102nd Season 2026-2027
17 October - Harmoniemusik
14 November - Trio Bohémo
16 January - Maxwell Quartet
13 February - London Chamber Soloists (flute, viola, harp)
6 March - Gildas Quartet with Luba Tunnicliffe viola
THIS SEASON'S CONCERTS 2026 - 2027
For details of our previous concerts, please see the Concert Archive tab under the About ICMS page.
17 October 2026 at 7:30pm
Harmoniemusik
Rossini Wind Quartet No. 1
Poulenc Wind Trio
Arnold Divertimento, Op. 37
Saint-Saëns Tarantella for Winds
Mozart Quintet for Piano and Winds, K. 452
Harmoniemusik (www.harmoniemusik.org.uk) was founded in 1991 as a quartet comprising flute, clarinet, bassoon and piano/harpsichord. With an eclectic repertoire spanning three centuries, the group often teams up with other instrumentalists – in this case a horn player – to widen the scope of musical possibilities even further.
Their programme for us begins with a juvenile composition by Rossini that was originally written for string quartet, and concludes with one of Mozart’s mature masterpieces. In between we have Poulenc’s trio for oboe, bassoon and piano, Arnold’s ‘diversion’ for flute, oboe and clarinet, and a whirling dervish of a piece by Saint-Saëns. None of these works – with the exception of the Mozart – has been heard at an ICMS concert for at least 25 years, so we’re looking forward to making their acquaintance!
14 November 2026 at 7:30pm
Trio Bohémo
Haydn Piano Trio in E major, XV:28
Ravel Piano Trio
Marios Christou Dvořák in Cyprus
Smetana Piano Trio in G minor, Op. 15
We welcome back the multi-award-winning Trio Bohémo (www.triobohemo.com), founded in Budapest in 2019 and well established on the international chamber music scene. Their critically acclaimed debut CD (released in 2024) coupled Schubert’s Piano Trio No. 2, which they played for us in our centenary season, with the semi-autobiographical Smetana Trio, to be played this time.
At the heart of their programme is Ravel’s powerful Piano Trio, begun in March 1914 and hurriedly completed after the outbreak of WW1 so that the composer could enlist in the forces. Dvořák in Cyprus, written in 2022 by the Cypriot composer Marios Christou, was a Trio Bohémo commission. The composer describes it as a ‘playful work, based on a fantasy story I have invented, where Antonín Dvořák secretly visits the island of Cyprus’.
16 January 2027 at 7:30pm
Maxwell Quartet
Haydn String Quartet in C major, Op. 20/2
Prokofiev String Quartet No. 2
Eleanor Alberga String Quartet No. 4
Maxwell Quartet Folk Music of Scotland
The Maxwell Quartet (www.maxwellstringquartet.com) is regarded as one of Britain's finest young string quartets. The quartet’s roots are firmly based in Scotland, it has a strong connection to its folk music heritage (as we shall hear) and a commitment to expanding the string quartet repertoire. The quartet performs regularly across the UK and abroad at venues including the Wigmore Hall, Queen’s Hall Edinburgh, and Perth Concert Hall.
Prokofiev’s second quartet was composed in 1942 and makes use of several Kabardino-Balkar folk themes. The fourth quartet by Jamaican composer and pianist Eleanor Alberga OBE was co-commissioned by the Maxwell Quartet and received its UK premiere at the 2026 Aldeburgh Festival.
13 February 2027 at 7:30pm
London Chamber Soloists
Debussy Sonata for flute, viola & harp
George Fenton New work (LCS commission)
Ravel (arr. Skaila Kanga) Sonatine
Rawsthorne Suite for flute, viola and harp
Cesar Secundino Triptych
The three members of the London Chamber Soloists (www.annanoakes.co.uk/the-london-chamber-soloists) were drawn together by their shared passion for the flute, viola and harp repertoire. The group has performed at many British and French venues and festivals including Les Heures Musicales D’Aujols, the Fry Gallery, Saffron Walden, and Temple Music Concerts.
The Debussy Sonata was the first substantial piece written for this combination of instruments, which has also proved very suitable for an arrangement (by the Indian harpist Skaila Kanga) of Ravel’s popular Sonatine for piano. César Secondino – another harp virtuoso, from Mexico – wrote his Triptych, a blend of classical chamber music textures with Latin American folk rhythms, jazz and world music, for the London Chamber Soloists.
6 March 2027 at 7:30pm
Gildas Quartet with
Luba Tunnicliffe (viola)
Caroline Shaw Punctum
Schubert String Quartet in A minor, D. 804 (‘Rosamunde’)
Mozart String Quintet in C major, K. 515
The Gildas Quartet (www.gildasquartet.com) praised for their ‘energy, verve and refreshing approach’, has performed to critical acclaim at major venues including the Bridgewater Hall, Barbican Centre and Wigmore Hall, and appeared live on BBC Radio 3. The quartet has collaborated with many eminent British composers, and given recitals at international festivals such as Cheltenham, Lake District Summer Music and Oxford Lieder, as well as touring in Europe, China and South Africa.
Their programme opens with a short, evocative composition by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Caroline Shaw based on a Bach chorale, and is followed by a Schubert quartet that references a number of the composer’s own works including his incidental music for the play Rosamunde. Mozart’s K. 515 – the lesser-known but equally masterly companion to his famous G minor quintet – was the inspiration for Schubert’s famous String Quintet.