Brahms, Chopin & Debussy

Four generations of leading artists perform the music of four centuries in the first concert of HarrisonParrott’s anniversary series 50 Years in a Day.

Saxophonist Jess Gillam – ‘The indisputable highlight of the last night of the proms’ (BBC) launches the day with a short work by composer Anna Clyne followed by two jewels of the chamber music repertoire. Written in the shadow of the first World War Debussy's Cello Sonata, played by István Várdai and Vikingur Olafsson, is a powerful and moving affirmation of life. Brahms’ glorious and virtuosic Clarinet Sonata in E flat is performed by Jörg Widmann along with his own Fantasie.

Alice Sara Ott continues the evening with atmospheric music from her latest Deutsche Grammophon album Nightfall, a chiaroscuro collection of works by Debussy and Satie. These include Clair de lune, inspired by the Verlaine poem of the same name, the minimalistic snapshot of Satie’s Gnossienne No.1 and Chopin’s transcendent Nocturnes.

The concert concludes with a selection of folk songs and Lieder by legendary counter-tenor Andreas Scholl and his wife, the pianist Tamar Halperin.

Enjoy the tastes and talents of some of HarrisonParrott’s charismatic artists as they celebrate the music management company’s 50th anniversary with music spanning from Bach to the present.

The evening also marks the launch of the HP50 Charitable Foundation.

Performers

Jess Gillam saxophone
István Várdai cello
Víkingur Ólafsson piano
Jörg Widmann clarinet
Alice Sara Ott piano
Andreas Scholl counter-tenor
Tamar Halperin piano
Repertoire

Anna Clyne: Snake and ladder for solo saxophone & playback
Debussy: Sonata in D minor for cello & piano
Brahms: Sonata in E flat for clarinet & piano, Op.120 No.2
Jörg Widmann: Fantasie for solo clarinet
Interval
Chopin: Nocturne in B flat minor, Op.9 No.1; Nocturne in E flat, Op.9 No.2
Satie: Gnossienne No.1
Debussy: Clair de lune from Suite bergamasque
JS Bach: Prelude from Prelude and Fugue in C, BWV.846 arr. Shlomo Gronich (Al na telech)
Purcell: Music for a while from Oedipus incidental music
Traditional: O waly waly
Berg: Ferne Lieder from Jugendlieder
Vaughan Williams: The Twilight People; Tired