Concerts & events archive 2003

Tuesday 18 November 2003
Beethoven Triple Concerto
Fiori Musicali orchestra
Maggie Cole fortepiano, Nadja Zwiener violin, Catherine Rimer cello, Penelope Rapson director

Beethoven's magnificent triple concerto for piano, violin, cello and orchestra is the highlight in Fiori Musicali's opening concert. Guest artist Maggie Cole joins Fiori for a feast of Viennese musical culture - brought vividly to life on authentic instruments.

"Cole is...a graceful, vital musician with an elegant technique and a razor-sharp feeling for phrasing and accent" The New York Times

Wednesday 19 November 2003
Honey from the Hive - A Tribute to Elizabeth I (d.1603)
Emma Kirkby soprano, Anthony Rooley lute

Intimate lute song settings of poems by Elizabeth I's court favourites, some even by the Queen herself. Legendary duo Emma Kirkby and Anthony Rooley offer an intriguing and satirical insight into the last days of the Elizabethan era.

Thursday 20 November 2003
Merel String Quartet
Esther Hoppe violin, Mary Ellen Woodside violin, Louise Williams viola, Rafael Rosenfeld 'cello

Glorious masterworks by Haydn, Beethoven and Schubert, as the newly formed Merel Quartet from Switzerland make their début on the London musical scene. A chamber music evening of elegance and sophistication.

Haydn - Quartet op.103 in B flat/D minor
Schubert - Death and the Maiden
Beethoven - Quartet op.18 no.1 in F major

Friday 21 November 2003
Palladian Ensembe with Clare Tomalin - Purcell's London
Pamela Thorby recorders Rodolfo Richter violin William Carter lute, theorbo, guitar Susanne Heinrich viola da gamba

All the excitement of Purcell's London recreated through music and contemporary 17th-century writings. Distinguished author Claire Tomalin, winner of the Whitbread Award, complements the scintillating performance of the Palladian Ensemble with extracts from her recent biography of Pepys.

"...sparkling playing with the sense of uninhibited joy which only technical mastery and unrestrained joy can generate" BBC Music Magazine

Saturday 22 November 2003
Saint Émilion Wine Tasting
Alain Querre tutor

Saint-Émilion wines have been enjoyed in the City of London since the time of King John. Alain Querre, Procureur Syndic of the Jurade of Saint-Émilion, poet and wine maker at Château Monbousquet for 25 years, opens a window on the people who create the wines of this historic region of France. A lively and informed wine tasting for both connoisseur and dilettante.

Saturday 22 November 2003
Lecture - Endless Harmony, Immortal Love
Anthony Rooley lecturer

200 years of the St Cecilia tradition.

An entertaining talk in which lutenist and scholar Anthony Rooley shares his researches into the fascinating relationship between a 4th-century saint and music.

Saturday 22 November 2003
Vespers of 1403 for St Cecilia's Day
Robert Jones director

The ties between St Bride's, Fleet Street and the Stationers' Company go back centuries. To mark the Stationers' 600th anniversary, ancient plainsong and early polyphony waft through St Bride's church in a reconstructed monastic Vespers, suitable for St Cecilia's Day 1403.

Saturday 22 November 2003
St Cecilia Mass with Fiori Musicali choir & orchestra
Patrizia Kwella soprano, James Huw Jeffries counter tenor, Benjamin Hulett tenor, Simon Birchall bass, Penelope Rapson director

Trumpets, drums, soloists and orchestra - Haydn's sumptuous mass in honour of St Cecilia brings the 2003 Festival to a magnificent conclusion.

Fiori Musicali have acquired an enviable reputation for bringing alive the drama and passion of 18th-century music.

Sunday 23 November 2003
Choral Eucharist
Choir of St Bride's
Robert Jones director

A traditional language festal Eucharist in honour of St Cecilia enhanced by music performed at the Queen's coronation completes the St Ceciliatide festivities. And following the practice of his 17th-century predecessors, the Reverend Canon David Meara, Rector of St Bride's preaches a sermon 'in defence of church music'!

Sunday 23 November 2003
Champagne & Jazz Brunch

"Ralph Allin is a revelation. There is no better jazz violinist in the country" Birmingham International Festival

Live a little! Enjoy Sinday chanpagne brunch with live jazz and good company.

Relaxed informality is the keynote as festival-goers, performers and the team behind this year's Festival mingle to the sound of Ralph Allin and his Jazz Quartet. A sparkling way to round off the 2003 celebrations.