Following last season’s concert, this year’s programme follows a similar outline with male voices singing 9 lieder from Schumann’s Liederkreis Op.24, each singer accompanied by his own pianist .   The chamber music element comprises movements from Trios and quartets for strings, wind players and pianists.  

Muzio Clementi (1752-1832) 

Piano Trio no.1 in D. Op.21

• Allegro di molto (Anni Lu - violin, Rosie Wang - piano, Breea Leung - cello)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)

String quartet n.4 in C, K.157

• Allegro
• Andante
• Presto

(Anni Lu - violin, Jing Siu - violin, William Whitby - viola, Muli Shi- cello)

Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) 

Piano Trio in D no.38, Hob.XV/24 

• Allegro (Sofia Tyler - cello, Derek Fung - piano, Olivia Black - violin) 7’

Robert Schumann (1810-1856)

Liederkreis (Song Cycle) op.24 – Poems by Heinrich Heine

1)    Morgen steh’ ich auf und frage: (Loic Clemmow & Rosie Wang)

2)    Es treibt mich hin (Barney Wilkinson & Rosie Wang)

3)    Ich wandelte unter den Bäumen (Gil Hardwick & Rosie Wang)

4)    Lieb’ Liebchen (Loic Clemmow & Lucille Raynal)

5)    Schöne Wiege meiner Leiden (Arthur Garrett-Ryan & Lucille Raynal)

6)    Warte, warte wilder Schiffmann (Hal Goodison-Priday & Lucille Raynal)|

7)    Berg’ und Burgen schaun herunter (Herbie Wilkinson & Stephanie Ou)

8)    Anfangs wolltich fast verzagen (JJ McAllister & Stephanie Ou)

9)    Mit Myrten und Rosen (JJ McAllister & Stephanie Ou)

Interval - 20 minutes

Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)  

Piano Trio in G.  no.39 Hob. XV/25 

• Andante (Elisa Yu - piano,  Sisley Zhang - cello, Natalie Zhang - violin) 6’

Francis Poulenc (1899-1963)

Trio - L’invitation au Château

Selection of movements (Anna Shang - piano, Arthur Garrett Ryan - clarinet, Lucy Jones - violin) 10’

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) 

Trio in Eb, op. 38

• Adagio - Allegro con brio (Marcus Yip - piano, Valerie Chen - clarinet, Yangyang Li - cello) 10’

Josef Haydn

Piano Trio in C Hob XV/27

• Allegro (Lucille Raynal - piano, Muli Shi - cello, Jing Siu - violin) 7’

Ludwig van Beethoven 

Trio in C minor, op.1 n.3

• Prestissimo (Stephanie Ou - piano,  Audrianna Leung - cello, Letty Chan - violin) 6’

The history of Chamber Music is not a long or complex one.  As its name suggests it was written for performance in private spaces.  And composed for an affluent educated clientele.  Latterly, the chamber spaces morphed into public concert halls for larger audiences to appreciate what was, in many cases, the intensely personal compositions of its authors.  The music presented by the Wellington students this evening, comes primarily from works written for private performance and pleasure.  History tells us that the composers themselves often took part in these performances, and it is famously noted that Mozart and Haydn, as friends and admirers of each other’s music, played together in string quartets.  How one would have loved to be a fly on the wall of those occasions!

Robert Schumann is one of the most important composers of the German Lied.  The majority of his vast song output was written in 1840, inspired by his love for Clara Weick, whom he married.  What sets Schumann’s Lieder apart is the lovely writing for piano which plays an equally important role with the voice.   Schumann’s wife, Clara, was acknowledged as one of the finest concert pianists of the age and was a composer in her own right, composing songs, chamber music and a piano concerto.  
 

Programme Notes Copyright Alistair Jones, 2026