Chichester Chamber Concerts launches into its 21st season

Concerts coming up include: Thursday, October 3 - Ensemble 360; Thursday, November 7 – Trio Gaspard; Thursday, December 5 – Geneva Lewis (violin), Llŷr Williams (piano); Thursday, January 23 – Maxwell Quartet; Thursday, February 27 – Atenea Quartet; and Thursday, March 27 – Galliard Ensemble. For all concerts tickets are £25, under 25s go free, available from Chichester Festival Theatre. A season ticket for six concerts costs £135; a season ticket for four concerts costs £90.

Opening the season on Thursday, October 3 is Ensemble 360. Formed in 2005 by Music in the Round to take up residency at Sheffield’s Crucible Studio Theatre (now known as the Crucible’s Playhouse), Ensemble 360 quickly gained an enviable national reputation. The group takes its name from the intimacy and immediacy of the Crucible’s in-the-round space, which influenced their performance and ethos to give audiences a 360-degree experience that goes beyond the traditions of classical concerts.

Their programme is: Prokofiev: Overture on Hebrew Themes; Mozart: Clarinet Quintet, K. 581; Schumann: Piano Quintet, Op. 44.

On Thursday, November 7 the guests are Trio Gaspard. Founded in 2010, Trio Gaspard are one of the most sought-after piano trios of their generation, praised for their unique and fresh approach to the score. Trio Gaspard regularly perform at major international concert halls such as Wigmore Hall, Berlin Philharmonie and many others. Engagements over the past year include recitals at the BBC Proms, Unione Musicale Turin, Wigmore Hall, KKL Lucerne as well as at Berlin’s Pierre Boulez Saal. Their programme is: Sándor Veress: Tre Quadri for Piano Trio; Brahms: Hungarian Dances (arr Rimmer); László Lajtha: Klaviertrio, Op. 10; Haydn: Trio in B flat, Hob: XV:38; and Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody, no. 9 Carneval de Pest.

Thursday, December 5 brings Geneva Lewis (violin) and Llŷr Williams (piano). American violinist Geneva Lewis has forged a reputation as a musician of “consummate artistry whose performances speak from and to the heart.” Lauded for “remarkable mastery of her instrument” (CVNC) and hailed as “clearly one to watch” (Musical America), Geneva was named one of BBC Radio 3's New Generation Artists.

The Welsh pianist, Llŷr Williams, brings a “profound musical intelligence” to his work as soloist, accompanist and chamber musician. He has performed with orchestras around the world, including the BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales and many others. The programme is: Mozart: Violin Sonata in G, K. 301; Schumann: Three Romances, Op. 94; Silvestrov: Post Scriptum; Schumann: Papillons; and Franck: Sonata in A major for Violin and Piano.

The New Year opens for the series on Thursday, January 23 with the Maxwell Quartet.

The Maxwell Quartet performs regularly across the UK and abroad, at venues including London’s Wigmore Hall, Purcell Room, Queen’s Hall Edinburgh, and Perth Concert Hall. The quartet has toured widely across Europe and Scandinavia. Their debut tour of the USA in January 2019 gained critical acclaim from the New York Times and saw the group performing to sold-out venues across the country.

Their programme is Traditional (arr Maxwell Quartet): Gaelic Psalms of the Western Isles; Edmund Finnis: String Quartet no. 1 Aloysius; Byrd (arr Maxwell Quartet): Ave Verum Corpus; and Beethoven: String Quartet, no. 15 in A minor, Op. 132.