Ludlow Arts: Classical

Thursday Classical

Thursday 23 October 2025

7:30pm

Ludlow Assembly Rooms

Ravel at 150

Fenella Humphreys: violin
Martin Roscoe: piano

Maurice Ravel: Sonate No.1, Posthume
Ravel: Berceuse sur le nom de Gabriel Fauré
Gabriel Fauré: Sonata No.1 in A, Op.13
Lili Boulanger: Nocturne and Cortège
Vaughan Williams: The Lark Ascending
Ravel: Sonata No.2 in G

A welcome return to Ludlow of Fenella Humphreys and Martin Roscoe with a programme that celebrates the 150th anniversary of Ravel's birth in March 1875; with three works by Ravel himself and complementary works by Fauré, Lili Boulanger and Vaughan Williams.

The opening work was composed while Ravel was a student of Fauré and is clearly influenced by his teacher; and the delightful Berceuse of his later years is an obvious tribute to him written shortly after Fauré retired from the Paris Conservatoire.

Lili Boulanger, because of her tragically short life, has never attained the prominence of her older sister Nadia. Despite her being the first female winner of the Prix de Rome her relatively small œuvre compared to her sister probably explains this. The two of her three pieces for violin and piano in the programme demonstrate what a talent was lost to her ill-health.

Vaughan Williams's The Lark Ascending is a box office favourite and the concert is concluded with Ravel's witty, jazz inspired and sometimes dazzling second sonata completed in 1927.

Fenella Humphreys, winner of the 2023 BBC Music Magazine Premiere Recording Award, has attracted critical admiration and audience acclaim with the grace and intensity of her remarkable performances.

With her playing described in the press as 'alluring', 'unforgettable' and 'a wonder', Fenella is one of the UK’s most established and versatile violinists, having also won the 2018 BBC Music Magazine Instrumental Award. She enjoys a busy career combining chamber music with solo work, performing in the most prestigious venues around the world and is frequently broadcast on the BBC, Classic FM, Scala Radio and international radio stations.

With an extraordinary career spanning over five decades, Martin Roscoe is unarguably one of the UK’s best loved pianists. Renowned for his versatility at the keyboard, Martin is equally at home in concerto, recital and chamber performances. His enduring popularity and the respect in which he is universally held are built on a deeply thoughtful musicianship and his easy rapport with audiences and fellow musicians alike.

Tickets £22 (u18 £7) from Ludlow Assembly Rooms box office HERE