Roman River Spring Concerts, 2025
Roman River Spring Concerts, 2025
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Thursday 22 May, 7.30pm The Minories
Sonatas for Clarinet & Piano
Jonathan Leibovitz clarinet
Joseph Havlat piano
Claude Debussy Première Rhapsodie, L. 116 (1909-10)
Mantovani Bug
Francis Poulenc Sonate pour clarinette et piano, FP. 184 (1962)
Interval
Clara Schumann: Three romances op. 22 (10mins)
Johannes Brahms Clarinet Sonata in E-flat, Op. 120 No. 2 (1894)
Jonathan Leibovitz is an award-winning clarinettist and, over the past two seasons, has been announced as a prize-winner at the Young Classical Artists Trust and Concert Artists Guild International Auditions, a 2022 Classic FM ‘Rising Star’, a winner of the prestigious Arthur Waser Foundation and Lucerne Symphony Orchestra Award, and was announced as a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship Artist 2024.
As well as recitals across Europe - including at the Alte Oper Frankfurt, Konzerthaus Berlin, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, and Wigmore Hall - Jonathan's debut album Eastern Reflections was released in August on Delphian Records.
His accompanist (both in the recording and in this programme) is pianist Joseph Havlat. Joseph is a pianist, composer, and leading interpreter of new music, having collaborated with such composers as Hans Abrahamsen, John Adams, Thomas Adès, Gerald Barry, Brett Dean, Sir Harrison Birtwistle, Michael Finnissy, and Thomas Larcher. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music, where he is now a tutor.
Recent highlights include playing Adès’ In Seven Days with the LSO under the baton of the composer, as well as the premiere of his Növények at Wigmore Hall. In late 2021 he appeared with the BBC Philharmonic giving the premiere of Robert Laidlow’s piano concerto Warp, broadcast on BBC Radio 3, and in 2023 he made his solo recital debuts at King’s Place and Wigmore Hall in London, where he appeared five times in last year's season.
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Bonus spotlight performance
Anonymous Tre Fontane: Italian Medieval Dance (arr. Marzban)
Isang Yun Der Affenspieler
Paul Leenhouts Big Baboon
We are delighted to be offering a young artist spotlight performance to recorder player Hassan Marzban, who is currently studying at the Junior Royal Academy of Music. Winner of the First Prize at the North London Festival of Music, the Croydon Performing Arts Festival Concerto Prize, the Royal Academy of Music Senior Woodwind Prize, and Woodwind finalist of the Gregynog Young Musician Competition, Hassan is dedicated to showcasing the recorder as a compelling solo instrument, demonstrating its depth and versatility in both historical and contemporary contexts.
He already has extensive experience as both a soloist and ensemble performer. His concerto debut took place in January 2024 with the London Mozart Players, and he has since performed concertos with the Academy Baroque players and the Chiswick chamber orchestra. Other notable engagements include his collaboration with the English National Opera in their production of Noye’s Fludde and a recent solo recital at the London International Festival of Early Music. Hassan will be accompanied by Matthew Gearing on percussion.
The very pleasant Commons Cafe at The Minories will stay open until 7pm for our audience. To pre-book a delicious meal, see details below.
Take a look at Jonathan and Joseph performing Brahms' Clarinet Sonata at Wigmore Hall.
This concert is supported by YCAT (Young Classical Artists Trust)
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Details
The doors will open at 7 pm and drinks will be available before the concert begins at 7.30pm as well as in the interval.
Front row tickets are available, and under 21s come for just £10 to any concert.
Disabled access
The Minories is only partly wheelchair accessible. Step-free access is available via the back gate, which is opposite the entrance to Firstsite Art Gallery. If you need any further advice in advance, or to arrange for a parking space, please contact info@theminories.org
The Old Library has disabled access at the rear of the building. Please ask for a member of staff upon arrival and someone will come and assist you.
The Commons Café
The Commons Cafe at The Minories will stay open until 7pm especially for members of our audience on both Friday 28th March and Thursday 22nd May, serving a choice of two seasonal dishes inspired by local, organic produce sourced from Bennison Farm CSA as well as other local farms & growers. We suggest booking a meal for 6.15pm to allow time.
Pre-booking required: please e-mail commongroundcolchester@gmail.com
- Caribbean Curry with Organic Rice & Spelt Chapati: seasonal vegetable curry in a mild Caribbean coconut sauce (Ve) - £14
- The Commons Seasonal Bowl: a selection of roasted seasonal vegetables, organic quinoa & beans, house-made hummus, seasonal salad & pickles served on a socca pancake (GF Ve) - £11
A selection of cakes & baked goods, as well as organic barista coffee, herbal tea, soft drinks & alcohol will also available until 7pm when the cafe will close.
How to get there
The Minories and The Old Library are both a 25-minute walk from Colchester mainline train station. Lots of buses go along Colchester High Street, a few yards away.
While The Minories has no on-site parking other than for disabled visitors, there are a number of other car parks in Colchester town centre. The closest car parks are on Priory Street and Greyfriars via Roman Road/Castle Road. We do not advise you to use All Saints House carpark (off Roman Road) because it is full of potholes, very small, and closes early. Greyfriars carpark is cash only, so bring change. If you forget, go to Greyfriars Hotel reception desk where they are happy to help.
At The Old Library, there is free parking for ticket-holders behind the venue in the carpark on St Runwald Street. There is no vehicular access via the High Street, so approach via St Peter's Street and Short Cut Road.
Please do travel by foot or public transport where possible, and if you can offer a lift to someone else and cut down on car journeys, please let us know. Thank you.
We look forward to seeing you at the concerts.
Jessie, Max and the Wild Arts / Roman River team
PAST CONCERTS
Friday 28 March
CONCERT I - Beauty and the Bass: Dvořák, Rossini, and Mendelssohn [SOLD OUT]
Friday 28 March, 7.30pm
The Girling Room, The Minories, Colchester, CO1 1UE
The Bloomsbury Players return to Roman River's Spring Concerts with a programme showcasing Dvořák's double bass quintet, performed on gut strings and in its original 5-movement version (including the extraordinary Intermezzo).
They pair this with Rossini's first Sonata a quattro, composed when he was just twelve years old, and Fanny Mendelssohn's rhapsodic and poignant String Quartet in E-flat - her only mature work for that ensemble.
Programme
Gioachino Rossini Sonata a quattro No. 1 in G major (1804/26)
Fanny Mendelssohn String Quartet in E-flat major (1834)
(Interval)
Antonín Dvořák String Quartet in G major, op.77 (1875) - including Dvořák's famous Intermezzo
Duration: approx. 1 hr 45 mins (including a 20-minute interval)
Sijie Chen and Will McGahon violin | Hannah Shaw viola | Orlando Jopling cello | Alexander Jones double bass
The Hayletts Gallery exhibition of Contemporary and Modern British Original Prints - by such artists as Mary Fedden, Ben Nicholson, and Eric Ravilious - in The Minories Ballroom will remain open until 7pm especially for ticket holders to our concert. Entry is free.
The walls of The Girling Room will be hung with the pictures on offer at Everything is Art: A fundraising silent auction for the Minories. If anything catches your eye, bidding can be made in person and via email between 10am 27th March 2025 and 5pm 25th April 2025. For more information: Art Auction at The Minories: Featuring Maggi Hambling & More | The Minories
The Commons Cafe at The Minories will also stay open until 7pm for our audience. To pre-book a delicious meal, see details below.
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Wednesday 23 April
CONCERT II - Bach's Goldberg Variations (Nathaniel Mander) [SOLD OUT]
Nathaniel Mander harpsichord
J. S. Bach Goldberg Variations, BWV 988 (1741)
Duration: approx. 1 hr 40 mins (including a 20-minute interval)
Nathaniel Mander is a harpsichordist known for his expressive, elegant and virtuosic style; his performances as recitalist and continuo player have taken him across the world. He trained at the Royal Academy of Music with Carole Cerasi and is recognised as one of the leading keyboard artists of his generation.
As solo recitalist Nathaniel has performed internationally a wide ranging repertoire from the Elizabethan Virginalists, through the sonatas of Mozart and Haydn, and right up to the music of Chopin and Schubert on fortepiano. His 2022 recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations received brilliant reviews across the board, and he was awarded the highest accolade by Dutch specialist classical music magazine, Luister.
Sneak a glimpse of Nathaniel performing the work at St.Martin's Church, Barcheston.
Location
The Minories, CO1 1UE