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Press Releases
Wigmore Hall to Re-open with 120th Anniversary Festival
Press Release
Date of Issue: Tuesday 13 April 2021
WIGMORE HALL TO RE-OPEN FOR
LANDMARK 120th ANNIVERSARY YEAR WITH
GROUNDBREAKING APPOINTMENTS, NEW PARTNERSHIPS &
25-CONCERT ANNIVERSARY FESTIVAL
- Wigmore Hall re-opens to the public on 17 May after more than 200 streamed and broadcast concerts over the past 12 months
- 120th Anniversary celebrations headlined by appointment of 9 new Associate Artists including Nitin Sawhney, Amjad Ali Khan and Elaine Mitchener and new partnership with African Concert Series
- 25-concert festival (17 May – 3 June) by leading artists including Louise Alder, Mary Bevan, Michael Collins, Alice Coote, Doric and Heath Quartets, Angela Hewitt, Stephen Hough, Steven Isserlis, Sir András Schiff, Dame Mitsuko Uchida and Roderick Williams
- Wigmore Hall green room to be renamed ‘Jessye Norman Green Room’ in memory of the legendary soprano who enjoyed a decades-long association with the Hall
- Wigmore Hall Learning Festival explores a theme of 'Connectivity', focusing on music's role in the face of isolation
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High-resolution images for download: https://bit.ly/3d8n24K After a tumultuous year that saw Wigmore Hall streaming more than 200 concerts by 360 artists to over 6 million viewers and radio listeners across the globe, generating more than £1-million in online donations, Wigmore Hall will welcome the return of live audiences on 17 May with a 25-concert re-opening festival culminating in a major celebration of the Hall’s 120th Anniversary on the 31 May.
Taking as inspiration Wigmore Hall’s illustrious history, as well as seismic events since the outbreak of the pandemic last spring, the 120th Anniversary celebration is headlined by Wigmore Hall Director John Gilhooly's appointment of nine new Associate Artists who are:
Nitin Sawhney (composer/performer) Amjad Ali Khan (sarod) Amaan Ali Bangash (sarod) Ayaan Ali Bangash (sarod) Lawrence Power (viola) Gweneth Ann Rand (soprano) Trish Clowes (saxophone) Elaine Mitchener (vocal and movement artist) Christian McBride (jazz bass)
Wigmore Hall has committed to five-year relationships with each Associate Artist, presenting each musician at least once every season. Also joining Wigmore Hall’s family of partners is the African Concert Series spearheaded by the Nigerian-Romanian pianist Rebeca Omordia. The series reflects the depth and diversity of African art music, a rich genre which forms a bridge between Western classical music and traditional African music.
The 120th Anniversary concerts embody Wigmore Hall’s continuing commitment to excellence in chamber music and song. The festivities are heralded outside of Wigmore Hall on Sunday 30 May when the 12 Ensemble, a pioneering unconducted string ensemble, performs an outdoor concert in Portman Square Garden, promoted by Wigmore Hall. That evening, Sir András Schiff gives a solo recital, in the first of five gala concerts to mark the anniversary.
The concert on 31 May, the day of the Anniversary, features Wigmore Hall’s recently appointed Associate Ensemble, Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective, led by violinist Elena Urioste and pianist Tom Poster. Wigmore Hall presents this ensemble of leading instrumentalists in a programme including African American composer Florence Price’s rarely performed Piano Quintet in A minor. On 31 May, the 12 winners of Wigmore Hall’s Lockdown Commissions Scheme (chosen from over 700 applications) will be announced – reflecting the important role composers and new voices have always occupied at the Hall since the historic inaugural concert in 1901 that included Ferruccio Busoni and Eugène Ysaÿe.
Wigmore Hall’s long association with art song is marked by a special gala on 1 June around the theme of hope and renewal, devised at the request of John Gilhooly by pianist Graham Johnson, who performs with Sarah Fox (soprano), Alice Coote (mezzo-soprano), Alessandro Fisher (tenor), Roderick Williams (baritone) and William Thomas (bass).
2 June features a solo recital by the pianist Dame Mitsuko Uchida whose close relationship with the Hall covers almost six decades and countless acclaimed performances. Dame Mitsuko will be presented with the Wigmore Hall Medal in recognition of her long association with the Hall.
The final Anniversary concert on 3 June is a recital by Gweneth Ann Rand, with a programme which Rand describes as 'a personal reflection of Black voices and muses, stretching back in time to the Black Venus, who inspired the poetry of Baudelaire’. On this day, Wigmore Hall’s green room will be renamed the ‘Jessye Norman Green Room’ in memory of the legendary soprano who opened more Wigmore Hall seasons than any other artist in the history of the Hall.
Wigmore Hall will also present a week-long Learning Festival, with the theme of ‘Connectivity’. The aim at the heart of Wigmore Hall Learning is to connect people through music. Through concerts, an online art installation and family events, the Festival explores music’s power to bring people together in the face of isolation, a plight faced by many over the past 12 months of the pandemic.
John Gilhooly, Director of Wigmore Hall said, ‘Since its auspicious opening in 1901, Wigmore Hall has become the international headquarters of chamber music with a diverse roster of artists and repertoire. At this time of renewal, we are keen to continue our search for new and unjustly neglected voices on stage. I am particularly looking forward to our Learning Festival, which explores how the pandemic has challenged but also strengthened our sense of community.'
Tickets for all 25 concerts in the re-opening festival are available initially on a ballot basis to Friends of Wigmore Hall which can be joined for as low as £50 a year. Seating capacity will be determined by government announcements in the coming weeks. 13 concerts (marked with * below) will be streamed free of charge on the Wigmore Hall site, and 3 concerts (marked with below) will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3.
https://wigmore-hall.org.uk/learning/learning-festival-2021-connectivity
Media enquiries: Dennis Chang Bolton & Quinn 44 (0)20 7221 5000 / dennis@boltonquinn.com
Listings
*Streamed live on Wigmore Hall website Broadcast on BBC Radio 3
Michael Collins clarinet; Michael McHale piano * Widor Introduction et rondo Op. 72 Bax Clarinet Sonata in D Muczynski Time Pieces Op. 43 Joseph Horovitz Sonatina
Steven Isserlis cello; Irène Duval violin; Mishka Rushdie Momen piano * Beethoven Cello Sonata in G minor Op. 5 No. 2 György Kurtág 3 pieces TBC Schubert Piano Trio No. 2 in E flat D929
Clare Hammond piano Szymanowski Variations on a Polish Folk Theme Op. 10 de Montgeroult No. 37 from Etudes for piano No. 28 from Etudes for piano No. 55 from Etudes for piano No. 74 from Etudes for piano No. 36 from Etudes for piano No. 38 from Etudes for piano No. 111 from Etudes for piano Rachmaninov Piano Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor Op. 36 (1931 revised version)
Sean Shibe guitar Programme to include works by Ravel, Satie and Mompou.
Melvyn Tan piano Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 30 in E Op. 109 Piano Sonata No. 31 in A flat Op. 110 Piano Sonata No. 32 in C minor Op. 111
Carolyn Sampson soprano; Joseph Middleton piano Schubert Die junge Nonne D828 Schwestergruss D762 Ganymed D544 An den Mond D193 Auf dem Wasser zu singen D774 Gott im Frühlinge D448 Nacht und Träume D827 Die Sterne D939 An den Mond D259 Am Tage aller Seelen D343 An die Nachtigall D497 Der liebliche Stern D861 Der Musensohn D764 Wiegenlied D867 Du bist die Ruh D776 Elysium D584
Sir Nicholas Kenyon: The Life of Music * Saturday 22 May 1.00pm Sir Nicholas Kenyon speaker Writer, broadcaster and arts administrator, Sir Nicholas Kenyon explores the enduring life of the ever-changing classical music canon, in a special talk to tie in with the release of his new book The Life of Music.
Florilegium Florilegium Haydn Surprise HI 94 arranged by Johann Salomon The Clock HI 101 arranged by Johann Salomon London HI 104 arranged by Johann Salomon
Heath Quartet; Tom Poster piano Elgar Piano Quintet in A minor Op. 84 Beethoven String Quartet No. 6 in B flat Op. 18 No. 6
Florilegium Bach Trio Sonata in G BWV1038 Viola da Gamba Sonata No. 3 in G minor BWV1029 Trio Sonata in G BWV1039 Trio Sonata in C BWV1037 Trio Sonata in C minor from The Musical Offering BWV1079
Lara Melda piano * Rachmaninov Etude-tableau in G minor No. 8 from Etudes-tableaux Op. 33 Etude-tableau in E flat No. 7 from Etudes-tableaux Op. 33 Chopin Piano Sonata No. 3 in B minor Op. 58
Angela Hewitt piano * Scarlatti Sonata in D minor Kk1 Pastorale Kk446 Sonata in E Kk531 Sonata in C major Kk420 Sonata in C minor Kk11 Sonata in C major Kk461 Granados I. Galante - Minueto from 12 Danzas Españolas II. Orientale from 12 Danzas Españolas III. Fandango - Zarabanda from 12 Danzas Españolas Scarlatti Tempo di ballo Kk430 Sonata in B minor Kk87 Sonata in G major Kk427 Barcarolle Kk429 Sonata in F Kk82 Granados IV. Villanesca from 12 Danzas Españolas V. Andaluza from 12 Danzas Españolas VI. Rondalla aragonesa - Jota from 12 Danzas Españolas
Stephen Hough piano; Amy Harman bassoon; Ben Goldscheider horn; Olivier Stankiewicz oboe Stephen Hough Trio for flute and bassoon and piano (Was mit den Traenen geschiet) Mozart Quintet in E flat for piano and winds K452 Poulenc Sextet for wind quintet and piano
Gould Piano Trio; Robert Plane clarinet Huw Watkins Four Fables Messiaen Quatuor pour la fin du temps
Elias String Quartet Haydn String Quartet in G Op. 33 No. 5 41 Schumann String Quartet in A Op. 41 No. 3 Donald Grant Scottish Folk Music arrangements
Sir András Schiff piano * Programme to include works by Bach and Beethoven.
Ensemble Marsyas; Louise Alder soprano; Christopher Lowrey countertenor Handel Sinfonia in B flat HWV339 Tanti strali al sen mi scocchi HWV197 Trio Sonata in G minor HWV393 Conservate, raddoppiate HWV188 Bassoon Sonata in F Op. 1 No. 11 HWV369 arranged by Cantata: Amarilli Vezzosa (Il Duello Amoroso) HWV82
Doric String Quartet; Pieter Wispelwey cello Schubert String Quintet in C D956
Sir András Schiff piano * Programme to include works by Mozart.
EXAUDI * de Lassus 1. Prologue from Prophetiae Sibyllarum 2. Sibylla Persica from Prophetiae Sibyllarum 10. Sibylla Europaea from Prophetiae Sibyllarum 12. Sibylla Erythraea from Prophetiae Sibyllarum 13. Sibylla Agrippa from Prophetiae Sibyllarum Vicentino Musica prisca caput Soave e dolce ardore James Weeks II from Primo Libro XIII from Primo Libro Vicentino Dolce mio ben James Weeks VII from Primo Libro IX from Primo Libro X from Primo Libro XIV from Primo Libro Vicentino Madonna, il dolce pianto Luzzaschi Quivi sospiri Marenzio O voi che sospirate Gesualdo Itene, o miei sospiri Deh, come un invan sospiro from Madrigali libro sesto Asciugate i begli occhi
Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective; Mary Bevan soprano * Price Piano Quintet in A minor Fauré La bonne chanson Op. 61 (version for voice, string quintet and piano) Mendelssohn Sextet in D Op. 110
Sarah Fox soprano; Alice Coote mezzo-soprano; Alessandro Fisher tenor; Roderick Williams baritone; William Thomas bass; Graham Johnson piano * Covid’s Metamorphoses: Danger, Lockdown, Hope, Recovery Danger Schubert Der Tod und das Mädchen D531 Haydn Die Warnung HXXVc 6 Schumann Zwielicht No. 10 from Liederkreis Op. 39 Brahms Nächtens No. 2 from Six Quartets Op. 112 Britten The Travel Bureau from Death in Venice Op. 88 Lockdown Berlin All Alone Brahms Vergebliches Ständchen No. 4 from 5 Romanzen und Lieder Op. 84 Barber The Desire for Hermitage from Hermit Songs Op. 29 Hahn D'une prison Fauré Prison Op. 83 No. 1 Mahler Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen from Rückert Lieder Hope Schubert Frühlingsglaube D686 Wolf Gebet from Mörike Lieder Eisler An die Hoffnung from Hölderlin-Fragmente Caryll Someday waiting will end Recovery Mendelssohn Frühlingsglaube Op. 9 No. 8 Wolf Der Genesene an die Hoffnung from Mörike Lieder Eisler Genesung Milton Song of the Dawn? Poulenc No. 1 Bonne journée from Tel jour, telle nuit Schubert Kantate für Irene Kiesewetter D936
Mitsuko Uchida piano * Schubert 4 Impromptus D899 4 Impromptus D935
Gweneth Ann Rand soprano; Simon Lepper piano * Trad Sometimes I feel like a motherless child Debussy Recueillement from 5 poèmes de Baudelaire Le balcon from 5 poèmes de Baudelaire La mort des amants from 5 poèmes de Baudelaire Meeropol Strange fruit Ravel Chansons madécasses Traditional Black is the colour of my true love's hair Harry Sever Tears Errollyn Wallen Peace on Earth Adolphus Hailstork Decisions from Songs of Love and Justice
Elias String Quartet; Daniel Tong piano Purcell Fantasias (a selection) Ivan Moseley Fourscore Dvorák Piano Quintet No. 2 in A Op. 81
Miss Hope Springs * (online only) John Gilhooly has invited the acclaimed cabaret artist Miss Hope Springs to pre-record a celebration in honour of Pride Month, which will be available throughout June. |
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