The following are all sample programmes, intended to provide examples of the New London Chamber Ensemble’s extensive and varied repertoire, as well as to highlight our current areas of focus. Our preferred approach to programming is to work in consultation with event organisers to create unique programmes which are tailored to suit each event.
Mainly Mozart
A unique programme that gives audiences the opportunity to hear unusual and little-known works by Mozart. Pieces the great master originally composed for mechanical instruments have been realised and arranged for Wind Quintet by contemporary British composers, at the invitation of the NLCE. Arrangements for Wind Quintet of two French classics and Mozart’s Serenade in C minor complete the programme.
Mozart arr. Martin Butler – Adagio and Allegro in F minor for mechanical organ, K594 (9′)
Mozart arr. Philip Cashian – Andante for mechanical organ, K616 (7′)
Faure arr. Gordon Davies – Dolly Suite, Op.56 (16′)
Mozart arr. Sally Beamish – Adagio and Variations, K356 (8′)
Mozart arr. Julian Philips – Phantasie for mechanical organ, K608 (9.5′)
Debussy arr. Gordon Davies – Petite Suite (12′)
Mozart arr. Mordechai Rechtman – Serenade in C minor, K 406. (c. 30′)
Duration: c.80 minutes
Listen to the NLCE performing and discussing elements of this programme on BBC Radio 3’s ‘In Tune’
Telling Tales: Musical Stories with Narration
A perfect family-friendly programme full of animal fun with a narrated version of Prokofiev’s classic Peter and the Wolf, Berio’s spell-binding Opus Number Zoo and a wonderfully witty composition by Martin Butler based on Roald Dahl’s collection of poems Dirty Beasts.
Berio – Opus Number Zoo
Prokofiev – Peter and The Wolf
Saint-Saëns arr. Bussick – Carnival of the Animals
Martin Butler – Dirty Beasts (for wind quintet, piano and narrator)
Duration: c.60 minutes
Music Rocks: music stories
A narrated concert for children, sharing our love of music.
Rimsky-Korsakov – Flight of the Bumble Bee
Jim Parker – Mississippi Five
Gabriel Fauré – Dolly Suite
Paquito d’Rivera – Aires Tropicales
Luciano Berio – Opus Number Zoo
Prokofiev – Peter and The Wolf
Duration: c.60 minutes
Classic Winds
A whirlwind tour of well-known wind repertoire from eighteenth-century Vienna to twentieth century America.
Milhaud – La Cheminée du Roi René (13′)
Mozart – Adagio and Allegro in F minor K 594 (9′)
Barber – Summer Music (12′)
Mozart – Adagio and Rondo in C minor/major K 617 (15′)
Nielsen – Wind Quintet op.43 (25′)
Duration: c.75 minutes
From Beethoven to Butler
A dazzling programme combining Beethoven’s stunning Septet with works by Martin Butler, the composer featured on the NLCE’s NMC Recordings disc of 2016.
The programme will form part of a series of CD launch concerts, in collaboration with artists featured on the CD, including the Navarra Quartet and double-bass virtuoso Leon Bosch.
Beethoven – Septet (45′)
Martin Butler – Nonet, ‘Rondes d’Automne’ (12′)
Martin Butler – A selection of pieces for piano/piano & flute (c.8′)
Martin Butler – Down Hollow Winds (14′)
Martin Butler – Dirty Beasts (8′)
Duration: c.90 minutes
Mainly Martin (lunchtime concert programme)
A programme perfect for lunchtime concerts, showcasing the music of contemporary composer Martin Butler.
The programme will form part of a series of launch concerts for the NLCE’s new CD with NMC Recordings, due for release in February 2016. At the heart of the disc is Martin Butler’s Nonet, ‘Rondes d’Automne’, which the NLCE performs with three members of the Navarra Quartet and double-bass virtuoso Leon Bosch.
Martin Butler – Down Hollow Winds (14′)
Martin Butler – Nonet, ‘Rondes d’Automne’ (12′)
Martin Butler – Dirty Beasts (8′)
Martinů – Nonet No.2, H.374 (23′)
Duration: c.55 minutes
Mainly Martin (full-length concert programme)
A full-length programme showcasing the music of contemporary composer Martin Butler.
The programme will form part of a series of launch concerts for the NLCE’s new CD with NMC Recordings, due for release in February 2016. At the heart of the disc is Martin Butler’s Nonet, ‘Rondes d’Automne’, which the NLCE performs with three members of the Navarra Quartet and double-bass virtuoso Leon Bosch.
Martin Butler – Down Hollow Winds (14′)
Martin Butler – A selection of pieces for piano/piano & flute (c.14′)
Martin Butler – Dirty Beasts (8′)
Martin Butler – Nonet, ‘Rondes d’Automne’ (12′)
Martinů – Nonet No.2, H.374 (23′)
Duration: c.45 minutes (first half) / c.36′ (second half)
Three Nonets
This fascinating programme charts the trajectory of the Nonet from the Romantic era to the present day. The NLCE commissioned Martin Butler’s Nonet in 2009, the year in which Martinů’s Nonet turned 50, and 150 years after Spohr’s death.
The programme will form part of a series of launch concerts for the NLCE’s new CD with NMC Recordings, due for release in February 2016. At the heart of the disc is Martin Butler’s Nonet, ‘Rondes d’Automne’, which the NLCE performs with three members of the Navarra Quartet and double-bass virtuoso Leon Bosch.
Spohr – Nonet in F major, Op.31 (33′)
Martin Butler – Down Hollow Winds (14′) OR Barber – Summer Music (12′)
Martin Butler – Nonet, ‘Rondes d’Automne’ (12′)
Martinů – Nonet No.2, H.374 (23′)
Duration: c.75 minutes
From Byrd to the Bees
A theatrical take on chamber music – a majestic procession to Byrd’s Pavane & Galliard, a thrilling staged performance of Berio’s Opus No Zoo which takes the performers around the stage and beyond and a unique performance of Rimsky-Korsakov’s famous Flight of the Bumble Bee. Along the way are Nielson’s fine Quintet and Barber’s beautiful Summer Music as well as a work by Moondog – the twentieth century American composer, musician, poet and inventor of several new musical instruments.
Byrd – Pavane & Galliard (7′)
Barber – Summer Music (12′)
Moondog – Bird of Paradise (3′)
Montague – Thule Ultima (4′)
Berio – Opus Number Zoo (9′)
Nielsen – Wind Quintet op.43 (25′)
Rimsky-Korsakov – Flight of the Bumble Bee (1′)
Duration: c.70 minutes
French Fantasies
These classic works from France, the home of Wind music, indulge in colourful Gallic sonorities – from the piquant Poulenc Sonata to Ravel’s glorious Mother Goose Suite.
Milhaud – La Cheminée du Roi René
Ibert – 3 short Pieces for Wind Quintet
Ravel arr. D.Nissen – Ma mére l’oye Suite
Poulenc – Sonata for Clarinet and Bassoon
Françaix – Wind Quintet No.1
Duration: c.70 minutes
Europe and the Americas for piano and winds
Setting sail from the heartland of Europe with master works from Mozart, Beethoven, Debussy and Poulenc, this programme traverses the Atlantic to hear works from the Americas: Argentinian composer Lalo Schifrin ‘La Nouvelle Orléans’ and Samuel Barber’s famous ‘Summer Music’.
Debussy arr. Gordon Davies – Petite Suite (12′)
Mozart – Quintet in E flat for Piano and Wind K 452 (18′)
Beethoven – Quintet in E flat for Piano and Wind Op 16 (23′)
Barber – Summer Music (12′)
Lalo Schifrin – La Nouvelle Orléans (8′)
Poulenc – Sextet for piano and winds (18′)
Duration: c.80 minutes
American Road Trip
Lalo Schifirin – La Nouvelle Orleans (8′)
Samuel Barber – Summer Music (12′)
Jim Parker – Mississippi Five (16′)
Martin Butler – Down Hollow Winds (14′) OR Gabriel Fauré – Dolly Suite (15′)
Darius Milhaud – La Cheminée du Roi René (13′) OR Claude Debussy arr. Gordon Davies – Petite Suite (12′)
Paquito d’Rivera – Aires Tropicales (26′)
Duration: c.90 minutes
Eastern Promise
Mozart arr. Vester – Andante for Mechanical Organ, K616 (7′)
Jean Absil – Bulgarian Suite (10′)
Fazil Say – Alevi Dedeler Raki Masasinda (2′)
Mozart arr. Julian Philips – Phantasie for mechanical organ, K608 (7′)
György Ligeti – 6 Bagatelles (11′)
Alexander von Zemlinsky – Humoreske (5′)
Neyire Ashworth – Majer’s Memories
Duration: c.45 minutes
European Delights
Darius Milhaud – La Cheminée du Roi René (13′)
Paul Hindemith – Kleine Kammermusik (14′)
György Ligeti – 6 Bagatelles (11′)
Maurice Ravel – Tombeau de Couperin (16′)
Claude Debussy arr. Gordon Davies – Petite Suite (12′)
Jacques Ibert – 3 Pièces Breves (7′)
Duration; c.75 minutes