The VHI series of events on the theme ‘grammars of wonder’ culminates with a lecture-recital by Steven Isserlis CBE, accompanied by Tom Poster. Isserlis will explore the themes of innocence and wonder in music, the most universal of arts. How does music evoke and encourage senses of wonder? Can music open us up to wonder in our world and lives when they are numbed by the speed, routine, and commodification of life? He will conclude with a performance of César Franck’s Cello Sonata.
Acclaimed worldwide for his profound musicianship and technical mastery, British cellist Steven Isserlis CBE enjoys a uniquely varied career as a soloist, chamber musician, educator, author and broadcaster. He appears with the world’s leading orchestras and conductors, including the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, Zurich Tonhalle and Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestras; and gives recitals every season in major musical centres. The recipient of many awards, Steven Isserlis’s honours include a CBE in recognition of his services to music, the Schumann Prize of the City of Zwickau, and the Piatigorsky Prize in the USA. In 2017, he was awarded the Glashütte Original Music Festival Award, the Wigmore Hall Gold Medal, and the Walter Willson Cobbett Medal for Services to Chamber Music. He gives most of his concerts on the Marquis de Corberon (Nelsova) Stradivarius of 1726, kindly loaned to him by the Royal Academy of Music.
Tom Poster is a musician whose skills and passions extend well beyond the conventional role of the concert pianist. In demand internationally as soloist and chamber musician across an unusually extensive repertoire, he has been described as “a marvel, [who] can play anything in any style” (The Herald), “mercurially brilliant” (The Strad), and as having “a beautiful tone that you can sink into like a pile of cushions” (BBC Music). Tom studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and at King’s College, Cambridge, where he gained a Double First in Music. He won First Prize at the Scottish International Piano Competition 2007, and the keyboard sections of the Royal Over-Seas League and BBC Young Musician of the Year Competitions in 2000.
The event will take place in the Chapel of St Edmund's College and registration is required. Please note that seats are limited and are available on a first come first served basis by following the link below.
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