Pleyel Ensemble
Sarah Ewins, violin
Heather Bills, ‘cello
Harvey Davies, piano
The programme will be as follows:
Haydn piano trio in E Hoboken XV:28
Clara Schumann 3 Romances for violin and piano
Interval
Bill Connor ‘Rod and Line’ for ‘cello and piano
Max Bruch Piano Trio Op. 5
The group was formed in Manchester in January 2011. We are friends and colleagues who draw on a wealth of experience gained through many years of music-making. Since our formation, we have given hundreds of concerts, and have an enormous and varied repertoire of chamber music. The Pleyel Ensemble was delighted to be chosen as Making Music Recommended Artists for the 2016/’17 and 2019/’20 seasons and has appeared at Music Societies and Festivals all over the UK.
We take our name from the Classical composer Ignaz Pleyel (1757-1831), a brilliant musician and businessman, who, in addition to writing a large body of accessible chamber music, helped increase the popularity of this wonderful kind of music-making amongst amateurs and professionals as both music publisher and piano manufacturer in the early nineteenth century. Pleyel’s life’s work encapsulates many of our core values as a chamber group.
As an ensemble comprising wind, strings and piano we are able to offer a diverse repertoire with many instrumental combinations available. Programming, recording and performing music by British composers has always been a priority for The Pleyel Ensemble. Between us we have commissioned or premiered more than a hundred works and recognise both the importance and necessity of continuing this work. Recent commissions have included works written for us by Adam Gorb and Tom Davey. The Pleyels have also recorded four CDs which include first recordings of much of the chamber music of the British composer Arnold Cooke (1906-2005). These recordings have been received to critical acclaim and have formed an important part of the ongoing renaissance of Cooke’s music.
July 2023 saw the Ensemble back in the recording studio to make a CD of the piano trios and cello sonatas of Thomas Pitfield (1900-1996); again, all world first recordings.
Currently we are running our own series, ‘Beethoven Plus!’ in Didsbury, Manchester, exploring all his piano-based chamber music, having already completed similar series based on the works of Mozart & Haydn. We are delighted to announce a new series in Mellor, beginning in September 2023 and generously supported by John Whibley “Holidays with Music”.
More details on our website www.pleyelensemble.com
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