Stane Street Sinfonietta return to St Mary’s Church, Horsham

Stane Street Sinfonietta, with their leader Sophie Mather as soloist, are back at St Mary’s Church, Horsham on Saturday, September 11 to play Vivaldi’s classic The Four Seasons together with a recent re-imagining by British-German composer Max Richter.
Sophie MatherSophie Mather
Sophie Mather

The concerts give a rare opportunity to hear the two versions side by side, says Stane Street Sinfonietta founder Steve Dummer.

“Vivaldi’s original, first published in 1725, is a group of four wonderfully inventive concertos for solo violin and strings exploring the sounds, sights and dramas contained in the seasons of the year.

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“In 2012, Max Richter, a multi-award-winning composer and producer, and one of the most influential creative talents on the current classical music scene, released a re-composed version of the original discarding as much as 75 per cent of Vivaldi’s score and incorporating the sounds of minimalism and trance music.

“The result topped the classical charts for many weeks and has become a classic in its own right.”

Sophie Mather, the soloist for both pieces, is Stane Street Sinfonietta’s regular leader and is also a member of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Manchester Camerata and the Berkeley Ensemble and plays regularly with the LSO, CBSO, Scottish Ensemble and London Sinfonietta.

Started in 2018 by Steve, Stane Street Sinfonietta is a professional chamber orchestra gathering musicians who live in or have a connection to West Sussex.

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Many of them combine work with the country’s top orchestras and ensembles – including the LPO, RPO, LSO, Philharmonia, BBC Symphony Orchestra and CBSO and in West End theatres – with teaching at schools in the area as well as providing coaching for local amateur groups.

“Stane Street was the Roman road that connected London to Chichester and is, metaphorically speaking, the same road the musicians often take on their way to work,” Steve said.

The concerts are at 2.30pm for the Vivaldi and 4pm for the Max Richter.

“Refreshments will be available between the performances and afterwards giving a great opportunity to compare, contrast and discuss the two versions with the players and fellow concert-goers.

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“Tickets, only available in advance from our website www.stanestreetsinfonietta.com, can be purchased for the combined concerts at £20 with a concessionary rate of £8 for under-18s but if you prefer your Vivaldi unadulterated, or just want to hear Max Richter’s beautiful updating, you can buy a ticket for each concert separately at £12 (£5 for under 18s).”

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