Welcome to Malvern Concert Club - Malvern Concert Club

Welcome to Malvern Concert Club

Ever since its first concert on 31 October 1903, Malvern Concert Club, founded by Sir Edward Elgar, has been a cornerstone of musical life in Worcestershire. Over one hundred years later, today’s Concert Club is proud to continue that tradition of bringing the best chamber music to this part of the country. Whilst grounded in the tradition of the string quartet, each season brings a varied selection of music for small ensemble, with and without keyboard, and voice. Our performers are British and overseas musicians of international standing, with a balance of established artists and promising newcomers.

116th Season 2018-19

Malvern Concert Club's 116th season brings another regular series of six Thursday evening concerts in The Forum, Malvern Theatres. We also present the third, and last, of our President's Sunday afternoon recitals devoted to the three major song cycles of Schubert.

The Club's 116th season is a special one, as it celebrates the centenary of our founder's three major chamber works. Elgar's String Quartet, Piano Quintet and Violin Sonata were all composed in 1918 and received their premieres in 1919. All three are being performed at our final concert of this season on 2 May 2019.

We also continue our regular coach trips from Malvern to afternoon concerts in Symphony Hall, Birmingham

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You can now buy membership online

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Malvern Concert Club

2 months ago

With many thanks to The Britten Oboe Quartet for their excellent concert last week, here is Peter Johnson's review.

Malvern Concert Club

Review: 26 April 2018
Britten Oboe Quartet

The 115th Season closed with a fine concert by the Britten Oboe Quartet, led by the oboist Nicholas Daniel. Daniel plays with a supreme delicacy, perfect for Mozart’s exquisitely fashioned Oboe Quartet, K. 370, with which the concert ended. This performance was in itself worth travelling a long way for, but we also heard a number of rarely performed English works, including a delightful Andante and Allegro for oboe quartet by the 21-year old Elgar, E J Moeran’s beautifully scored Fantasy Quartet of 1946, and an interesting if somewhat austere String Trio in E minor by Lennox Berkeley. More familiar was Britten’s imaginative Phantasy Quartet, written when he was a mere 19 years old but sometimes looking forward to his late works (such as the Third Quartet). But the pièce de resistance was Oliver Knussen’s magnificent Cantata for oboe and string trio, written in 1977. For forty years Knussen has been a passionate exponent of the New Music, as composer and conductor, and his Cantata demonstrates the expressive power of this new language. The title refers to the way the piece alternates between freer, recitative-like passages and more formal aria-like sections, but the former were never sterile (as sometimes in the Baroque solo cantata) and the latter never enslaved to regular four-square rhythms. The harmony breathed the fresh air of atonality, floating rather than tied to a tonal base. Knussen writes beautifully for his instruments, and the musicians not only understood this music but clearly loved it. Especially moving was the closing section, a heart-rending, broken Berceuse. All the works were engagingly introduced by members of the ensemble, the introduction to the Knussen being especially informative. These musicians enjoy performing and unselfconsciously communicate their enjoyment. Schumann’s Mondnacht, arranged for this ensemble by the contemporary English composer Colin Matthews, provided a suitably contemplative close to this delightful evening.

Professor Peter Johnson
Royal Birmingham Conservatoire ... See MoreSee Less

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Malvern Concert Club

2 months ago

We are delighted that Sean Shibe, our most recent recital artist, is on the shortlist for the Royal Philharmonic Society Awards 2018. He appears in two categories, Instrumentalist and Young Artists. We would like to congratulate him on this success, and wish him all the best when the winners are announced. "The RPS Music Awards are independent and peer-judged. Winners will be announced at The Brewery on 9 May 2018, and broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on Monday 14 May at 7.30pm." ... See MoreSee Less

RPS Music Awards Shortlist Announced

royalphilharmonicsociety.org.uk

Opera, composers, singers, conductors, instrumentalists, ensembles … and virtual reality! The shortlisted nominations for the RPS Music Awards, presented in association with BBC Radio 3, have been a...

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Malvern Concert Club

2 months ago

If you are currently enjoying BBC Young Musician 2018, you may be interested in a programme to mark the 40th anniversary of the compeition which features Nicholas Daniel, who will be performing at Malvern Concert Club as part of the Britten Oboe Quartet on 26th April. ... See MoreSee Less

Forty Years Young, BBC Young Musician - BBC Four

bbc.co.uk

A look back at the competition's history, focusing on the careers of the 2016 finalists.

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