide

Friday 5 March 1.00pm

Martin Roscoe piano

Schubert 4 Impromptus D935 Impromptu in A flat No. 2; 3 Klavierstücke D946Klavierstück in E flat No. 2; Piano Sonata in B flat D960

 

Monday 8 March 1.00pm

Isata Kanneh-Mason piano

C Schumann Soirées musicales Op. 6 Notturno; Scherzo No. 2 in C minor Op. 14
Natalie Klouda Nightscapes 2020
Sofia Gubaidulina Chaconne
C Schumann Piano Sonata in G minor

 

Monday 8 March 7.30pm

Apartment House

Anton Lukoszevieze director

Satie Prière (fragment)

John Cage Haiku

Mindaugas Urbaitis Ramybe (Stillness)

Christian Wolff Eight Days a Week Variation

John Lely Meander section

Walter Zimmermann When I am 84

Jim O'Rourke Best that you do this for me

Gerhard Rühm Kleine Geschichte der Zivilisation

 

Tuesday 9 March 7.30pm

Danny Driver piano

Fauré Thème et Variations in C sharp minor Op. 73
Debussy Images, Series 2 Cloches à travers les feuilles
Fauré Nocturne No. 6 in D flat Op. 63
Ligeti Etudes Book II Etude No. 7 Galamb borong; Etudes Book I Etude No. 5 Arc-en-ciel
Musorgsky Pictures from an Exhibition

 

Wednesday 10 March 7.30pm

Claire Booth soprano

Christopher Glynn piano

Poulenc La voix humaine (English translation by Richard Stokes)

 

Thursday 11 March 7.30pm

Heath Quartet

Bartók String Quartet No. 2 BB75 Op. 17
Beethoven String Quartet No. 10 in E flat Op. 74 'Harp'

 

Friday 12 March 7.30pm

Steven Osborne 50^th Birthday Concert

Ailish Tynan soprano

Jean Johnson clarinet

Alina Ibragimova violin

Bjørg Lewis cello

Paul Lewis piano

Steven Osborne piano

Schubert Der Hirt auf dem Felsen D965; Fantasie in F minor D940
Ravel Miroirs La vallée des cloches; Piano Trio in A minor 

 

Monday 15 March

7.30pm

Jennifer Pike violin

Petr Limonov piano

Poldowski Violin Sonata

Mozart Violin Sonata in E minor K304
A selection of Polish pieces

 

Monday 15 March 1.00pm

Kathryn Rudge mezzo-soprano

Christopher Glynn piano

Harty My Lagan Love; Scythe Song; The Song of Glen Dun
Quilter Seven Elizabethan Lyrics Op. 12
Harty Sea Wrack; By the Sea; The Lowlands of Holland
Finzi Let us garlands bring Op. 18
Vaughan Williams The House of Life Silent Noon; Linden Lea
Coates I pitch my Lonely Caravan; Bird songs at eventide; Rise up and reach the stars; Sleepy Lagoon
Harty 5 Irish Poems The Fiddler of Dooney

 

Tuesday 16 March 7.30pm

Carducci String Quartet

Mendelssohn String Quartet No. 6 in F minor Op. 80
Clarke Poem
Shostakovich String Quartet No. 2 in A Op. 68

 

Wednesday 17 March 7.30pm

Ailish Tynan soprano

Robin Tritschler tenor

James Baillieu piano

Traditional Believe me if all those endearing young charms
Britten Vol. 4 Moore's Irish Melodies Oft in the stilly night; Vol. 4 Moore's Irish Melodies Sail on, sail on
Clarke A Dream
Bridge When you are old
Britten Vol. 1 British Isles The Salley Gardens
Herbert The Lake Isle of Innisfree
Dunhill The Cloths of Heaven
Barber Hermit Songs Op. 29; Nuvoletta Op. 25
Bridge Golden Hair
Pendleton Bid adieu
Stanford Songs of Erin Op. 76 Trottin' to the fair; La Belle Dame sans merci
Trad/English Reynardine
Traditional The Fanaid Grove

Trad/Irish The Old Turf Fire
Hughes I will walk with my love
Traditional Johnny I hardly knew you
Trad/Irish The Gartan Mother's Lullaby; Spanish Lady
Traditional Tigaree torum orum
Balfe Come into the garden Maud; I dreamt that I dwelt in Marble Halls
Trad/Irish Londonderry Air
Bishop Home! Sweet Home!

 

Thursday 18 March 7.30pm

12 Ensemble

Tavener The Lamb
Lutoslawski ?Musique Funebre?
Beethoven String Quartet in A minor Op. 132 III. Molto adagio
Oliver Leith Honey Siren

 

Friday 19 March 7.30pm

Leon McCawley piano

Schubert 3 Klavierstücke D946
Grieg Slåtter Op. 72 IV. Haugelåt: halling; Slåtter Op. 72 II. Jon Vestafes springdans
Schumann Davidsbündlertänze Op. 6; Fantasiestücke Op. 12 Warum?

 

Monday 22 March 1.00pm

Nash Ensemble

Bruch 8 Pieces for Clarinet, Viola and Piano Op. 83 V. Rumänische Melodie: Andante; 8 Pieces for Clarinet, Viola and Piano Op. 83 I. Andante; 8 Pieces for Clarinet, Viola and Piano Op. 83 VII. Allegro vivace, ma non troppo
Brahms Piano Quintet in F minor Op. 34

 

Monday 22 March 7.30pm

London Handel Players

Lucy Crowe soprano

Bach Ich habe genug BWV82a Ich habe genug; Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D BWV1050
Handel Giulio Cesare in Egitto HWV17 Da tempeste il legno infranto
Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in G BWV1049
Handel Alceste HWV45 Gentle Morpheus, son of night

 

Tuesday 23 March 7.30pm

Steven Isserlis cello

Mishka Rushdie Momen piano

Beethoven 12 Variations on 'See the conqu'ring hero comes' from Handel's Judas Maccabaeus WoO. 45
Bruch Kol Nidrei: Adagio on Hebrew Melodies Op. 47
Bloch Suite No. 1 for solo cello
Ravel Deux mélodies hébraïques
Mendelssohn Cello Sonata No. 2 in D Op. 58

 

Wednesday 24 March 7.30pm

Ashley Riches bass-baritone

Joseph Middleton piano

A programme of English songs on the apt subject of Winter turning to Spring, ending with Finzi's Let us Garlands Bring.

 

Thursday 25 March 7.30pm

Timothy Ridout viola

James Baillieu piano

Flackton Viola Sonata in G minor

Forsyth Chanson Celtique

Vaughan Williams 6 Studies in English Folksong
Britten Suite for violin and piano Op. 6 IV. Waltz

Beethoven Moonlight Op. 27 No. 2 I. Adagio sostenuto No. 2
Clarke Viola Sonata

Coates First Meeting (souvenir)

 

Friday 26 March 7.30pm

Arcangelo

Alina Ibragimova violin

Programme to be announced

 

Monday 29 March 1.00pm

Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective

To include:

Fauré Piano Quartet No. 2 in G minor Op. 45

 

Monday 29 March 7.30pm

Ian Bostridge tenor

Julius Drake piano

Debussy Fêtes galantes Book I; Fêtes galantes Book II
Britten The Holy Sonnets of John Donne Op. 35

 

Tuesday 30 March 1.00pm

Iestyn Davies countertenor

Carolyn Sampson soprano

Arcangelo

Pergolesi Stabat Mater

Tuesday 30 March 7.30pm

Tenebrae

Schütz ?Das ist je gewißlich wahr SWV 388

Bach Komm, Jesu, komm BWV229
Reger ?Geistliche Gesänge O Tod, wie bitter bist du
Bach St Matthew Passion BWV244 Wenn ich einmal soll scheiden
Reger Nachtlied Op. 138 No. 3; Der Mensch lebt und bestehet Op. 138 No. 1
Bach Motet: Jesu, meine Freude BWV227
Schütz ?Matthäus-Passion Beschluss
Bach Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied BWV190

 

Wednesday 31 March 1.00pm

Kathryn Stott piano

Bach Flute Sonata in E flat BWV1031 II. Siciliano
Grieg Holberg Suite Op. 40
Fauré Nocturne No. 4 in E flat major Op. 36
Poulenc Mélancolie
Bach The Well-tempered Clavier Book I, Prelude and Fugue No. 10 in E minor BWV855 I. Prelude
Wagner Isoldes Liebestod
Trad/Irish Londonderry Air
Gershwin Girl Crazy Embraceable You

 

Wednesday 31 March 7.30pm

La Serenissima

Adrian Chandler director, violin

Jess Dandy mezzo-soprano

Valentini Concerto for 4 violins in A minor Op. 7 No. 11

Telemann Concerto for 4 violins in G major TWV40:201
Ariosti Caio Marzio Coriolano Act III Scene VIII
Telemann Concerto for 4 violins in D major TWV40:202
Vivaldi Concerto for 4 Violins in B flat major RV553; Amor, hai vinto (II) RV683

 

Thursday 1 April 1.00pm

Llyr Williams piano

Schubert Fantasy Sonata in G D894; Piano Sonata in C minor D958

 

Thursday 1 April 7.30pm

Stile Antico

Victoria Tenebrae Responsories

interspersed with

Plainchant Lent prose Ad te Rex summe; Lent prose Rogamus Deus; Lent prose Innocens captus
Guerrero Maria Magdalene

 

Friday 2 April 3.00pm

Fretwork

Sebastiani St Matthew Passion

 

Saturday 3 April 7.30pm

The Sixteen

Purcell Jehova, quam multi sunt hostes Z135; ?Miserere mei; Remember not, Lord, our offences Z50
Tavener In pace in idipsum
Purcell Close thine eyes and sleep secure (Upon a Quiet Conscience) Z184
Gibbons Hosanna to the son of David
Tomkins Organ solo TBC

Almeida ?In monte Oliveti?; ?Lamentationes Ieremiae Prohetae Feria V Lectio I
Tomkins Organ solo TBC

Weelkes ?Hosanna to the Son of David ?
Purcell O praise the Lord, all ye heathen Z43
Sheppard ?In pace?
Byrd ?Diliges Dominum; ?Salvator mundi I; ?Salvator mundi II; Haec dies a 6