The latest Portsmouth Chamber Music season is here.
portsmouth chamber series –
presented by music in the round & The guildhall trust
With Portsmouth Guildhall’s Classical offering, we are proud to showcase some of the best artists, ensembles and orchestras from around the world. We’re excited to announce the new Portsmouth Chamber Music series at Portsmouth Guildhall, a series of world-class musicians performing in an intimate and informal setting. Take a look at the events below and click through for more information!
SCHUBERT, JANÁČEK & BRAHMS
16th October 2023 – BOOK NOW
The four outstanding young musicians of the Leonkoro Quartet have already acquired an astonishing list of international prizes to their name. Last year’s awards included first prize at the Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition, where they astonished both the jury and audience with their boundless energy and powerful musicality, and their appointment to the prestigious BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists scheme.
For their Portsmouth debut, they’ll be performing a programme that tackles the profound drama of Janáček and Brahms, alongside the graceful lightness of a quartet composed by Schubert when he was still a teenager.
Artists: Leonkoro Quartet
Works and composers:
- SCHUBERT – String Quartet No.9 in G minor D173 (23’)
- JANÁČEK – String Quartet No.1 ‘Kreutzer Sonata’ (19’)
- BRAHMS – String Quartet No.1 in C minor, Op.51 No.1 (32’)
RACHMANINOFF 150
20th November 2023 – BOOK NOW
The world-class musicians from Ensemble 360 return with a blistering programme of Russian music to celebrate the 150th birthday of Sergei Rachmaninoff, best known for his sweeping symphonic music and monumental works for piano. They open with his heart-wrenching trio and conclude with a rarely-performed piece by Tchaikovsky, considered by the composer to be his best work of all: a dense, lyrical and dramatic quartet which shares much with his better known large-scale works.
Artists: Ensemble 360
Works and composers:
- RACHMANINOFF – Trio élégiaque No.1 in G minor (14’)
- PROKOFIEV – Quintet in G minor (21’)
- PROKOFIEV – Overture on Hebrew Themes (9’)
- TCHAIKOVSKY – String Quartet No.2 in F Op.22 (36’)
HAYDN, SCHUMANN & MORE
29th January 2024 – BOOK NOW
Trio Gaspard has earned an international reputation for refreshing interpretations of core piano trio repertoire and championing new music. This eclectic programme does just that, juxtaposing two trios by Haydn, the father or the form, and a short work commissioned from Sally Beamish celebrating this ever-evolving tradition. Liszt’s colourful and virtuosic Hungarian Rhapsody provides a spirited and celebratory finale.
Artists: Trio Gaspard
Works and composers:
- HAYDN – Piano Trio in A Hob.XV:9 (13’)
- SCHUMANN – Piano Trio No 2 in F Op.80 (27’)
- HAYDN – Piano Trio in E flat minor Hob XV:31 (13’)
- BEAMISH – Piano Trio written for Trio Gaspard’s ‘Haydn Project’ (c.10’)
- LISZT – Hungarian Rhapsody No.9 ‘Carnival in Pest’ (10’)
MENDELSSOHN STRING QUARTETS
26th February 2024 – BOOK NOW
The electrifying Consone Quartet, recent BBC New Generation Artists, comprises four sensitive and spirited musicians who have formed a dynamic ensemble prized for expressive interpretations of classical and romantic repertoire through historically informed performance.
One of Haydn’s most popular quartets opens this concert, featuring a soaring bird-like part for violin which earned the piece its Lark nickname. The evening also contrasts the music of both Mendelssohn siblings: Fanny’s raw, passionate and tempestuous quartet, the only one she published, and Felix’s stately, lyrical and deftly crafted E minor quartet.
Artists: Consone Quartet
Works and composers:
- HAYDN – String Quartet in D Op.64, No.5 ‘Lark’ (20’)
- FANNY MENDELSSOHN – String Quartet in E flat (22′)
- FELIX MENDELSSOHN – String Quartet in E minor Op.44, No.2 (32′)
STRAVINSKY, COLERIDGE-TAYLOR, SCHUBERT
22nd April 2024 – BOOK NOW
A concert of contrasts, showcasing the versatility of the world-class musicians from Ensemble 360.
Schubert’s deeply personal and beloved ‘Death and the Maiden’ string quartet is set alongside two lesser-known pieces written within a century but which could hardly be more different: Stravinsky’s compelling fragments for string quartet and Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s exquisite clarinet quintet. The latter is arguably the greatest achievement in Coleridge-Taylor’s chamber music, by turns lyrical and muscular. It bears the unmistakable hallmarks of Dvořák’s profound influence on this tumultuous period of music.
Artists: Ensemble 360
Works and composers:
- STRAVINSKY – Three Pieces for String Quartet (7’)
- COLERIDGE-TAYLOR – Clarinet Quintet (31’)
- SCHUBERT – String Quartet No.14 ‘Death and the Maiden’ (40’)
MARSCHNER, BRAHMS, DVOŘÁK
20th May 2024 – BOOK NOW
The Gould Piano Trio returns to Portsmouth after a warmly received collaboration with violist Gary Pomeroy in 2021. At the heart of this concert is Dvořák’s most celebrated chamber work, the ‘Dumky’ trio which takes its name from a bohemian lament. This earthy and emotionally rich work is full of contrasts, folk tunes and invention. Paired with a rarely performed trio from a celebrated opera composer and Brahms’s lush, dramatic third piano trio, this promises to be an evening of high drama and the finest musicianship.
Artists: Gould Piano Trio
Works and composers:
- MARSCHNER – Piano Trio No.2 in G minor, Op.111 (32’)
- BRAHMS – Piano Trio No.3 in C minor, Op.101 (21’)
- DVOŘÁK – Piano Trio No.4 in E minor, Op.90 ‘Dumky’ (32’)
Sounds of Now
A new edition to the Portsmouth Chamber Music offering – Sounds of Now is a new platform for musicians creating and exploring the most exciting artistic ideas today. Nurturing talent, inspiring new thinking, provoking debate. Learn more below!
VOICE(LESS)
5th October 2023 – BOOK NOW
(A woman sits alone in the room. She tries to speak. Her voice is gone.)
Mezzo-soprano Rosie Middleton and violinist Angharad Davies perform a sequence of works that explore the sonic force of the human voice and how easily it can be silenced.
Esin Gunduz examines power and resistance in music that transforms Rosie’s voice through electronic manipulation. Semaphore, morse code and other non-verbal communication inform Mira Calix’s anti-war musical poem. In Cover Squirrel by Laura Bowler, the human voice switches from operatic power to broken and unintelligible fragments. This provocative performance blends music and physical gesture by two captivating, exceptional performers.
Artists: ROSIE MIDDLETON – mezzo-soprano, ANGHARAD DAVIES – violin.
Works and composers:
- ESIN GUNDUZ – En-he-du-an-na-me-en (3′)
- MIRA CALIX – code poem: any chance of war? (c.9′)
- LAURA BOWLER – Cover Squirrel (c.15′)
- Includes improvisations by Angharad Davies
ROTATIONS
8th March 2024 – BOOK NOW
A unique programme of music and movement, inspired by the physicality of Roosendael’s Rotations, created by virtuoso recorder player Tabea Debus and dazzling accordion player Samuele Telari, in collaboration with award-winning choreographer Sally Marie.
Featuring a new commission and works from giants of twentieth century music, the show’s choreography of the musicians makes full use of the Guildhall’s intimate ‘in the round’ Studio space.
Artists: TABEA DEBUS – recorder & SAMUELE TELARI – accordion.
Works and composers:
- PÄRT – Pari Intervallo (5’)
- CAGE – Harmony XVIII (from 44 Harmonies) (2’)
- ROOSENDAEL – Rotations for solo recorder (15’)
- CAGE – Harmony XX (From 44 Harmonies) (5’)
- LIM – slowly, turning (6’)
- CAGE – Harmony XXXVI & HARMONY XL (From 44 Harmonies) (3’)
- HOSOKAWA – Sen V for solo accordion (10’)
- CAGE – Harmony XII (From 44 Harmonies) (1’)
- PÄRT – Spiegel im Spiegel (8’)
ANNA MEREDITH STRING QUARTETS with LIGETI QUARTET
21st March 2024 – BOOK NOW
Anna Meredith’s joyful, furious, energetic and restful music dazzles but is never too serious. The critically-acclaimed Ligeti Quartet share tracks from their new album fusing acoustic and electronic music for string quartet by the Mercury-prize nominated composer.
Anna Meredith has achieved incredible success straddling multiple musical worlds, never compromising her raw, individual style. This concert is based around the Ligeti Quartet’s new album, Nuc, providing a survey of Meredith’s career to date, heard through her original works for string quartet.
Nuc started life as a conversation between Anna Meredith and Richard Jones (Ligeti Quartet’s viola player) after realising that after a decade of frequently working together, they had almost an album’s worth of music. So an idea developed in which they would not only make the first studio recordings of Anna’s original music for string quartet, but that Richard would create new arrangements of existing tracks by Anna including from her award-winning electronic and dance albums.
The result is a joyful, occasionally furious, never too serious, energetic/restful collection of tracks which dazzle with Anna’s signature compulsive harmonies, rhythmic shifts of gear and sparkling textures.
Artists: Ligeti Quartet
Works and composers:
- MEREDITH – Tuggemo (5’30)
- MEREDITH – A Short Tribute To Teenage Fanclub (5’)
- MEREDITH – Honeyed Words (4’)
- MEREDITH – Chorale (8’)
- MEREDITH – Shill (3’)
- MEREDITH – Haze (4’)
- MEREDITH – Blackfriars (3’)
- MEREDITH – Nautilus (5’)
LULLABY with MANASAMITRA
1st May 2024 – BOOK NOW
Lullaby is an entrancing evening of music in which the hypnotic purity of Indian music meets contemporary electronica and live instrumental improvisation.
Inspired by traditional Indian lullabies, this is an entrancing evening of music in which the hypnotic purity of Indian music meets contemporary electronica and live instrumental improvisation.
Timeless night-time sounds from around the world – chirping cicadas, the call of the night jar, the soft fall of rain – have been captured and located within the rhythmic pattern and soothing cadence of a lullaby to create an immersive experience that both soothes and stimulates. The space is yours to do as you please – sit, stand, lie down, slump into cushions and drift off, or remain alert and engaged throughout.
Artists: SUPRIYA NAGARAJAN – vocals, DUNCAN CHAPMAN – field recordings & electronics, LUCY NOLAN – harp.
Series Discount
Get a 20% discount if you book any 6 or more Chamber Music/Sounds of Now concerts! CLICK HERE
Presented BY:
with thanks to funding from:
