We are thrilled to have the eminent cellist Julian Lloyd Webber for the opening concert of our new concert season with the exciting Orchestra of the Swan.  Based in Stratford-upon-Avon the orchestra is known for its innovative programming and outstanding performances. Julian will play Haydn’s first cello concerto, for long supposed to have been lost, and will be joined by his wife Jiaxin Cheng for Vivaldi’s demanding Double Cello Concerto. The Queen of Sheba’s jubilant ‘Arrival’ by Handel will be wittily mirrored in her ‘Departure’ by Alec Roth, written for the Academy of St Martin in the Fields in 1999, inspired by a painting of The Queen of Sheba and King Solomon in the Garden of Earthly Delights.  Mozart’s 29^th Symphony will complete a memorable evening. This is the seventh Keswick concert in the Orchestras Live Cumbria Series generously supported by Arts Council England.

Alexandra Dariescu is a brilliant young pianist, an outstanding communicator and very popular with audiences. Born in Rumania and having studied at the RNCM, she was selected by the prestigious Young Concert Artists Trust for promotion in 2008: winner of the prestigious Prix Maurice Ravel in France, her career has blossomed and she is continuing to win praise and prizes in international competitions. Alexandra has played worldwide in recitals and with orchestras, as well for BBC Radio 3. She was awarded the GSMD Piano Fellowship at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama for 2010/2011. Her varied programme is a feast of 19^th and early 20^th century piano music, and her response to the technical, stylistic and emotional demands of these pieces will be unforgettable.

Ravel:  Ondine (Gaspard de la Nuit)

Schumann:  Abegg Variations Op.1

Beethoven:  Sonata in E flat Op 31 No. 3

Debussy:  L’Isle Joyeuse

Liszt:  Liebestod

Liszt:  Ballade No.2 in B Minor

Chopin:  Andante Spianato and Grande Polonaise in G,                      Op.22

Pre-concert talk by members of the trio and Brian Richardson
6.45 pm

The wonderful sound of the French horn has inspired much classical music and a horn trio provides a very special combination of timbres. This concert unites three exceptional performers: Richard Watkins having been Principal Horn of the Philharmonia Orchestra is now in great demand as soloist, as a member of the Nash Ensemble and is Dennis Brain Professor at the Royal Academy of Music; Lucy Gould, founder member of the distinguished Gould Trio, also has a flourishing solo career, and Leon McCawley building on his early prizewinning success is a pianist of international standing. They present a classical programme of music for several different combinations of the three instruments.

Pre-concert talk by Brian Richardson
6.45 pm

Haydn:  String Quartet in B flat Op. 103 (unfinished)

Britten:  String Quartet No. 3

Brahms:  String Quartet in C minor Op. 51 No.1

Wolf:  Lieder

Ravel:  Histoires Naturelles: five songs

Butterworth:  A Shropshire Lad

'English Composers':  A selection of songs 

Local Young Musicians' Concert

Not to be missed, we had a full house last year for an evening of amazing variety given by the enthusiastic and gifted young musicians of Keswick. Members will be entertained and thrilled by the talent displayed and the range of music played.

The members' subscription includes this concert, but members' seats are not reserved.

Once again we are delighted to welcome Northern Sinfonia to Keswick: a terrific programme combining the music and traditions of the old and new world. Like all Bach’s orchestral suites the second, ending with the lively ‘Badinerie’, was based on the dance music of his day. Bach’s influence is clear in Villa-Lobos’ Bachianas Brasileiras suites; Baroque harmonic and contrapuntal procedures are freely adapted to Brazilian music, influenced by the Tango. While the Bach suite features the flute, the Villa-Lobos music requires a band of eight cellos and a soprano: the distinguished young soprano Katherine Manley who has sung to great acclaim with English National Opera, Opera North and Garsington Opera. Astor Piazzolla took Vivaldi as a starting point in The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires, a kind of homage both to the Tango and to Vivaldi’s music. Golijov (b. 1960), an East European raised in Argentina and trained in the USA, combines traditions of classical chamber music and Jewish liturgical music with hints of the tango of Piazzolla. His piece depicts an imaginary chance for Piazzolla's spirit to fight one more time after his death in 1992.

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This concert will be a fascinating evening of music influenced both by traditions of jazz and by classical influences from Bach and Purcell to Copland. As a student, Dutchman Tim Kliphuis was at first officially a classical violinist keeping his jazz fiddling a secret, but in 1995 after one of Stéphane Grappelli’s last concerts in Munich, he spoke to and played for him backstage and received encouraging words. For his Master’s Degree his final concert was half classical, half jazz, and glowing international reviews have since cemented Tim’s reputation as a top Grappelli-style player and one of the most imaginative, exciting and entertaining jazz violinists. In 2005, he released his first solo recording, The Grappelli Tribute, and the ensuing reviews brought him to the UK jazz scene where he has made many tours at festivals, in arts centres and clubs. Tim has played and taught at the Fiddles on Fire Festival at The Sage Concert Hall and is looking towards future collaborations with classical artists.

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