June 2022 

New Town Concerts Season 2022-2023 

We have great pleasure - and not a little relief - in announcing our concerts for the 2022-23 series  of New Town Concerts. After the many challenges and upheavals of the last two years, not least in  the world of the arts, we are delighted once again to be offering the opportunity to subscribe for a  full season of concerts. 

We open with the ‘near miss’ from our last season, the Engegård Quartet of Norway with  Hardanger fiddler Nils Økland, who were originally scheduled to appear in January before a  positive test intervened. Happily they are fully recovered and will be presenting a programme based  around Schubert’s ‘Death and the Maiden’ Quartet but with an added Norwegian flavour drawn  from that country’s folk traditions. ‘Music-making of probing intelligence’ was the verdict of  Gramophone on one of their recent recordings and we eagerly await their first appearance with us. 

In November we will be welcoming the Van Baerle Piano Trio, based at Amsterdam’s  Concertgebouw and winner of numerous awards, including in 2012 the Kersjes Prize, the highest  chamber music award in the Netherlands. Their recent discography includes an acclaimed recording  of all of the Beethoven trios and for us they will be presenting a broad conspectus of the rich piano  trio repertoire, featuring works by Mozart, Brahms, Fauré and Bloch. 

We are proud to welcome the return of the celebrated Quatuor Ébène to the New Town Concerts.  This world-leading ensemble is renowned for the originality of its programming and will be  presenting a fascinating reflection on the continuing legacy of J S Bach, featuring Bartók’s  contrapuntal 6th Quartet, along with Mozart’s rarely heard arrangements of some of Bach’s  keyboard fugues and a suite drawing on works by Bach by the contemporary Swiss composer  Richard Dubugnon.  

We conclude with a commanding recital from pianist Steven Osborne celebrating the 150th  anniversary of Rachmaninov’s birth, offering a rare opportunity to hear both of the composer’s  towering piano sonatas, along with a section of his Preludes and Études Tableaux. Steven’s recent  recordings of this repertoire have won universal acclaim and we have no doubt his programme will  form a memorable climax to our season. 

We hope that you will consider taking out a subscription to this outstanding series, offering all four  of our concerts for less than the price of three individual tickets. In addition, our membership of the  imaginative CAVATINA Chamber Music Trust scheme gives us the opportunity to offer 50 free  tickets to each concert (other than the Steven Osborne recital) for young people aged 8 to 25  inclusive, and you may wish to take this chance of introducing young friends, children or  grandchildren to the delights of chamber music. 

Finally, we would like to thank all of you who take the opportunity of adding a donation when  booking your seats. In common with most arts organisations our finances have been impacted by  the events of the past two years and your support in this way - particularly if gift-aided - will make  a real difference to our ability to maintain the quality and range of our concerts for the future. If you  can spread the word to friends and family of the quality of music-making offered by the New Town  Finally, we would like to thank all of you who take the opportunity of adding a donation when  can spread the word to friends and family of the quality of music-making offered by the New Town Concerts we will be even more grateful.

Graham Burnside, Rosemary Ellison, Douglas Home, John Innes, James McNeill, Nicky Pritchett-

Brown

Directors, New Town Concerts Society

Scottish Registered Charity No. SC015893 and Company limited by guarantee Registration No SC049169,registered office 6 St Colme Street, Edinburgh EH3 6AD

New Town Concerts Society is delighted to announce membership of CAVATINA Chamber Music Trust which exists to encourage more young people to attend chamber music concerts.  CAVATINA operates a Ticket Scheme under which young people can obtain free tickets for certain chamber music concerts.  Up to 50 free tickets will be available free of charge for all New Town Concerts (except the piano recitals) for any young person aged 8 to 25 inclusive.  Please encourage young people you know to discover the delights of chamber music.  Tickets available via the Queen's Hall box office either in person or by phone (0131 668 2019).