Listening Club: Harmonium (Beethoven and the Sussex Landscape)

Join Joanna MacGregor as she dives deeper into the music of our January concert, Harmonium.

This talk opens with Beethoven’s most powerful and psychological piano concerto – the fourth – and looks at the history of its performance, tracing evolving performance styles.

We’ll also examine the life of Avril Coleridge-Taylor, who struggled to define her musical aesthetics in the shadow of her famous father, during a period of apartheid and social unrest. There’ll also be time to discuss John Adams’ use of poetry in his mighty choral work Harmonium.

Designed to illuminate and entertain, our new series The Listening Club delves deep into this season’s music, uncovering composers’ intentions, social context, and musical motifs to listen out for. Most importantly, we’ll have fun.

‘Thanks too for Joanna’s concise but cogent introductions. The enthusiasm of her live comments makes these performances that bit more special!’ – Andrew Connal