Witney Music Society
PIATTI QUARTET
High Street Methodist Church, Witney
Friday, 7.30pm
Tickets: www.witneymusicsociety.org.uk
This prize-winning ensemble, named after the 19th century Italian cello virtuoso Alfredo Piatti, brings a typically diverse programme to Witney, including Haydn’s String Quartet in D major Op.20 No.4, Shostakovich’s String Quartet No.8 in C minor Op.110 and – presumably to mark his 250th birthday – Beethoven’s String Quartet in C major, ‘Razumovsky’ Op.59 No.3. With Nathaniel Anderson-Frank (violin), Michael Trainor (violin), Tetsuumi Nagata (viola) and Jessie Ann Richardson (cello).
East Oxford Community Choir & Orchestra
BERLIOZ: L’ENFANCE DU CHRIST
St John the Evangelist Church, Iffley Road
Saturday, 7.30pm
Tickets: 01865 305305 or www.ticketsoxford.com
First performed in 1854, this beautiful work by French composer Hector Berlioz tells the story of Christ’s birth, Herod and the Massacre of the Innocents and the Holy Family’s flight to Egypt. Part Two includes the famous The Shepherds’ Farewell, often performed separately. With Hannah Fraser-Mackenzie (Ste Marie), Charlie Baigent (St Joseph), Frazer Scott (Hérode/Père de familie), Robin Whitehouse (Récitant), Chris Emlyn-Jones (Polydorus) and Daniel Emlyn Jones (Centurion), conducted by Dexter Drown.
Oxford Coffee Concerts
PHILHARMONIA ORCHESTRA CHAMBER SOLOISTS
Holywell Music Room
Sunday, 11.15am
Tickets: 01865 305305 or www.ticketsoxford.com
Members of London’s prestigious Philharmonia Orchestra – which was formed 75 years ago this year – come to Oxford to perform a pair of chamber masterpieces: Haydn’s String Quartet in A major Op.20 No.6 and Janacek’s String Quartet No.2 ‘Intimate Letters’. As always, the ticket price includes a complimentary, pre-concert cup of coffee, available at The King’s Arms and The Vaults & Garden Café.
Oxford Chamber Music Society
DORIC STRING QUARTET
Holywell Music Room
Sunday, 3pm
Tickets: On the door only
Tickets for this concert have now sold out through Tickets Oxford, but there may be some availability on the door. In a slight change to the advertised programme, the ensemble will now play the Quartet No.3 by Swedish composer Andrea Tarrodi instead of the Britten divertimenti. The programme also features Haydn’s Quartet Op.33 No.2 (‘The Joke’), Sibelius’s Quartet ‘Voces Intimae’ Op.56 and ‘birthday boy’ Beethoven’s Quartet in F Op.18 No.1.
Oxford Bach Soloists
THE MAGI
New College Chapel
Sunday, 3pm
Tickets; www.oxfordbachsoloists.com
This latest offering from the Oxford Bach Choir features a selection of Bach cantatas that between them herald the New Year, recall the story of Herod and the Massacre of the Innocents and rejoice in the arrival of the three wise men with their famous gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Conducted by Tom Hammond-Davies.
NICOLA LISLE
