Past events

• Friday 17 November 2023 at 7.30PM

  Five Centuries of Music for St. Cecilia

  Clarion Call and Gallop performed by the Britten Sinfonia

  The Halls, St Andrew's Plain, Norwich, NR3 1AU

  Tenor Guy Cutting joins a large chamber ensemble of Britten Sinfonia players for this wide-ranging and melodious programme featuring Michael Berkeley's Clarion Call and Gallop, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor's large-scale piece and movements from works by other celebrated British composers.

• Thursday 09 November 2023 at 8.00PM

  Recital in memory of Nicholas Snowman OBE

  Notes on the Loss of a Friend performed by Madeleine Mitchell (violin)

  9 passage de la Main d'Or, Paris, 75011

  Concerts à L’Atelier de la Main d’Or. Programme to include Michael Berkeley Notes on the loss of a Friend: In Memoriam Nicholas Snowman, for solo violin, dedicated to Madeleine Mitchell and music by Mozart, Berlioz, Saint-Saëns, Brahms, Messiaen. Performed by Madeleine Mitchell, violin, with Min-jung Kym, piano.

• 

  Monday 30 October 2023 at 1.00PM

  Second Still Life performed by Nicholas Daniel and Huw Watkins

  Second Still Life performed by Nicholas Daniel (oboe) & Huw Watkins (piano)

  Wigmore Hall, 36 Wigmore Street, London, W1U 2BP

  Box office: Wigmore Hall, Tel: 020 7258 8200

  Not merely a prodigious oboist but a musician with a wide and beneficial influence over music in the UK, Nicholas Daniel brings a programme including Michael Berkeley's Second Still Life, other contemporary works and one or two earlier rarities. The concert will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3, and is part of the CAVATINA Chamber Music Trust ticket scheme, offering free tickets to those aged 8-25.

  Photo: Wigmore Hall, London

• Wednesday 11 October 2023 at 7.30PM

  Wednesday Concert Series: Lotte Betts-Dean 'Sonnet & Rhymes'

  A Time of Rapture performed by Lotte Betts-Dean (mezzo-soprano)

  Ludlow Assembly Rooms, Castle Street, Ludlow, SY8 1AZ

  Leading interpreter of chamber music, art song and contemporarty repertoire for voice, Lotte Betts Dean (mezzo soprano) is joined by two extraordinary Welsh musicians – Jâms Coleman (Piano) and Edgar Francis (Viola) – with a beautifully contrasting programme of ‘sonnets and rhymes’. The programme includes 'A Time of Rapture' by Michael Berkeley alongside settings by another contemporary composer, Heloïse Werner, and songs by Brahms, Bliss, and Rubbra.

• Thursday 05 October 2023

  Madeleine Mitchell performs recital at Kansas State University

  Violinist Madeleine Mitchell performs the U.S. premiere of Michael Berkeley's "Notes on the Loss of a Friend: In Memoriam Nicholas Snowman" and three short, recently discovered pieces by Rebecca Clarke in a world premiere performance on Oct. 5th. She also gives a master class for students at 11:30 a.m. in Kirmser Hall. Sponsored by the British Music Society, repertoire performed by the students is by British composers Ethel Barns, Edward Elgar, Rebecca Clarke and Ralph Vaughan Williams.
  
  Further details of these events are available on the Kansas State University website. Please click the link.

• Saturday 30 September 2023 at 10.00PM

  Sanssouci - candle-lit orchestral concert

  Second Still Life & Touch Light

  Holstebro Church, Kirkepladsen 2, 7500, Holstebro, Denmark

  Michael Berkeley's 'Second Still Life' and 'Touch Light' are performed alongside music by J.S. Bach, Pärt, Vasks and Mustonen. Olli Mustonen is this year's festival composer - hear the Danish premiere of his exuberant and life-affirming triple concerto.

• Sunday 27 August 2023 at 7.00PM

  The Magnolia Tree premiere at Presteigne Festival

  The Magnolia Tree

  St. Andrew's Church, Broad Street, Presteigne, Powys, LD8 2AF, Wales

  Box office: Presteigne Festival, Tel: 01544 267800

  The Kegelstatt Trio perform the world premiere of 'The Magnolia Tree' by Michael Berkeley. With Robert Plane (clarinet), Rachel Roberts (viola) and Chris Hopkins (piano).

• Sunday 27 August 2023 at 4.30PM

  Super flumina Babylonis at Presteigne Festival

  Super Flumina Babylonis

  The Priory Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, The Priory, Leominster, HR6 8EQ

  Box office: Presteigne Festival, Tel: 01544 267800

  This motet has a special place in my heart both musically and autobiographically. I was a chorister at Westminster Cathedral where we sang a wonderful setting of Psalm 137 by Palestrina. My piece was specially commissioned for the annual St.Cecilia’s Day concert at the Cathedral on 22 November 2017 when it was memorably premiered by the combined choirs of Westminster Cathedral, Westminster Abbey and St.Paul’s Cathedral. It is dedicated to the memory of John Tavener, a good friend and a pupil of my father, Lennox. The music pays tribute to the harmony in John’s beautiful carol, 'The Lamb’. There is also a high soprano line of the kind I used to relish singing myself.
  
  I have always found the words of the opening stanza of Super Flumina Babylonis deeply affecting - the best starting point for a composition. They inspired the title of the striking 1945 prose-poetry novel, By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept, by the Canadian author Elizabeth Smart (1913–1986), written after her passionate affair with the British poet George Barker (1913–1991).
  
  © 2023 Michael Berkeley
  
  Performed by The Choir of King's College London and Charles Maxtone-Smith (organ).

• Sunday 20 August 2023 at 11.00AM

  Rilke Sonnet and A Time for Rapture at Machynlleth Festival

  A Time of Rapture & Three Rilke Sonnets

  The Tabernacle, Heol Penrallt, Machynlleth, Powys, SY20 8AJ, Wales

  Performances of the 2nd Rilke Sonnet for voice and viola by Brett Dean and Lotte Betts-Dean, and 'A Time of Rapture' for voice and piano by Lotte and Jams Coleman.
  
  Belinda and Julius Drake were generously responsible for the creation of 'A Time for Rapture'. The text, suggested by them, comes from Wordsworth’s 'The Prelude' in which the poet recalls his own personal embrace of nature. At first I struggled to see a way to set these dynamic lines but Schubert gave me the answer in his irresistible conjuring up of journeys on powerful steeds. The song is bookended with a contrastingly introverted phrase from my cycle, 'Speaking Silence', suggesting first the abstract nature of rapture and, finally, the dying sun of evening. 'A Time of Rapture' was premiered at the 2022 West Cork Festival by Lotte Betts-Dean and Julius Drake.
  
  The 2nd Sonnet for viola and mezzo from Three Rilke Sonnets (2010) was first performed by Claire Booth and the Nash Ensemble. I chose Rilke for his elliptical and elusive language, but since even the finest translation cannot really do these lines justice, I opted to set it in the original German. The Sonnets to Orpheus come from one of Rilke's most powerful and impulsively creative periods of writing. There is a theme of intangible loss running through my selection, which moves, in my mind, from childhood to adolescence and then full-blown youth. Perhaps because of recent hearing problems, which have led me to a more economic use of notes, but also because of the nature of the poem, the second (No. II from Part One) is a duet for intertwining soprano and solo viola. An almost girl, half ethereal, invades the memory through, as Rilke puts it, bedding down within the ear.
  
  (c) 2023 Michael Berkeley

• Friday 09 June 2023 at 4.00PM

  Voice & viola recital

  Three Rilke Sonnets performed by Lotte Betts-Dean (mezzo-soprano)

  St. Mary's Church, Arkengarthdale, Richmond, DL11 6EL

  The mezzo-soprano Lotte Betts-Dean makes her third appearance at the Swaledale Festival, duetting with her famous composer father on viola. Their delightful and varied programme includes Michael Berkeley's 'Sonnet for Orpheus' from 'Three Rilke Sonnets', and a new Swaledale Festival commission - a setting by Brett Dean of a poem by Les Murray entitled ‘Performance’. Also on the programme are pieces by Arthur Bliss, Sally Beamish and Ralph Vaughan Williams.

• Sunday 04 June 2023 at 1.30PM

  Elgar Festival Chamber concert

  Torque and Velocity

  Royal Porcelain Works, Severn Street, Worcester, WR1 2NE

  Also on the programme is the String Quartet by Elgar.

• Saturday 03 June 2023 at 7.30PM

  Elgar Festival Concert

  Secret Garden

  Worcester Cathedral, 8 College Yard, Worcester, WR1 2LA

  Performed by the English Symphony Orchestra conducted by Kenneth Woods

• Saturday 03 June 2023 at 1.00PM

  Lunchtime concert at Hay Festival

  Notes on the Loss of a Friend & Veilleuse (Night Watch) performed by Madeleine Mitchell (violin)

  St. Mary's Church, St Mary's Road, Hay-on-Wye, HR3 5EB

  Madeleine Mitchell performs works by Michael Berkeley, Judith Weir, Geoffrey Poole, Rebecca Clarke, Frank Bridge and Bela Bartok at the Hay Festival, Hay-on-Wye, Powys, Wales.

• Friday 02 June 2023 at 7.00PM

  Elgar Festival Concert

  Meditations performed by the English String Orchestra & Kenneth Woods (conductor)

  Worcester Guildhall, High Street, Worcester, WR1 2EY

  Also on the programme are works by Michael Tippett, Elgar, Lennox Berkeley, Ruth Gipps and Britten.

• Friday 02 June 2023 at 4.00PM

  Sonnet for Orpheus at Swaledale Festival

  St. Mary's Church, Arkengarthdale, Richmond, DL11 6EL

  Lotte Betts-Dean (mezzo-soprano) and Brett Dean (viola) perform the 'Sonnet for Orpheus' from 'Three Rilke Sonnets' by Michael Berkeley. Also on the programme is music by Brett Dean, Erin Gee, Paul Hindemith, Giacinto Scelsi and Morton Feldman.

• Friday 02 June 2023 at 12.00PM

  Michael Berkeley in conversation

  The Firs, Crown E Lane, Lower Broadheath, Upper Broadheath, Worcester, WR2 6RH

  Composer, broadcaster and the only professional musician serving in the House of Lords, Michael Berkeley discusses his life in music, his advocacy for human rights and the arts, and his connections with the great composers of the last 50 years.

• Thursday 01 June 2023 at 6.30PM

  Elgar Festival: English Symphony Orchestra Concert

  The Vision of Piers Plowman

  Great Malvern Priory, Church Street, Malvern, WR14 2AY

  In a pre-concert chat, poet Peter Sutton talks about the story of Piers Ploughman and reads excerpts from his acclaimed translation of the work ahead of the ESO’s performance of Michael Berkeley’s Visions of Piers Ploughman. In the concert starting at 7.30pm, there will also be works by Elgar, Ian Venables and William Grant Still. Performed by the English Symphony Orchestra conducted by Kenneth Woods and Stephen Shellard.

• Wednesday 31 May 2023 at 10.30AM

  Elgar Festival: Conducting Masterclass

  Meditations

  Elgar School of Music, 16-20 Deansway, Worcester, WR1 2ES

  Free and open to the public. Music includes 'Meditations' by Michael Berkeley, "The Firs - Elgar’s Birthplace" and 'Introduction and Allegro' by Elgar. A second session follows from 14:30 to 17:30.

• Tuesday 30 May 2023 at 10.30AM

  Elgar Festival: Conducting Masterclass

  Meditations

  Elgar School of Music, 16-20 Deansway, Worcester, WR1 2ES

  Free and open to the public. Music includes 'Meditations' by Michael Berkeley, and 'Introduction and Allegro' by Elgar. A second session follows from 14:30 to 17:30.

• Sunday 28 May 2023 at 11.00AM

  Discussion: 'The challenges of composition' at Ludlow piano festival

  Ludlow Assembly Rooms, Castle Street, Ludlow, SY8 1AZ

  BBC Radio 3’s Ian Skelly talks to Michael Berkeley and other figures about life as a composer. Questions on the agenda include:
  * Where does compositional inspiration come from?
  * What advice would you give to aspiring young composers?
  * What is unique about composing for the piano?
  * Do we need help to appreciate contemporary works?
  The duration of the talk is 1 hour 15 minutes.

• Saturday 20 May 2023 at 7.30PM

  Released by Love premiere at birthday concert

  Released from Love

  St. John-at-Hampstead, Church Row, London, NW3 6UU

  A celebration of the 75th birthday of Michael Berkeley CBE, the 120th anniversary of the birth of his father Lennox Berkeley, and the 400th anniversary of the death of William Byrd. Features the premiere performance of a new work by Michael Berkeley, 'Released by Love', and a Q&A with the composer led by Petroc Trelawny. Performed by the The London Festival of Contemporary Church Music Singers, Joshua Ryan (organ) and Geofrey Webber (direction).

• Saturday 08 April 2023 at 7.30PM

  'Haiku 2: Insects' premiere: 'poetry and animal magic'

  Haiku 2: Insects performed by Mahan Esfahani (harpsichord)

  Britten Studio, Snape Maltings, Snape, Suffolk, IP17 1SP

  Soprano, oboist and harpsichordist Anna Dennis delighted in a varied recital from velvety Bach arias to new insect-inspired sketches by Michael Berkeley, and an emotional Elena Langer song cycle.
  
  'Haiku 2: Insects' is a Britten Pears Arts commission, written for Mahan Esfahani. It is a work that naturally follows on from Berkeley's birds-inspired Haiku for piano. Also on the programme was Michael's 'Snake', and works by Handel, Bach, Elena Langer and Sven-Ingo Koch, performed by Nicholas Daniel, Anna Dennis and Mahan Esfahani.

• Sunday 02 April 2023 at 12.00PM

  'Notes on the Loss of a Friend' at St. John's

  Notes on the Loss of a Friend performed by Madeleine Mitchell (violin)

  St. John's Smith Square, London, SW1P 3HA

  A second performance of Michael's new piece, 'Notes on the Loss of a Friend', in memory of Nicholas Snowman. Performed by Madeleine Mitchell (violin).

• 

  Friday 31 March 2023 at 6.15PM

  First performance of 'Notes on the Loss of a Friend'

  Notes on the Loss of a Friend performed by Madeleine Mitchell (violin)

  Michael has written a new short piece, 'Notes on the Loss of a Friend', in memory of Nicholas Snowman. It will be performed by Madeleine Mitchell on BBC Radio 3's 'In Tune' around 6.15pm on 31st March. Madeleine performs the piece again at St. John's Smith Square on 2 April, and at the Hay Festival on June 3.

• Thursday 23 March 2023 at 1.05PM

  Abstract Mirror performance by City Music Society

  Abstract Mirror

  St. Bartholomew the Great, W Smithfield, Barbican, London, EC1A 9DS

  Michael Berkeley is the new Vice President of the City Music Society. To mark his 75th birthday, the Zephyr Quartet with William Clark-Maxwell as second cellist perform Abstract Mirror, commissioned by the society in 2004. Michael will introduce his work and the concert will be completed by the most popular quintet of Luigi Boccherini, containing his famous third-movement Minuet.