International Classical Concert Series
Vinehall International Classical Concerts 36th Season 2024 - 2025
June 2024
I have great pleasure in announcing details of the 36th Season of concerts at Vinehall. With musicians from France, Portugal, Hungary and many more, this year’s concert will maintain its international approach with the added attraction of some of our finest home-grown musicians!
We welcome for their first visit the acclaimed Modigliani Quartet from France, the outstanding young Portuguese violinist Cristian Grajner De Sa and the acclaimed Hungarian pianist Denes Varjon. The Meliora Collective will maintain our determination to encourage the most talented of young musicians. The outstanding clarinettist, Michael Collins, will return, along with his newly formed Wigmore Soloists. The London Brandenburg Ensemble, led by Jane Gordon, will make their third visit to Vinehall to end what will surely be a wonderful season of music-making.
The 36th Season begins on Sunday 6th October at 3.00 p.m. with CRISTIAN GRAJNER DE SA (Violin) and the distinguished British pianist, JOHN LENEHAN. We will hear works by Brahms, Bloch, Debussy and Strauss. Cristian has attracted great critical attention, and Tasmin Little CBE describes him as "... one of the most exciting young violinists to emerge on to the concert platform... a highly dynamic player, a deep thinker, and his performances vibrant".
On Sunday 10th November at 3.00 p.m. we welcome the MODIGLIANI STRING QUARTET. They are one of the outstanding quartets from France. Their many recordings have been critically acclaimed. The programme of works by Mozart, Turina, Ravel and Beethoven, should be quite an experience. “This French ensemble is beautifully modulated, in the sense that every player has equal presence and voice, expressed with dashing fervour in Dohnányi (Quartet No 3) and gossamer brilliance in Ravel's quartet.” The Guardian
On Sunday 8th December, we welcome three outstanding musicians, Joseph Wolfe Violin), Daniel Grimwood (piano) and Jonathan Ayling (Cello) who make up the piano trio TIER3. All three have busy solo careers and Joseph is also a conductor. They will perform works by Mozart, Novák, Haydn, and the passionate late Romantic Arensky Trio.
On Sunday 9th February, at 3.00 p.m. the acclaimed pianist DÉNES VÁRJON will make his debut at Vinehall. He is widely known both as a soloist and chamber musician. His programme will include works by Brahms, Liszt and Bartok (all of course perfect for a Hungarian pianist) and then the second half devoted to a selection of works by Chopin. “His interpretations of oft-programmed pieces on this occasion were elegant, passionate and always technically impressive, his compelling artistry superior to some of the starrier pianists who perform regularly on the main stage of Carnegie Hall.” New York Times.
On Sunday 16th March at 3.00 p.m. we welcome back one of the most distinguished clarinettists in the world, Michael Collins, who will be joined by an all-star line-up of musicians who now perform together as the WIGMORE SOLOISTS. Michael will take the lead in the ever-popular Mozart Clarinet Quintet and then the wonderful quintet by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor. The leading horn player Alberto Menéndez Escribano will perform Mozart’s Horn Quintet and Sinigaglia’s Romanze for Horn and Strings, Op 3. This will be an unmissable musical event.
On Saturday 10th May at 7.00 p.m., we are delighted to welcome the young chamber ensemble the MELIORA COLLECTIVE. They have been delighting audiences around the country with their varied programmes and we will hear them perform Schubert’s delightful and much-loved Octet. Before the interval they will perform Berwald’s Grand Septet in B flat which the Swedish composer wrote in 1828, the same year as Schubert’s death. 'The Meliora Collective is a freshly minted, flexible ensemble of young players.' 'A welcome burst of sunshine' The Guardian
The final concert of the season will be on Sunday 8th June at 7.00 p.m. when we welcome back LONDON BRANDENBURG ENSEMBLE led by the violinist JANE GORDON. Purcell, Telemann and Bach feature in the first half, including Bach’s wonderful Double Violin Concerto. After the interval we hear two works by Mendelssohn; the Capriccioso Op.81 No. 3 and the String Symphony No. 12 in G minor.
‘Jane Gordon brings not only a ravishing tone and depth of timbre but a real sense of musical line to everything she plays’ The Independent
Let’s hope the weather will match the sunny mood, so we can enjoy picnicking in the grounds beforehand and meet for complimentary Pimm’s at 6.00 p.m.
The standard price of £28 (including refreshments) is for all individual concerts, but please consider the much cheaper season ticket. This offers a massive saving and works out at an extremely reasonable £19.28 per concert. The ticket price for children and students remains at only £10 as it is so important to encourage the next generation of music lovers. We are very proud to attract such distinguished artists down to this part of Sussex and are enormously grateful to our sponsors, without whom the ticket prices would have to rise substantially.
I very much look forward to welcoming you to the Thirty-Sixth Season at Vinehall and hope that you find our programme to be of interest to you and your friends. If you would like tickets, then please follow the instructions below. We do, of course, take bookings by post, telephone and email throughout the season.
With best wishes,
Geoffrey Whitehead
A.G. Whitehead
Vinehall International Classical Concert Series
HOW TO BOOK
Bookings are made on Trybooking.com which is an on-line booking service requiring a debit or credit card. However, you can still have a hard copy of the leaflet, should you request one.
Please EITHER complete the hard copy booking form and return it by post with a cheque (details on the leaflet)
OR preferably follow this link: https://www.trybooking.com/uk/DNGG
ONLINE BOOKINGS OPEN ON WEDNESDAY 24 JULY 2024
After two weeks from the start of bookings the applications will be processed. After this you will then get an email from me with your ticket numbers for all the concerts you have booked.
If you experience difficulties then please email me on geoffreywhitehead@vinehallschool.com and I will endeavour to ensure that your booking is processed.
Please note: if you book a season ticket you will still need to enter all seven concerts on the list. It doesn’t do it for you! This occurs because the system adds up the number of tickets sold and works out when we are sold out.
If a concert is sold out but you are seeking a season ticket, then you should book individual tickets for the ones available and send a note to me, so I know to put you on the waiting list for the other concerts which were full. If by the end of the season you have managed to come to all seven, you won’t be charged more than the season ticket price!
There is a waiting list option available and also a section for requests and other comments.