Welcome to our twenty seventh newsletter – designed to keep you informed about our activities, as well as other local chamber music events.
Friends will be sad to learn of the death of Don Newbold at the age of 92. He was a longstanding Friend of Strings Attached who attended what was his last coffee concert as recently as 25 February. We shall always remember the generosity with which he sponsored the entire 2015/16 season of coffee concerts.
2017/18 COFFEE CONCERT SEASON CONTINUES
The concert on 25 February given by the Castalian Quartet was a huge success, leaving many of us stunned by the power of Britten’s second quartet. For reviews, see https://www.stringsattachedmusic.org.uk under ‘Latest Posts’.
The next concert will be given on 25 March at 11 am in the Attenborough Centre by Trio Isimsiz with Tim Ridout viola and a double bass player.
- Schubert Piano Trio in B flat, D28, Sonatensatz
- Beethoven Piano Trio in E flat Op. 70 No. 2
- Schubert Piano Quintet in A D667 “The Trout”
We know the Isimsiz from coffee concerts in 2014 and 2016. They were astonishingly good. Tim Ridout will be well known to those who have attended the Lewes Chamber Music Festival and the Brighton Festival. He’s been winning international prizes since he was 19. I’m sure they have chosen a double bass player for “The Trout”, we just don’t yet have a name.
For those who like to prepare for a concert, Chris Darwin’s programme notes are available on https://www.stringsattachedmusic.org.uk under ‘Next Concert’.
Trio Isimsiz – Photo credit Kaupo Kikkas
ADDITIONAL CONCERT
The additional concert on Sunday 29 April at 11 am, at the Attenborough Centre, will be given by Quatuor Arod. This is an extra concert and so is not covered by 2017/18 season tickets. Tickets specifically for this concert may be obtained as detailed under ‘Practicalities’. They will be playing:
- Haydn String Quartet Op. 74 No. 3 “The Rider”
- Attahir “Al Asr” (a piece commissioned by the Quartet for this season)
- Beethoven String Quartet Op. 59 No.2
Founded in 2013, Quatuor Arod continues our tradition of engaging young exciting chamber groups. As BBC New Generation Artists and winners of the Munich and Carl Nielsen Prizes they are both young and exciting.
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
This was held on 1 March. Draft minutes are available on the Strings Attached website.
The question of extending the usual six concert series to one of seven or eight concerts was discussed. The finances of Strings Attached are sufficiently healthy to consider funding an additional concert at the start of the 2018/19 season. The possibility of extending the series further will be discussed with Andrew Comben, Chief Executive of Brighton Dome and Brighton Festival.
The extra concert on 29 April 2018 has been made possible by the generosity of Strings Attached founder member Christina Gee. Friends who would consider sponsoring all or part of a concert in the 2018/19 series are encouraged to contact our Chair, Mary McKean, on memckean@me.com .
PRACTICALITIES
The Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts (ACCA), formerly the Gardner Centre, is at the University of Sussex at Falmer. The move to ACCA, as you will recall, is temporary during the extensive refurbishment of the Brighton Dome Corn Exchange.
There is free parking at the Sports Centre close to the Attenborough Centre and at other car parks on the campus nearby. There are also excellent public transport links:
- by train from Brighton or Lewes, or
- by bus: No. 25 from Hove and Brighton, No. 23 from Brighton Marina or Nos 28 and 29 from Brighton, or, coming the other way, from Tunbridge Wells via Uckfield and Lewes.
Help with transport A happy tradition is established whereby Strings Attached members offer lifts to others who would otherwise have difficulty with transport. If a lift has not already been arranged for you and you would either like a lift, or would like to offer one, please email the secretary Margaret Polmear on m.polmear@btinternet.com It will only be possible to find a lift for you if there happens to be someone in your area who is offering one.
Tickets prices for the coffee concerts are £18.50 (concessions £16).
Tickets for all concerts are available from the Brighton Dome Box Office (01273 709709) or www.brightondome.org or from the Attenborough Centre on the day.
Tickets for those aged 8 – 25 are free as part of the Cavatina Scheme. They can only be booked by visiting the box office in person. The Brighton Dome box office can issue tickets in advance; the ACCA box office will be open on the morning of the concert. Either the young person should be present at the time of booking, or the person booking for him or her must show proof of age, e.g. a passport. Under 14s must be accompanied to the concert by a paying adult.
OTHER CHAMBER MUSIC EVENTS
Brighton Festival opens on 5 May and while that may seem a long way off, general booking opened on 23 February. The programme includes plenty of classical music including our very own Heath Quartet who will be on stage with four actors in a programme called The String Quartet’s Guide to Sex and Anxiety. Well, it is the Brighton Festival!
The chamber music series of concerts run by the Nicholas Yonge Society in Lewes continues on 23 March with the Amatis Piano Trio playing Brahms, Schubert and an almost totally unknown trio by Britten. They were founded in Amsterdam in 2014, although only one of them is Dutch. Within a year they had won the International Parkhouse Competition at the Wigmore Hall. Tickets are available on www.nyslewes.org.uk or on the door.
The Seaford Music Society continues its programme with a concert by Raphael Wallfisch, cello and John York, piano at 3 pm on 22 April at St Leonard’s Church Seaford. They will play Brahms, Debussy and Beethoven. Ticketing details are on www.seafordmusicsociety.com . Raphael Wallfisch is one of the great cellists of our time. Book in advance!
Details of concerts at Brighton churches (St Luke’s, the Unitarian Church and the Chapel Royal) and those organised by other music societies in Steyning, Eastbourne and Chichester can all be accessed via the Strings Attached chamber music calendar. Go to www.stringsattachedmusic.org.uk and choose ‘calendar’ from the menu. A special concert to note is the one to be given at Bishop Hannington Church on 21 April at 7 pm by Michaela Petri, recorders and Lars Hannibal, guitar. Those who know about recorder playing say that this will be a very special event. Tickets are £17 at petrihannibalconcert.bpt.me or £20 on the door.