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A Christmas Carol

London Mozart Players String Trio
Nicoline Kraamwinkel violin
Sebastian Comberti cello
Julian Rolton piano

Tama Matheson narrator
Chorister Quartet from Trinity School Croydon

Festive seasons past, present and future combine in this seasonal treat as Charles Dickens gives a dramatic re-telling of his classic tale: ‘A Christmas Carol’. In this exciting adaptation, actor Tama Matheson breathes fresh life into Dickens who takes to the stage to tell his moving morality tale of Scrooge, Marley, Tiny Tim and all those Christmas ghosts, accompanied by an atmospheric soundscape of Christmas carols performed a string trio from the London Mozart Players and a quartet from Trinity School London.

By turns gloriously funny, sad, joyous and heart-rending, this evocative blend of carols and drama captures the wonder, pathos and sheer spookiness of this Christmas classic. It’s the perfect way to get into the Christmas spirit!

The musical backdrop to the story is provided by a piano trio made up of LMP players. Nicoline Kraamwinkel (violin), Sebastian Comberti (cello) and Julian Rolton (piano), and a quartet of choristers from Trinity School, who will set the scene for the play with some of the most loved Christmas Carols such as O Holy Night and Good King Wenceslas.

Tama Matheson and LMP were recently shortlisted for an RPS Award for Tama’s lyric-drama performance on Tchaikovsky, Bright Stars Shone for Us. Tama continues his brilliant storytelling in this performance of A Christmas Carol, which has had two years running of sell-out performances in the Elgar Room at the Royal Albert Hall, and in the Savvy Theatre at Fairfield Halls.

 

 

Tickets: £65 (includes the concert, a glass of prosecco and a two course Saturday-roast)
Lunch at 1:00pm, followed by the concert at 2:30

Corelli Christmas Concerto
Bach Violin concerto in E major
Vaughan Williams The Lark Ascending
Holst St Pauls Suite

London Mozart Players
Tasmin Little violin
Ruth Rogers director

In one of her final concerts before retiring from the concert platform, Tasmin Little will perform Vaughan Williams’ stunningly beautiful The Lark Ascending with the LMP an orchestra she has performed alongside on many occasions in her glittering career. Also on the programme is Holst’s homage to the English folk song, his St Paul’s Suite and Bach’s delightful Bach E major Concerto. And to usher in Advent, LMP will also perform Corelli’s Christmas Concerto to get us in the mood for the impending festive season.

The concerts will follow full Covid-19 guidelines.

Haydn arr Salomon Symphony no.94 “Surprise” (movement 1)
Beethoven arr. Lachner Piano Concerto no.3 

London Mozart Players
Howard Shelley piano
Simon Blendis leader

LMP and their Conductor Laureate Howard Shelley open this special online edition of the Petworth Festival with a celebration of Beethoven’s 250th anniversary. Exceptional Pianist Howard Shelley directs a performance of the sublime Piano Concerto No. 3, and concert opens with the opening Adagio-Allegro assai from Haydn’s 94th ‘Surprise’ Symphony. Howard has a special relationship with the LMP with whom he has worked closely for 45 years. Together we have given hundreds of concerts and made many recordings and overseas tours. An Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Music, Howard was awarded an OBE for his services to classical music in 2009.

Strauss Concerto in D major for Oboe and Small Orchestra
Mendelssohn Symphony No.4 in A major, Op.90 ‘Italian’

London Mozart Players
Mateusz Moleda Conductor
Olivier Stankiewicz Oboe

LMP is back, performing the best in classical music to a live audience! Due to the restrictions imposed by Covid-19 we are taking our Autumn 2020 concerts online as our ‘Classical Club’ which launches at the end of September. We’d love as many of you as possible to be in our socially-distanced audiences for the concert recordings. Our second audience concert will be recorded under Covid-19 restrictions at Croydon’s Fairfield Halls, LMP’s residency for the past 30 years. We can’t wait to get back in the Phoenix Hall to perform for you, and it’s an exhilarating programme with an exceptional soloist!

A chance encounter at the end of World War Two between composer Richard Strauss and a young American solider, a professional oboist in civilian life, planted the seed of an idea that flourished into the finest oboe concerto written in the 20th century. Although seemingly light and playful, Strauss’ Oboe Concerto is exceptionally difficult to perform, with circular breathing a pre-requisite. We are delighted to showcase a young oboist who is destined for a great professional career, YCAT artist Olivier Stankiewicz, who performs the solo, under the baton of conductor Mateusz Moleda. The programme also includes Mendelssohn’s jaunty and optimistic Italian Symphony. We may have one or two other musical treats up our sleeves!

Tickets £25, by invite only (limited availability due to reduced audience size)
• No interval
• This concert is being recorded for broadcast.

Covid-19 compliance
In accordance with government guidelines, social distancing measures will be in place at the venue to ensure everyone’s safety.

Strauss Concerto in D major for Oboe and Small Orchestra, AV 144, TrV 292
Mendelssohn Symphony No.4 in A major, Op.90 ‘Italian’

Ruth Rogers leader
Olivier Stankiewicz oboe
London Mozart Players
Mateusz Moleda conductor

7pm GMT

A chance encounter at the end of World War Two between composer Richard Strauss and a young American solider, a professional oboist in civilian life, planted the seed of an idea that flourished into the finest oboe concerto written in the 20th century. Although seemingly light and playful, Strauss’ Oboe Concerto is exceptionally difficult to perform, with circular breathing a pre-requisite. We are delighted to showcase a young oboist who is destined for a great professional career, YCAT artist Olivier Stankiewicz, who performs the solo, under the baton of conductor Mateusz Moleda. The programme also includes Mendelssohn’s jaunty and optimistic Italian Symphony. This concert will be filmed before a socially-distancing audience at Fairfield Halls, Croydon, where the London Mozart Players have enjoyed a 30-year residency.

If you would like to be in the audience for this event, there is more information here.

 

Tickets

You can buy individual tickets for concerts for £12 (€13/$15), children’s concerts £5 each (€6/$7), or an 8-concert ‘Season Pass’ for £60 (€72/$80). A Season Pass includes extra content such as interviews and behind-the-scenes films, plus free concert programmes. 

 

About Classical Club

Classical Club is a brand-new series of eight classical music concerts, in partnership with Scala Radio.

 

Further Information

Soloist: Olivier Stankiewicz

Born in Nice, Olivier Stankiewicz studied oboe and theory at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Paris. He is currently principal oboe of the London Symphony Orchestra and Professor of Oboe at the Royal College of Music, and is sought after as a soloist, chamber musician and teacher. Olivier won 1st Prize at the Oboe Competition in Japan, the YCA auditions in Leipzig and New York, and in 2016 was a prize-winner at the YCAT International Auditions in London. Recent highlights include recitals at Wigmore Hall, Snape Maltings and the Louvre. In 2019 Olivier recorded the Mozart Oboe Concerto with the LSO, performed Attahir’s Concerto Nur with the Orchestre de Lille, and took part in the Aix-en-Provence Easter Festival. Olivier has appeared as guest principal with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, London Sinfonietta, Philadelphia Symphony and Royal Concertgebouw Orchestras among others.

 

About YCAT

Founded in 1984, the Young Classical Artists Trust is a specialist charity that identifies, nurtures and supports musicians early in their careers and enables them to become self-supporting. As COVID-19 impacts on the livelihood and future of musicians around the world, the need to adapt has become more crucial than ever, and YCAT is working to provide the resources, insight and advice that young musicians need during this time.

 

Mateusz Moleda

Mateusz Moleda is one of the most interesting and remarkable personalities among today’s young developing orchestra leaders. Born in Germany, Mateusz studied piano at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien in Hanover. As an accomplished concert pianist Mateusz performed in more than 25 countries, released several CD recordings and collaborated with some of the finest European orchestras. Now an aspiring conductor, Mateusz has been mentored by Marek Janowski, working with the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Dresden Philharmonic and the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra. He has a wide symphonic and opera repertoire and has been engaged as guest conductor all around the world, working with Deutsches Kammerorchester Berlin, the Carl Nielsen Academy Orchestra, the Odense Symphony Orchestra and the NFM Wroclaw Philharmonic among many others.

 

Venue: Fairfield Halls

The Fairfield Halls originally opened in November 1962, when the complex encompassed the Concert Hall (now the Phoenix Concert Hall), Ashcroft Theatre (now Ashcroft Playhouse) and Arnhem Gallery. The 1800-seater concert hall had the same acoustician as the Southbank’s Royal Festival Hall, Hope Bagenal, whose Southbank experience enabled him to create one of the best acoustics in the UK at Fairfield. The recent refurbishment has returned Fairfield to its 1962 splendour. It is now fully air conditioned, all electrical and mechanical engineering has been replaced, and sound baffles have been added in the hall to allow for a better acoustic when music is amplified. London Mozart Players have been resident at Fairfield Halls for 30 years, and celebrated the hall’s reopening with a sell-out gala concert in 2019.

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Music: Paul Patterson
Words: Roald Dahl

Polly Ives narrator
London Mozart Players

10.00am GMT

‘Wolves aren’t always as clever as they think they are…’. In a half-term musical treat for children of all ages, LMP’s Classical Club presents Paul Patterson’s lively orchestral version of Roald Dahl’s wickedly witty ‘Little Red Riding Hood. Taken from Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes this is ideal for 5–11-year-olds but is also a sharply funny and inspiring treat for adults. Polly Ives narrates this hilarious twist on the fairy-tale classic, performing with LMP in the stunning Great Conservatory at Syon Park. It’s half an hour of pure magic that never fails to entertain, and a wonderful way to introduce budding musicians to the instruments of the orchestra.

Be at the Filming!

We will be filming this concert and The Three Little Pigs on Sunday 13^th September in the Great Conservatory at Syon Park. If you’d like to be in the audience for the filming (Covid-19 restrictions will be in place) then do come along. Just pay the entrance fee and make your way to the Great Conservatory in time for 12pm for Little Red Riding Hood and 3:30pm for Three Little Pigs (no extra charge for the concerts). Syon Park Ticket and location information can be found here: www.syonpark.co.uk/

Tickets

You can buy an individual ticket for this concert at £5 (€6/$7), or purchase as part of our 8-concert ‘Season Pass’ for £60 (€72/$80). A Season Pass includes extra content such as interviews and behind-the-scenes films, plus free concert programmes. 

 

About Classical Club

Classical Club is a brand-new series of eight classical music concerts, in partnership with Scala Radio.

 

Further Information

Narrator: Polly Ives

Polly enjoys a varied career as a concert presenter and narrator, workshop leader, trainer, teacher and cellist. As a children’s concert presenter, Polly performs regularly with Music in the Round and the London Philharmonic Orchestra and has worked with CBeebies, London Mozart Players and Royal Opera House among others. Polly is founder and director of Concerteenies, a live music series for babies, toddlers and their grown-ups in Sheffield and Derbyshire, at Greystones Backroom, Yellow Arch Studios, Music in the Round at the Crucible Theatre and in Castleton.

Polly is a highly experienced children’s workshop leader, with a focus on music supporting speech and language for children at elevated risk of delay. She has taught the cello and piano for many years and has coached with Sheffield Music Hub, Sheffield Music School, City of Sheffield Youth Orchestra and the National Children’s Orchestra of Great Britain and is Chair of Sheffield Young Singers.

Venue: The Great Conservatory, Syon Park

Syon House is the spectacular London home of the Duke of Northumberland. The house was built in the sixteenth century on the site of the Medieval Syon Abbey, and came to the family of the present owners in 1594. The exceptionally beautiful Great Conservatory, designed by Charles Fowler in the 1820s and completed in 1827, which stands in the grounds of Syon Park, was the first conservatory to be built from metal and glass on a large scale. The stunning yet delicate structure combines a neo-classical elevation on a Palladian model.

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Stravinsky The Soldier’s Tale

Simon Blendis leader
Tama Matheson narrator
London Mozart Players
William Vann conductor

3pm GMT

A theatrical work conceived by Igor Stravinsky and Swiss writer C.F. Ramuz, The Soldier’s Tale tells the story of a soldier trudging home, who trades his violin to the devil in return for a magic book which will bring him a fortune. Eventually realising that wealth is meaningless, the soldier deliberately loses a card game with the Devil to win back his fiddle. But the Devil is not so easily beaten…

Actor Tama Matheson narrates this Faustian story, while rhythms of ragtime, tango, waltz and a march jostle for position in Stravinsky’s devilishly original score, performed by an LMP septet of violin, double bass, clarinet, bassoon, trumpet, trombone and percussion. Written at the end of the First World War, when Stravinsky was recovering from the second wave of the Spanish flu (which delayed early performances of this work), The Soldier’s Tale is a parable for all cultures and times. This Classical Club performance will be broadcast first on Remembrance Sunday from the Royal Hospital Chelsea, to an audience of Chelsea Pensioners, and the concert will end with ‘The Last Post’ as a tribute to all veterans.

 

Tickets

You can buy individual tickets for concerts for £12 (€13/$15), children’s concerts £5 each (€6/$7), or an 8-concert ‘Season Pass’ for £60 (€72/$80). A Season Pass includes extra content such as interviews and behind-the-scenes films, plus free concert programmes.

 

About Classical Club

Classical Club is a brand-new series of eight classical music concerts, in partnership with Scala Radio.

 

 

Further Information

Narrator: Tama Matheson

Tama Matheson is a writer, director, and actor with a passion for combining the spoken word with music. In his career, Tama has always straddled the musical and theatrical worlds, and, for many years, cherished a desire to unify these two theatrical realms into a single creation. As such, he set up the company, Word and Music, in order to fulfil that desire.

Tama has directed opera and theatre all over the world. As an opera director, he has worked at the Sydney Opera House, Oper Graz, Houston Grand Opera, Melbourne Opera, Perth Opera, JACC Kuwait, and the Teatru Manoel in Malta. He has also collaborated with several orchestras, including Melbourne, Tasmanian, and Queensland Symphony Orchestras, the Brisbane Camerata, and the London Mozart Players.

Venue: The Royal Hospital Chelsea

The Royal Hospital Chelsea was designed by Sir Christopher Wren, who brought to life King Charles II’s vision of a home for veteran soldiers. Until the seventeenth century, the state made no provision for old and injured soldiers, and with the dissolution of the monasteries in the 1540s and beyond, there had been fewer religious houses to take on this duty of care. In 1681 Charles II issued a royal warrant authorising the building of the Royal Hospital in the Chelsea countryside (as it then was), and Wren was charged with the design and build. The first ‘Chelsea Pensioners’ were admitted in 1692, and there is still a full complement of Pensioners to this day, recognisable in their red uniforms, who have all served as ordinary soldiers in the Armed Forces at some point in their lives. Our concert takes place in The Wren Chapel, built between 1681 and 1687, a rare example of Wren’s pure ecclesiastical work. Director of Music William Vann takes the baton for this concert.

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Prokofiev Symphony No. 1 ‘Classical’ Op.25
Schumann Cello Concerto in A Major, Op.129 (soloist Maciej Kulakowski)

Ruth Rogers director
Maciej Kulakowski cello
London Mozart Players

7.00pm BST

Classical Club launches with Prokofiev’s effervescent ‘Classical’ Symphony, which cleverly juxtaposes 20th-century style with the traditional four-movement symphony – with some added parody and humour. This is contrasted with Schumann’s masterful Cello Concerto, performed by talented young cellist Maciej Kulakowski. A hugely romantic work, this gorgeous concerto is full of passionate melodies that soar against an unobtrusive orchestral accompaniment. Filmed before a socially-distancing audience at the stunning Church of St John the Evangelist in Upper Norwood – the London Mozart Players’ home venue and rightly famed for its music, this concert will be a real celebration of the best in classical music, and a truly thrilling reunion of players and audience. 

 

Tickets

You can buy individual tickets for concerts for £12 (€13/$15), children’s concerts £5 each (€6/$7), or an 8-concert ‘Season Pass’ for £60 (€72/$80). A Season Pass includes extra content such as interviews and behind-the-scenes films, plus free concert programmes. 

 

 

Concert snippet

Get a taste of the concert with this short preview.

 

About Classical Club

Classical Club is a brand-new series of eight classical music concerts, in partnership with Scala Radio.

 

Further Information

Soloist: Maciej Kulakowski 

We are delighted to welcome cellist Maciej Kulakowski as our soloist for this first Classical Club concert. Born in Gdansk, Maciej studies with Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt at the Kronberg Academy. In 2015, aged 19, Maciej won 1st Prize at the Lutoslawski International Cello Competition. He was a Laureate in the finals of the 2017 Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels and a prize winner at the 2019 YCAT International Auditions at Wigmore Hall. Previous solo appearances include the Penderecki Festival, the Polish Chamber Philharmonic and Poznań Philharmonic Orchestras. Recitals and chamber music have taken Maciej around the world, including the Piatigorsky Cello Festival in Los Angeles, Beijing Super Cello Festival and Munich Rising Stars Festivals.   

 

About YCAT 

Founded in 1984, the Young Classical Artists Trust is a specialist charity that identifies, nurtures and supports musicians early in their careers and enables them to become self-supporting. As COVID-19 impacts on the livelihood and future of musicians around the world, the need to adapt has become more crucial than ever, and YCAT is working to provide the resources, insight and advice that young musicians need during this time. London Mozart Players are delighted to support YCAT rising stars through a showcase event in Classical Club. 

 

Venue: St John the Evangelist 

The stunning church of St John the Evangelist soars like a cathedral in the leafy suburb of Upper Norwood. A Grade II listed Gothic Revival church, designed by eminent English architect John Loughborough Pearson, it was built between 1878–1887. Music plays an important part in the life of St Johns; this is not just because it is the home of the London Mozart Players! The church is noted for the quality of its acoustics, and it is a sought-after recording space. The open design of the interior also lends itself to hosting concerts, with audiences of up to 500 people packing in to enjoy the delights of live classical music (pre-Covid of course). 

  

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