ENSEMBLES
VIOLA DUO:
Peter Mallinson (viola), Matthias Wiesner (viola)
Peter Mallinson and Matthias Wiesner are members of the BBC Symphony Orchestra and have been giving concerts together as a Viola Duo since 2013, performing regularly around the UK and Europe.
They first played duos together as part of an outreach project in South Korea while on tour with the BBCSO and since then have been drawn into its rich, exciting, varied, and far-more-extensive-than-you-might-think repertoire. Not simply exploring the music for two unaccompanied violas, they also perform repertoire for two violas and piano, two violas and cello, and other combinations where the two-viola sound is at the fore.
Realising that information about the repertoire for viola duos is not easy to follow up, they have currently recorded (and written detailed liner notes) for two CDs on the Meridian Records label - Music for Two Violas (CDE84641) and A Tale of Two Violas (CDE84652). These CDs explore the history of the repertoire with a focus on music that the two first great pioneers of the instrument - England's Lionel Tertis and Russia's Vadim Borisovsky - either influenced, inspired, or wrote themselves.
Not content with leaving the repertoire as it stands, Peter and Matthias work closely with many composers and arrangers. One such collaboration with Simon Rowland-Jones led to the completion of Frank Bridge's duo, Caprice; a work written and performed by Bridge and Tertis in 1912 but then lost except for some sketches. Peter and Matthias “re-premiered” it in 2018. They have also commissioned a number of original compositions and arrangements by composers including Derek Bourgeois, Iain Farrington, John Hawkins, Aleksey Igudesman, Deborah Pritchard, Simon Rowland-Jones, Edwin Roxburgh and Michelle Taylor-Cohen.
Despite being a medium which has inspired composers for over three hundred years, the repertoire for two violas is still relatively underexplored and consequently unappreciated. Not for much longer!
AYLWIN STRING QUARTET
Richard Aylwin (violin), Ruth Hudson (violin), Peter Mallinson (viola), Graham Bradshaw (cello)
The Aylwin String Quartet is a distillation of the “Aylwin Ensemble” which was founded in 1996. Richard Aylwin, Ruth Hudson, Peter Mallinson and Graham Bradshaw are members of the BBC Symphony Orchestra who were keen to establish an outlet for their own creative ideas within this more intimate framework. With a desire to complement the mainstream classical quartet repertoire with the more unusual, they have always had a strong interest in contemporary music and still occasionally enlarge the group with guest artists in order to achieve a more flexible programming. Their repertoire ranges from Purcell to Stravinsky and beyond.
In 2000 The Aylwin String Quartet gave a concert supported by the Wurzburger Society, performing his 2nd and 5th Quartets, and in 2004 they appeared at the Bellapais Music Festival in North Cyprus. The Quartet have performed the Bliss Oboe Quintet several times with Richard Simpson, principal oboe of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and in the summer of 2006 they were invited to play a rarely heard Mozart Piano Concerto with the pianist Huw Watkins, as arranged in quintet form by Mozart, at Castle Howard as part of the Ryedale Festival. The Quartet has performed on a yearly basis for the “Music at St James” season in Manchester since 1994. Richard Aylwin, having directed the inaugural concert of the series in 1988, was commissioned, with help from the “RVW Trust”, to compose “Journey to Mars” a work for string quartet, oboe and synthesizer to celebrate “Music at St James” 20th anniversary concert in March 2008.
The Quartet members have had an association with the orchestra at the University of Hertfordshire, “de Havilland Philharmonic”, for several years, acting as soloists, leader and principals, and have also participated as a quartet in various workshops involving student composers within the Music Department of the University of Hertfordshire. The quartet was honoured to have the 5th String Quartet by Prof. Howard Burrell written for them and the first performance was on 14th May 2008. This work is included on their CD “…AND THE BIRDS SANG TOO.” The quartet has another CD release with UH Recordings, performing the 2nd, 4th and 5th Quartets by Walter Wurzburger.
PHANTASY TRIO:
Peter Mallinson (viola), Rosemary Taylor (clarinet), Gregory Drott (piano)
The Phantasy Trio was formed in 2010 when its members, having first met at Cambridge University during their undergraduate degree, all proceeded to the Royal Academy of Music to study for their Masters.
Since their formation they have enjoyed performing in concerts and competitions to critical acclaim and are looking forward to an increasingly busy performing schedule. They have enjoyed an exploration of the repertoire for this interesting combination in which the sound-worlds of each instrument work so well together and are keen to commission new works as well as performing the more traditional repertoire. In the coming year they look forward to the inauguration of their composition competition for this combination, working with the addition of a voice and in honour of Charles Dickens’ 200th anniversary. Education work is part of their upcoming programme and amongst others, they look forward to a series of concerts in La Mortella, Ischia in Italy by the invitation of the William Walton Trust in October.
The Phantasy Trio are grateful for the support of the Friends and Benefactors of the Royal Academy of Music.
DUO FIGARO:
Lucia D’Avanzo-Lewis (violin), Peter Mallinson (viola)
Duo Figaro are a violin-viola duo based in London. Founded in September 2010, Lucia and Peter met on tour of Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro and Puccini’s La Bohème with the Co-Opera Company. Duo Figaro enjoy exploring the lesser-known duo repertoire and sharing it with tutors and audiences. Their development continues under the guidance of Pavel Fischer, Krysia Osostowicz, Martin Outram, Garfield Jackson and Robin Ashwell. The ensemble’s flexiblility enables them to look forward to future collaborations with other musicians. Although they are a relatively new venture, they are already finding themselves in great demand for recitals around the country and for playing at weddings and other occasions.
MIT DÄMPFER:
Barnaby Adams, Liam Buckley, Benjamin Harrison, Peter Mallinson (violas)
Mit Dämpfer formed one dreary, rainy afternoon after a rehearsal with the Southbank Sinfonia when they came upon the idea of forming a viola quartet and playing beautiful music together to help raise their spirits. Luckily, it did just this! Thus the seed was planted for many exciting future ventures and ideas about how to bring viola quartets to the wider discerning public.
We all knew that we enjoyed playing together, thanks to our time in the Southbank Sinfonia where we spent many a rehearsal cultivating our unique sectional sound, achieved with a relaxed and pragmatic approach to orchestral bowing and a predilection for fingering in the second position. The natural next step was to form a chamber ensemble where we could explore our enthusiasm and joy for playing and use it as a vehicle to showcase the viola and the players’ individual characters.
Some may ask why we have chosen the name ‘Mit Dämpfer’. The truth is, we are not sure. It was mentioned in passing and it’s presence as our ensemble name was never questioned from that moment hence.
SPICCATO STRING QUARTET:
Spiccato string quartet is a professional ensemble formed by undergraduates at Cambridge University in 2005. As a quartet they have studied and participated in masterclasses with the Dante, Endellion, Maggini, and Skampa Quartets. As well as giving frequent recitals in London and around the UK, they also play for many weddings, garden parties, May Balls, and corporate functions. Recent venues include The Royal College of Physicians, The Institute of Directors, The Reform Club, Victoria and Albert Museum, The Fitzwilliam Museum, and numerous Cambridge colleges. If you are interested in booking Spiccato for one of your events, or want to read comments from former clients, please visit the Bookings page for more information.