CLASSICAL AND JAZZ: Let’s do lunch and listen
Published: 9 August, 2012
by SEBASTIAN TAYLOR
There’s plenty of interesting music being performed at lunchtime concerts over the next week at St Martin-in-the-Fields and St James’s Piccadilly.
While the concerts at both venues are free, appreciative donations will be gratefully received.
Starting with St Martin’s tomorrow (Friday), a concert is being given by the delightful Ume Duo, a cello and percussion twosome formed 10 years ago in Sweden by sisters Karolina and Erika Ohman.
They specialise in contemporary music, folk and jazz, and plan to play new pieces along with the established repertoire.
Over at St James’s, acclaimed young British pianist Ashley Fripp is playing an interesting programme including Beethoven’s Six Bagatelles, Op 126.
He’s given solo and concerto performances throughout the UK, and, more recently, overseas. He has won more than a dozen prices at competitions at home and abroad.
Monday lunchtime at St James’s, it’s the turn of Ahmed Dickinson, the virtuoso Cuban guitarist living in Dartmouth Park.
He’s playing with excellent young mezzo soprano Ayaka Tanimoto and pianist Kumi Matsuo.
Their programme includes arias from Werther and Carmen, and pieces by Rodrigo and Grieg.
The concert has been arranged by the Anglo-Japanese Society of Wessex.
At St Martin’s on Monday will be the Tranquillo Duo, a vibrant and innovative duo comprising Sarah Waycott on flute and Hannah Mitchell on piano.
The concert is part of the Park Lane Series of new music at the church and the duo will be playing pieces by composers Rebecca Faith, George Hue and Taktakishvili.
Tuesday’s lunchtime concert at St Martin’s is being given by the Eblana String Trio and oboist David Currington.
They’ll be playing Benjamin Britten’s entrancing Phantasy Quartet for Oboe and Strings along with Dohnany’s Serenade in C major for String Trio.
St James’s on Wednesday has the inimitable Kazakhstan violinist Aisha Orazbayeva playing with cellist Lucy Pailton.
They’re performing Bach’s great Chorale Preludes in what’s likely to be a quite exceptional concert and not to be missed.