News Update - Recording, International Festival Concerts

Red Violin festival Artistic Director Madeleine Mitchell on re-launching the festival in Leeds 14-19.10.24

Madeleine's recital in St Andrew's Festival, Sheffield: 'Imaginatively interpreted...in this satisfying and enjoyable recital, consummate musicianship was placed entirely at the service of wide-ranging and stimulating repertoire.' Brahms etc, Franck Sonata with Nigel Clayton 'The palpable reciprocity and sense of unity between both players enhanced their closely argued, convincingly paced performance. There was grace and elegance as well as passion and rapture, the last quality most evident in the radiant finale’s canonic writing. The interpretation found a satisfying balance between improvisatory licence and adherence to the score’s almost classical restraint. In other words, the artists presented a reading in which head and heart were ideally combined.' Paul Conway

Many classical musicians are content to spend their careers in the snug embrace of the great or not-so-great works of the past. There’s no shame in that. Bringing those dots on the page to life needs not just the mastery of an instrument but deep cultural and historical imagination, as well as a capacious emotional responsiveness.

Madeleine Mitchell's new album Violin Conversations has received glowing reviews by respected critics Ivan Hewett in The Telegraph and Fiona Maddocks in The Observer

Following Madeleine Mitchell's outstandingly successful last Naxos album, no.2 in the Classical Charts, this personal collection includes 8 world premiere recordings in an appealing range of styles. Violinist Madeleine Mitchell has inspired new works from a variety of composers, four of whom* join Mitchell to perform their works. The music encompasses Alan Rawsthorne’s quicksilver 1958 Violin Sonata, in a BBC broadcast to honour Mitchell’s two-decade partnership with the late Andrew Ball to Thea Musgrave’s vivid Colloquy. The sequence of atmospheric, communicative pieces explores natural phenomena, songs of freedom, telephonic frustration and a pas de deux love duet. Music by Richard Blackford,*Howard Blake,*Martin Butler,*Wendy Hiscocks, Joseph Horovitz, Douglas Knehans, Kevin Malone, Thea Musgrave, Alan Rawsthorne,*Errollyn Wallen+. With pianists Andrew Ball, Nigel Clayton and Ian Pace. Pre-order link: https://naxosdirect.co.uk/items/violin-conversations-604482 Free postage UK + https://youtu.be/0psZ1NtT97g

Madeleine Mitchell gives the premiere of the new solo violin piece written specially for her by Michael Berkeley on Radio 3 In Tune 31.3 6pm and at St John's Smith Square 2.4 noon in her recital

19' film of London Chamber Ensemble concert at the V&A during the exhibition Fabergé: Romance to Revolution exhibition with Wartski Fabergé slides + fascinating RCM archive material of Tchaikovsky's signature in the Visitors' Book and Herbert Howells' sketchbook with Luchinushka 1917.

Grace Williams Violin Concerto live BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Radio 3 broadcast plus interval talk including Madeleine Mitchell's Naxos recording of Grace Williams Violin Sonata. The Grace Williams concerto recording will be issued on CD by Nimbus. Review here: https://seenandheard-international.com/2021/11/bbc-now-play-grace-williams-and-ralph-vaughan-williams/

Hear a movement of Schubert and Debussy quartets live here from the sold out concert: https://salonmusic.co.uk/highgate-festival-music-ends-with-a-flourish-of-debussy/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=highgate-festival-music-ends-with-a-flourish-of-debussy Madeleine Mitchell and Gordon MacKay - violins, Bridget Carey - viola, Joseph Spooner - cello