Wigmore Hall Series on the WFMT Radio network

WIGMORE HALL PERFORMANCES TO BE BROADCAST THROUGHOUT NORTH AMERICA ON THE

WFMT RADIO NETWORK

LIVE FROM WIGMORE HALL FEATURES 13 ONE-HOUR BROADCASTS MADE AVAILABLE TO STATIONS

BEGINNING APRIL 1, 2009

Wigmore Hall, considered by many to be the world's foremost venue for chamber music, is bringing its programming to American audiences via the WFMT Radio Network. Live From Wigmore Hall, a series of 13 one-hour broadcasts, will feature performances from some of the world's great solo and chamber artists. The series will also be offered to the member states of the European Broadcasting Union and to their associate members throughout the world. Stations may begin broadcasting the series starting April 1, 2009, and have a six-month period in which to broadcast all programs. Please consult your local listings for local station information and broadcast dates and times.

Live From Wigmore Hall will feature performances from the Wigmore archives, some that have been released on the Wigmore Hall Live label, and performances from the upcoming season. The series is sponsored by the American Friends of Wigmore Hall.

"The Live From Wigmore Hall series allows us to bring the unique Wigmore Hall musical experience into living rooms across the United States, and we are delighted to be undertaking this ground-breaking series. Wigmore Hall has long been regarded as one of the world's great chamber music venues and it is only right that its remit extends far beyond London's West End," says Wigmore Hall's director, John Gilhooly.

The WFMT Radio Network's General Manager, Steve Robinson, echoes the sentiment: "Wigmore Hall is the most prestigious home for chamber music in the world and, as the most prolific radio producer and distributor of chamber music concerts in the United States, WFMT is thrilled and honored to partner with them on this series. The range of artists and the exceptionally high quality of each performance on this first series is breathtaking and we look forward to many more seasons of concert broadcasts of this caliber."

Performances featured on these broadcasts include recitals from soprano Christine Brewer with pianist Roger Vignoles, the Ysaˆøe Quartet, the Nash Ensemble, and Flamenco guitarist Paco Peˆ±a, among others.

About Live From Wigmore Hall

Live From Wigmore Hall, produced by Darius Weinberg and hosted by Jon Tolansky, is produced on location in the Hall itself. Executive Producers are Wigmore Hall's Director, John Gilhooly, and WFMT's General Manager, Steve Robinson, along with host Jon Tolansky and series producer Darius Weinberg.

The series features recitals from the Arditti Quartet; soprano Christine Brewer with pianist Roger Vignoles; Michael Collins and Friends; the Gould Piano Trio; the Kopelman Quartet; baritone Christopher Maltman with pianist Julius Drake; the Nash Ensemble; Flamenco guitarist Paco Peˆ±a; the Scottish Ensemble; the Skampa Quartet; and the Ysaˆøe Quartet.

PROGRAM #1:

FOR BROADCAST ON OR AFTER: April 1, 2009

SOLOISTS: Ysaye Quartet

Debussy: String Quartet in G Minor

Stravinsky: Concertino

Three Pieces for String Quartet

Double Canon

PROGRAM #2:

FOR BROADCAST ON OR AFTER: April 8, 2009

SOLOISTS: Scottish Ensemble

Finzi: Romance for String Orchestra

R. Strauss: Metamorphosen

SOLOISTS: Michael Collins and Friends

Schubert: The Shepherd on the Rock

PROGRAM #3:

FOR BROADCAST ON OR AFTER: April 15, 2009

SOLOISTS: Christine Brewer, soprano; Roger Vignoles, piano

Wagner: Wesendonck Lieder

Britten: Cabaret Songs

Plus three encores including a Negro Spiritual

PROGRAM #4:

FOR BROADCAST ON OR AFTER: April 22, 2009

SOLOIST: Paco Peˆ±a, Flamenco guitar

A Flamenco Guitar Recital

PROGRAM #5:

FOR BROADCAST ON OR AFTER: April 29, 2009

SOLOISTS: Nash Ensemble

Mendelssohn: Octet in E-Flat Major, Op. 20

SOLOISTS: Arditti Quartet

Nancarrow: String Quartet No. 3

PROGRAM #6:

FOR BROADCAST ON OR AFTER: May 6, 2009

SOLOISTS: Scottish Ensemble, Jonathan Morton, Director

Bartok: Divertimento for Strings

Stravinsky: Concerto in D

PROGRAM #7:

FOR BROADCAST ON OR AFTER: May 13, 2009

SOLOISTS: Nash Ensemble

Beethoven: Clarinet Trio

SOLOISTS: Arditti Quartet

Ligeti: String Quartet No. 2

PROGRAM #8:

FOR BROADCAST ON OR AFTER: May 20, 2009

SOLOISTS: Skampa Quartet

Mozart: String Quartet in D Major, K. 575

Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 8

PROGRAM #9:

FOR BROADCAST ON OR AFTER: May 27, 2009

SOLOISTS: Christopher Maltman, baritone; Julius Drake, piano

Songs by Schubert, Wolf, Debussy, Duparc and Warlock

PROGRAM #10:

FOR BROADCAST ON OR AFTER: June 3, 2009

SOLOISTS: Kopelman Quartet

Tchaikovsky: String Quartet in E-Flat Minor, Op. 30, No. 3

PROGRAM #11:

FOR BROADCAST ON OR AFTER: June 10, 2009

SOLOISTS: Gould Piano Trio

MacMillan: 14 Little Pictures

SOLOISTS: Skampa Quartet

Smetana: String Quartet No. 2 in D Minor

PROGRAM #12:

FOR BROADCAST ON OR AFTER: June 17, 2009

SOLOISTS: Ysaye Quartet

Faure: String Quartet in E Minor

SOLOISTS: Arditti Quartet

Dutilleux: String Quartet, Anisi la nuit

PROGRAM #13:

FOR BROADCAST ON OR AFTER: June 24, 2009

SOLOIST: Gould Piano Trio

Schubert: Piano Trio No. 2 in E-Flat, D. 929

Programs are subject to change.

About Wigmore Hall

Wigmore Hall was built in 1901 by the German piano firm Bechstein next to its showrooms on Wigmore Street. The Hall was intended to provide a venue both grandly impressive and yet intimate enough for recitals. Originally called Bechstein Hall, it opened with two gala concerts on May 31 and June 1, 1901, featuring Italian pianist Ferrucio Busoni, Belgian violinist Eugˆ®ne Ysaˆøe, Ukrainian pianist Vladimir de Pachmann and several others

Designed by the leading English architect Thomas Collcutt in Renaissance style, using alabaster and marble walls, flooring and stairway, the celebrated acoustics soon attracted great artists including Artur Schnabel, Pablo Sarasate, Percy Grainger, Myra Hess, Arthur Rubinstein and Camille Saint-Saˆ´ns.

The outbreak of war in 1914 brought a political climate hostile to German firms in London; even Nellie Melba was criticized for singing Land of Hope and Glory accompanied on a Bechstein. At auction in 1916, the entire business ’Äì including studios, offices, warehouses, 137 pianos and the Hall itself ’Äì was sold to Debenhams for ’ǧ56,500. The Hall alone had cost ’ǧ100,000 to build. Since reopening as Wigmore Hall in 1917, the roll call of artists appearing has included Elisabeth Schwarzkopf; Sergei Prokofiev; Paul Hindemith; Andrˆ©s Segovia; Benjamin Britten; Francis Poulenc; Shura Cherkassky; the Amadeus Quartet and Jacqueline du Prˆ©. In modern times, the list has gone on to include such leading artists as Andrˆ°s Schiff; the Takˆ°cs Quartet; Brigitte Fassbaender; Geoffrey Parsons; Graham Johnson; Malcolm Martineau; Olaf Bˆ§r; Dame Felicity Lott; Ann Murray; Sir Thomas Allen; Cecilia Bartoli; Thomas Hampson; Dame Margaret Price; Anne Sofie von Otter; Ian Bostridge; Julius Drake; Matthias Goerne; Roger Vignoles; Joshua Bell; Steven Isserlis; Leif Ove Andsnes; the Belcea; Borodin; Emerson; Endellion and Hagen Quartets; the Academy of Ancient Music; The English Concert and The King's Consort.

William Lyne became the Hall's Director in 1966, and is credited with building Wigmore Hall's international artistic reputation as one of the leading recital halls. The Hall was the first to introduce themed seasons, with the Faurˆ© Series in 1979/80: in the course of 22 concerts, all of Faurˆ©'s chamber works and instrumental sonatas, as well as a substantial selection of the instrumental music and songs, were performed. Subsequent series have been devoted to the complete Britten songs, Schumann, Purcell, Haydn, Bartˆ„k, Janˆ°Ÿçek, Bach, Schubert, Shostakovich, and many others.

John Gilhooly was appointed as Director in 2005, having previously been Executive Director since 2000. Mr. Gilhooly led the Hall's ’ǧ4 million capital appeal and ’ǧ3 million refurbishment project (in 2004) which was widely praised. He has also overseen the complex negotiations around the purchase of a long-term lease for the venue and is currently leading a new ’ǧ3.1 million development appeal, to which ’ǧ2.4 million has now been pledged. Had the Hall not obtained the lease when it did, crippling rent increases would have curtailed the scope of the Hall's artistic remit, and it would no longer be able to maintain its international pre-eminence.

Since 2005, John Gilhooly has overseen all executive and artistic matters and recent seasons have seen the Hall reach an all-time high in terms of fundraising and concert attendance. In January 2008, Luke Bedford was named as the Hall's first ever Composer-in-Residence and a pledge of ’ǧ500,000 towards the commissioning of new music was also announced.

In 2005, Mr. Gilhooly launched the Hall's own CD label, Wigmore Hall Live, with the intention of bringing the Hall's musical programming to a wide international audience. Wigmore Hall Live already boasts 21 releases from recent and archival recitals, which have garnered critical acclaim. With peerless acoustics and a distinguished roster of artists, Wigmore Hall Live will continue to be a cherished catalogue and archive of first-rate concerts at the highest level.

In the ten years since it was started, the Wigmore Hall/Kohn Foundation International Song Competition has attracted applications of international standard from all over the world. Wigmore Hall is proud to be reinstating this prestigious competition and therefore highlighting its unique position as a leading song recital venue, continuing its ongoing commitment to this art form and to the fostering of emerging singers and pianists dedicated to the performance of song. The Kohn Foundation has generously provided critical support in underpinning the competition financially in 2007, 2009 and 2011.

About The WFMT Radio Network

The WFMT Radio Network syndicates concerts by the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Jazz at Lincoln Center Radio, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, performances in Live! at the Concertgebouw, as well as ongoing series and documentary specials such as Exploring Music with Bill McGlaughlin and the Peabody Award-winning series Leonard Bernstein: An American Life.

The WFMT Radio Network has presents a broadcasting landmark, a full season of American opera companies with performances by the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Los Angeles Opera On Air, San Francisco Opera and the Houston Grand Opera.

The WFMT Radio Network also offers exclusive programming from Germany's Deutsche Welle Radio, and a wide range of classical, folk, jazz, and public affairs programs to radio outlets around the world.

Over the years, the WFMT Radio Network programs have won every major award and honor in broadcasting. These include the Prix Italia, George Foster Peabody Award, Major Armstrong Awards, Ohio State Awards and awards from the International Radio Festival of New York.

WFMT's reach extends far beyond Chicago's borders. Through the WFMT Radio Network and its Beethoven and Jazz Satellite Networks, the station offers broadcasts of major symphony concerts, grand opera, drama, mainstream jazz, and folk music to over 650 outlets in the U.S. and around the world. Whether heard locally, nationally, or internationally though cable and syndicated programming, WFMT is a cultural resource that continues to become more vibrant every day.