Oxford Contemporary Music
LIGETI QUARTET, LAURA JURD & SOOSAN LOLAVAR
Holywell Music Room, Oxford
Thursday, 7.30pm
Tickets: www.eventbrite.co.uk
Head towards the weekend with this eclectic mix of music that draws on classical, jazz, Iranian, Mento and Inuit traditions, performed by the unusual combination of string quartet, trumpet and santoor. The Ligeti Quartet, formed ten years ago by Mandhira de Saram (violin 1), Patrick Dawkins (violin II), Richard Jones (viola) and Val Welbanks (cello) to champion new and recent music, teams up with the Mercury Prize-nominated trumpeter and composer Laura Jurd and the British-Iranian santoor player and composer Soosan Lolavar for this exploration of contemporary music. Included in the programme are arrangements from Laura’s award-winning album Stepping Back, Jumping In, as well as new ensembles, solos and duos.
SJE Arts Next Generation Series
JESS GILLAM (SAXOPHONE) & JAMES BAILLIEU (PIANO)
St John the Evangelist
Friday, 7.30pm
Tickets: www.sje-oxford.org
Hugely popular wherever she goes, former BBC Young Musician finalist Jess Gillam makes a welcome return to the SJE with pianist James Baillieu (not Zeynep Özsuca, as originally advertised) for what will no doubt be another memorable evening. The programme includes works by Poulenc, Marcello, Dowland, Weill, Piazzolla and more, sending you spinning joyfully into the weekend.
Oxford Opera Company
PUCCINI: LA BOHEME
Oxford Playhouse
Friday, 7pm; Saturday 2pm & 7pm; Sunday 6pm
Tickets: 01865 305305 or www.ticketsoxford.com
Following the success of last year’s Carmen, this award-winning company is back with this Puccini classic, once again featuring a professional chorus with local children and students, accompanied by the Oxford Chamber Orchestra. Leading the cast are New Zealand-born Samoan soprano Marlena Devoe as Mimi – a role she has previously sung for New Zealand Opera and Lyric Opera, Dublin – and Welsh tenor Sam Furness make his role debut as Rodolfo. Directed by Paul Carr and conducted by Neil Farrow.
Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra
BEETHOVEN & HIS COLLEAGUES
Holywell Music Room
Friday, 7.30pm; Saturday, 3pm & 7.30pm
Tickets: 01865 980980 or www.oxfordphil.com
Here’s a weekend treat for Beethoven fans – three concerts over two days exploring some of the composer’s cello and violin sonatas. These are performed alongside works by Beethoven’s contemporaries, including Mozart, Diabelli, Spohr, Viotti, Paganini, Kreutzer and Ries (his pupil). The concerts feature the orchestra’s principal players and guest soloists, and are part of a six-concert series curated by Mats Lidström, solo cellist with the orchestra. The final three concerts in the series follow in the autumn.
Winter Recitals Wallingford
BRING ON THE YOUTH!
St Mary’s Church, Wallingford
Saturday, 7.30pm
Tickets: www.ticktsource.co.uk/wrw2020
This lovely winter chamber series ends with a group of talented young musicians from Queen Anne’s School. Their programme includes Fauré’s Élégie, Lalo’s Symphonie Espagnola, violin concertos by Bruch and Mendelssohn, and works by Bach, Chopin and others. Come and hear the stars of tomorrow in this spectacular showcase.
Tenebrae & Aurora Orchestra
FAURE’S REQUIEM & BACH
Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford
Saturday, 7.30pm
Tickets: 01865 244806 or www.musicatoxford.com
Award-winning vocal ensemble Tenebrae and the virtuosic Aurora Orchestra present their unique interpretation of Fauré’s sublime Requiem, which is paired with Bach’s Partita for Violin No.2 (with soloist Max Baillie) interspersed with Bach chorales. The concert is conducted by Nigel Short, and there is a pre-concert talk at 6.30pm by Ian Ritchie.
Oxford Coffee Concerts
LE PAGE PIANO TRIO
Holywell Music Room
Sunday, 11.15am
Tickets: 01865 305305 or www.ticketsoxford.com
Violinist David Le Page and pianist Viv McLean are both regular performers with the Adderbury Ensemble and other groups in and around Oxford. Now they have teamed up with cellist Clare O’Connell to form the Le Page Piano Trio. Here they perform Shostakovich’s Piano Trio No.2 in E minor, Op.67 and Beethoven’s Piano Trio in G major, Op.1 No.2. As always, the King’s Arms and the Vaults & Garden Café will be open for pre-concert coffee.
Didcot Concert Orchestra
SPRING CONCERT
Cornerstone Arts Centre, Didcot
Sunday, 4pm
Tickets: www.cornerstone-arts.org
Formed just two years ago, Didcot Concert Orchestra has established itself as a highly proficient amateur orchestra with four professional section leads. In this, their sixth concert, the players perform Butterworth’s evocative A Shropshire Lad, little-known gem Fairy Tale by Suk and Franck’s Symphony in D minor. Geoff Bushell conducts.
NICOLA LISLE
