A Musical First for Manchester – A Unique Legacy Project

Manchester Camerata and Chetham’s School of Music have embarked on a five-year collaborative project to perform and record all of Mozart’s piano concertos, bringing together eminent pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet and Camerata Music Director, Gábor Takács-Nagy, to perform at Chetham’s exceptional concert venue, The Stoller Hall.

Mozart Made In Manchester

Bavouzet, Takács-Nagy and Camerata have established a vivid and theatrical performance style, which inspired a unique idea from the Hungarian musicologist, László Somfai, that each disc pair the concertos with Mozart’s less well known and extraordinary Opera Overtures, which will be the first to be recorded in Manchester – a unique legacy. Only a handful of artists and orchestras have embarked on this in the world (Barenboim, Brendel, Perahia, Ashkenazy and Mitsuko Uschida). The cycle will be recorded on the Chandos label.

A quartet of Chetham’s students will join Manchester Camerata to bring to life this series of concertos. Eight quartets will also receive up-close masterclasses from Gábor every year, a fantastic opportunity to learn from one of the world’s leading chamber music coaches.

To celebrate our trip to China in September 2018, a string quartet also performed a specially-commissioned piece, inspired by the country’s transformational Belt and Road Initiative, before each concert on our tour. This piece was specially composed by Chetham’s student, Harry Harrison.

This partnership offers artistic and educational, audience and reputational benefits over a minimum of five years. It celebrates the inspirational leadership of Gábor Takács-Nagy for the next generation, creating an environment in which world-class musicians and the next generation of talent can inspire and develop each other.


Help Make it Happen

We are committed to delivering this project over the next five years, performing all of Mozart’s incredible piano concertos, paired with his largely unknown, but equally extraordinary, Opera Overtures at The Stoller Hall. This is a significant undertaking and will require investment and support in order to be realised. We are already over a third of the way to reaching the required £320,000 target and are now looking to secure the future of the project.


Reviews

Latest review from Gramophone

Album of the week Sunday Times


Find Out More

If you feel you can help in any way, or would like to learn more about the project, please do get in touch to arrange a time for us to talk with you further (see contact details below) – we would love to hear from you.

Bob Riley
Chief Executive, Manchester Camerata
briley@manchestercamerata.com
07968 059 767

Alun Jones
Principal, Chetham’s School of Music
alunjones@chethams.com
0161 838 7214