UPDATE: Please note violinist Fenella Humphreys is indisposed and we are very grateful to violinist Mathilde Milwidsky for stepping in on very short notice for a similar Paris-inspired programme.

Music. Garden. Community. Every two weeks.

Concerts at Christ Church Kensington is a new concert series which brings together stunning acoustics, diverse musical talents and an enchanting organic garden in a charming neighbourhood in London.

Co-directed by Sam Barber, music director at Christ Church, and pianist Annie Yim, the inaugural concert series 2021/22 includes music ranging from the 12th century to contemporary composers. The bi-monthly lunchtime and evening concerts will feature award-winning soloists and ensembles, as well as student showcases from London music conservatoires.

As a non-profit community project, the concert series aims to pioneer a holistic approach to the concert experience. In partnership with Growing Space, a community organic garden at Christ Church, artists and audiences are invited to the enclosed garden (with covered areas) for a post-concert reception*.

THURSDAY 16 DECEMBER, 7:30pm

Concert 4: Mathilde Milwidsky violin & Annie Yim piano

Featuring music by composers with a Paris connection, starting with Mozart who travelled to Paris as a young man and published a set of violin sonatas there. The excitement of Paris as an artistic hub in the early 20th century was only intensified by the arrival of Stravinsky, the cosmopolitan emigré. Paris-born Lili Boulanger became the first woman to win France's Prix de Rome at age 19, while the musical world was scandalised when Ravel failed to win the same prize after his repeated attempts for five consecutive years.

Note programme change:

W. A. Mozart – Sonata for Piano and Violin in G, K. 301

Arvo Pärt – Fratres

Gabriel Faure – Après un rêve

Claude Debussy - Beau Soir

Claude Debussy – Violin Sonata in G minor

Doors open at 7:15pm for general seating.

*Ticket holders will enjoy a festive post-concert reception, including complimentary glass of wine and organic refreshments.

Mathilde Milwidsky, violin

Born in London in 1994, Mathilde has received praise from The Strad for her "perfect intonation and beautiful shaping and colouring, comprehensively nailing each new stylistic and emotional universe as she went" as well as the Ostfriesen Zeitung for “a unique, rarely heard musical experience...sensational.” She performs widely across Europe and live broadcasts include BBC Radio 3 ‘In Tune’, Swiss Radio Classic, Hessischer Rundfunk and Yle Radio Suomi (Finnish National Radio). She has been invited to festivals such as Prussia Cove, Fränkische Musiktage, Musikdorf Ernen, Lichfield and Presteigne. In 2021 she attends the Verbier Festival Academy as one of eight violinists chosen worldwide for the Soloist & Chamber Music programme.

Mathilde was the sole British violinist to be selected for the 2019 Queen Elisabeth Violin Competition and in the same year won 3rd Prize at the Windsor Festival International String Competition. Other awards include First Prize at Sweden’s Aurora Music Competition 2018, First Prize of the String Section of the Royal Overseas League Music Competition 2017, and major prizes in 2020 at the Peter Pirazzi Competition (Frankfurt) and Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben. In 2018 she became a laureate of the International Joseph Joachim Violin Competition and won a place on the St John's Smith Square Young Artist Scheme, for which she gave the world premiere of a work written for her by Sally Beamish. She has collaborated closely with other such esteemed composers as Cheryl Frances-Hoad, Huw Watkins and Joseph Phibbs.

Mathilde’s debut CD was released in 2020 and she was subsequently named Classical Music Magazine’s Artist of the Month. The album received widespread critical acclaim - “Mathilde Milwidsky is simply terrific, her tone, technique, and temperament the ideal mix and balance. Five stars: I’d give it 10 if I could. This is one of those once-in-a-decade or more discoveries.” (Fanfare Magazine, US). This was then followed by a 2021 CD release of both Beethoven Romances for the Guild label, and an upcoming debut unaccompanied album also for Guild, to be released later in 2021.

Mathilde studied in London with David Takeno and György Pauk and with Professor Mi-kyung Lee in Munich, generously supported by the Countess of Munster Musical Trust, Hattori Foundation, Drake Calleja Trust, and the Tillett Trust. She has received additional tuition from Maxim Vengerov, Alina Ibragimova and Pierre Amoyal. She plays a Guadagnini family instrument from a private collector in London.

www.mathildemilwidsky.com

Annie Yim piano

Hong Kong-born Canadian Annie Yim is a concert pianist based in London, and founder of MusicArt. Her performance has been described by The Times as "the most beautiful sounds, radiantly coloured, thoughtfully articulated”. Known for her wide-ranging solo and chamber music repertoire that encompasses canonic works and new music, Annie has broadcast live on BBC Radio 3, Classic FM, and national radios in Canada and Portugal.

Passionate about collaborations and commissioning new works across art forms, Annie founded MusicArt in 2015 in London, an initiative to create original artist-led performance projects. From London to Berlin and Salzburg, her performances with artists and art spaces were featured in New York T Magazine, Artnet, and Gramophone.

She has worked closely with contemporary artists include painter Sir Christopher Le Brun PRA, composers Cheryl Frances-Hoad and Raymond Yiu, and poets Zaffar Kunial and Kayo Chingonyi; and with leading art galleries and national organisations including The Poetry Society (UK) and the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute (US). Her book chapter 'MusicArt: Creating Dialogue Across the Arts' was published by Palgrave Macmillan in an edited volume in July 2020.

Annie is founding member of the Minerva Piano Trio, who made their London debut at the Southbank Centre in 2014 as Park Lane Group artists. She was St John’s Smith Square Young Artist in Residence in 2016/17 and made her UK concerto debut at LSO St Luke’s. She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree and completed her performance-based research on Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms at the Guildhall School of Music, studying piano with Joan Havill and musicology with Christopher Wiley at City, University of London.

She is grateful to be a recipient of Arts Council England's Developing Your Creative Practice award in 2021 for her current work in making connections between music and nature. www.annieyim.com

More about Christ Church Kensington: www.christchurchkensington.com

More about Growing Space: www. growingspace.london

COVID-19 Guidelines

In order to enjoy the concert safely, all visitors are required to wear a face covering indoors.

A socially-distanced seating area is available on the balcony. We will be providing refreshments both indoor and outdoor. There will be a hand sanitizing station at the entrance.

We thank you for your cooperation and look forward to sharing our safe event with you.