Programme includes
Weber: Clarinet quintet, op 34
Brahms: Clarinet Quintet op. 115
Sarah Williamson is renowned as a virtuoso clarinettist whose talent has been recognised by concert-goers and critics alike. BBC Music Magazine wrote: ‘A tenacious player like Williamson doesn’t need gimmicks – her sonorous timbre and natural musicality speak for themselves.’ The Independent hailed her as a ‘superb player’; and The Telegraph praised Sarah’s ‘blend of languor and exuberance.’
As a soloist, Sarah has performed at many of the world’s major concert halls, including Carnegie Hall, the Royal Albert Hall, The Wigmore Hall, The South Bank Centre, The Berlin Concerthaus, The Tonhalle Zurich, The Theatre des Champs-Elysèes Paris, The Suntory Hall and NHK Hall, Japan.
Sarah has performed and toured extensively with The Academy of St Martins in the Fields, The City of London Sinfonia, the BBC Concert orchestra, the LSO, BBC Concert Orchestra (broadcast live), The European Union Chamber Orchestra, The Brighton Philharmonic, The Royal Philharmonic (Classic FM live broadcast) and the Orchestra of the Swan.
Sarah is recognised as a leading interpreter of the Copland Concerto, a recording of which on the Somm label was recently played on ‘Building a Library’ on BBC Radio 3. Sarah is also active in the field of contemporary music: she has championed the music of Edward Longstaff who has written a ‘Prelude’ and ‘Nocturne’ specially for Sarah, both of which were premiered on BBC Radio 3, in addition to a clarinet concerto. She has also worked with Philip Grange and recorded his clarinet concerto. Sarah commissioned a new piece by Joseph Phibbs, ‘Arc de Soleil,’ which was premiered at the Wigmore Hall, and is currently championing the works of Graham Fitkin and the Beniamin Baczewski Clarinet Concerto.
The Piatti quartet’s name is dedicated to Alfredo Piatti, a 19th Century virtuoso cellist who was a professor at the Royal Academy of Music (the alma mater of the founder’s of the quartet) and also a major exponent of chamber music and contemporary music of his time.
Resident Quartet at Kings Place, London, the distinguished Piatti Quartet are widely renowned for their ‘profound music making’ (The Strad) and their ‘lyrical warmth’ (BBC Music Magazine). Since their prizewinning performances at the 2015 Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition, they have performed all over the world and made international broadcasts from many countries.
The Piattis are famed for their diverse programming and for passionate interpretations across the spectrum of quartet writing, and have commissioned and recorded some of the most major and impressive works added to the quartet canon in recent years.
Since their inception they have always had projects in the recording studio with critically acclaimed releases through Linn, Rubicon, Somm, Champs Hill, Hyperion, Delphian, Nimbus and NMC record labels. Their wide ranging discography and repertoire is thanks to their enthusiasm and curiosity in collaborating with a broad range of artists including some of the most recognisable names in classical music such as St. Martin’s Voices, Nicky Spence, Julius Drake, Michael Collins, Barry Douglas, Janina Fialkowska, Melvyn Tan, Ian Bostridge, Katherine Broderick, Adam Walker, Simon Callaghan and the Belcea Quartet. Accolades in 2023 include a Presto Music Award as one of the ‘Top 10 Recordings of the Year 2023’, a Gramophone’s ‘Editor’s Choice for the Month’ with NMC, a five star review from BBC Music Magazine with Delphian and in 2022 they were nominated for ‘Recording of the Year’ with both Limelight and Gramophone for their collaborative disc on the Hyperion label.
Contemporary music has been ever present in their repertoire and leaving a legacy to the quartet genre through commissions is one of the quartet’s central tenets. Major commissions and dedications have stemmed from Mark-Anthony Turnage, Emily Howard, Charlotte Harding, and Joseph Phibbs whilst they have premiered a mesmerising number of new works over the years beginning with Anna Meredith back in 2009. The Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Flagey Radio Hall Brussels, Wigmore Hall London, and the Aldeburgh Festival are some of the high profile occasions where new music has been presented and recordings of Turnage’s quartets 1-4 and Gavin Higgins’ chamber music has also been extensively lauded by critics.
Historical research into quartet music that has been undiscovered or deserves to be better known has led to the premiere recording of Ina Boyle’s (Ireland) SQ in E minor, and performances of lesser known quartet gems by Ralph Vaughan Williams, E.J. Moeran, Rachmaninov, Ireland, Haas, Ulmann, and Durosoir.