Welcome to our thirty first newsletter – designed to keep you informed about our activities, as well as other chamber music events.
2018/19 COFFEE CONCERT SEASON BEGINS
The first concert of the new season will be given on 21 October at 11 am in the Attenborough Centre by the Marmen Quartet.
- Haydn String Quartet Op.74 No.1
- Janacek String Quartet No.1 “The Kreutzer Sonata”
- Beethoven String Quartet in C sharp minor Op.131
They are young, having only got together at The Royal College of Music in 2013, but they’ve already won a clutch of prizes. Winning prizes is important, they say, because it leads to other things; but the experience of working on the pieces for the competition is even more important. It’s the results of that work that we shall be hearing at this concert. There’s a clip of them on Youtube.com playing the Haydn that they will play for us. Their playing is delicate and precise, expressive and passionate. And they take the final movement at a breathtaking pace.
For those who like to prepare for a concert, programme notes are available on https://www.stringsattachedmusic.org.uk . Chris Darwin not only writes vividly about the pieces but he manages to find a link between all three.
We look forward to seeing you there.
PRACTICALITIES
The Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts (ACCA), formerly the Gardner Centre, is at the University of Sussex at Falmer. We are still using ACCA while the refurbishment of the Brighton Dome Corn Exchange enters its final stages.
There is free parking at the Sports Centre, near the Attenborough Centre, and at other car parks on the campus nearby (it being Sunday). 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 No.s 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 like a lift, or if you 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.
Ticket prices for the coffee concerts have again been held at £18.50 (concessions £16). A season ticket for all six concerts is £99 (concessions £84). A half-season ticket for the three concerts in 2018 or the three in 2019 is £49.50 (concessions £42).
Tickets for all concerts are available from the Brighton Dome box office (01273 709709) or https://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 these free 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.
MEMBERSHIP
Unless you have already done so, now is the time to renew your membership of Strings Attached for the period 1 August 2018 to 31 July 2019. Membership renewal forms can be downloaded from https://www.stringsattachedmusic.org.uk/friends/ .Payment can be made by bank transfer or by cheque but the form still needs to be sent by post. For Gift Aid reasons please complete one form per person. Paid-up members will receive a membership card which, to save postage, we plan to deliver initially at the October concert, and which can be used to obtain a glass of sherry or fruit juice during coffee concert intervals.
We hope you will choose to renew your membership and support our work – and encourage like-minded people to join us too.
OTHER CHAMBER MUSIC EVENTS
The series of chamber music concerts run by the Nicholas Yonge Society in Lewes restarts on 19 October with a concert by Trio Shaham Erez Wallfisch. They are Piano Trio aristocracy! They will play Bloch Nocturnes and trios by Beethoven and Dvorak. Tickets are available on http://www.nyslewes.org.uk or on the door.
Details of concerts in Brighton and Hove churches (including the relatively new venue of St Mary’s Kemptown) and those organised by other music societies in Seaford, Steyning and Chichester can be accessed via the Strings Attached chamber music calendar. Go to https://www.stringsattachedmusic.org.uk and choose “Calendar” from the menu.