Live Music at The Firs

An Audience with Corinne

The extremely talented Corinne Frost will be performing ‘An Audience with Corinne’ an interactive and spellbinding experience for all lovers of music on Friday 11 October, Friday 6 December at 12pm for 45 minutes. 

This will be an entertainment of music and chat by professional cellist Corinne Frost with a mixture of classical, popular, British composers requests and improvised musical sound portraits, including Elgar and other English music.

“It’s a privilege to bring live music to The Firs and to be a part of The National Trust’s guardianship of Elgar’s Birthplace. The Carice Room has a lovely acoustic and seats 50-60 people. There’s a coffee shop, pretty gardens and of course the Birthplace cottage.  Altogether a place to visit regularly for live music, history, refreshments and lots more!” says Corinne Frost.

Trio Rosalba

York-based Trio Rosalba (Robert Webb - violin, Julia Brewer - cello, Helen Jones - piano) perform a recital programme including the Piano Trio by Fauré, and the Sonata for Violin and Piano by Debussy.

Trio Rosalba made their debut in 2018 performing Beethoven’s Archduke Trio in York, and are delighted to be performing in 2019 at Lichfield Cathedral and at Elgar’s birthplace The Firs. Husband-and-wife duo Robert and Helen have often performed recitals together, and first met Julia when playing Schubert’s Trout Quintet in the 2016 Filey Festival.

Robert Webb enjoys a varied career as a violinist, singer and music teacher. He performs chamber music with Trio Rosalba and with the Green Lane Ensemble, while orchestral engagements have included performances with the Orchestra of Opera North, Northern Ballet Sinfonia, and York Opera. Since 2015 he has worked at St Olave’s School, teaching violin and viola and directing string ensembles. He has often sung as a deputy with York Minster Choir.

Julia Brewer has lived in York for over 30 years. She teaches the cello at The Minster School, Queen Margaret’s School and St Peter’s School York. Julia has always been a keen chamber music player. She has played with The Field String Quartet for many years and is now enjoying some new repertoire with Trio Rosalba. She is a regular member of many local ensembles including York’s Guildhall Orchestra and particularly enjoys accompanying the choir of York Minster as a continuo player.

Helen Jones performs regularly in solo and chamber recitals and as accompanist with Yorkshire choirs including Stamford Bridge Singers. Recent solo performance includes the Schubert Bb Maj piano sonata in Ripon Cathedral, and she enjoys chamber music in duos, trios and quartets; current repertoire in preparation includes the Dvorak Eb Piano Quartet and Faure Piano Trio. Helen teaches piano privately, and combines musical work with a part-time position in Research Management in the Arts & Humanities Faculty at the University of York.

The Trio are performing here on Saturday 26 October at 1pm. 

This is a free concert but donations are warmly welcomed and go towards our performers. No booking necessary seats are on a first come first serve basis.  

Serenade for Clara 

The recital celebrating the bicentenary of Clara Schumann’s birth in 1819 will be performed by Sabine Gerlinde Smith and Michael Jones and portrays Clara as a lieder composer, complemented by vocal gems by her famous husband Robert and of course by Sir Edward Elgar, whose musical language was particularly inspired by Robert Schumann. As a bridge to the present, the concert is rounded off with Lieder by Sabine’s late husband Peter Bernard Smith, who was a great lover of Elgar’s music and whose compositions are clearly rooted in the (post)romantic English tradition. The programme is arranged in four parts, featuring “The Magic of Nature”, “Songs of Dreams”, “The Magic of Love” (including a world premiere) and “Songs of the Night” such as Robert’s “Moonlight”.

Mrs Smith, feels honoured to be accompanied in this concert by the acclaimed pianist Michael Jones from the Elgar School of Music.

Sabine has for many years, been working as a freelance musician, a flautist and leading orchestras and choirs. However, in 2011 she started to develop her singing with Anne Klare, who is a specialist in breathing techniques. Her first UK appearance was in 2014, where she gave a song recital at South Hill Park in Bracknell. Sabine’s works to date include the ‘Biblical songs’ by Dvorak and the works of Schumann, Brahms and Mendelssohn.

Michael was born in Birmingham and in 1974 graduated with prizes for piano, advanced harmony and musical distinction. He then went on to be a chamber and pianist music coach in Berlin until 1985. He made his first recital debut in London in 1983 and has both played and lectured at the Elgar School of Music.

Sabine and Michael will be performing Sunday 27 October at 11:30am and 2pm.

This is a free concert but donations are warmly welcomed and go towards our performers. No booking necessary seats are on a first come first serve basis.

Musical Box of Delights - A Cello and Piano Recital 

This well-established duo is a joyful collaboration of two inspiring artists renowned for their colourful interpretations of some of the greatest works for cello and piano. 

This scintillating duo will entertain you with a musical box of delights including works by Hadyn, Elgar, Breval, Schubert-Arpeggione, and a rarely performed arrangement of a work by Elgar - Sursum Corda. 

Programme to include;

Haydn Minuet in C 4' , Breval Sonata in G 11' (or Mendelssohn Variations Concertante), Elgar Sursum Corda 8' , Chanson de Nuit 5', Schubert Arpeggione Sonata 25' and Encore - Forvantan 5' . 

Performing Friday 22 November at 1pm tickets are £8 and pre-booking is advisable through emailing Kirsty.Bothma@nationaltrust.org.uk or ringing 01905 333 330.  

Cellist Corinne Frost was a member of the Philharmonia orchestra for seven years, and today is co-principal cello in the ESO as well as an active soloist and ensemble player. She was instrumental in establishing the ESO’s widely praised series of Care Home Concerts and serves as a Governor of the Elgar School of Music. Corinne is an Associate of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and enjoys teaching both at Marlborough College and privately.

Pianist Janine Parsons completed her studies at the Birmingham Conservatoire, having gained a B Mus (Hons) degree and a Post Graduate Diploma. She studied piano with Frank Wibaut and Professor Malcolm Wilson. As soloist she gave her debut recital at the Purcell Rooms, London and has since given concerto performances including Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, Chopin’s piano concerto no 1 with The Worcester Philharmonic Orchestra; Haydn’s piano concerto in D Major with Volante Strings and Mendelssohn’s concerto in A Minor with the English String Orchestra.