| ALEXANDER ARDAKOV (piano) CHOPIN BICENTENARY RECITAL Ballade No 1 in G minor Nocturne in B major, Op 32 No 1 Ballade No 2 in A minor Nocturne in Bb minor, Op 9 No 1 Ballade No 3 in Ab major Nocturne in Eb major, Op 9 No 2 Ballade No 4 in F minor Nocturne in F# minor, Op 48 No 2 Polonaise-Fantasy in Ab major Nocturne in Db major, Op 27 No 2 Polonaise Op 44 in F# minor Polonaise in Ab (Eroica) Op 53 |  |
“So accomplished technically, he was able to put away all thoughts of difficulty and concentrate on making the music speak its message through his agile fingers.”
The great Russian virtuoso returns with a superb all-Chopin programme built around the four great Ballades. Ardakov's recital and concerto performances have taken him all over the world in recent seasons, including Carnegie Hall New York, Coluseo Hall, Portugal (where he performed three romantic concertos in a single evening!) and Symphony Hall, Seattle where he received a standing ovation from the 1500 audience.
Admission £8.50 (conc £8, child £2) at the door
Monday 8th March 7.45pm
MUSICAL MILESTONES: 200th Anniversary Celebrations
SCHUMANN (ii) Mature Years from 1842
A talk illustrated with fine CD recordings by Adrian Boynton
1842 was for Schumann a remarkable year of chamber music which included a Piano Quintet, Piano Quartet and three String Quartets. Several large-scale works followed – the cantata 'Paradise and the Peri', Piano Concerto, Konzertstuck for 4 Horns and Orchestra, Cello Concerto, the great opera 'Genoveva' and the evocative 'Scenes from Goethe's Faust'. Join us for a superb evening of Romantic riches.
Admission £4 (student £1) at the door
Saturday 13th March 12 noon
CANTAMUS Director: Gary Mudd
A programme featuring the music of:
PAUL EDWARDS, PETER CORNELIUS, MENDELSSOHN, STANFORD, ELGAR & PARRY
Cantamus is one of Bedfordshire's premier chamber choirs, appearing regularly at festivals throughout the Midlands and Home Counties. In 2005 the choir supported Aled Jones in a concert in Nottingham and in 2008 they collaborated with BBC New Generation artist Gwilliam Simcock. Today's programme features compositions by founding member of the choir Paul Edwards, whose music is well known and much loved locally and has been recorded and broadcast more widely, notably by the choir of Kings College, Cambridge. We are delighted to welcome Cantamus back to the City Church in their 30th Anniversary year.
Admission £5 (conc £4.50, child £1) at the door
Thursday 18th March 7.45pm
DOMINIC PIERS SMITH (piano)
BEETHOVEN: 32 Variations SCHUMANN: Arabesque
CHOPIN: Ballade No 1 CHOPIN: Mazurka in A min
CHOPIN: Andante Spianato CHOPIN: Grand Polonaise
DEBUSSY: La Cathedral Engloutie / Minstrels / Ce qu'a vu le Vent d'ouest
RACHMANINOV: Preludes, Op 3, 23
LISZT: Jeux d’Eau de la Villa d’Este
GRAINGER: Paraphrase on Tchaikovsky’s Waltz of the Flowers
Dominic's story is remarkable. Rapid early progress brought him a scholarship with Trinity College at the age of 9, the role of Young Mozart in Channel 4's 'Man and His Music' a year later, and solo performances at Wigmore Hall, Purcell Room and the Edinburgh Festival before his 18th birthday. He then completed his Masters in Aeronautical Engineering at Imperial College before becoming Team Leader of Aerodynamic Development with the Honda Formula 1 Team! Happily music is once again in the ascendancy. Dominic achieved the LRSM diploma with distinction and won the Yamaha International Competition in 2007, leading to an acclaimed performance of Rachmaninov 2nd Piano Concerto with the LPO at Festival Hall. Later this year Dominic appears with MKCO.
Admission £8.50 (conc £8, child £5) at the door
Sunday 21st March 6pm
GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD: A Choral Meditation for Passion Sunday
THE CHOIR OF THE CITY CHURCH directed by Adrian Boynton
A meditation for Passion Sunday featuring some of the many beautiful settings for this Holy Season.
Freewill offering
Thursday 25th March 7.45pm
EXPLORING MUSIC: 20th Century Masters
STRAVINSKY (ii) Mature Years 1920-1971
A talk illustrated with fine CD recordings by Adrian Boynton
The period from 1920 to 1939, which Stravinsky spent in France, was that of the great neo-classical compositions, reactivating the modes and manners of the 18th century: the ballets 'Pulcinella' (after Pergolesi), 'Apollo' (evoking the French Baroque) and 'TheFairy's Kiss', Concerto for Piano and Wind, Violin Concerto and the Brandenburg–inspired 'Dumbarton Oaks'. Also from this period come the great opera-oratorio 'Oedipus Rex' and the awe-inspiring Symphony of Psalms. From his American residency (1939-52) we have the Symphony in C, ballet 'Orpheus' and opera 'The Rake's Progress', and from the final years of his life a group of fine choral works using serial techniques. Join us for a most remarkable musical journey.
Admission £4 (student £1) at the door
Sunday 28th March 7.30pm
BACH: MASS IN B MINOR
THE CORNERSTONE CHAMBER CHOIR & ORCHESTRA
Leader: Philippa Barton Conductor: Adrian Boynton
Bach's Mass in B minor, arguably the greatest of Christian musical monuments, is the choice for our traditional Palm Sunday concert. That the composer completed the work apparently without any hope of hearing it performed clearly illustrates the incredible striving for wholeness, fullness and perfection that amazes us in Bach's music. The Mass draws on a wide variety of forms and techniques, some of them belonging to an earlier era, others looking forward to the next. The 'Et Resurrexit' bursts forth with Easter joy, the 'Sanctus' transports us to Heaven itself. The cumulative effect of the whole is magnificent.
Tickets £12.50 (conc £12), £10.50 (conc £10), child £5
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