Amici Ensemble with Simon Brew (saxophone)

The Amici Ensemble have played for us every year since 2000 and occasionally even before then.  Each time Donald Armstrong’s group delights us by being different – different ensemble combinations, different musicians, interesting and innovative programmes and popular returns of the great chamber music classics.  In 2026 they add a saxophone to their group to perform an enterprising mix of previously unheard repertoire.

Since Adolf Sax invented the saxophone in the1840s, many composers, including Debussy and Ravel, have been enchanted by the beauty of its tone, blending it with other instruments and influencing more recent composers such as Ellen Taaffe Zwilich and Russell Peterson.

Ellen Taaffe Zwilich is the first female composer to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music.  Her expressive quintet explores the sonorities available when saxophone and strings combine, while Russell Peterson’s colourful, imaginative work seamlessly blends jazz and classical elements.

Two string quartets provide contrast: Max Richter’s peaceful, minimalist “On the Nature of Daylight” and Mozart’s glorious final string quartet.  The evocative sounds of Piazzolla’s Argentina will close this fascinating and entertaining programme.