The regions of Bohemia and Moravia endured political, military and linguistic control by multiple nations and governments in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. From my Homeland showcases some of the most vibrant, imaginative and unusual works written in the 1800s and 1900s, as well as music by Johannes Brahms - friend and champion of Antonin Dvorak.
The series also includes a day of concerts, films and talks dedicated to the victims of the Theresienstadt Concentration Camp between 1941 and 1945.
October 14, Wigmore Hall
4.30pm
'From My Homeland': music from the Czech Lands with chamber works by Brahms
An introduction to the series by writer, lecturer & broadcaster Katy Hamilton
5.30pm
with Alasdair Beatson (piano), Richard Hosford (clarinet), Benjamin Nabarro (violin), David Adams (violin), Lars Anders Tomter (viola), Adrian Brendel (cello)
Dvorak: Miniatures Op.75a for 2 violins and viola
Suk: Elegie Op.23 for piano trio
Brahms: Clarinet Trio in A minor Op.114
These three highly personal works, bring together Suk's memorial to the famous Bohemian writer Julius Zeyer, and one of Brahms's pieces for the virtuoso clarinettist Richard Muhlfeld. Dvorak's delightful Miniatures were written for performance with an old colleague and a next-door neighbour.
7.30pm
Lucy Crowe (soprano), Alasdair Beatson (piano), Benjamin Nabarro (violin), Michael David Adams (violin), Lars Anders Tomter viola, Adrian Brendel cello
Dvorak: Terzetto in C Op.74 for 2 violins and viola
Dvorak: Gipsy Songs Op 55 for voice and piano
Smetana: Evening Songs T.124 for voice and piano
Brahms: Piano Quintet in F minor Op.34
Smetana wrote very few songs, but his majestic Evening Songs are a fitting foil in this concert for Dvorak's fiery and popular Gipsy Songs. The elegant domesticity of Dvorak's Bagatelles is likewise contrasted with Brahms's formidable Piano Quintet..
 Lucy Crowe |
 Alasdair Beatson |
 Richard Hosford |  Benjamin Nabarro |  Adrian Brendel |
November 18, Wigmore Hall
'From My Homeland': music from the Czech Lands with chamber works by Brahms
5.30pm
with Simon Crawford-Phillips (piano), Stephanie Gonley (violin), Adrian Brendel (cello)
Janacek: Pohadka (Fairy Tales) for cello and piano
Suk: selection from Four Pieces for violin and piano Op.17
Brahms: Piano Trio in C minor Op.101
Welcome to a land of fairy tales: Janacek's magical Pohadka explores a world of princesses and monsters, while Suk's Four Pieces are rich with untold stories. Even the scherzo of Brahms's Trio was once described as hurrying 'like a frightened child.'
7.30pm
with Renata Pokupic (mezzo-soprano), Simon Crawford-Phillips & Alasdair Beatson (piano duet), Stephanie Gonley (violin), Jonathan Stone (violin), Lawrence Power (viola), Adrian Brendel (cello)
Brahms: Hungarian Dances for piano duet
Dvorak: Love Songs Op.83 (arr. D Matthews) for mezzo-soprano, string quartet and double bass
Smetana: The Fisherman (Goethe) for reciter harp, harmonium/accordion, string quartet and double bass
Dvorak: String Quartet in F Op.96 'The American'
The rippling waves of Smetana's The Fisherman are remarkably prescient of Wagner’s Das Rheingold. Dvorak's Love Songs rework an earlier cycle to magnificent effect and his Trio, as much Mozartian as Bohemian, was praised for its 'wealth of beautiful melody.' Brahms's brilliant Hungarian Dances complete the programme.
 Renata pokupic |
 Simon Crawford-Phillips |
Alasdair Beatson |
 Stephanie Gonley |  Lawrence Power |
December 9, Wigmore Hall
'From My Homeland': music from the Czech Lands with chamber works by Brahms
5.30pm
with Simon Crawford-Phillips (piano), Philippa Davies (flute), Gareth Hulse (oboe), Richard Hosford (clarinet),
Marie Lloyd (bass clarinet), Ursula Leveaux (bassoon), Richard Watkins horn
Schulhoff: Divertissement for oboe, clarinet and bassoon
Martinu: Sextet for piano and wind
Janacek: Mladi (Youth) for wind sextet
This lively programme explores Czech music of the 1920s: inflect Erwin Schulhoff's wind Divertissement and Martinu's sunny Sextet are infused with edgy jazz harmonies and dance rhythms. Janacek, four decades their senior, looks back to his own childhood in Mladi.
7.30pm
with Roderick Williams (baritone), Stephen Waarts (violin), Jonathan Stone (violin), Lawrence Power (viola),
Rachel Roberts (viola), Adrian Brendel (cello)
Suk: Piano Quartet No.1
Brahms: Six Songs (arr. D.Matthews) for baritone voice, flute, clarinet, bassoon, piano string quartet and double bass
Dvorak: Intermezzo in B major B.49 for 2 violins, viola, cello and double bass
Brahms: String Quintet in G Op.111
Roderick Williams joins the Nash Ensemble in this programme of music by close friends. Dvorak's tender Intermezzo for strings features, along with his son-in-law Josef Suk's passionate First Piano Quartet. And we hear songs and a sunny String Quintet from Brahms, Dvorak's energetic Viennese advocate.
 Roderick Williams |
 Stephen Waarts |
 Philippa Davies |
 Gareth Hulse |
 Richard Watkins |
January 13, Wigmore Hall
'From My Homeland': music from the Czech Lands with chamber works by Brahms
7.30pm
with Alasdair Beatson (piano), Stephanie Gonley (violin), Jonathan Stone (violin), Lars Anders Tomter (viola),
Rachel Roberts (viola), Adrian Brendel (cello), Gemma Rosefield (cello)
Dvorak: Cypresses B152 (selection) for string quartet
Brahms: String Sextet in B flat Op.18
Suk: Meditation on an Old Bohemian Chorale Saint Wenceslas Op.35 for string quartet
Dvorak: Piano Trio in E minor Op.90 'Dumky'
In musical reflections old and new, this concert combines Dvorak's instrumental reworking of youthful love songs with Brahms's first large-scale string chamber work, and Suk's tender Meditation on Saint Wenceslas. The brilliant fireworks of Dvorak's Dumky Trio complete the programme.
Alasdair Beatson |
Stephanie Gonley |
 Jonathan Stone |
 Lars Anders Tomter |
Adrian Brendel |
February 10, Wigmore Hall
'From My Homeland': music from the Czech Lands with chamber works by Brahms
5.30pm
with Simon Crawford Philips and Alasdair Beatson (piano duet), Stephanie Gonley (violin), Adrian Brendel (cello), Richard Watkins (horn)
Dvorak: Slavonic Dances selection for piano duet
Suk: Piano Trio in C minor Op.2
Brahms: Horn Trio in E flat Op.40
Josef Suk was just seventeen when he completed his Piano Trio - whilst studying with Dvorak, later to become his father-in-law. Suk's passionate Trio is paired here with Brahms's chamber showpiece for horn, and a selection of Dvorak's famous Slavonic Dances.
7.30pm
with Stephanie Gonley (violin), Jonathan Stone (violin), Lars Anders Tomter (viola), Rachel Roberts (viola),
Adrian Brendel (cello), Gemma Rosefield (cello)
Dvorak: Two Waltzes for string quartet Op.54 Nos 1 & 4
Dvorak: String Sextet in A Op.48
Brahms: Clarinet Quintet in B minor Op.115
Brahms's Clarinet Quintet was written for a virtuoso whom he teasingly described as his 'Prima donna'. Its rich lyricism makes for a perfect pairing with Dvorak's Sextet, which features several hat-tips to his good friend Brahms.
Simon Crawford-Phillips |
Alasdair Beatson |
Stephanie Gonley |
Richard Hosford |
Richard Watkins |
February 11, Wigmore Hall
'From My Homeland': music from the Czech Lands with chamber works by Brahms
11.30am
Sunday Morning Concert
with Simon Crawford Phillips (piano), Stephanie Gonley (violin), Lars Anders Tomter (viola), Adrian Brendel (cello), Richard Hosford (clarinet), Ursula Leveaux (bassoon)
Smetana: From my Homeland JB1.118 for violin and piano
Dvorak: Piano Quartet in E flat Op.87
Martinu: Suite from the ballet La Revue de Cuisine (The Kitchen Revue) for piano, clarinet, bassoon, trumpet, violin and cello
Three generations of Czech music feature in this lively programme. Smetana's late, quasi-operatic violin pieces From my Homeland are followed by Dvorak's vibrant second Piano Quartet; and from Martinu comes a drama of kitchen utensils in the brilliantly witty La Revue de Cuisine.
Simon Crawford-Phillips |
Richard Hosford |
 Ursula Leveaux |
Stephanie Gonley |
Lars Anders Tomter |
Adrian Brendel |
March 9, Wigmore Hall
Music and artists associated with the Terezin Concentration Camp between 1941 and 1945
3.00pm
Activities include a talk given by writer and broadcaster Simon Broughton,
excerpts from a filmed interview with holocaust survivor Zdenka Fantlova, and a showing of the award winning film The Music of Terezin, as well as a small children's art exhibition tbc
5.30pm
with Benjamin Nabarro (violin), Jonathan Stone (violin), Lawrence Power (viola), Lars Anders Tomter (viola), Adrian Brendel (cello), Chris Brannick (percussion)
Gideon Klein: String Trio
Frantisek Domazlicky: Song without words for string quartet
Hans Krasa: Tanec for string trio
Pavel Haas: String Quartet No 2 Op.7 'From the Monkey Mountains' for string quartet and percussion
This concert brings together string chamber works by four of the most artistically active composers who spent time in Terezin. Klein, Krasa and Domazlicky all wrote their pieces at the camp, whilst Haas's‚ Janaçek-inspired Second Quartet dates from the 1920s.
7.30pm
with Konstantin Krimmel (baritone), Simon Crawford-Phillips (piano/director), Benjamin Nabarro (violin),
Jonathan Stone (violin), Lawrence Power (viola), Adrian Brendel (cello)
Viktor Ullmann: String Quartet No.3 Op.46
Smetana: Piano Trio in G minor Op.15
Selection of songs including those by Ilse Weber, Adolf Strauss and Carlo Sigmund Taube
Hans Krasa: Suite from the children's opera Brundibar arr. David Matthews for piano, flute, clarinet, trumpet, string quartet and percussion
Ullmann and Krasa - students of Schoenberg and Zemlinsky respectively - feature in this programme alongside the so-called 'father' of Czech nationalist music, Smetana. Krasa's Brundibar was performed an astonishing 55 times in Terezin, carefully arranged by its composer for the forces available in the camp.
 Gideon Klein |
 Hans Krasa |
 Victor Ullmann |
 Pavel Haas |
 Terezin child's drawing |
March 26, Wigmore Hall
A Celebration of the life and music of Sir Harrison Birtwistle
The Nash Ensemble has been closely associated with Sir Harrison Birtwistle for nearly four decades. We have had the privilege of commissioning a number of works from him, which we have featured in many concerts and recordings. He was not only one of the greatest composers, but was a major influence on musicians and younger composers alike. This day is a celebration and remembrance of Harry's life and music.
Amelia Freedman CBE Artistic Director Nash Ensemble
3.30pm
Introduced by Dr Katy Hamilton
with students from the Royal Academy of Music Side by Side with Nash musicians Alasdair Beatson (piano) and Adrian Brendel (cello)
BIrtwistle: Verses for clarinet and piano
Mary Offer: New Work for clarinet, viola and cello *
Birtwistle: Ookooing Bird for solo piano
Birtwistle: Sad Song for solo piano
Toby Anderson: New Work for flute, harp, viola and cello *
Birtwistle: Entr’actes for flute, viola and harp
* Nash commissions
Members of the Nash Ensemble perform alongside current students of the Royal Academy of Music in this programme of works by Birtwistle and two RAM composers, specially commissioned by the Nash for this concert.
5.00pm
with Claire Booth (soprano), Alasdair Beatson (piano), Philipp Davies (flute), Helen Keen (flute), Adrian Brendel (cello)
Birtwistle: Duets for Storab
Simon Holt: Serra-Sierra for cello and piano (world premiere) *
Birtwistle: Nine Settings of Lorine Niedecker for soprano and cello *
* Nash commissions
Like Harrison Birtwistle, Simon Holt has had a close working relationship with the Nash for forty years. Here his new cello and piano work Serra-Sierra, dedicated to Birtwistle's memory, sits between pieces from the 1980s and early 2000s.
7.30pm
NASH INVENTIONS
with Claire Booth (soprano), Lawrence Power (viola), Adrian Brendel (cello), Simon Crawford-Phillips (piano), BBC Singers, Geoffrey Paterson (conductor)
Birtwiste:
Fantasia upon all the notes for flute, clarinet, harp and string quartet * (2011)
Three Songs from The Holy Forest for soprano, alto flute, piano, percussion, string trio and double bass (2016-17)
Songs by Myself for soprano, flute/alto flute, piano, vibraphone, string trio and double bass (1984)
Duet for Eight Strings for viola and cello (2018-19) *
Piano Trio (2011)
The Moth Requiem for chorus of 12 female singers, alto flute and three harps (2012)
* Nash Commissions
A starry line-up of Nash Ensemble musicians, with soprano Claire Booth and the BBC Singers, perform a celebratory programme of music by Birtwistle, from Songs by Myself (which sets the composer's own words), to his strikingly atmospheric choral work The Moth Requiem.
 Sir Harrison Birtwistle |
 Sir Harrison Birtwistle |
 Simon Holt |
 Claire Booth |
Lawrence Power |
Adrian Brendel |
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