Overview
The Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective has been hailed for its ‘exhilarating performances’ (The Times), and was dreamed up in 2017 by Tom Poster and Elena Urioste, who met through the BBC New Generation Artists Scheme. Its flexible roster today includes some of the UK’s most inspirational musicians, six of whom join us for the weekend.
Among many achievements and accolades, the ensemble has been Associate Ensemble at Wigmore Hall since 2020 and its numerous appearances there have included giving the Hall’s 120th birthday concert in May 2021. It is an ensemble-in-residence at the Aldburgh and Cheltenham festivals among others, and the group’s recordings have received glowing reviews, and have been nominated for BBC Music Magazine and Gramophone awards.
The programme for the weekend is centred around the music of Johannes Brahms. In addition to three of the composer’s own major works, music by earlier composers that he revered (Mozart and Schubert) and by those from his closest personal circle (Robert and Clara Schumann, Dvořák) is included – along with compositions by a number of his associates and contemporaries who deserve to be far better known.
We have extended our format to include five concerts rather than the usual four, and three nights’ accommodation. We begin on Friday afternoon, and the final concert takes place on Sunday evening, allowing for a relaxed departure on Monday morning.
You can also listen to Kaleidoscope founders Tom Poster and Elena Urioste as part of our online talks series: ‘Conduct, Compose, Perform: a musician's life' (23 May–6 June) – hear them reveal the secrets behind their success, the music they are championing, and how they manage busy performing schedules as parents.
Concert 1: Friday 15 November, 5.30pm
Dora Pejačević, Piano Quartet in D minor, Op.25
R. Schumann, Three Romances for oboe and piano, Op.94
Dvořák, Piano Quartet No.2 in E flat, Op.87
Ends: c. 7.40pm
Concert 2: Saturday 16 November, 10.30am
Louise Héritte-Viardot, Piano Quartet in A, Op.9 Im Sommer
Brahms, Piano Quartet No.3 in C minor, Op.60
Ends: c. 12.30pm
Concert 3: Saturday 16 November, 5.30pm
Schubert, Winterreise, D911
Ends: c. 7.30pm
Concert 4: Sunday 17 November, 10.30am
Mozart, Oboe Quartet in F, K.370
R. Schumann, Mondnacht (arr. Colin Matthews for oboe and string trio)
C. Schumann, Songs (arr. Kaleidoscope for oboe and piano)
Brahms, Violin Sonata No.1 in G, Op.78
Ends: c. 12.30pm
Concert 5: Sunday 17 November, 5.30pm
Coleridge-Taylor, Piano Trio in E minor
August Klughardt, Schilflieder for oboe, viola and piano, Op.28
Brahms, Piano Quartet No.1 in G minor, Op.25
Dr Katy Hamilton
Writer and broadcaster, she has provided talks for, amongst others, Wigmore Hall, BBC Proms and the Oxford Lieder Festival. A frequent contributor to BBC Radio 3, Katy’s specialism is the music of the 19th and early 20th centuries, and she is the editor of Brahms in the Home and Concert Hall (2014) and Brahms in Context (2019). Katy has taught at the Royal College of Music, City Lit, and the Universities of Nottingham and Middlesex.
Prices, per person
Two sharing: standard double or twin £1,440; Garden Room £1,760.
Single occupancy: deluxe single £1,440; standard double for sole use £1,610.
Included
Five concerts, talks on the music, accommodation for three nights, breakfasts, three afternoon teas, three dinners, interval drinks, programme, tips for hotel staff.
Tickets to individual concerts
£30 mornings, £35 evenings. Interval refreshments and a programme are also included. To book these online, please visit this page or contact us.
Start and finish times
Rooms are available for occupancy from 3.00pm on Friday 15 November, with afternoon tea also available from this point.
Participants check out individually on Monday 18 November after breakfast.
Accommodation
The Castle is renowned for its excellent service, for comforts traditional and modern, and for its superb catering. It has been owned and run by the Chapman family for over 60 years. Chamber music events have been held here since 1977, and Martin Randall Travel took over the running of them in 2003.
The hotel’s bedrooms are individually and charmingly decorated. Doubles and twins are mainly of a good size, and the largest are the Garden Rooms. All single occupancy rooms have double beds, and a single supplement is not charged for the smallest – the so-called ‘deluxe singles’. The majority of rooms have a bath with a shower fitment; a very limited amount have walk-in showers.
The hotel has a lift, though some bedrooms are then accessed via stairs, and the Music Room (not accessible by lift) is on a mezzanine level, up a flight of stairs from the lobby. Please let us know when you book if you have specific access requirements.
Taunton lies on the doorstep of Exmoor and the Quantocks, areas with some of the loveliest countryside in England.
Combine with
The Romans in Britain, 6–8 November
