The intention behind the Manchester Mid-day Concert series has remained the same since the Manchester Mid-day Concert Society was first established in 1915: exceptional music for an affordable price. Presented in the astonishing surrounds of The Bridgewater Hall, and not strictly at midday (the concerts all take place at the slightly later time of 1.10pm), the series is an incredible opportunity to visit one of the finest concert halls in Europe. The Spring 2020 installment includes performances from a woman who’s played at the BAFTAs and an ‘audacious’ trio – as well as a piece that’s been described as a ‘torrent of notes’.
Born in Hungary but trained in Birmingham, Domonkos Csabay is an award-winning pianist – and quite the treat to listen to. His programme begins relatively restrainedly with Un piccolo divertimento by Haydn – before ramping the intensity up several notches to a torrent of notes – otherwise known as Liszt’s intensely chromatic Bach theme. The performance concludes magnificently with Ravel’s La Valse.
The Jacquin Trio have been playing together for nearly 10 years – and are the only group to have won both the Royal Overseas League and St Martin in-the-Fields Competitions. If that’s not encouragement enough to attend their Mid-Day Concert, they describe their performance style as ‘audacious’ and are known for their rapport with the audience. They perform Mozart, Bruch and a narrated version of Stravinsky’s The Soldier’s Tale suite – in which the devil gets all the best tunes.
The musicians in the Victoria Quartet are used to giving masterclasses in the UK and internationally (all four teach at the RNCM) – but for this Mid-Day Concert, they’ll be giving a masterclass of Britten’s Three Divertimenti, all composed while he was in his twenties, and Mendelssohn’s String Quartet in D major.
Sun 1 Mar - Thu 30 Apr, The Bridgewater Hall, Lower Mosley Street, Manchester, M2 3WS, Tel: 0161 907 9000
www.bridgewater-hall.co.uk
- Words:
- Polly Checkland Harding
- Published on:
- Sat 29 Feb 2020
Jess Gillam is one of the young rising stars in classical music. The saxophonist was a finalist in the 2016 BBC Young Musician of the Year, put in a spellbinding performance at the Last Night of the Proms and played in front of a star-studded audience at the BAFTAs in 2019. She brings a highly-energetic programme to the Mid-day Concerts series, alongside the award-winning Turkish pianist Zeynep Özsuca.