Alberni String Quartet

Thursday 3rd July, 7.45pm at St Paul's Church, Grove Park Road, Chiswick W4 3SB

Tickets £16 Full-time education £8

To include On Wenlock Edge by VAUGHAN WILLIAMS and a new clarinet quintet by local composer IVAN MOSELEY.

As a young man Ivan Moseley studied composition with Hans Heimler, and almost 40 years later entered the Royal Northern College of Music, where his tutor was Anthony Gilbert.  He is currently a PhD student in composition at Royal Holloway, University of London. In addition to performances at the RNCM and Royal Holloway, his music has been played in Kensington Town Hall, Manchester University, Canterbury Cathedral, St Bride’s in Fleet Street and Manchester Cathedral.  His compositions have also been heard at the Bedford Park Festival, while the performance by Alastair Ross and Canzona of his Concertino for harpsichord and string orchestra was a highlight of the 2006 Grove Park Music Festival. In April 2008 his Variations for Orchestra were played at West Road, Cambridge by their dedicatees, the National Children's Chamber Orchestra, conducted by David Johnston. His Variations on a Seasonal Theme and Pasodoble, published by the Oriel Library, are staples of the recorder ensemble repertoire, the former having been recorded by the German group Schabelflötentöne.

Alberni String Quartet

Karin Leishman – Violin,  Peter Pople – Violin,

Matthew Souter - Viola   David Smith - Cello

The Alberni Quartet was formed more than 40 years ago at the Royal Academy of Music in London. Their interpretations of the great classics have attracted praise and respect around the world. Concert tours in USA, S. America, Caribbean, Australia, China, Finland etc. have often been combined with educational work at all levels. The Alberni's debut at the Carnegie Hall earned them a description in the NY Times "one of the finest half-dozen quartets in the world today."  Their recordings of Haydn, Mozart, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Brahms & Britten have also been highly valued - the Schubert C major Quintet was nominated for a Grammy Award. Their association with Benjamin Britten's quartets and through him the UK premiers of Shostakovich's 9th & 10th quartets, put them at the centre of contemporary music making in the 70's.

Their rapport and long experience on the concert platform give the quartet an understanding and musical wisdom unusual among performers, qualities which the members of the quartet now share with their students at the Royal Academy in London.

While clearly demonstrating the expertise and maturity gained from a long and distinguished career, the Alberni Quartet retain the enthusiasm, vigour and attention to detail that make their interpretations today a rare and rich experience. They followed the Amadeus as quartet-in-residence at the Royal Academy of Music, coaching and helping new generations of chamber musicians.

Ian Partridge  Tenor       Christopher Glynn Piano

                Anna Hashimoto Clarinet

Ian Partridge has an international reputation as a concert singer and recitalist. His tenor voice, with its most distinctive timbre, and his unfailing sensitivity to words, have earned him a devoted following through his hundreds of broadcasts and recordings. His wide repertoire encompasses the music of Monteverdi, Bach and Handel, Elizabethan lute songs, German, French and English songs and first performances of new works; in recitals he is frequently accompanied by his sister, Jennifer Partridge.

Ian Partridge's phenomenal list of recordings includes Schubert's Die Schöne Müllerin (first choice in BBC Radio 3's Building a Library and recently re-released in the UK), Schumann's Dichterliebe and Liederkreis Opus 39, Britten's Serenade, Vaughan Williams's On Wenlock Edge, Warlock's The Curlew, three discs of English 20th century songs, Romantic Songs for voice and guitar with Jakob Lindberg, Schubert's Winterreise with Richard Burnett on a period piano, and, with The Sixteen Choir and Baroque Orchestra, conducted by Harry Christophers, the complete set of Handel's Chandos Anthems, Purcell's The Fairy Queen and the part of the Evangelist in Bach's St John Passion.

Christopher Glynn was born in Leicester, read music at New College Oxford and then studied piano with John Streets in France and with Malcolm Martineau and Michael Dussek at the Royal Academy of Music. He was awarded the piano accompaniment prize in the 2001 Kathleen Ferrier competition and the 2003 Gerald Moore award. He was also recently made an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music.

He has performed with singers including Anthony Rolfe Johnson, Andrew Kennedy, Carolyn Sampson, Joan Rodgers, Michael George, Julie Kennard, Sine Bundgaard, Ailish Tynan, James Rutherford, Lucy Crowe and Ronan Collett at venues including Wigmore Hall, Purcell Room, St John’s Smith Square, Royal Opera House, Bridgewater Hall and Waterfront Hall, at festivals throughout Europe and the Far East, and in live broadcasts for BBC radio and TV.

As well as his work with singers, Chris has performed with many instrumentalists including oboist Maurice Bourge and cellist Christoph Richter. He has also performed piano duet concerts with John Streets throughout Europe. He has recorded on Erato, Warner, Cantoris and Priory labels.

Future plans include a recording of the songs of Michael Head, concert tours to USA, Canada and Japan and a cabaret show at Pizza on the Park.

Anna Hashimoto made her Barbican Hall concerto debut at the age of 15 with the English Chamber Orchestra in December 2004. She was the winner of the Parthenon Tama Prize earlier that year at the Japan Clarinet Competition. From a total of 170 entries with no age limit she was the youngest participant. In 2003 she came first and won all three special prizes at the Japan Clarinet Society’s ‘Young Clarinettists' Competition’.

Anna was born in Japan in 1989 and moved to London six months later. She started playing the piano at the age of  4, and the clarinet when she was 8. She studied at the Junior Department of the Royal College of Music for six years under Charles Hine, where she was awarded the Else & Leonard Cross Memorial Scholarship and the Esther Coleman Prize. She has appeared at London’s Wigmore Hall on numerous occasions, playing solo and chamber music. She has played in the Cadogan Hall in the presence of HRH Princess Alexandra. At a Gala Concert with Princess Caroline of Monaco at the British Embassy in Paris she performed the Mozart Clarinet Quintet (on a basset clarinet) in April 2006.

At the International ClarinetFest 2005 in Tokyo, Anna had the honour of giving the Japan Premiere of Michael Daugherty’s clarinet concerto ‘Brooklyn Bridge’, which was commissioned by the International Clarinet Association. This performance was broadcast live on FM-Tokyo, and received outstanding reviews in numerous music magazines. During this Fest she also played Tartini/Jacob’s Concertino with the British Clarinet Ensemble with whom she has recently recorded a CD of the work.

Anna has given many recitals in the UK and concerto performances with numerous orchestras, recently performing the Mozart Concerto with orchestras such as the Japan Chamber Orchestra and the English Chamber Orchestra. Recent performances include the Francais Concerto with the Purcell Symphony Orchestra at LSO St Luke’s. Forthcoming engagements include concertos by Weber, Arnold and Finzi with orchestras such as the Kyushu Symphony Orchestra (Japan), and the English Chamber Orchestra under the baton of Vladimir Ashkenazy. Anna is now under the management of ‘Euroarts-Japan’.

Anna was a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, and studied at the Purcell School of Music under the Government Music and Dance Scheme. She is now continuing her studies at the Royal Academy of Music as an Associated Board Scholar from September ’07.  Currently studying with Michael Collins, Anna plays on Peter Eaton ‘International’ clarinets and basset clarinet.