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Steamed Wildebeest braced for epic show

PREVIEW - Steamed Wildebeest Ensemble

St John’s, SW1

IT is difficult to know what to think of a classical music ensemble whose name is reminiscent of a 1970s prog rock band.
Where the name comes from remains something of a mystery, but the Steamed Wildebeest Ensemble is a chamber orchestra that is filled of talented young musicians who have emerged from the Royal Academy of Music, Guidhall School of Music and King’s College.
Directed by pianist Richard Astor, the group are appearing at St John’s on Saturday presenting a Mini-Mozartathon, nine Mozart piano concertos.
The audience will be grateful to know that the concert includes two, 20-minute intervals.
Unusually Astor has a background as a barrister but he took up the piano aged just three and the musicians he has gathered together do seem to be of the highest calibre.
Indeed, the group are in the process of recording the concertos.
This concert is raising money for the Foundation for Aneurysm Rupture Research.

Cello talents congregate to perform varied pieces

PREVIEW - Adam Cello Festival Winners
Wigmore Hall

THE Wigmore Hall is hosting a real treat for all cello aficionados on Wednesday as it welcomes former winners of the Adam International Cello Festival to celebrate its 10th anniversary.
From the ranks of the winners have emerged several world class performers including Alice Neary (the 1997 winner), Yoosha Kim (best performance in 2001) and Monika Leskovar, who won in 2003.
Perhaps most successful has been Li-Wei, originally from Shanghai and now based in London. He has built up a significant back catalogue of recordings and is now acknowledged as one of the leading cellists in the world; he won the Adam Cello Festival in 1997.
One of the most striking aspects of the concert is the huge repertoire of music in the programme. There is Ligeti and Shostakovich, Debussy, Bartok and Kodaly as well as Beethoven’s Cello Sonata in C.
A whole range of virtuoso talents should be on display.

Amateurs grapple with Brahms’ principal choral work


KEEN singers got the chance to perform in a full choir at a special concert of Johannes Brahms’ A German Requiem at St John-at-Hampstead on Saturday.
The ‘scratch’ performance saw enthusiasts join in rehearsals with conductor Lee Ward in the afternoon.
And after a few hours of practice alongside soprano Charlotte Ives, baritone Martin Oxenham and organist David Gostick, the choir performed the piece.

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Angelino's finest are put to the test


WE came across Angelino Wines, sandwiched between two colourful and aggressively self-promoting Australian wine sellers, at Islington’s London Wine Event at the end of October.
Its owner is Farrell Anglin, whose imagination was caught by a lecture on the history of wine making at Southgate College.

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