Crucible Playhouse

Gideon Klein: Trio for Violin, Viola and Cello
Leo Smit: Trio for Clarinet, Viola, and Piano
Interval
Olivier Messiaen: Quartet for the End of Time

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Flute Quartet no. 1 in D major, K. 285
Ludwig van Beethoven: Quintet for Piano and Wind in E flat major, op. 16
Interval
Edward Elgar: Piano Quintet in A minor, op. 84

Oliver Knussen: Cantata for Oboe and String Trio
Maurice Ravel: Piano Trio in A minor
Interval
Ralph Vaughan Williams: Quintet for piano and strings in C minor
Benjamin Britten: Britten Sinfonietta, Op. 1

Dmitry Shostakovich: Two Pieces for String Octet, op. 11
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Quintet in E flat major for Piano and Winds, K. 452
Francis Poulenc: Oboe Sonata
Interval
Arnold Schönberg, arr. Eduard Steuermann: Verklärte Nacht, op. 4

Edmund Meisel, arr. George Morton: Battleship Potemkin

Maurice Ravel, arr. Farrington: Mother Goose Suite
Louise Farrenc: Sextet for Piano and Winds in C Minor, Op. 40
Interval
Maurice Duruflé: Prélude, récitatif et variations for Flute, Viola and Piano, op. 3
Robert Schumann: Piano Quintet in E flat major, op. 44

20 Years of Ensemble 360: Festival Launch

Huw Watkins: Broken Consort
Aileen Sweeney: Commission from Royal Philharmonic Society 2024 (World Premiere)
Interval
Franz Schubert: Octet in F major, D. 803

Ensemble 360 and Steven Isserlis in Festival Finale

George Onslow: Nonet, op. 77
Gabriel Fauré: Elegie, op. 24
Interval
Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky: String Sextet in D minor, op.70, Souvenir de Florence

A grand work for a grand finale: captivating charm and wit from George Onslow’s Nonet. Nicknamed the ‘French Beethoven’, this is a chance to hear one of his finest and largest-scale chamber works whose five movements move through an expressive array of moods from turbulence to a jubilant conclusion.

Steven Isserlis then joins pianist Tim Horton for a heartfelt lament by Gabriel Fauré, before we sign off with Tchaikovsky’s celebratory musical postcard, Souvenir de Florence. This hugely popular string sextet by the great Russian composer features both Steven Isserlis and Ensemble 360’s cellist Gemma Rosefield, and promises to be a fitting farewell to the Festival in our anniversary year.

Friday Night in Paris
Roderick Williams and Ensemble 360

Musical national treasure Roderick Williams, soloist at King Charles III’s Coronation and Singer-in-Residence with Music in the Round, returns to the Crucible Playhouse with Ensemble 360 for a magical tour through the City of Light.

Fauré’s first Piano Quintet was a labour of love that he nurtured over many years, and the song cycles and works for violin he wrote alongside it echo through this exquisitely constructed piece.

Poulenc’s kaleidoscopic sextet encompasses jazz, ragtime, pastiche of Mozart and a tribute to Ravel, whose ‘Madagascan’ songs they follow, in this programme luxuriating in the many sounds of fin de siècle Paris.

Culminating in Fauré’s intricate song-cycle, crafted from the poems of Paul Verlaine, this concert reunites Ensemble 360, with Music in the Round’s singer-in-residence Roderick Williams for the first time since 2017.

Gabriel Fauré: Piano Quintet no. 1 in D minor, op. 89
Maurice Ravel: Chansons madécasses
Interval
Francis Poulenc: Sextet for Wind Quintet and Piano in C major
Gabriel Fauré: La Bonne Chanson for Baritone, String Quintet and Piano

French Gems

Maurice Ravel: Berceuse sur le nom de Gabriel Fauré
Camille Saint-Saëns: Oboe Sonata in D major, op. 166
Thomas Adès: Alchymia for clarinet quintet
Interval
André Messager: Solo de Concours for solo clarinet
César Franck: Piano Quintet in F minor

French Gems

Maurice Ravel: Berceuse sur le nom de Gabriel Fauré
Camille Saint-Saëns: Oboe Sonata in D major, op. 166
Thomas Adès: Alchymia for clarinet quintet
Interval
André Messager: Solo de Concours for solo clarinet
César Franck: Piano Quintet in F minor

Saint-Saëns. The Renaissance Man

Saint-Saëns:
Morceau de concert for horn and piano
Bassoon Sonata
Les odeurs de Paris
L’assassinat du duc de guise
The Carnival of the Animals

Camille Saint-Saëns’ most celebrated work, ‘The Carnival of the Animals’ is a work unlike any other, transporting the listener into a musical menagerie that includes a swan, a tortoise, lions and a plunge into a truly magical aquarium. It is presented here alongside rarely performed pieces including ‘Les odeurs de Paris’, a musical riot, with the addition of trumpets and children’s toys to convey the many smells of Paris. Early French film The Assassination of the Duke of Guise is one of the very first to feature an original film score. Written by Saint-Saëns, the music will be performed live alongside a screening of the film in a celebration of the beloved French composer.

Relaxed Concert: Carnival

Saint-Saëns: Morceau de concert for horn and piano
Saint-Saëns: Bassoon Sonata
Saint-Saëns: The Carnival of the Animals

For this ‘Relaxed’ concert featuring ‘The Carnival of the Animals’, doors will be left open, lights raised, a break-out space provided, and there will be less emphasis on the audience being quiet during the performance. People with an Autism Spectrum, sensory or communication disorder or learning disability, those with age-related impairments and parents/carers with babies are all especially welcome.

Festival Launch

Gabriel Fauré: Piano Quartet no. 2 in G minor, op. 45
Louise Farrenc: Nonet, op. 38

Colin Jacobson: Ascending Bird
Franz Schubert: Piano Quintet in A major, D. 667, The Trout
Camille Saint-Saëns: Caprice on Danish and Russian Airs, op. 79
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor: Nonet in F minor, op. 2

A tour through the wondrous world of chamber music, specially created for young audiences, combining well-known classical favourites with new works from surprising places. This concert for 7-11 year-olds includes thrilling musical adventures told through music, cheeky characters and epic heroes, mind-blowing musical games, and the chance to join in and make music together.

Guillaume Connesson: Techno Parade
Claude Debussy: Trio for flute, viola and harp
Maurice Ravel: Introduction and Allegro
Guillaume Connesson: Sextet

Dinu Lipatti: Six Sonatas after Domenico Scarlatti
Giacomo Puccini: Songs
Ludvig van Beethoven: Moonlight Sonata
Dmitri Shostakovich: Sonata

Festival Launch

Bohuslav Martinu: La Revue De Cuisine
Antonin Dvorák: Slavonic Dances Nos 2 and 1, Op. 46
Kurt Weill: Nanna’s Lied, Youkali, Je Ne T’aime Pas
Manuel De Falla: Pantomime and Ritual Fire Dance, from El Amore Brujo
Jean Françaix: Dixtuor For String Quintet And Wind Quintet
Camille Saint-Saëns: Septet in E flat major, Op. 65

Johannes Brahms: Clarinet Quintet in B minor, op. 115
Johannes Brahms: 2 Intermezzos from Klavierstücke, op. 119
Ernst von Dohnányi: Sextet in C major, op. 37