67th Season
From October 2020 to March 2021
Reiko Fujisawa – Carducci Quartet
Saturday 10th October 2020, 7.30pm
Berkhamsted Civic Centre
| Reiko Fujisawa | Piano |
| Matthew Denton | Violin |
| Michelle Fleming | Violin |
| Eoin Schmidt-Martin | Viola |
| Emma Denton | Cello |
| Beethoven | String Quartet No 11 in F Minor Op 95 ‘Serioso’ |
| Dvorak | String Quartet No 12 in F Major Op 96 ‘American’ |
| Schumann | Piano Quintet in E Flat Major Op 44 |
www.reikofujisawa.com
carducciquartet.com
Reiko Fujisawa and Carducci Quartet continue their collaboration for this programme.
Reiko’s playing is ‘beautifully poised’ and ‘a total joy’. She fuses the sensibilities of a musician raised in the Far East who trained in the West and has recently completed a successful series of concerts celebrating the life and work of Clara Schumann. Her debut CD of music by Bach, Beethoven and Schubert was ‘irresistible’.
Giving ‘a masterclass in unanimity of musical purpose, in which severity could melt seamlessly into charm and drama into geniality’, the Carducci is one of today’s most accomplished and versatile ensembles. They were awarded a Royal Philharmonic Society Award for ‘Shostakovich15’: performing all 15 string quartets across the globe in 2015.
Ashley Wass, piano
Saturday 7th November 2020, 7.30pm
Berkhamsted Civic Centre
| Bach | Partita No 1 in B Flat Major BWV 825 |
| Shostakovich | Prelude and Fugue No 4 in E minor Op 87 |
| Shostakovich | Prelude and Fugue No 24 in D minor Op 87 |
| Bach | Partita No 2 in C Minor BWV 826 |
| Beethoven | Piano Sonata No 31 in A Flat Major Op 110 |
Ashley’s musical career is one of unusual creativity and variety. Alongside his work as soloist and chamber musician, he co-founded Mash Productions, was Artistic Director of the Lincolnshire International Chamber Music Festival and is Deputy Head of Keyboard Studies at the Royal Northern College of Music.
Ashley is the only British winner of the London International Piano Competition, a prize-winner at the Leeds Piano Competition, and a former Radio 3 New Generation Artist. Recent highlights include a debut in Melbourne, performances with the BBC’s Scottish and Welsh Orchestras.
He has received great critical acclaim for his recordings, which include his interpretations of Liszt, Franck, Beethoven, and Bridge. With violinist Matthew Trusler and cellist Thomas Carroll he founded Trio Apaches. Frequently heard on Radio 3, they are renowned for imaginative programming and engaging stage presence.
Pelléas Ensemble
Saturday 12th December 2020, 7.30pm
Berkhamsted Civic Centre
| Luba Tunnicliffe | Viola |
| Henry Roberts | Flute |
| Oliver Wass | Harp |
| Ibert | Deux Interludes |
| Bach | Sonata for Flute in G Minor BWV 1020 |
| Prokofiev arr Cohen | Selections from Romeo & Juliet |
| Ravel arr Roberts | Pavane pour une infante defunte |
| Arvo Pärt | Fratres |
| William Mathias | Zodiac Trio Op 70 |
The Pelléas Ensemble was formed at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Playing with “verve and polish” they recently won the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Henderson Chamber Ensemble Award and the 2017 Elias Fawcett Award for Outstanding Chamber Ensemble at the Royal Overseas League competition. In 2016 they won a place on the prestigious Tillett Trust Young Artists’ Programme.
Their Wigmore Hall debut was praised for its “captivating vitality” and “effortlessness and delicacy” and they have appeared live on Radio 3’s ‘In Tune’. They were selected to represent the Guildhall at the City of London Festival, and have given numerous recitals at other London venues including St John’s Smith Square.
Mithras Trio
sponsored by the Countess of Munster Musical Trust
Saturday 20th February 2021, 7.30pm
Berkhamsted Civic Centre
| Ionel Manciu | Violin |
| Leo Popplewell | Cello |
| Dominic Degavino | Piano |
| Mozart | Piano Trio in B Flat Major K502 |
| Iván Eröd | Piano Trio No 1 (1976) |
| Haydn | Piano Trio in E Major Hob XV 28 |
| Mendelssohn | Piano Trio No 2 in C Minor Op 66 |
mithrastrio.co.uk
munstertrust.org.uk
The Mithras Trio came together in 2017 at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. They have appeared at the Barbican Hall, City of London Festival, Harmos Festival Portugal, and Orpheus and Bacchus Festival among others. They have also worked in side-by-side performances with Berkhamsted visitors Krysia Osostowicz, the Wihan and Ben Frith.
The Mithras Trio have performed at many of London’s major venues, including Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room and Milton Court Concert Hall. In 2019 they won the 10th Trondheim International Chamber Music competition and the Royal Rhilharmonic Society Chamber Ensemble Award. They were selected as Kirckman Concert Society Young Artists and also the Countess of Munster Artists for 2019/2020.
Ruisi Quartet
Saturday 13th March 2021, 7.30pm
Berkhamsted Civic Centre
| Alessandro Ruisi | Violin |
| Oliver Cave | Violin |
| Luba Tunnicliffe | Viola |
| Max Ruisi | Cello |
| Haydn | Quartet in F minor Op 20 No 5 |
| Adès | Arcadiana |
| Brahms | Quartet No 2 in A Minor Op 51 |
Last appearing in Berkhamsted in 2015, the Ruisi have established a reputation as a charismatic and expressive young ensemble that is emerging as one of the leading British string quartets of its generation. Founded in 2013 by British/Sicilian brothers Alessandro and Max, the quartet perform regularly throughout the UK and Europe and were winners of the Kirckman Concert Society Artists award for 2018/19, as well as being invited on the prestigious Belcea Quartet Young Artists Scheme.
Recent highlights have included a tour of Scotland, a debut at St John’s Smith Square in London and live performances on BBC Radio 3. The quartet is grateful for the long-term loan of a specially made set of matching instruments by Harris & Sheldon of London.
