Ikon Arts News

Tippett Quartet to give opening concert at new London venue

2008-09-02T11:20:00.004+01:00

The Tippett Quartet will perform the opening concert of the new Swedish Hall Concerts series, based at the Swedish Church near Edgware Road.

Swedish Hall Concerts has been recently set up in order to showcase the best of Swedish classical music, and will feature some of today's finest established musicians and young stars. The opening concert will be on Tuesday 9 September at 7pm, and the quartet will be performing music by Haydn, Tippett, Ravel and one of Sweden's most loved composers Lars-Erik Larsson.

Programme:

Haydn String Quartet Op. 20 No. 2
Tippett String Quartet No. 2
Ravel String Quartet Op. 11
Larsson Intimate Miniatures for String Quartet Op. 20

Please visit swedish-hall.org.uk for more information about the concert series, or ikonarts.com for more details about the Tippett Quartet.

NEWSFLASH: WORLD-CLASS PIANISTS JOIN IKON ARTS

2008-08-28T10:25:00.006+01:00

Ikon Arts Management takes on management of two outstanding pianists, Oleg Marshev and David Owen Norris, from September.

Russian pianist Oleg Marshev caught the attention of the classical music world with his authoritative recordings of the complete solo piano music of Prokofiev. He has since recorded over thirty CDs and is now firmly established as among the most talented Russian pianists performing today. His most recent recording of Pabst, Rimsky-Korsakov and Scriabin has been highly recommended by Gramophone and BBC Music Magazine.

David Owen Norris is one of the most innovative and brilliant British pianists of our generation, being an authority and leading performer on early pianos, rare piano concertos (especially those by 20th century English composers), as well as being the pianist of choice for many world-class singers. He recently received a Gramophone recommendation for his new CD recording of Montague Phillips Piano Concertos with the BBC Concert Orchestra.

Stile Antico to tour with Sting in Far East & Australia

2008-08-04T10:44:00.012+01:00

Following the success of last year's concerts, British early music vocal ensemble Stile Antico will join Sting on a tour of Australia and Asia, bringing music from Sting's critically acclaimed album 'Songs from the Labyrinth', to a further two continents. The tour, which opens at the Sydney Opera House on 30th November, includes performances in Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai, Tokyo and Osaka (tour itinerary included below).

'Songs from the Labyrinth' began as a Deutsche Grammophon recording project in 2006 which surpassed all expectations by debuting at the top of the classical charts in the US, UK, France, Canada & Germany. It is Sting's personal tribute to the lute songs of British composer John Dowland (1563-1626). Stile Antico accompanied Sting in all his European tour dates since the release of the album, which has seen performances at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Berliner Philharmonie, the Konzerthaus Vienna, among many others. They will be joined again for this tour by esteemed lutenist, Edin Karamazov.

STING TOUR ITINERARY

Nov 30th Sydney Opera House

Dec 1st Brisbane Town Hall

Dec 3rd Melbourne Hamer Hall

Dec 5th Perth Concert Hall

Dec 7th Kuala Lumpur Planery Hall

Dec 8th Singapore Esplanade Hall

Dec 10th Hong Kong Jockey Club

Dec 12th Dubai Palladium

Dec 16th Tokyo Orchard Hall

Dec 17th Tokyo Orchard Hall

Dec 18th Tokyo Orchard Hall

Dec 20th Osaka Festival Hall

For more information, images and press materials please contact Holly Skelton: holly@ikonarts.com or call +44 (0)20 7354 9199

Read the announcement on Sting's blog page.

Eaton Square Concerts announces new season

2008-07-24T17:48:00.005+01:00

Eaton Square Concerts is delighted to announce the schedule of concerts in its autumn series 2008.

The concerts will feature world renowned soloists such as Raphael Wallfisch, Gary Cooper and Leslie Howard, as well as some of Europe’s most exciting ensembles and orchestra, including the European Union Baroque Orchestra, and the Badke Quartet, winners of this year's St Peters Eaton Square Prize.

Featuring some of today's most established artists and tomorrow's big names, Eaton Square Concerts is fast making a name for itself among London's concert halls. Based at St Peter's Church in Belgravia, the concerts benefit from a unique acoustic that befits chamber, choral and solo repertoire.

Download the flyer here.Autumn08flyer

"a really welcome addition to London concert halls" - Musical Opinion

Tippett Quartet at Wigmore Hall & in Proms debut

2008-07-04T15:05:00.003+01:00

Leading young British ensemble the Tippett Quartet returns to the Wigmore Hall on 6th July 2008 premiering David Braid's "Morning". They will also make their BBC Proms debut later this month.

The Tippett Quartet makes a welcome return to the Wigmore Hall on 6th July, the venue where they made their debut appearance in 1998. After several further successful appearances at the Wigmore Hall, on Sunday they will perform an imaginative programme including Tippett's String Quartet No.2, Beethoven's String Quartet Op.131 and the UK premiere of David Braid's "Morning" featuring the soprano Grace Davidson. "Morning" is a haunting setting of Pablo Neruda's poem Mañana.

On 25th July the Tippett Quartet will be delighted to perform as part of the BBC Proms, in the Proms Composer Portrait series. This event will feature the work of British composer Simon Holt in a pre-concert interview with the composer, at the Britten Theatre of the Royal College of Music. The Tippett Quartet will perform Holt's "Two Movements for String Quartet", which will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 later the same evening following the Prom.

Voces8 makes début at The 100 Club

2008-06-05T13:00:00.003+01:00

Voces8 recently performed its first London jazz gig with the latin-jazz group, Bomba!, at premier live music venue The 100 Club. Voces8 spent the day with Bomba! and members of the Hatch My Ideas! team working with 100 students from 3 schools in Haringey. Voces8 performed a set of new jazz arrangements, which will be released on CD later in the year, to a lively and appreciative audience. The group performed 3 songs with Bomba, including 'Fever' and 'Mack the Knife'. Bomba!, from Canada, is currently touring the UK and Italy. News on a Voces8 début at the Royal Festival Hall, November 2008, to follow.

Stile Antico receives prestigious German accolade

2008-05-16T12:11:00.000+01:00

Stile Antico's new CD release Heavenly Harmonies appeared in the quarterly Bestenliste of the 'Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik' on 15th May. The German accolade is the latest in a series of prestigious awards the group have received from the international press.

NEWSFLASH: ikon arts signs Tippett Quartet

2008-04-01T13:40:00.003+01:00

ikon arts management is delighted to announce the recent signing of the Tippett Quartet, one of Britain's leading young string quartets.

Formed in 1998, the year in which they made their Wigmore Hall debut, they have since performed at the Purcell Room, Cheltenham Festival, Dartington International Summer School, St John's Smith Square and Chichester Festivities. 2007 saw the start of a two year project to record the complete Tippett string quartets for Naxos, the first disc being released in 2008.

The Tippett Quartet are featured in (and on the cover of) the current issue of Classical Music Magazine - please contact us if you'd like to see a copy!

"bold and innovative...extraordinary technical accomplishment with flair and a bright communicative spark" - The Daily Telegraph

ikon arts spring newsletter

2008-04-01T12:00:00.001+01:00

Read the latest ikon arts news in our spring 08 newsletter - click the link to download.

IkonArtsSpring08newsletter.pdf

The Sixteen on BBC4 TV's 'Sacred Music'

2008-03-28T12:07:00.003Z

The Sixteen is featured in a new four-part series "Sacred Music" on BBC Four this season exploring the history of Western sacred music, presented by Simon Russell Beale.

In the company of The Sixteen and Harry Christophers, Russell Beale travels from London to France, Italy and Germany to discover the places and people that made sacred music history. Along the way The Sixteen perform on location, singing music by Léonin, Pérotin, Palestrina, Tallis, Byrd, and JS Bach. To round off this choral tour, BBC Four will broadcast a concert given by The Sixteen at LSO St Luke's in London, in the spring.

NEWSFLASH: Stile Antico wins 2nd Diapason D'Or

2008-03-05T12:32:00.006Z

Continuing their extraordinary success, Stile Antico will be awarded the Diapason D'Or in April 2008 for their 2nd CD release Heavenly Harmonies (on Harmonia Mundi).

The group have already had major success in France, having been awarded the prestigious French accolade, the Diapason D'Or for their debut recording Music For Compline - which in turn was awarded the Diapason D'Or de l'Année last year. Stile Antico also counts a GRAMMY nomination as one of their major achievements of 2007!

Stile Antico on In Tune 28th February 2008

2008-02-28T10:12:00.003Z

Stile Antico appear on BBC Radio 3's In Tune on 28th February at 5.15pm. Members of the group talk about their new CD release 'Heavenly Harmonies' (which has already received superlative reviews from UK press), as well as their upcoming London concert on Thursday 6th March at Eaton Square Concerts. You can hear the programme again for up to 7 days after broadcast with 'listen again' from the BBC website.

Heavenly Harmonies: "glorious music, gloriously sung"

2008-02-11T11:21:00.000Z

Stile Antico's new CD release Heavenly Harmonies, released in February 2008, continues to receive huge praise in the UK press. In this week's Sunday Times, reviewer Hugh Canning writes "the young singers of Stile Antico, in their second disc of Tudor music, are magnificent... The jubilant strain of Laudibus in sanctis (the only joyful music on the disc) disarms criticism: glorious music, gloriously sung". Read the full review here.

Eaton Square Concerts: Spring season

2008-01-29T12:33:00.000Z

Eaton Square Concerts is delighted to announce the schedule of concerts in its spring series 2008.

The concerts will feature world renowned soloists, such as Trevor Pinnock, Noriko Ogawa and Elizabeth Wallfisch, and rising stars, such as GRAMMY award nominees Stile Antico, and the Cappa Quartet, winners of this year's St Peters Eaton Square Prize.

Download the flyer here (10mb file size).Flyer_web.pdf

"a really welcome addition to London concert halls" - Musical Opinion.

Schlimé to debut at Carnegie Hall

2008-01-21T12:47:00.000Z

Francesco Tristano Schlimé will make his debut appearance on February 1st 2008 at Carnegie Hall, New York, under the 'ECHO Rising Stars' series. His highly original programme includes works by Berio, Frescobaldi, Haydn, Messina and Bach, as well as his own improvisations.

An acclaimed interpreter of modern music, Francesco was First Prize winner of the 2004 Orléans International Piano Competition for 20th Century Music. He has since performed with many leading orchestras (Russian National Orchestra, Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre National de Lille, Orchestre Symphonique d'Orléans, Chamber Orchestra of Wroclaw, Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie, the New Juilliard Ensemble in New York), and at some of the world's most respected concert halls (Barcelona Palau de la Musique, Birmingham Symphony Hall, Stockholm Konserthuset, Paris Cité de la Musique, Köln Philharmonie).

Heavenly Harmonies receives heavenly review

2008-01-18T14:14:00.000Z

Stile Antico's new CD release Heavenly Harmonies, released in February 2008, has already received huge praise in the UK press. This week it is The Evening Standard's Classical CD of the week. Click on the image to read the full review.

Elizabeth Wallfisch/Tafelmusik CD rates highly in music magazines

2007-12-11T17:11:00.000Z

Elizabeth Wallfisch's new recording of Vivaldi's L'estro armonico Op 3 with the outstanding Canadian period-instrument orchestra Tafelmusik has been selected as 'Orchestral Recording of the Month' in the January 2008 BBC Music Magazine, and as 'Editor's Choice' in the February edition of Gramophone.

STILE ANTICO NOMINATED FOR GRAMMY AWARD

2007-12-07T10:51:00.000Z

In an extraordinary week of awards for the group, Stile Antico have just been nominated for the 50th Annual Grammy Awards, in the category of Best Small Ensemble Performance, for their debut album Music for Compline (Harmonia Mundi). This follows hot on the heels of their award in November for the 'Diapason d'Or de l'Annee' by the French music press.

Stile Antico hold exclusive CD launch concert in Sheldonian Theatre

2007-12-05T10:56:00.000Z

Rising stars of the choral world Stile Antico will present a spectacular concert of Renaissance choral music in Oxford on Wednesday 16th January, to launch its new album. The concert will be held in the magnificent setting of the Sheldonian Theatre and will feature an exclusive preview of songs from the group's forthcoming second album entitled Heavenly Harmonies.

The concert is being presented in association with Blackwell Music, the well-known music specialists on Oxford's Broad Street. Blackwell Music Shop Manager, Vanessa Williams comments 'We are delighted that Stile Antico will be performing. It is a fantastic opportunity for us to be associated with such a well regarded Early Music choir and to hear some of their new album before it is released.'

The first disc for Harmonia Mundi, Music for Compline, proved a spectacular debut. As well as receiving widespread acclaim in the UK press, it was a hit abroad, spending 14 weeks in the US classical charts and peaking at #2 (coincidentally behind Sting's album). More recently it was awarded the prestigious 'Diapason d'Or de l'Annee' by the French music industry. 2008 sees Stile Antico perform in multiple well-known venues and festivals across the UK, France, Belgium, and Holland.

The concert celebrates the launch of their second CD, entitled Heavenly Harmonies. Concert-goers will be able to purchase a copy of Stile Antico's new album over 2 weeks in advance of nationwide release - and get a chance to meet the group in person. Above all, they will experience singing described by the Sunday Times as "staggeringly beautiful".

For more information and to book tickets please visit www.blackwell.co.uk or call 01865 333586.

Amazon.com lists Stile disc in Top 10 of 2007

2007-12-04T13:01:00.000Z

Hard on the heels of its Diapason success, Stile Antico's debut album Music for Compline has been awarded a further accolade, this time by the editorial team at amazon.com.

The disc, which topped Amazon's classical bestseller list during the summer, has been named as one of the Top 10 classical releases of 2007. Click here to see the full list.

Stile Antico wins disc of the year

2007-11-29T13:24:00.000Z

Congrautlations to Stile Antico, who has just been awarded the highly prestigious 'Diapason d'Or de l'Annee' for its debut album 'Music for Compline'. This award, from French CD magazine Diapason, was voted for by magazine readers and listeners of Radio France, as the best album this year in its group (early music).

The group originally won a 'Diapason d'Or' earlier in 2007 for the disc; to be awarded 'disc of the year' reflects the increasing popularity of Stile Antico's recordings and performances. The group is already receiving multiple invitations to perform in France in 2008.

Voces8 repeat success in Europe

2007-10-18T10:20:00.000+01:00

After a full five weeks of touring round Europe's concert halls and festivals (with dates in Italy, Slovenia and Spain, and an appearance on Slovenia's National Television), Voces8 returned to the UK for two sold-out performances in London the same week. Making their debut at Wigmore Hall on 29th September, Voces8 performed alongside Joan Rodgers, Mark Wilde and other famous names, in music by the composer Ronald Corp. Earlier in the week the group also showcased their hugely popular a cappella programme 'From Gibbons to Gershwin' at the Foundling Museum, to a packed and appreciative audience.

Continuing Voces8's UK-wide education programme, the group recently begun collaborating on a pilot project with 21st Century Legacy at St John's School, Malborough. This six-month programme brings focused workshops to young musicians and students, leading to a final performance for the wider community.

Ikon Arts newsletter available for download

2007-10-04T14:58:00.001+01:00

Read the Ikon Arts autumn newsletter online now - featuring news on our new artists, new artist manager Dean Kustra, and concert highlights this season. Click here IkonArtsAutumnnewsletter.pdfto download the file.

NEWSFLASH: NEW ARTISTS AND STAFF JOIN IKON ARTS

2007-09-24T16:00:00.000+01:00

Ikon Arts Management takes on management of 4 world-class artists, and also welcomes a new artist manager to its team, from October.

As of next month Ikon Arts will represent first-class cellist Raphael Wallfisch, revolutionary Canadian early music ensemble I Furiosi, as well as leading violinist Elizabeth Wallfisch, and exceptional young pianist Francesco Tristano Schlime. The company also welcomes on board new artist manager Dean Kustra, who will be joining Ikon Arts later in the month. Read the full press release here.PressreleaseSept07.pdf

[We are currently updating the website with our new artists' details so please check back again in a few days]

Stile Antico gets high praise in Opera Today

2007-09-22T14:51:00.000+01:00

International music publication and site Opera Today has called Stile Antico's debut recording "...surely one of the best early music recordings of the year". Critic Steven Plank's superlative review of the disc [Music For Compline - Harmonia Mundi], published last week, wrote: "the singing is simply extraordinary...the effect is exquisite and sublime". Read the full review here.

Music for Compline has spent over 12 weeks in the US Classical Charts, reaching Number 2 earlier this summer.