Brahms 3 Ways
Tuesday 28 May, 7.30pm
St Thomas Church, Lymington
Programme
BRAHMS
Sonata for Piano and Cello in E minor
I. Allegro non troppo
II. Allegretto quasi Menuetto
III. Allegro
Sonata for Piano and Clarinet in E flat major
I. Allegro appassionato
II. Andante un poco adagio
III. Allegretto grazioso
IV. Vivace
Sonata for Piano and Violin in D minor
I. Vivace ma non troppo
II. Adagio
III. Allegro molto moderato
Aleksey Semenenko, violin
Andrew Skidmore, cello
Sarah Williamson, clarinet
Sam Haywood, piano
This unique programme comprises three Sonatas by Brahms for different instruments. We are delighted to welcome back the wonderful Ukrainian violinist Aleksey Semenenko and cellist Andrew Skidmore. We’re also excited about highly acclaimed clarinettist Sarah Williamson’s first appearance at SMF.
Aleksey Semenenko
After his Kennedy Center debut, the Washington Post wrote: “Semenenko…explored every corner of the composer’s imagination…a real triumph.” Shortly thereafter, the New York Times raved that his New York gig proved “particularly rewarding . ” Since winning the prestigious Young Concert Artists Auditions in New York in 2012, the young violinist Aleksey Semenenko has been one of the world’s elite violinists and can look forward to a busy concert career in Europe and the USA, as a soloist and chamber musician.
As the winner of the International Boris Goldstein Violin Competition in 2015, he was invited to perform at the Musical Olympus Festival in St. Petersburg, where he received the Audience Prize and then made his debut with the Moscow Philharmonic. He also won second prize at the prestigious Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels, also in 2015. The violinist’s other awards include the “Artist of the Month” honor from the magazine “Musical America Worldwide”.
The musician’s most recent engagements include performances in the Berlin Philharmonic, the Cologne Philharmonic, the Philharmonic in Essen, the Louvre in Paris, the Palais de Beaux-Arts in Brussels, the Alice Tully Hall in New York, the Moscow Philharmonic and with the Concertgebouw Orkest in Amsterdam.
Born in Odessa in 1988, Aleksey began studying violin at the age of 6 with Zoya Merzalova, with whom Yuri Bashmet also studied. His talent was recognized early on when, just a year later, he became a prizewinner at a children’s music festival in Odessa and made his debut as a soloist with the Odessa Philharmonic Orchestra. Many important performances quickly followed, including with the Moscow Virtuosos under the direction of Vladimir Spivakov.
After Aleksey Semenenko completed his concert exam studies with Zakhar Bron in Cologne, he is currently studying chamber music with Prof. Harald Schoneweg, also at the Cologne University of Music. He plays a Stradivari violin from 1699, which was provided to him by the German Stiftung Musikleben.
Andrew Skidmore
Andrew enjoys a varied career performing on both period and modern instruments.
He has been cellist of the Salomon String Quartet since 2010, before which he spent three years as cellist of the Fitzwilliam String Quartet.
Andrew’s interest in historical performance spans from the 17th to 20th centuries. He is a member and regular guest principal of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, principal with Collegium Musicum 90 and Ex Cathedra and plays regularly as a guest principal, continuo cellist and in chamber music with groups including the Dunedin Consort, Arcangelo, Gabrieli Consort and Players, Early Opera Company, The Academy of Ancient Music, Music for Awhile, Jupiter Ensemble, Irish Baroque Orchestra, The Sixteen, Ensemble Marsyas, Taverner Consort and Players and Classical Opera Company.
On the modern cello he has performed with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and Cappella Andrea Barca and has been invited as a guest principal with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Royal Northern Sinfonia and Haydn Philharmonie, Eisenstadt.
Andrew studied at the Academy, as well as New College, Oxford. He has taught and given classes at the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford.
Sarah Williamson
Sarah Williamson is renowned as a virtuoso clarinettist whose talent has been recognised by concert-goers and critics alike. BBC Music Magazine wrote: ‘A tenacious player like Williamson doesn’t need gimmicks – her sonorous timbre and natural musicality speak for themselves.’ The Independent hailed her as a ‘superb player’; and The Telegraph praised Sarah’s ‘blend of languor and exuberance.’
The International Stage
As a soloist, Sarah has performed at many of the world’s major concert halls, including Carnegie Hall, the Royal Albert Hall, The Wigmore Hall, The South Bank Centre, The Berlin Concerthaus, The Tonhalle Zurich, The Theatre des Champs-Elysèes Paris, The Suntory Hall and NHK Hall, Japan.
World-Class Collaborators
Sarah has performed and toured extensively with The Academy of St Martins in the Fields, The City of London Sinfonia, the BBC Concert orchestra, the LSO, BBC Concert Orchestra (broadcast live), The European Union Chamber Orchestra, The Brighton Philharmonic, The Royal Philharmonic (Classic FM live broadcast) and the Orchestra of the Swan.
Education & Achievements
Sarah achieved international fame following her success in the BBC Young Musician Competition 2002, first as Woodwind Division winner, then as Concerto Finalist when Sarah gave a highly individual performance of the piece with which she is most frequently associated, the Copland Clarinet Concerto, with the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Andrew Davis. Sarah went on to win second prize in the Eurovision Competition for Young Musicians in Berlin, again playing the Copland Concerto, this time with the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Marek Janowsky.
Sarah continued her studies at Le Conservatoire Superieur de Musique et de Dance de Paris, graduating with the Premier Prix and where she was awarded a ‘Laureate’, the Conservatoire’s highest honour in recognition of her reflecting her ability and musicality.
Sarah’s budding talent was previously recognised by the award of the Shell LSO Gerald McDonald Award and the Arthur Frederick Bulgin Medal by The Worshipful Company of Musicians. As a performer, Sarah was the winner of the Tillett Trust and Kirkman Concert Society Awards.
Contemporary Repertoire
Sarah is recognised as a leading interpreter of the Copland Concerto, a recording of which on the Somm label was recently played on ‘Building a Library’ on BBC Radio 3. Sarah is also active in the field of contemporary music: she has championed the music of Edward Longstaff who has written a ‘Prelude’ and ‘Nocturne’ specially for Sarah, both of which were premiered on BBC Radio 3, in addition to a clarinet concerto. She has also worked with Philip Grange and recorded his clarinet concerto. Sarah commissioned a new piece by Joseph Phibbs, ‘Arc de Soleil,’ which was premiered at the Wigmore Hall, and is currently championing the works of Graham Fitkin and the Beniamin Baczewski Clarinet Concerto.
Sam Haywood
Sam Haywood has performed in many of the world’s major concert halls, including Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Philharmonie de Paris, Vienna Konzerthaus and the Wigmore Hall. The New York Times hailed his ‘‘Passionate flair and sparkling clarity’ and the Washington Post his ‘dazzling, evocative playing’. He has a special fondness for Indonesia, where he has performed and taught for many years.
He embraces a wide spectrum of the piano repertoire and is equally at home as a soloist, chamber musician or working with singers. He has toured extensively as a duo with American violinist Joshua Bell and also with cellist Steven Isserlis.
He has composed several instrumental miniatures, including ‘The Other Side’, first performed at the Konzerthaus in Vienna. His Song of the Penguins for bassoon and piano, dedicated to Roger Birnstingl, is published by Emerson Editions.
For Hyperion Records, Haywood has recorded two albums of music by Charles Villiers Stanford and Julius Isserlis. Passionate about early instruments, he also recorded a Chopin album on the composer’s own Pleyel piano, part of the Cobbe Collection, to celebrate his bicentenary in 2010. For Sony Classical he has recorded a selection of works by the child prodigy Alma Deutscher and for Toccata Classics the violin and piano sonatas of Agnes Zimmermann with Mathilde Milwidsky. His recording of Mozart, Poulenc and Thuille with the Galliard Ensemble is soon to be released by Deux-Elles Records.
