London Art Week, Cromwell place & PHILHARMONIA ORCHESTRA
A DIALOGUE BETWEEN ART & MUSIC
3 & 6 JULY 2022
London Art Week is pleased to introduce a special theme, Music & Dance, creating an artistic thread between galleries during the event taking place in galleries and online from Sunday 3 to Friday 8 July 2022. Augmenting this theme is an exciting new partnership between LAW, the arts hub Cromwell Place and the Philharmonia Orchestra, to present a series of chamber concerts in special gallery settings.
The concerts will be held on Sunday 3 and Wednesday 6 July in an intimate atmosphere surrounded by the finest works of art.
Tickets include access to an approximately 1-hour long concert followed by a guided tour of LAW participating galleries.
Scroll down the page to book your tickets and discover more.
Philharmonia Orchestra
Founded in 1945, the Philharmonia is a team of 80 musicians, of 16 different nationalities led by Principal Conductor, Santtu-Matias Rouvali.
Funded by Arts Council England and a family of supporters, the Orchestra has toured all over Europe, the USA, Japan and China, and their online performances are enjoyed by listeners from Fiji, Sudan and Indonesia to high above the Arctic Circle in Norway. The orchestra is based at the Southbank Centre, with residencies stretching to Bedford, Canterbury, Leicester, Basingstoke, the Three Choirs Festival, and Garsington Opera.
On the occasion of London Art Week, a trio of the Orchestra's leading string players, consisting of Joint Concert Master and violinist Zsolt-Tihamér Visontay, violist Yukiko Ogura and cellist Karen Stephenson, will perform a curated selection of music that reflects this year's theme and some of the galleries' highlights.
Learn more about the programme, the venues and the musicians below.
Programme & Venues
11.00 (BST)
SUNDAY 3 JULY
Tickets £22.15
MOZART Divertimento K. 563, I. Allegro
SCARLATTI ARR. OPPENHEIM Sonata K. 466
BEETHOVEN String Trio Op. 9 No. 1
JOHNSON Charleston
At Cromwell Place
The first chamber concert will be held in the former studio of prominent society painter Sir John Lavery (1856-1941) at Cromwell Place in South Kensington.
A frequent entertainer, Lavery's lavish parties greeted dignitaries, royalty and even war negotiators and he was known as much for putting on some great entertainment, as for the expressive and rapid brushstrokes in his most iconic portraits.
We invite you to experience both the tranquillity of the studio and the vitality of this performance.
Getting there: Cromwell Place, 4 Cromwell Pl, South Kensington, SW7 2JE
14.00 (BST)
WEDNESDAY 6 JULY
Tickets £22.15
MOZART Divertimento K. 563, I. Allegro
SCARLATTI ARR. OPPENHEIM Sonata K. 466
BEETHOVEN String Trio Op. 9 No. 1
JOHNSON Charleston
At Ben Elwes Fine Art
Journey upstairs to the intimate setting of our second concert hosted by Ben Elwes Fine Art. This first-floor gallery overlooks historic Maddox Street with its large, studio windows. Ben Elwes Fine Art has an established reputation as a specialist dealer in the field of Old Master and Modern paintings, drawings and sculpture. Notable works from the 16th to the 20th centuries acquired through Ben Elwes Fine Art feature prominently in museum collections worldwide. For London Art Week, the gallery will present a special exhibition, Mozart and Beethoven: Portraits and Personality. Located at the former site of a specialist luthier, this is a rare opportunity to experience the space flooded with the sound of string instruments once more.
Getting there: Ben Elwes Fine Art, 45 Maddox Street, W1S 2PE
17.00 (BST)
WEDNESDAY 6 JULY
Tickets £22.15
MOZART Divertimento K. 563, I. Allegro
SCARLATTI ARR. OPPENHEIM Sonata K. 466
BEETHOVEN String Trio Op. 9 No. 1
JOHNSON Charleston
At The Weiss Gallery
Famous for handling veritable masterpieces by Anthony van Dyck, Hans Holbein The Younger and William Larkin, The Weiss Gallery is a haven of portraiture. The gallery's signature dark red wallpaper is instantly recognisable and their unique space is believed to be the only remaining purpose-built gallery in the St James's area. Stroll down Jermyn Street for the third instalment of our chamber concert series and join us for this enchanting afternoon performance.
Getting there: The Weiss Gallery, 59 Jermyn Street, SW1Y 6LX
19.00 (BST)
WEDNESDAY 6 JULY
Tickets £22.15
MOZART Divertimento K. 563, I. Allegro
SCARLATTI ARR. OPPENHEIM Sonata K. 466
BEETHOVEN String Trio Op. 9 No. 1
JOHNSON Charleston
At Colnaghi London
Among the oldest commercial art galleries in the world, Colnaghi welcomes you to the closing event of this musical journey. Enter an elegant, modern space that offers a unique setting for works by the greatest names in art history, from Antiquity and Old Masters to some of the most celebrated artists of the contemporary art scene. Along with the Colnaghi Foundation, this space aims to foster an appreciation and enjoyment of pre-twentieth-century works for a new academic generation.
Getting there: Colnaghi, 26 Bury Street, SW1Y 6AL
For any queries or further information on the programme, please contact mail@londonartweek.co.uk.
Musicians
Zsolt-Tihamér Visontay is Joint Concert Master of the Philharmonia. The German-Hungarian violinist studied in Magdeburg, Germany and at the Franz Liszt Music Academy in Weimar. Zsolt has been leading major orchestras since he became Leader of the European Union Youth Orchestra (EUYO) in 2005, touring throughout Europe, Russia, Asia and the US. He became Joint Concert Master of the Philharmonia Orchestra at the age of 24. He has also performed as violinist/director with the Philharmonia, as well as the Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields. He has recorded for Decca and performed in major venues such as the Mozartsaal, Vienna; Salle Gaveau, Paris; and Wigmore Hall, London, collaborating with leading artists like Yefim Bronfman, Vladimir Ashkenazy and Min-Jung Kym.
The Joint Concert Master Chair is endowed by Daan and Maggie Knottenbelt.
Yukiko Ogura is Principal Viola of the Philharmonia.
The Japanese violist studied at Kyoto City University of the Arts, and later won a position as a member of the Kobe City Chamber Orchestra. First having studied violin, she became increasingly interested in the viola and pursued studies on the instrument in Tokyo and at Roosevelt University in Chicago.
Before joining the Philharmonia in 2015, Yukiko was violist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Eusia String Quartet, with which she won the gold medal at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition in 2001.
Her passion for the chamber music repertoire has remained the mainspring of her life. As a chamber musician, Yukiko has performed with artists such as Pinchas Zukerman, Lynn Harrell, Joseph Silverstein, Arnold Steinhardt, Lang Lang and the Vermeer Quartet.
The Principal Viola chair is endowed by The Tertis Foundation.
Karen Stephenson is No. 2 Cello of the Philharmonia. Karen took up the cello aged six and studied at Trinity College, Cambridge, and the Royal Academy of Music. A former Principal Cello of the National and European Youth Orchestras, she took up her position with the Philharmonia in September 2008. In demand as Guest Principal with leading UK orchestras, Karen also enjoys an active career as a chamber musician, playing with numerous ensembles at the Wigmore and Cadogan Halls, Buxton Festival and the Bridgewater Hall, Manchester. She has broadcast as a soloist on BBC Radios 2 and 3, and is widely involved in education as tutor for Pro Corda and the National Youth Orchestra, as well as a visiting professor and examiner at the Royal Academy of Music.
The No. 2 Cello Chair is endowed by Jane and Julian Langer.
Endowment opportunities at the Philharmonia offer supporters unique access and insights into their players. More information about endowing a chair can be found here.
Check out the Philharmonia's 2022/23 London season at the Southbank Centre.