A gift for melody
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
To those of you who came to hear Stephen Gutman and I play our ‘taster recital at the NCEM and to launch the programme for the 2026 York Chamber Music Festival,
thank you for being there. We had some very touching responses. It is such a joy to connect with the York audience like this.
We are carrying on the ‘Gems of the Romantic Cello’ theme to open the main festival, this time I am playing with the wonderful pianist Katya Apekisheva, returning from last year’s festival. The cornerstone of our lunchtime recital is Chopin’s Cello Sonata, easily his most important chamber music piece and the last he published in his sadly brief life.
Tim Lowe, Artistic Director
Chopin Cello Sonata in G Minor, Op. 65
Frédéric Chopin arrived in Paris on 5 October 1831 and would never return to his native Poland. He was already famous as a (piano) miniaturist - mazurkas, waltzes, nocturnes, polonaises flowed from Chopin’s pen. But in Paris he was practically worshipped as a virtuoso pianist and set a standard too of sartorial elegance; something of an eye-catching dandy in Parisian salons.
Chopin’s gift for melody is there in abundance in his cello sonata, winning a place deep in the hearts of music lovers. If only we could time-travel to the first performance at the Salle Pleyel on 16 February 1848 given with his friend and gifted cellist, Franchomme. The piece had a rough gestation because it was hewn from the depths of Chopin’s soul and at a time of emotional turmoil in his life - for the full and somewhat bizarre back story to this performance see the programme note on the festival website.
In the here and now, come to the performance of Chopin’s Cello Sonata - his chamber music masterpiece played not in a French salon but in the beautiful surroundings of the Unitarian Chapel on St Saviourgate - built in 1692 – and blessed with a perfect acoustic for this soulful music.
EVENT ONE
11 September 1.00 -2.00pm
Unitarian Chapel, St Saviourgate, York
Tickets £15
‘Gems of the Romantic Cello II’
Tim Lowe (cello)
Katya Apekisheva (piano)
Felix Mendelssohn Variations Concertantes Op. 17
Frédéric Chopin Cello Sonata in G Minor, Op.65
Bohuslav Martinů Variations on a Theme of Rossini H.290
Meet the artists
Katya travels the world as soloist and chamber musician. She has appeared with many of the UK’s leading orchestras - London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Halle Orchestra, the English Chamber Orchestra - working with renowned conductors such as Sir Simon Rattle, David Shallon, Jan Latham-Koenig. Her intense artistry and delicacy makes Katya a sought after collaborative pianist appearing regularly at major chamber music festivals around the world. At home she is a regular performer at London’s Wigmore Hall.
Tim spends much of his time playing solo and chamber recitals throughout the UK and Europe. Tim enjoys many collaborations including with Steven Isserlis, Angela Hewitt, Anthony Marwood and Philip Glass (recording Glass’s opera The Trial). He has recorded chamber music CDs for various labels, including for Deutsche Grammophon, Naxos, Chandos and Champs Hill.
