Newsletter #44 - February 2020

Welcome to our forty fourth newsletter – designed to keep you informed about our activities, as well as other chamber music events.

2019/20 COFFEE CONCERT SEASON CONTINUES

The fourth concert of the series was given on 26 January by the Heath Quartet. A review can be found on https://www.stringsattachedmusic.org.uk under ‘Reviews’. It was a massive programme.

The next concert will be on 23 February at 11am at the Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts, University of Sussex, Falmer, given by the Castalian Quartet.

Schumann String Quartet in F major Op. 41 No.2
Janáček String Quartet No.1 in E minor (‘Kreutzer Sonata’)
Brahms String Quartet in B flat major Op.67 No.3

This concert is sponsored by Stephen Neiman in memory of Caroline Brown (1953-2018), founder of the Hanover Band and co-founder of the series of Coffee Concerts at the Old Market, Hove, out of which the Strings Attached series grew.

The Castalian first played for us in 2012. They returned in February 2017, by which time they were led by the marvellous Finnish violinist Sini Simonen, and have played for us every year since, as their international reputation has grown. They are currently performing the quartets of Schumann and Brahms at the Wigmore Hall, so we get the fruits of the work they are putting in to those concerts.

For those who like to prepare for a concert, programme notes are available on https://www.stringsattachedmusic.org.uk .

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 are £18.50 (concessions £16) and are available from the Brighton Dome box office (01273 709709) or http://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

For those who haven’t already done so, there is still time to renew your membership of Strings Attached for the period 1 August 2019 to 31 July 2020. 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 or handed in at a concert. For Gift Aid reasons please complete one form per person. Paid-up members receive a membership card 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.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

The Strings Attached AGM was held on 13 February and the draft minutes can be viewed on the Strings Attached website. Though useful as always, nothing momentous occurred. A new member was welcomed to the committee: Euan Reid. Euan is a retired academic, most of whose career was spent at the Institute of Education in London. He plays viola.

OTHER CHAMBER MUSIC EVENTS

The next concert at the Nicholas Yonge Society in Lewes will be on 28 February, given by Ensemble Solaire Wind Quintet. They plan to play works by Ravel, Barber, Carraptoso, Canteloube, Ibert, Hindemith and Arnold. Tickets are available on http://www.nyslewes.org.uk or on the door.

The Seaford Music Society continues a strong season with a concert on 8 March by Melvyn Tan and Maggie Cole playing works for four hands on one piano, by Beethoven, Mozart, Schubert and Debussy. Tickets are available on the door or in advance in person or by post, see http://www.seafordmusicsociety.com .

Details of concerts in local churches and those organised by other local music societies can be accessed via the Strings Attached chamber music calendar. For information about all of these go to https://www.stringsattachedmusic.org.uk and choose “Calendar” from the menu.