season preview
John Finch, chairman of Haddington Concert Society describes the coming season:
Welcome to the 2019/20 season of Haddington Concert Society. Following our very successful last season we are again offering seven concerts for the price of six and we hope that the variety of genres, composers and ensembles will again find favour with you and secure your continued support. We begin and end with the clarinet. Janet Johnson will play pieces by two great American composers, Weber and contrasting sonatas by Brahms and Poulenc. Her partner, Steven Osborne, will be accompanying. Like Steven, Maxi Martin (clarinet) is a long-standing friend of Haddington and he has assembled a trio with Julian Milford (piano) and cellist Philip Higham (also no stranger to the Town House). Beethoven wrote two pieces for this combination – an arrangement of his own charming septet and a clarinet trio. With this unfamiliar Beethoven we celebrate his 250th Birthday. Brahms’ clarinet trio, inspired by Beethoven’s example completes the programme.
Supporting local musicians is a key tenet of our concert planning and for the pivot between our two clarinet-based concerts we welcome back Elspeth Wyllie and Alexa Beattie, this time with Catherine Backhouse for a varied recital of works for voice, viola and piano. The Amalie Trio are well known for delighting with the unknown. A short piece by Oliver Searle will be a highlight. Completing our trio of trios we were grateful and delighted to be awarded a concert by the Kapten Trio who are touring Scotland under the auspices of Enterprise Music Scotland with two new commissions in a concert ending with Brahms’ gorgeous second piano trio.
We were also lucky enough this year to be awarded a Tunnell Trust concert to be given by the Fitzroy Quartet. Like the Kaptens, this is an ensemble to watch and their ambitious programme they will present Benedict Mason’s 1st Quartet as well as standards from Mozart and Mendelssohn. Mason, who turned in later life from film making to composition has a quirky musical style and his first quartet will make for a memorable experience. Our piano recital this year is given by William Howard, well known in chamber music circles as the pianist of the Schubert Ensemble. That composer’s Four Impromptus are at the heart of this concert.
I hope we have something for every-one. I hope we inspire, challenge and entertain. I am proud of our support for new music and that we attract international musicians to perform from the great canon of Western art music. But in December let us celebrate one of the most profound statements of what unites artist, composer and listener in one shared and deeply human experience: It Don’t Mean a Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing.
Enjoy the journey!
John Finch, July 2019
Welcome to the 2019/20 season of Haddington Concert Society. Following our very successful last season we are again offering seven concerts for the price of six and we hope that the variety of genres, composers and ensembles will again find favour with you and secure your continued support. We begin and end with the clarinet. Janet Johnson will play pieces by two great American composers, Weber and contrasting sonatas by Brahms and Poulenc. Her partner, Steven Osborne, will be accompanying. Like Steven, Maxi Martin (clarinet) is a long-standing friend of Haddington and he has assembled a trio with Julian Milford (piano) and cellist Philip Higham (also no stranger to the Town House). Beethoven wrote two pieces for this combination – an arrangement of his own charming septet and a clarinet trio. With this unfamiliar Beethoven we celebrate his 250th Birthday. Brahms’ clarinet trio, inspired by Beethoven’s example completes the programme.
Supporting local musicians is a key tenet of our concert planning and for the pivot between our two clarinet-based concerts we welcome back Elspeth Wyllie and Alexa Beattie, this time with Catherine Backhouse for a varied recital of works for voice, viola and piano. The Amalie Trio are well known for delighting with the unknown. A short piece by Oliver Searle will be a highlight. Completing our trio of trios we were grateful and delighted to be awarded a concert by the Kapten Trio who are touring Scotland under the auspices of Enterprise Music Scotland with two new commissions in a concert ending with Brahms’ gorgeous second piano trio.
We were also lucky enough this year to be awarded a Tunnell Trust concert to be given by the Fitzroy Quartet. Like the Kaptens, this is an ensemble to watch and their ambitious programme they will present Benedict Mason’s 1st Quartet as well as standards from Mozart and Mendelssohn. Mason, who turned in later life from film making to composition has a quirky musical style and his first quartet will make for a memorable experience. Our piano recital this year is given by William Howard, well known in chamber music circles as the pianist of the Schubert Ensemble. That composer’s Four Impromptus are at the heart of this concert.
I hope we have something for every-one. I hope we inspire, challenge and entertain. I am proud of our support for new music and that we attract international musicians to perform from the great canon of Western art music. But in December let us celebrate one of the most profound statements of what unites artist, composer and listener in one shared and deeply human experience: It Don’t Mean a Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing.
Enjoy the journey!
John Finch, July 2019
