We are looking forward to welcoming back Stephen Gutman (piano) and Hilary Sturt (violin) to perform a programme of Schubert, Brahms, Boulanger and Beethoven.
Programme
Mozart Violin Sonata K301
Brahms Sonata in A major Op 100
Boulanger Nocturne
Beethoven Sonata in G major Op 96
Biographies
Hilary Sturt Hilary Sturt studied the violin with Shiela Nelson, David Takeno, and Felix Andrievsky, graduating from the Guildhall School of Music and the Royal College of Music with solo, chamber and contemporary music prizes. As a violinist and violist she performed and recorded worldwide with Ensemble Modern for 20 years, including notable projects with Frank Zappa, Peter Eotvos and Pierre Boulez. Chamber music has played an important role in her life, previously as a member of the Rasumovsky Quartet and Apartment House, winners of the Philharmonic Society Award for the Most Outstanding Chamber Music in 2011. Most recently she is delighted to have joined the Bingham quartet.
Hilary is much in demand as a teacher, adjudicator, and conductor, sitting on audition and interview panels throughout the UK and was Head of Strings at St Paul's Girls' School for twenty-four years. Hilary was awarded an MA in Education from the University College London in 2018. Currently she is Head of Chamber Music at the Junior Department of the Royal College of Music and Instrumental Teaching Tutor and mentor to the MA Ed course at the Senior RCM. She has worked with the ABRSM as a Diploma examiner, recording the violin syllabus Grades 1-4 in 2015, and a member fot he advisory panel for the 2020 ABRSM violin syllabus.
Hilary is dedicated to contemporary music and education, fuelled by her passion for weaving, her husband's homemade sourdough bread and dog walking.
Stephen Gutman Stephen Gutman studied at the Royal College of Music in London and with Vlado Perlemuter in Paris. He won first prizes in the British Contemporary Piano Competition and the Brant Competition. He has performed as a soloist and chamber musician in the Royal Festival Hall, the Wigmore Hall, Carnegie Weill Hall in New York, Ueno Bunka Keikan in Tokyo, and throughout Europe. Stephen has worked with many ensembles and is active as a chamber musician. He has performed with a number of notable artists including Yfrah Neaman, Gyorgy Pauk and Karine Georgian and had a long-standing collaboration with soprano Sarah Leonard.
Stephen's enthusiasm for French keyboard repertoire including the French Baroque led to a critically acclaimed recording of the complete keyboard works of Rameau played on the modern piano for Toccata. The final CD received 5 stars in BBC Music Magazine. Other recordings are available on NMC and his performances have been broadcast on BBC Radio 3, Deutsche Rundfunk and France Musique.
His commitment to the music of our time has led to many composers writing for him including Tansy Davies, Gabriel Jackson, Colin Matthews and Anthony Payne. He wrote a chapter on the piano music of Simon Holt for a book published by Boydell.
Stephen has given piano masterclasses in the UK and internationally. He gives regular piano courses and chamber music courses at Jackdaws and Benslow Music.