Elgar’s Enigma Variations describe ‘the friends pictured within’, brought to musical life through foibles, fancies and frolics. Before it we’ll hear Dorothy Howell’s Lamia, itself the description of an ill-fated love.

Chetham’s Symphony Orchestra

Stoller Hall, Manchester

EPSG:4326

Monday Lunchtimes 2026

Royal Northern College of Music

A passionate Sonatenabend (or “Evening of Sonatas”) with pieces by Bowen, Faure, and Rachmaninoff.

Sonatabend: Romance at the Bay

Pacific Maritime Heritage Center

Ray Zhang, viola

Northwestern Bienen School of Music

Jack Moeser, horn

Emad Zolfaghari, viola

Curtis Institute of Music

What happens when the three composers York Bowen, Benjamin Britten, and Samuel Coleridge-Taylor are all featured in one concert? That’s right: a distinctly British program extending from late Romanticism to Modernism. Bowen, who often composed for the horn, creates a rather unusual combination in his Quintet, in which the horn, with its elegiac tone, is supported by four string instruments. In Coleridge-Taylor’s work, the clarinet engages in a subtle, witty dialogue with the string instruments. And Britten made arguably the most significant British contributions to the string quartet genre; nevertheless, his First String Quartet is rarely heard nowadays – making it a notable work on this evening’s programme.

Chamber Concert “The golden age of English music”

Evangelische Akademie Tutzing

Munich Residence

Heejo Yang – DMA Recital

Hamel Music Center

When 57-year-old Brahms penned his Second String Quintet, he truly believed that his best work was behind him. His biographer Walter Niemann later disagreed, calling it “the most passionate, the freshest, and the most deeply inspired by nature” of Brahms’ entire catalog.

Brahms Strings

Walt Disney Concert Hall

The unique timbre of the viola—rich, dark, and soulful—has made it the instrument of choice for composers seeking to add even more luscious beauty to chamber ensembles. CMS proudly offers a one-of-a-kind program that includes a pair of violas in every work: from Vaughan Williams’s haunting Phantasy Quintet, to violist-composer Brett Dean’s poignant lament, to Mozart’s joyful and uplifting C-major Quintet, one of six he composed that truly put the viola quintet on the chamber music map.

Beethoven, Mozart, and Vaughan Williams

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts

Viola Celebration: The unique timbre of the viola — rich, dark, and soulful — has made it the instrument of choice for composers seeking to add even more luscious beauty to chamber ensembles.

Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center

California Institute of Technology

CMS Lincoln Center

Between Wednesday 13 – Saturday 23 August, Chetham’s International Piano Summer School brings world class and legendary musicians to a vibrant, supportive community in central Manchester. Alongside lectures, open lessons and opportunities to develop new skills, you can discover a daily programme of recitals from world-class performers.

Chetham’s International Piano Summer School 2025 – Day Five

The Stoller Hall

viola

Hall 1 / Tabakquartier

Antoine Tamestit, violist and Artist in Residence 2024/25 of the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, will play a special chamber concert in the Recital Hall of the Elbphilharmonie on June 1. He will interpret works by Bach, Brahms and Waksman, among others.

Chamber music with Antoine Tamestit in the Elbphilharmonie

Elbphilharmonie Hamburg

Around 5

Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz

Antoine Tamestit, violist and Artist in Residence 2024/25 of the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, will play a special chamber concert in the Elbphilharmonie’s Recital Hall on 1 June.

NDR Chamber Concert with Antoine Tamestit

Chamber Concert

Evangelische Akademie

Small ensembles of Minnesota Orchestra musicians perform chamber music on the Orchestra Hall stage. Pianist Behzod Abduraimov joins our musicians to perform Antonín Dvořák’s Trio No. 4 for Violin, Cello and Piano, Dumky. Plus, you’ll hear Igor Stravinsky’s The Soldier’s Tale and York Bowen’s Fantasia for Four Violas.

Chamber Music in the Hall With Behzod Abduraimov

Orchestra Hall

Chamber Music In The Hall 2

Minnesota Orchestra

Eleanor Hammersly, viola - First Year Master's Recital

San Francisco Conservatory of Music

David Pipe concludes the season with York Bowen’s dramatic Fantasia preceding the Welsh composer Rhian Samuel’s meditative The Tender Branch. Bach’s monumental Fantasia & Fugue in G minor is followed by another monument of the repertoire: Reubke’s Sonata on the 94th Psalm.

David Pipe: Organ Finale

Huddersfield Town Hall

David Pipe concludes the season with York Bowen’s dramatic Fantasia preceding the Welsh composer Rhian Samuel’s meditative The Tender Branch.

David Pipe: Organ Season Finale

The composer York Bowen grew up in the London suburb of Crouch Hill, where his father ran the renowned whiskey distillery "Bowen & McKechnie". After graduating from the Royal Academy of Music, he conquered the concert halls as a piano virtuoso. But Bowen also played the viola and horn. In 1956 he composed a horn concerto whose beguiling beauty evokes a longing for bygone eras.

Poetry & Dance

Zeughaus Neuss

In pursuit of their degrees at SFCM, each student presents a recital that represents their artistry and craft. Student Recitals feature repertoire curated by students with guidance from their faculty instructor.

Haley Hoffman, oboe - Professional Studies Certificate Recital

Bebe Wagner, horn - First Year Master's Recital

Camerata Pacifica artists are representative of the world’s finest, bringing to our stage their highly individual personalities for dynamic performances of music that span the huge, eclectic range of the chamber music repertoire 

Camerata Pacifica Presents: Saint-Saëns, Nourbakhsh, Bowen, Grime, and Lee

November concert 2024

Colburn School

The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens

Music Academy of the West

City of Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza

Ivo-Jan van der Werff & Friends

Alice Pratt Brown Hall

This recital is given in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Music. Camille Cole is a student of Ivo-Jan van der Werff. 

Camille Cole, Viola

Viola students of James Dunham

### Viva Viola - Auckland Philharmonia

**Date and Time:**
- Monday, 7th October 2024, 18:30
- Additional date: Tuesday, 8th October 2024, 18:30

**Venue:**
- St Luke’s Church, Remuera

**Event Description:**
Join the Auckland Philharmonia for an enchanting evening dedicated to the viola, featuring the talented Julie Park, Associate Principal Viola. The concert, titled "Viva Viola," will showcase a selection of delightful chamber works that highlight the beauty and versatility of the viola.

**Program:**
- **Beethoven:** Duet with Two Obligato Eyeglasses
- **Dohnányi:** Serenade
- **Bowen:** Fantasia for Four Violas

The concert will open with Beethoven's whimsical "Duet with Two Obligato Eyeglasses," a piece humorously named because both original performers needed spectacles to read the music. This will be followed by Ernst von Dohnányi's Serenade, a work that, despite its brilliance, remains unfairly overlooked. The evening will conclude with York Bowen's Fantasia for Four Violas, a piece that reflects Bowen's Romantic style, which was somewhat out of place in his own time.

**Special Notes:**
- The music for this concert has been supported by Robert Clark.
- Save at least 10% off public ticket prices with AKL PHIL when you book four tickets to one or more concerts.

**Featuring Artist:**
- **Julie Park:** Associate Principal Viola

**Additional Information:**
- Directions & Parking: Available on the event website.
- FAQs and first-time visitor information: Available on the event website.

**Tickets:**
- Book now to save at least 10% off public ticket prices and avoid booking fees. Note that some concerts are not available via Ticketmaster.

**Contact:**
- For more information and advice, visit the Auckland Philharmonia website.

Don't miss this opportunity to experience the rich, warm tones of the viola in a program that promises to be both delightful and memorable. Book your tickets now and immerse yourself in an evening of exquisite music.

Viva Viola

Presbyterian Church St Lukes

All Saints Anglican Church

Student Recital: Ariana Blevins

Schenley Farms Historic District

Kylie Baird, Viola – Senior Recital

University of Arizona

Student Recital: Billy Holtz

Carnegie Mellon University

Students of the Freshman Class

Yi Ding, piano

Mary B. Galvin Recital Hall

Marcus Stevenson, Viola

The Juilliard School

Kate Wegener, Oboe

Departmental Recitals showcase performance departments through its students. Featuring various students and repertoire, and curated by the faculty, performances in this recital highlight SFCM programs and the wide range of study. 

Viola Department Recital

PC Division Recital

Colton Slaven (B.M. '23) presents a viola recital.

Student Recital: Colton Slaven, Viola

Boston Conservatory at Berklee

Curtis Institute of Music students perform over 100 free recitals during the semester, held on most Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evenings. Admission requires advance registration and is complimentary.

Viola, Trumpet, and Bass

Harpsichord, Horn, Viola, and Piano

Curtis Institute of Music students perform over 100 free recitals during the semester, held on most Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evenings, beginning with this exhilarating first performance featuring oboe, viola, and piano.

Oboe, Viola, and Piano

Join the Annapolis Chamber Players in welcoming summer with classical and lesser-known chamber music gems for winds and strings. Celebrating Beethoven’s 250’s birthday with his rousing Sextet for 2 Horns and String Quartet in E flat, Op.81b. Filling out the program with English composer, York Bowen’s hauntingly beautiful Phantasy Quintet, Op.93 for Bass Clarinet and String Quartet and Fanny (Mendelssohn) Hensel’s imaginative and sensitve String Quartet in E-flat major.

Summer Serenades

Charles Carroll House

The first half of the last century saw a remarkable flowering of new music for viola, inspired in part by the influence of the great violist Lionel Tertis, in part by composer-performers such as Cecil Forsyth and Paul Hindemith. The Passacaglia from the latter’s expressionist Sonata for solo viola Op. 11 No. 5 provides a powerful contrast to the gentle lyricism and sparky energy of York Bowen’s two Duos and radiant beauty of his Romance in A. Timothy Ridout includes the rhapsodic eloquence of Forsyth’s Chanson Celtique and the Lament that Frank Bridge first performed at Wigmore Hall with Tertis in 1912.

Timothy Ridout viola; Hélène Clément viola; Ting-Ru Lai viola; Matthew Lipman viola; Georgy Kovalev viola; James Baillieu piano

Wigmore Hall

Timothy Ridout crowns his Viola Day with a programme that celebrates the versatility of his instrument and the breadth of its repertoire. The programme includes York Bowen’s rarely performed Fantasie Quartet, a tour de force for four violas, and a brace of miniatures by Frank Bridge, first published in 1908 in a Viola Library volume edited by Lionel Tertis, then professor of viola at the Royal Academy of Music in London and already a star soloist. The concert ends with Benjamin Dale’s noble Introduction and Andante for six violas, written for Tertis and his RAM class.

Timothy Ridout viola; Hélène Clément viola; Ting-Ru Lai viola; Matthew Lipman viola; Eivind Ringstad viola; Georgy Kovalev viola; James Baillieu piano

Hong Kong Sinfonietta’s acclaimed free lunchtime concert series returns in the new 2026/2027season. In addition to performances at the Hong Kong City Hall, the series is also extending its reach to the Yuen Long Theatre, inviting more audiences to relax and enjoy a refreshing lunch break with chamber music. (No food or beverages are allowed)

Good Music This Lunch 2027

Yuen Long Theatre

From Brahms’s melancholic late works to Bowen’s shifting palette of moods, this programme offers a deep dive into late-Romantic colour across two ensembles. It first traces the lyrical world of Brahms through string quartet arrangements. The bass clarinet then joins for Bowen’s quintet, revealing the instrument’s expressive range through flowing melodic lines, before the concert finally comes to rest in Brahms’s autumnal Clarinet Quintet.

York Bowen

Events

Upcoming events

Oct 12 - Dec 14, 2026

Monday Lunchtimes 2026 · Royal Northern College of Music

Nov 14, 2026

Timothy Ridout viola; Hélène Clément viola; Ting-Ru Lai viola; Matthew Lipman viola; Georgy Kovalev viola; James Baillieu piano · Wigmore Hall

Nov 14, 2026

Timothy Ridout viola; Hélène Clément viola; Ting-Ru Lai viola; Matthew Lipman viola; Eivind Ringstad viola; Georgy Kovalev viola; James Baillieu piano · Wigmore Hall

Mar 3, 2027

Good Music This Lunch 2027 · Hong Kong Sinfonietta

May 3, 2027

HK Phil × Tai Kwun: Chamber Music Series: Salute to Brahms – Nostalgia and Poise · Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

Past events

Oct 23, 2026

Chetham’s Symphony Orchestra · The Stoller Hall

Oct 12 - Dec 14, 2026

Monday Lunchtimes 2026 · Royal Northern College of Music

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