Classical & Jazz Concerts

Pinner Parish Church

 

Music in Pinner Series 

The 2023-2024 Season of Music in Pinner Series has been full of delights and we have one more gem to conclude, on 20th April 7.30pm at Pinner Parish Church. Tickets on sale here (but please note the cautions on the ticket page about 'spinning circles' …).

You can listen to my interview with our friends at Radio Harrow, talking about the current season, here.

We conclude this season on 20th April with the Solarek Piano Trio – Marina Solarek (violin), Ellen Baumring-Gledhill (cello) & Diana Cooper (piano) – in terrific works by Helene Liebmann (a contemporary of Haydn), Fanny Mendelssohn (whose assured compositions readily match those of her brother), and the great Brahms B major Trio, regarded as one of the finest of all chamber works. This will be a wonderful mix of familiar and unfamiliar compositions.

This event will also be a great prequel to this year’s Pinner Music Festival (10-15 June – for details see www.pinnermusicfestival.co.uk).

Looking back over the 23–24 MPS Season, we started in October with James Davison’s & Callum Au's Quintet-à-Tête, inspired by Clark Terry & Bob Brookmeyer. They gave us a terrific evening of inventive and skilful jazz, in super arrangements by Callum, who introduced the sets with great charm. James & Callum blended beautifully in the fine ensemble sections and had fresh improvisatory approaches. The terrific rhythm section of Sam Watts, Misha Mullov-Abbado & Matt Skelton were secure, lively and inventive.

In November, pianist Patrick Hemmerlé gave us a stunning recital of extraordinary range, played with sensitivity, thoughtfulness and great virtuosity. From Fauré, Debussy, Roger-Ducasse & Ravel, he went on to play four incredible transcriptions (by Liszt, Grainger & Pabst) of love themes from operas by Wagner, Strauss,Tchaikovsky & Mozart.

The Nat Steele Quartet brought us their Portrait of the Modern Jazz Quartet in December, evoking that remarkable ensemble, with new takes on their classics. Nat was on vibes, Matyas Gayer piano, Lorenzo Morabito bass & Steve Brown drums. This was stylish and skilled playing by all, with fabulous ensemble, brilliant improvisation and a delicious sound-world.

We opened 2024 on 13th January at Pinner United Synagogue with a welcome return of the Scott Hamilton Quartet, with John Pearce (keyboard), Dave Green (bass) and Steve Brown (drums). The Quartet have been playing together for many years, and their eloquent conversational style reflects their deep musical friendships and insights, well in evidence at this gig.

Our February event was a lunchtime concert, back at Pinner Parish Church, presented by Ensemble Hesperi: Mary-Jannet Leith (recorders), Magdalena Loth-Hill (baroque violin), Florence Petit (baroque cello) and Thomas Allery (harpsichord). They gave us a truly joyous recital of Baroque music, with Bach and Handel sounding fresh, Scottish composers James Oswald and Robert Bremner in revelatory takes on Scots tunes, and two superb pieces by Telemann, an often overlooked master. The ensemble playing was superb, with terrific interchanges between the players, a bright sound-world, and informative introductions.

On March 9th, the Dominic Alldis Trio – Dominic Alldis (piano), Andrew Cleyndert (double bass) & Justin Tambini (drums) were outstanding in stylish and ingenious jazz arrangements of classical and folk themes. Their opening piece evoked the great Jacques Loussier Trio's Play Bach, and they built up an amazing portfolio of their own inventive transformations throughout, ending with some jazz standards, and a lovely encore with a piece by Dominic. The audience were mightily impressed, and departed full of joy.

I am pleased to say that we are set fair (subject to formal approval) for a further Music in Pinner Season in 2024-2025, with eight concerts of great variety – with jazz from New Orleans through mainstream to contemporary; and classical concerts including popular piano classics, great piano trios and a clarinet celebration. We shall have two lunchtime concerts, in December and February, and shall be back at Pinner United Synagogue on January. We start on 21st September with a Charity Concert – Soundscapes, in which pianist Viv McLean and I will be exploring Paul Robertson’s extraordinary book of that name, in music and words. More details to follow.

We look forward to seeing you at our concerts.

Anthony Pinching

Director, Music in Pinner Series

Pinner Parish Church
Church Lane
Pinner
Middlesex HA5 3AA

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