Royal Albert Hall Introduces Sunday Classical Concerts, 4/4-6/4

Following the re-opening of the Elgar Room at the end of 2009 and the continued success of the ignite series, the Royal Albert Hall have collaborated with their neighbours at the Royal College of Music to offer an exciting new series of concerts. Launching at the beginning of April, these Classical Coffee Mornings give audiences the chance to listen to outstanding talent from the College as their students give Sunday morning classical recitals in the Hall's very own Elgar Room. With an inclusive offer that includes a hot drink and a pastry, this is the perfect opportunity to relax on a Sunday morning whilst listening to some truly exceptional musicians. Commencing on Sunday 4 April with the vocal and piano duo Paula Sides & Kumi Matsuo, this new series continues on select Sundays until June.

From the classic to the contemporary, these concerts give students a unique chance to demonstrate their talent and interact with a live audience whilst highlighting the long-standing connection between both venues. In fact this history goes as far back as Wednesday July 2 1884 when students held their first fortnightly recital in this space, then known as the West Theatre. Since then the College has seen a rich and diverse range of alumni pass through their doors including Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber, Julian Lloyd Webber, Benjamin Britten, Sir Andrew Davis, Sir Colin Davies, Gustav Holst, John Lill, Sir Malcolm Sargent and Dame Joan Sutherland, many of whom have performed or have seen their work performed on the main stage at the Royal Albert Hall. It seems only fitting that the Royal College of Music now return to this redeveloped space some 126 years later to continue the work of their predecessors.

These series of concerts continue the Elgar Room's 2010 season. Since it re-opened at the end of 2009 it has played host to the intimate Royal Albert Hall series Hush, which gives a platform at the Hall to unsigned bands, and stand-up comedy with Edinburgh favourite Patrick Monahan who returned to the Elgar Room on 19 February with his comedy show for kids. It has also seen live flute-beatboxing, a flamenco and percussion fusion with Kataka and an all-standing classical concert with Daniel Hope which, like this new series, aimed to present classical music at the Hall in a more formal and relaxed atmosphere.

Lucy Noble, Head of Programming at the Royal Albert Hall said, ‘We are immensely excited by these series of concerts. Not only does it give us the opportunity to work with new partners but it presents classical music at the Royal Albert Hall in an innovative new way. This continues the Elgar Room's diverse 2010 season and I am thrilled that we are able to develop our programme in support of these young artists'

The full listings for the Classical Coffee Mornings are:

Sunday 4 April: Paula Sides & Kumi Matsuo- A beautiful programme of Poulenc's Fiancailles Pour Rire, pieces from Mahler's Des Knaben Wunderhorn and Handel arias by a talented vocal and piano duo.

Sunday 11 April: Serge Vuille with Julia van Beuningen, Marta Santamaria & Antoine Francoise- This enthusiastic percussionist performs a lively programme of three contemporary solos for percussion and duets with his friends on cello, flute and percussion.

Sunday 18 April: Meng Yang Pan- Meng Yang Pan has played the piano since the age of three. Enjoy her relaxing programme of beautiful music by Schubert, Debussy, Liszt and Mozart

Sunday 9 May: Triumph Brass- An entertaining brass quintet with a great reputation and diverse repertoire. Join them for a lively programme of well-known classical favourites.

Sunday 16 May: Tom Ellis & Laura Snowden- Join this talented guitar duo for a brilliant mixed programme of music from baroque to contemporary including music by Weiss, Bartók and Rodrigo.

Sunday 23 May: Aleksei Kiseliov & Aliaksandr Muzykantau- Cellist Aleksei Kiseliov is joined by pianist Aliaksandr Muzykantau for Beethoven's Cello Sonata in D Major and Franck's Cello Sonata in A Major.

Sunday 30 May: Emerson Quintet- This versatile wind quintet will perform Ibert's Trois Pieces Breves, Nielsen's Wind Quintet and Jim Parker's Mississippi Five.

Sunday 6 June: The Matteo Quartet: Recognised as one of the next generation of up and coming string quartets, this programme includes Mozart String Quartet in C Major, K. 465 and Ravel's String Quartet in F Major.

Venue: Elgar Room, Royal Albert Hall, Kensington Gore, London SW7 2AP (Door 8- Circle Level)
Dates: 4, 11, 18 April, 9, 16, 23, 30 May and 6 June 2010
Times: Doors open at 10.45am with music from 11.30am
Tickets: £10 (includes a hot drink and pastry)
More information: www.royalalberthall.com or 020 7589 8212

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