The Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective has been hailed for its 'exhilarating performances' (The Times), and was dreamed up in 2017 by Tom Poster and Elena Urioste, who met through the BBC New Generation Artists Scheme. Its flexible roster today includes some of the UK’s most inspirational musicians, six of whom join us for the weekend.
Among many achievements and accolades, the ensemble has been Associate Ensemble at the Wigmore Hall since 2020 and its numerous appearances there have included giving the Hall’s 120th birthday concert in May 2021. It is an ensemble-in-residence at the Aldeburgh and Cheltenham Festivals among others, and the group’s recordings have received glowing reviews, and have been nominated for BBC Music Magazine and Gramophone awards.
This concert is one of five over the course of a weekend (15–18 November 2024), centred around the music of Johannes Brahms. In addition to three of the composer’s own major works, music by earlier composers that he revered (Mozart and Schubert) and by those from his closest personal circle (Robert and Clara Schumann, Dvorák) is included – along with compositions by a number of his associates and contemporaries who deserve to be far better known.
Talks on the music by Dr Katy Hamilton will be woven through each concert. Dr Hamilton is a writer and broadcaster, and has provided talks for, amongst others, the Wigmore Hall, the BBC Proms and the Oxford Lieder Festival. She is a frequent contributor to BBC Radio 3, specialising in the music of the 19th and early 20th centuries.