The Nash Ensemble of London

Nash Ensemble 2018-19 Series at Wigmore Hall

CHAMBER ENSEMBLE IN RESIDENCE

German Romantics

promoted by the Nash Concert Society:

The 19th-century Romantic movement brought to music, and German music in particular, new relationships with literature, fine art and nature, and a new emphasis on drama and first-person expressivity, all couched in language and forms which broke free of the precedents of earlier periods. The Nash Ensemble, Wigmore Hall Chamber Ensemble in Residence, presents a season-long exploration of the German repertoire of the era: beginning with the adventurous Beethoven, the operatic pioneer Weber and the specialist in instrumental virtuosity Spohr; tracing the reconciliation between Romanticism and the Classical tradition in the music of Mendelssohn, Schumann and Brahms; re-evaluating the contributions of Fanny Mendelssohn and Clara Schumann; paying homage to the giant of the age, Wagner; and finding late flowerings of Romanticism in the last chamber compositions of Max Bruch (subject of a recent highly praised Nash recording) and the final works of Richard Strauss. The interest and variety of the Ensemble's programmes is enhanced by the collaboration of a cohort of leading singers of our time: Christine Rice, Sophie Bevan, Roderick Williams, Lucy Crowe and Maximilian Schmitt.

October 20, Wigmore Hall - 'German Romantics

6.00pm:
Pre-concert talk given by Dr Katy Hamilton

7.30pm:
Max Bruch: String Octet in B flat (1920)
Mendelssohn: String Quintet No.2 in B flat, Op.87
Brahms: Clarinet Quintet in B minor, Op.115

November 24, Wigmore Hall - 'German Romantics'

5.30pm:
Brahms: Five Waltzes Op.39 for 2 pianos Spohr: Fantasia in C minor, Op.35 for solo harp
Weber: Flute Trio in G minor, Op.63

7.30pm:
With Christine Rice (mezzo-soprano), Ian Brown (piano), Alasdair Beatson (piano)

Schumann: Andante & Variations in B flat, Op.46 for 2 pianos, 2 cellos & horn
Wagner: Wesendonck Lieder
Brahms: Piano Quartet in G minor, Op.25

December 8, Wigmore Hall - 'German Romantics'

5.30pm:
Mendelssohn: Konzertstucke in F minor Op.113
Reinecke: Ballade Op.288 for flute & piano
Clara Schumann & Fanny Mendelssohn: Songs with piano

7.30pm:
With: Roderick Williams (baritone)

Max Bruch: String Quintet in E flat
Brahms arr. D Matthews: Six Songs
Beethoven: An die ferne Geliebte Op.98
Mendelssohn: Piano Trio in D minor, Op.49

January 12, Wigmore Hall - 'German Romantics'

5.30pm:
Clara Schumann: 3 Romances for violin & piano
Felix Mendelssohn: Variations Concertantes in D, Op.17 for cello & piano)
Fanny Mendelssohn: Piano Trio in D, Op.11

7.30pm:
Schumann: Fairy Tales Op.132 for clarinet, viola & piano
Brahms: String Quintet in G, Op.111
Mendelssohn: Song Without Words Op.109 for cello & piano
Brahms: Serenade in D, Op.11 for flute, 2 clarinets, bassoon, horn, string trio & double bass

February 16, Wigmore Hall - 'German Romantics'

7.30pm:
with Lucy Crowe (soprano), Jamie Phillips (conductor)

Wagner: Siegfried Idyll
Beethoven: String Quintet in C, Op.29
Richard Strauss: Prelude to Capriccio for string sextet
Richard Strauss arr. James Ledger: Four Last Songs

March 10, Wigmore Hall Coffee Concert - 'German Romantics'

Mendelssohn: Piano Trio in C minor, Op.66

March 19, Wigmore Hall - 'German Romantics'

5.30pm:
Introduced by Gillian Moore followed by composers and instrumentalists from the Royal Academy of Music, Side by Side with members of the Nash

Elliott Carter: Inner Song for solo oboe
Harrison Birtwistle: Duet No.4 for flute & violin
RAM Student: new work
Oliver Knussen: Reflection for violin & piano
RAM Student: new work
Carter: Steep Steps for solo bass clarinet
Birtwistle: An Interrupted Endless Melody for oboe & piano
RAM Student: new work

7.30pm:
With: Maximillian Schmitt (tenor)

Beethoven: Piano Trio in D, Op.70 No.1 'Ghost'
Mendlelssohn are. Reimann: Songs for voice & string quartet
Schumann arr. Reimann: Six Songs Op.107
Mendelssohn: String Octet in E flat, Op.20

April 12, Wigmore Hall - 'Nash Inventions'

6.00pm: pre-concert talk

7.30pm:
with Claire Booth (soprano), Simone Leona Hueber (reciter), Stefan Asbury (conductor)

Birtistle: Fantasia upon all the Notes
Carter: Mosaic
Birtwistle: Oockooing Bird (WP) for piano, flute, string trio & double bass
Birtwistle: Three Songs from the Holy Forest: The Borrower; dear dusty moth; Literalist
Birtwistle: Duo for viola & cello (WP)
Knussen: Study for Metamorphosen for solo bassoon (UKP)
Birtwistle: The Woman and the Hare