John Gilhooly, Director of Wigmore Hall, announced that the Nash Ensemble - widely regarded as one of Europe's pre-eminent chamber ensembles - was to become the Hall's chamber ensemble in residence from September 2010.
John Gilhooly said:
"The Nash has built up a remarkable reputation as one of the finest and most adventurous of British ensembles, and through the dedication and vision of its Founder and Artistic Director Amelia Freedman, and the outstanding quality and commitment of its players, the Ensemble has gained a reputation worldwide. The residency at Wigmore Hall recognises our important relationship with the group in the past, and through the years ahead."
Amelia Freedman said:
"The Nash Ensemble's longstanding relationship with Wigmore Hall has been central to the group's success over the years. I am delighted that this relationship has been recognised with an official residency, at one of the most prestigious and beloved venues in the world, which has been for years our unofficial London home."
The Romantic period in German and Austrian music is usually defined as the later nineteenth century. But the formal freedom of Romanticism, its love of nature, its indebtedness to literature, and above all its emphasis on intense self-expression, are prefigured in the Viennese classical period; and echoes of Romanticism resound throughout the first half of the twentieth century. In its 2011/12 series, the Nash Ensemble, Wigmore Hall's acclaimed chamber ensemble in residence, traces the Romantic spirit from Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert by way of Mendelssohn, Schumann and Brahms to Schoenberg and Richard Strauss. And leading singers join the Ensemble in song cycles by Mahler, to mark the centenary of his death.
In addition, on 13 March 2012 the Nash Ensemble presents its annual selection of 'Nash Inventions', works written for the Ensemble by a roll-call of Britain's leading composers. There are revivals of recent successes: Mark-Anthony Turnage's 'Returning', dedicated to his parents on their 50th wedding anniversary; Alexander Goehr's Clarinet Quintet, inspired by Renaissance polyphony; Peter Maxwell Davies's 'The Last Island', an atmospheric evocation of a small island in the Orkneys; and Colin Matthews's 'The Island', a setting of Rilke's poem 'The Island in the North Sea' written especially for the Nash and the outstanding soprano Claire Booth. These will be joined by septets newly commissioned from two senior figures of the highest international standing, Jonathan Harvey and Harrison Birtwistle.
25 September 2011
Instrumentation: piano, clarinet, 2 violins, 2 violas, cello
11.30pm:
Mahler: Piano Quartet movement
Bruch: String Quintet
Brahms: Clarinet Quintet in B minor
15 October 2011
Instrumentation: mezzo, flute, oboe, clarinet, horn, piano, harmonium, string quartet & double bass
7.30pm:
Mozart: Piano Quartet in G minor
Zemlinsky: Two Maeterlink Songs (arr. Stein)
Bruckner: Adagio from String Quintet in F
Mahler: Kindertotenlieder (arr. de Leuw)
with Bernarda Fink (mezzo-soprano), Martyn Brabbins (conductor)
19 November 2011
Instrumentation: mezzo, flute, clarinet, piano, harmonium, string quartet & double bass
6.00pm:
Clara Schumann: Romance for violin & piano
Robert Schumann: Fantasy Pieces for clarinet & piano
Fanny Mendelssohn: Movements from Piano Trio Op.11
7.30pm:
Schubert: Quartetsatz
Webern: Piano Quintet in C (1906)
Mahler: Songs of a Wayfarer
Mahler: Songs from Das Knaben Wunderhorn
Brahms: Piano Quartet in C minor Op.60
with Wolfgang Holzmair (baritone)
10 December 2011
Instrumentation: string sextet
7.30pm:
Mendelssohn: Two Pieces from Op.81 for string quartet
Schoenberg: Verklarte Nacht
Schubert: String Quintet in C, D 956
14 January 2012
Instrumentation: mezzo, piano, flute, oboe, 2 clarinets, bassoon, horn, harp, percussion, string quartet & double bass
7.30pm:
Beethoven: Piano Quintet in E flat K452
Mahler: Ruckert Lieder (arr. D Matthews)
Schubert: Octet in F, D 803
with: Alice Coote (mezzo-soprano), Martyn Brabbins (conductor)
22 January 2012
Instrumentation: piano, clarinet, basset horn, bassoon, horn, violin
11.30pm:
Mozart: Serenade in C minor arr. Rechtmann for wind quintet
Mendelssohn: Konzertstucke in D minor Op.114
Brahms: Horn Trio in E flat Op.40
11 February 2012
Instrumentation: piano, flute, oboe, 2 clarinets, bassoon, 2 horns, harmonium, harp, 2 violins, 2 violas, 2 cellos, double bass
7.30pm:
Wagner: Siegfried Idyll
Mozart: String Quintet in C, K515
R Strauss: Prelude to Capriccio
R Strauss: Final Scene from Capriccio (are. D Matthews)
with Felicity Lott (soprano), Paul Watkins (conductor)
3 March 2012
Instrumentation: piano, harmonium, clarinet, string quartet & double bass
6.00pm:
Schubert: String Trio in B flat D471
Berg: Adagio for clarinet, violin & piano
Zemlinsky: Andante and Allegro fro Clarinet Trio Op.3
7.30pm:
Schumann: Fairy Tales Op.132
Korngold: Piano Quintet in E minor Op.15
Johann Strauss: Treasure Waltz (piano, harmonium & string quartet)
Schubert: Piano Quintet in A, D667 'Trout'
13 March 2012
6.00pm:
Composers in Focus: Anthony Burton in conversation with composers of the evening concert
7.30pm:
Nash Inventions
Instrumentation: soprano, piano, flute, clarinet, horn, 2 violins, 2 violas, 2 cellos, harp
Alexander Goehr: Clarinet Quintet
Jonathan Harvey: Song Offerings
Harrison Birtwistle: Fantasia on all the Notes - new work for flute, clarinet, string quartet & harp
Peter Maxwell Davies: The Last Island for string sextet
Colin Matthews: The Island for soprano, piano, flute, horn, violin, viola, cello & harp
with Claire Booth (soprano), Lionel Friend (conductor)