Two recitals booked at Sidmouth Parish Church

NOW a popular and successful venue for classical music concerts, Sidmouth Parish Church continues to improve the cultural life of the town with two further recitals this month.

Prize-winning pianist Christopher Guild will provide a lunchtime piano recital at 12:30pm on Wednesday, March 7 as part of the Music in Sidmouth Parish Church series.

Christopher is already much in demand for his solo as well as chamber performances, piano duos and with orchestras such as the London Philharmonic and City of London Sinfonia, and has broadcast live on BBC Radio 3.

In his Sidmouth recital he plays four pieces, opening with a Busoni transcription of one of JS Bach’s 18 choral preludes.

This will be followed by Beethoven’s ever popular Moonlight Sonata, dedicated by Beethoven to a young countess for whom he held strong, but unrequited, feelings. Benjamin Britten’s set of 12 variations for piano follows; written when he was still only 17 and developing his musical style. The finale will be Sonata no 3 by Alexander Scriabin; written at the very end of the 19th century when the composer was only 26.

It is 29 years since a recently formed Schubert Ensemble visited Sidmouth for a Concert Society performance.

Now internationally known, the quintet returns on Saturday, March 10 at 7:30pm as part of the Sidmouth Music 40th anniversary celebrations.

The programme includes Schumann’s Piano Quartet, an energetic and passionate work written at a point of great creativity for Schumann.

Martin Butler’s American Rounds was commissioned by the quintet in 1998 and is a hugely enjoyable exploration of different forms of American folk idiom, never quoting from but echoing such as John Adams or Aaron Copland and even sounding like a good old fashioned hoe down at times.

Their grand finale will be Schubert’s very well-known Trout Quintet.

Tickets for Christopher Guild are �7.00 and include lunchtime refreshments, and for the Schubert Ensemble they are �12.50.

Both are available from Paragon Books, Sidmouth. Enquiries to 01395 514618 or visit www.SidmouthMusic.org.uk.