Bedford Music Club presents the following classical chamber music concerts between October 2009 and March 2010 in the town of Bedford. Concerts are open to the general public. Season tickets are available by contacting Bedford Music Club using the Email link on the Ticket or Contact pages. Individual tickets are available through Bedford Box Office or on the door.

Thursday 22 October 2009 (at 7.45pm)

Bunyan Free Meeting Church

RTE Vanbrugh String Quartet
Haydn: String Quartet in C major, Op. 33 No. 3 ‘The Bird’
Rimsky-Korsakov: Allegro
Borodin: Scherzo
Beethoven: String Quartet in F major, Op. 59 No. 1

The RTE Vanbrugh Quartet from Ireland are recognised as one of Europe’s most successful string quartets, with a long and distinguished list of concerts, recordings and broadcasts which has taken in the established classics of the repertoire as well as works written for them by leading composers of today.   For us they perform masterworks by Haydn and Beethoven, sandwiching a pair of rarely heard delights from 19th-century Russia.

Thursday 12 November 2009 (at 7.45pm)

Bunyan Free Meeting Church

Galliard Ensemble
Rossini: Overture ‘The Italian Girl in Algiers’
Haydn:  Divertimento in B flat major 
Hindemith: Kleine Kammermusik
Paul Whitmarsh: new work (world premiere)
Barber: Summer Music
Holst: Wind Quintet in A flat major, Op 14
Paul Patterson: Comedy for Five Winds

Former members of the Radio 3’s prestigious New Generation Artists scheme, the Galliard Ensemble wind quintet has in a short time made a name for itself as one of Britain’s most adventurous and refined young chamber groups.   Their richly diverse programme includes music ranging from a sparkling Rossini overture to the sophisticated but engaging humour of Paul Patterson’s Comedy, plus a brand new piece specially composed for Bedford Music Club's fortieth anniversary by Bedford-based composer Paul Whitmarsh.

Supported by the Making Music Concert Promoters’ Network Scheme.

Thursday 3 December 2009 (at 7.45pm)

Bunyan Free Meeting Church

Joglaresa
‘Four Thousand Winters’

Led by singer Belinda Sykes, Joglaresa are one of the most brilliant medieval ensembles in the business, known for their dynamic improvisatory style and vocal and instrumental colour.   They help us celebrate the depths of winter with a programme of song and spoken word from the north-western fringes of Europe, bringing together traditional and medieval sources from Ireland, England and Norway, and instruments such as the clairseach (Irish harp), kantele (Finnish zither), hardanger and Irish fiddles, and percussion.

Thursday 28 January 2010 (at 7.45pm)

Bedford High School for Girls
Adam Walker (flute), John Reid (piano)

Martinů: Scherzo
Milhaud: Sonatine
Bartók: Suite paysanne hongroise
Franck: Sonata, Op. 47

Adam Walker came to public attention at the age of 16 as a finalist at the 2004 BBC Young Musician of the Year Competition.   Five years on, and having made concerto appearances with some of Britain’s leading symphony orchestras, he is already being hailed as a major talent-to-watch in the flute-playing world.   His programme includes colourful 20th-century works and an elegant transcription of the glowingly Romantic Violin Sonata by César Franck. 

Supported by the Making Music Concert Promoters’ Network Scheme.

Thursday 18 February 2010 (at 7.45pm)

Bedford High School for Girls
Paul Lewis (piano)
Mozart: Adagio in B minor, K540
Schumann: Fantasie in C, Op. 17
Liszt: Vallée d’Obermann
Beethoven: Piano Sonata in C major, Op. 53 ‘Waldstein’

Still only in his thirties, Paul Lewis has risen smoothly into the top rank of international pianists, his recent cycle of the complete Beethoven Sonatas having been recognised with Gramophone Magazine’s Recording of the Year Award.   Here he plays one of the grandest of those sonatas alongside opulent Romantic soundscapes by Schumann and Liszt, and Mozart at his most intimate.    An opportunity to hear one of Britain’s finest recitalists definitely not to be missed!

Thursday 25 March 2010 (at 7.45pm)

Bunyan Free Meeting Church
Katona Twins
Scarlatti (arr. Katona): 3 Sonatas
Mozart: Overture ‘Don Giovanni’
Piazzolla: Andante and Allegro (from ‘Tango Suite’)
Piazzolla (arr. Katona): Otono Porteno                                                    
Rodrigo: Tonadilla
Stephen Dodgson: Promenade
Falla: El amor brujo (excerpts)

The brilliant guitar duo from Hungary have been dazzling audiences throughout the world for over ten years, their joint virtuosity matched only by the adventurous eclecticism of their programming.   Latin flavours are prominent, naturally, in works by Scarlatti, Rodrigo, Falla and tango-king Astor Piazzolla, but there is a scintillating arrangement of a Mozart overture to be enjoyed, as well as an intriguing musical account of lovers on a walk by distinguished British composer Stephen Dodgson.