CantiaQuorum concerts

Excited to be taking part in a series of concerts in Canterbury in the autumn and winter, under the umbrella of CantiaQuorum. CantiaQuorum was recently set up by trumpeter Alex Caldon, and prides itself on electrifying interpretations, audacious programming and world-class performers. It is the resident ensemble at the University of Kent, where the concerts take place in the Colyer-Fergusson Hall. Particularly looking forward to playing Shostakovich’s first piano concerto (for piano, trumpet and strings) in November!

Website redesign

Delighted with the www.libbyburgess.com redesign, by the ever-brilliant Tom King. Have a look at the various new pages, the additional pictures and clips, the more detailed events listings, and enjoy the more up-to-date look.

Bach to Baby

What fun to be part of the new Thames Valley branch of the well-established Bach to Baby concert series. These concerts present high-quality music to pre-school children and their parents, in a relaxed atmosphere – dancing, exploring and crying are definitely part of the package!

Have a look at the photo albums of the Windsor and Henley concerts event here and here.

Four stars in the Telegraph

Complimentary 4* review from the Daily Telegraph for the Lennox Berkeley disc recorded with the Berkeley Ensemble in the autumn. The repertoire includes the atmospheric Sonatine for clarinet and piano, not previously performed since the 1930s!

Geoffrey Norris writes of ‘the high quality of the performances by the Berkeley Ensemble, a malleable group which, like the Nash Ensemble, can adapt itself to different formats and plays as if it were truly inside the music.’ See the full review here.

Sunday Times review of Berkeley Ensemble disc

Paul Driver in The Sunday Times writes, ‘outstanding in the exuberantly performed sequence are the expressive central adagio of the Op 19 String Trio and the 1971 Introduction and Allegro for double bass (Lachlan Radford) and piano (Libby Burgess)’. Here is the full review:

Berkeley Ensemble Sunday Times review

Berkeley Ensemble Sunday Times review

Women conductors

Wonderful to play for Alice Farnham’s brilliant Women Conductors @ Morley College project yesterday – a project which has really stepped up to fill a need, and is doing it inspirationally! A treat to be in Oxford, as ever.

Berkeley Ensemble Chamber Music Course

Another resoundingly successful Chamber Music Course run by the Berkeley Ensemble! Participant numbers have quadrupled in the three years the course has been running, and they continue to rave about it. Wonderful music and hospitality and a lot of laughter! A glorious few days of coaching.

Facebook page

There is now a dedicated Libby Burgess: Pianist Facebook page. Do take a look, and ‘like’ to be kept up-to-date.

Vivienne goes to disc

An exhausting and exhilarating few days recording at Champs Hill with Clare McCaldin (mezzo) and Catriona Scott (clarinet). Clare talks here about the disc:

Madwomen

An insightful write-up here from Clare McCaldin of our recent rehearsal retreat in Somerset, preparing for next week’s recording at Champs Hill. We’ve constructed a programme of madwomen for this disc (ranging from Purcell to Ned Rorem via Wolf and Brahms), taking as our starting point Stephen McNeff’s Vivienne, written for us and premiered last year – see here for more on the piece.