Lucy Gould (violin), Robert Plane (clarinet) and Benjamin Frith (piano)

This programme draws upon music for the stage, in all of its forms. Movements from incidental music for plays form the basis of Suites by Milhaud and Korngold, the latter represented by his acclaimed selection from his score for Much Ado About Nothing. Holbrooke’s Butterfly of the Ballet harks back to the composer’s music hall roots, a medium in which both his parents worked, and in which he was immersed as a child. Whilst Stravinsky’s Soldier’s Tale was ‘to be read, played and danced’ by a small troupe of actors and musicians, here we present it in Stravinsky’s own arrangement for trio. And no survey of music for the stage would be complete without a homage to opera. Tonight we hear Lovreglio’s dazzling fantasy on theme’s from Verdi’s ‘La Traviata’, perfectly taking its great vocal melodies from the grand stage and elaborating on them for the intimacy of the chamber music hall.