The latest Portsmouth Chamber Music season is here.
portsmouth chamber series –
presented by music in the round & The guildhall trust
Join Music in the Round for friendly and welcoming classical music concerts from some of the world’s finest musicians, including the brilliant Ensemble 360 and special guests.
You’ll be sitting just metres away from world-class musicians, performing spine-tingling music with their heart and soul, in the Guildhall’s intimate concert space where the audience surround the performers on all sides.
Kathryn Stott – Piano Favourites
21st October 2024 – BOOK NOW
Acclaimed pianist Kathryn Stott brings a programme of ‘musical postcards’ to Portsmouth as part of her farewell tour. As Kathy draws her performing career to a close, she performs an eclectic programme spanning four centuries of music, showcasing her diverse musical loves and friendships.
Opening with exquisite Bach and concluding with a brand-new farewell commission, via a Scandinavian wedding celebration from Grieg, the spirit of Broadway and a masterful Chopin Mazurka, this promises to be a whirlwind tour through a unique musical career from a captivating performer much-loved across the world.
Artists: Kathryn Stott
Works and composers:
BACH – Prelude and Fugue No. 1 in C BWV846 (5′)
L BOULANGER – Théme et Variations (9′)
FAURÉ – Barcarolle No.4 in A Flat Op.44 (4′)
RAVEL – Jeux d’eau (5′)
GRIEG – Wedding Day at Troldhaugen Op. 65 No. 6 (6′)
PIAZZOLLA (arr. YAMAMOTO) Milonga (5′)
SHOSTAKOVICH – Prelude & Fegue No. 24 in D minor Op.87 (12′)
FITKIN – Scent (4′)
RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN (arr. HOUGH) – ‘My Favourite Things’ (3′)
SHAW – Gustave Le Gray (11′)
CHOPIN – Mazurka Op. 17 No. 4 in A minor (4′)
GRAINGER – Molly on the Shore (4′)
VINE – Short Story (3′)
FITKIN – Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly (8′)
ENSEMBLE 360 – Mozart, Onslow & Watkins
2nd December 2024 – BOOK NOW
On the eve of their 20th anniversary, the string, wind and piano players of much-loved Ensemble 360 return to Portsmouth. Their programme includes captivating charm and wit in George Onslow’s Nonet. This is a chance to hear one of the finest and largest-scale chamber works by the composer, nicknamed the ‘French Beethoven’, whose five movements move through an expressive array of moods from turbulence to a jubilant conclusion.
A delightful Mozart masterpiece for piano and wind follows, and the evening concludes with a specially commissioned work, Broken Consort, by award-winning Welsh composer Huw Watkins.
Artists: Ensemble 360
Works and composers:
- ONSLOW Nonet (35′)
- MOZART Quintet for Piano and Wind K452 (25′)
- WATKINS Broken Consort (30′)
Beethoven, Mozart & More: String Quartets
20th January 2025 – BOOK NOW
The Marmen Quarter has won a glittering array of international prizes; its musicians are rigorous and deeply humane performers. Charting hundreds of years string writing, their concert begins with Beethoven’s ‘Serioso’ String Quartet No. 11 in F minor, followed by the vivid folk-inspired motifs of the Third Quartet No. 11 in F minor, followed by the vivid folk-inspired motifs of the Third Quartet by Hungarian composer Belà Bartók.
Salina Fisher’s highly original hypnotic new work, specially commissioned for the Marmen Quartet during lockdown by Chamber Music New Zealand, also features. Culminating in Mozart’s daring ‘Dissonance’ String Quartet in C, join us for a celebration of timeless classics and the innovative spirit of modern works.
Artists: Marmen Quartet
Works and composers:
BEETHOVEN – String Quartet No. 11 in F minor Op.95 “Serioso” (22′)
BARTÓK – String Quarter No. 3 (15′)
FISHER – Heal (8′)
MOZART – String Quartet in C K465 ‘Dissonance’ (30′)
A Celebration of Czech Music
17th March 2025 – BOOK NOW
Janáček’s beloved Mládí (‘Youth’) was written towards the end of his life as a nostalgic celebration of memories of his youth, drawing on his early writing. Receiving its premiere performances in autumn 1924, we celebrate the 100th anniversary of this iconic piece for wind, featuring the bass clarinet alongside a regular wind quintet line-up of flute, oboe, clarinet, horn and bassoon. Also featured in this concert is Janacek’s expressive masterpiece for solo piano ‘In the Mists’ and two works from wind and piano by his most illustrious student, Pavel Haas.
Artists: Ensemble 360
Works and composers:
HAAS – Oboe Suite Op.17 (16′)
JANÁČEK – In the Mists (15′)
HAAS – Wind Quinet Op.10 (14′)
JANÁČEK Mládi (19′)
Fanfare! Trumpet Classics
28th April 2025 – BOOK NOW
Having made waves with recent performances at Wigmore Hall and the BBC Proms, rising star trumpeter Aaron Akugbo comes to Portsmouth. Citing Louis Armstrong as his greatest musical influence, this charismatic performer presents an uplifting mix of works in a captivating evening of diverse and evocative musical expressions. With music spanning centuries and continents, from classical elegance to vibrant modern works, this evening promises to take you on a journey through a rich tapestry of emotions and styles.
Artists: Aaron Azunda Akugbo (trumpet) & Zeynep Özsuca (piano)
Works and composers:
HONEGGER – Intrada (4′)
L BOULANGER – Nocturne et Cortege (8′)
VIVALDI – Agitata da due venti (6′)
BOZZA – Aria (4′)
FRANCAIX – Sonatine (8′)
HUBEAU – Sonata (15′)
PRICE – The Glory of the Day was in Her Face (3′)
PRICE – Song to the Dark Virgin (3′)
MAHLER – Ich atmet’ einen linden Duft (3′)
ROPARTZ – Andante et Allegro (6′)
New Impressions: Debussy & More
19th May 2025 – BOOK NOW
A concert of glittering works with Debussy’s sensual and impressionistic quartet at its heart, shimmering with life and light between opening storms and a grand conclusion.
Praised for their “immaculate precision and spirit” (The Strad) and “cultured tone” (Arts Desk), the Solem Quartet is on of the most innovative and adventurous string quartets of its generation. The Quartet is celebrated for their pairing of established works with hidden gems, and their programme here also features complementary works by Nadia Boulanger, Edmund Finnis and Henriette Bosmans.
Artists: Solem Quartet
Works and composers:
BOSMANS – String Quartet (12′)
FINNIS – String Quartet No.3 ‘Devotions’ (23′)
N BOULANGER – Three Pieces for cello and piano, arr. Tress for string quartet (c.8′)
DEBUSSY – Quartet in G Minor (25′)
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!
Sounds of Now: Bridge Ensemble
11th December 2024 – BOOK NOW
A programme of new music for flute, clarinet, oboe, horn and bassoon from Music in the Round’s Bridge Ensemble.
Opening with Sigurd Berge’s haunting work for solo horn, including Èkó Scenes, a brand new Afrobeat-inspired work by the group’s clarinettist Olá Akindipe, and concluding with US composer Valerie Coleman’s fusion of what she calls ‘blues dialect and charm of the south’, this is an accessible and eclectic tour through a world of new classical music.
Artists: Bridge Ensemble
Works and composers:
SIGURD BERGE – Horn-lokk (6′)
WISSAM BOUSTANY – And the Wind Whispered for flute (7′)
JUDTH WEIR – Mountain Airs (4′)
VALERIE COLEMAN – Umoja (4′)
ARTURO MARQUEZ – Danza de Mediodia (10′)
VALERIE COLEMAN – Red Clay & Mississippi Delta (6′)
OLA AKINDIPE – Èkó Scenes (10′)
Sounds of Now: Purnima Eastman, Wolfe & Singh
13th February 2025 – BOOK NOW
Violinist Rakhi Singh performs works by Edmund Finnis, Julia Wolfe, Julius Eastman, Alex Groves, and more from her debut solo album, ‘Purnima’. A leading artist in the UK’s exciting contemporary classical music scene, Singh has firmly established her reputation touring with cutting-edge artists such as Phillip Glass, Abel Selaocoe, and the London Contemporary Orchestra. She is also the co-founder and Artistic Director of Manchester Collective, the award-winning ensemble known for its daring collaborations and engaging performances in spaces ranging from concert halls to warehouses, nightclubs to festivals
Artists: Rakhi Singh
Works and composers:
NICOLA MATTEIS – Alia Fantasia (4′)
ANNA CLYNE – October Rose for Two Violins (4′)
ALEX GROVES – Alula (9′)
ANDREW HAMILTON – In Beautiful May (13′)
JULIUS EASTMAN (arr. RAKHI SINGH) Joy Boy (8′)
MISSY MAZZOLI – Vespers (5′)
PAUL CLARK – Natural Remedies (6′)
EDMUND FINNIS – Elsewhere (8′)
JULIA WOLFE (arr. RAKHI SINGH) LAD (17′)
Sounds of Now: Hermes Experiment
17th April 2025 – BOOK NOW
The award-winning Hermes Experiment is one of the most exciting forces in contemporary music today. With their arresting stage presence and wildly imaginative programmes, they have been winning over audiences around the country with their effortless ability to bring music from the margins into the mainstream.
Fronted by the captivating singer Heloise Werner, this quartet of sensational musicians (soprano, harp, clarinet and double bass) were recent winners of the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Young Artist Award. They perform works covering all styles of new music in today’s gloriously electric scene.
Artists: Hermes Experiment
Works and composers:
CÉCILE CHAMINADE(arr. SCHOFIELD) La Lune paresseuse (3’)
TOM COULT I Find Planets (6’)
CAROLINE SHAW (arr. DENHOLM) Plan & Elevation: I. The Ellipse (4’)
LAURA MOODY Rilke Songs (movements I & III) (10’)
SOOSAN LOLAVAR Mâh Didam (6’)
ANNA MEREDITH (arr. Schofield) Fin like a flower (3’)
LILI BOULANGER (arr. Schofield) Reflets (3’)
KERRY ANDREW (arr. Denholm) Fruit Songs (8’)
ERROLLYN WALLEN (arr. Werner), Tree (5’)
HANNAH PEEL (arr. PASHLEY), The Almond Tree (3’)
MISHA MULLOV-ABBADO The Linden Tree (6’)
Series Discount
Get a 20% discount if you book any 6 or more Chamber Music/Sounds of Now concerts! CLICK HERE
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