This idea for a concert of Serenades for Winds arose from conversations with Paul Cott, a member of the Berkeley Ensemble who kindly serves on our committee. He and I were talking about music teachers who had shaped our lives. Paul then mentioned the Swedish composer Karl Nicklas Gustavsson, a fellow student at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, who had sadly died at a relatively young age in 2021. And so, in celebration of the inspiring time they had both shared at the Guildhall, we began to assemble a programme in which Paul and a colleague might play Karl’s Duo for two horns.
In curating this concert Paul has paired the Mozart Serenade with a work by Mátyás Seiber. This Hungarian émigré had arrived in England in 1935 and soon became a vital figure in musical life here. He was a much sought after teacher at Morley College and a founder member of the Society for Promotion of New Music, actively promoting new music throughout his life. In 1960 he tragically died in a car accident in South Africa. Recognising his considerable contribution to the world of music Kodály, one of the greatest of all music educators and a dear friend of Seiber’s, dedicated his choral work Media vita in morte sumus to the memory of his former student. Another example of the extraordinary bonds that can mark The Ties between Pupil & Teacher.
In that spirit the professional players this evening are mentoring a young student and have invited him to join them on the platform for this concert.
Richard Sisson (Programme Planner)
Programme
The programme will include:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Serenade in E flat K375
Paul Cott – Five Miniatures
Mátyás Seiber – Serenade for Wind
Karl Nicklas Gustavsson – Duo for two horns
Performers
TBC & TBC (Clarinet)
Paul Cott & TBC (French horn)
Paul Boyes & TBC (bassoon)
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