Dear all

The London Bridge Trio – pianist Daniel Tong, violinist Tamsin Waley-Cohen and cellist Kate Gould – and I are delighted to add Canterbury to our tally of Music Discovery Live venues. At the end of September we shall be exploring piano trio masterpieces by Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven, all composed between 1788 and 1795, in the medieval church of St Peter’s, peacefully situated in the centre of the city. Mozart is represented by his lyrical, rather wistful trio in the rare key of E major, K542, Haydn by the ever-popular ‘Gypsy Rondo’ Trio, No. 25, and the melancholy F sharp minor, No. 26. Both these trios were dedicated to Rebecca Schroeter, Haydn’s pupil and (all the evidence suggests) lover in London. Exactly contemporary with the Haydn trios are Beethoven’s three Op. 1 trios, the works with which the brilliant young firebrand announced himself to the wider world. Having unravelled Op. 1 No. 2 in Winchester a few years ago, we shall now be exploring Op. 1 No. 1 in E flat, and the darkly dramatic Op. 1 No. 3 in the quintessential Beethovenian key of C minor. In the private concert on 23 September, Dan and Tamsin will also play the last and arguably greatest of Mozart’s violin sonatas, in A major, K526, composed just before the premiere of Don Giovanni.

  As ever, discussion and non-technical analysis of the music, with the players on hand for additional comment and instant demonstration, will be complemented by biographical background. We shall also consider the interrelationship between the three members of the Viennese Classical trinity, and the wider music scene in London and Vienna at one of the richest moments in musical history.

I have reserved ensuite rooms in the Falstaff Hotel, a former coaching inn dating back to the 15th century. The hotel is an easy 10-minute walk from Canterbury Cathedral, 5 minutes or so from St Peter’s Church, and has free parking for 35 cars.

The plan for the two days, subject to minor variations, is as follows:

2.00-2.30       Arrival at the Falstaff Hotel, 8-10 St Dunstan Street,

                      Canterbury CT2 8AF (01227 462138)

2.45               Short walk to St Peter’s Church (on St Peter’s Street)

3.00-5.15       Study session in St Peter’s, with coffee break

5.30               Private concert: 

                      Mozart        Violin Sonata in A, K526

I shall book a restaurant near the hotel for 7.30

10.30-1.00   Study session in St Peter’s, with coffee break

Free afternoon to explore Canterbury

6.30             Public concert in St Peter’s

                    London Bridge Trio

    Mozart       Piano Trio in E, K542

Concert ends c8.20. I shall book tables at a centrally situated restaurant for 8.30