March 19th 2011 Celebrity Concert £15
tickets only
Bradley Creswick ~ violin Margaret Fingerhut ~ piano
photo photo
Programme
Sonata in Bflat Mozart
Sonata in C minor Beethoven
Tangos Piazzolla
Selection of Hungarian and Gypsy pieces Tzigane Ravel

Bradley Creswick was born in Bognor Regis, where many remember him as an outstanding member of the West Sussex Youth Orchestra. Since then his career has been remarkable. He has a long association with Northern Sinfonia going back to 1984 when he was first appointed leader. The musical life then, as now, was amazingly rich and varied, providing some personal highlights such as the EMI recording of Vaughan Williams' Lark Ascending and Concerto Accademico with Richard Hickox, performing Prokofiev's Concerto #2 for Radio 3 and recording all the Handel Op6 Concerti Grossi with George Malcolm. More recent recordings include: Handel Concerti Grossi Op3 for Naxos and the Sinfonia Concertante for Violin and Viola by Mozart with the Zurich Chamber Orchestra. In 1987 Bradley moved to London to lead the Philharmonia, still maintaining his relationship with the Sinfonia, making guest appearances, notably as soloist with them in the 1989 BBC Proms playing the Lark Ascending. The London years continued as leader of the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House before taking the opportunity, in 1994, to return to the Sinfonia and the Northeast for a second time. Working at The Sage Gateshead now provides the chance to play with an even greater variety of musicians, such as James Crabb and Bruce Molsky. Recently, Bradley has been invited twice to the Marlboro Music Festival in America and is asked regularly to guest lead a wide range of orchestras. Playing with friends is a vibrant part of life and he relishes the chance to play with the pianist Margaret Fingerhut, giving recitals around the country; and has occasionally been heard playing western swing fiddle "back home".

Margaret Fingerhut is regarded as one of the most poetic pianists of her generation who has captivated audiences in many different countries with her imaginatively designed recital programmes, As a concerto soloist she has appeared with the London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic, Scottish Symphony Orchestra and the London Mozart Players. She is often heard on BBC Radio 3 and Classic FM and many radio stations worldwide. Her film and television appearances include a role in "Testimony", Tony Palmer's film about Shostakovich.