Ilkley Concert Club’s season line-up has big appeal (From Ilkley Gazette)

Ilkley Concert Club’s season line-up has big appeal

6:10pm Wednesday 4th July 2012 in Local news

Ilkley Concert Club’s 67th season marks the end of one era and the start of another.

David Pyett, who has been chairman since 1976, has relinquished this post but has been nominated as president.

A club spokesman said: “He will remain as the driving force in concert planning, and the 2012/2013 season brochure, released this week, shows that once again David has managed to put together a series of concerts that cannot fail to interest and delight the loyal audience.”

With talented performers, some of world renown; programmes ranging in period from Handel and Purcell to a piano quartet composed only this year by Huw Watkins, and geographically from Japan (with a piece by Takemitsu) to local composer Arthur Butterworth, the season will appeal to all classical music lovers.

The first concert follows tradition with a piano recital; the final one has a full wind and string octet. In between lie a variety of chamber ensembles, taking in a baroque trumpet and a star mezzo soprano. All this is accomplished with no increase in ticket prices – a remarkable achievement in these difficult times.

Noriko Ogawa opens the season on October 3, with a recital of works by Moz-art, Takemitsu, Debussy and Mussorgsky, which will display her wonderful dynamic range and colour palate.

The second concert on November 7 – a programme entitled The Royal Trumpet – features Crispian Steele-Perkins, undis-puted master of the baroque trumpet, with The King’s Consort playing works by Handel, Purcell, Corelli and Vivaldi.

Making their first visit to Ilkley on December 5, the Florin Ensemble will play string trios by Moeran and Mozart, as well as a quartet for oboe and strings by Britten.

The Gould Piano Trio open the New Year on January 9 with a programme of trios by Hummel, Fauré and Tchaikovsky.

The acclaimed Elias Quartet will play a full concert of Beethoven quartets on February 20. These talented musicians are undertaking a four-year ‘beethoven-project’, in which they will explore and perform all of Beethoven’s quartets.

The Schubert Ensemble of London perform on March 13, with works including Elgar’s piano quintet and a newly-commissioned piece by Huw Watkins.

April 17 will surely be a highlight of the season, with a rare opportunity to hear opera star mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly in a chamber recital. Her programme will include Schumann’s song cycle Frauenliebe und –leben, songs by Fauré and Roussel and finishing with a quirky piece by Richard Rodney Bennett entitled A history of the Thé Dansant. Her distinguished accompanist will be Malcolm Martineau.

The tradition of finishing the season with a larger ensemble continues on May 8 with the Fibonacci Sequence. They will play an arrangement of Richard Strauss’s tone poem Till Eulenspiegel, finishing with Schubert’s much-loved octet for string quartet, double bass, clarinet, bassoon and horn. Before this will come local composer Arthur Butterworth’s Romanza for horn and strings.

The full programme is on the concert-club.ilkley.org website. Brochures are at Ilkley Tourist Information Centre, local libraries, at Booths Ilkley Store for the next week or call (01943) 604178. Priority booking for season tickets closes on July 25. Early applications are advised.