Music in Portsmouth

08/11/2025

🎹 Review: John Bryden in Havant.

At St. Faith’s, Havant, pianist John Bryden delighted audiences with an engaging mix of music, history, and personal stories. His hour-long recital ranged from Handel’s Silent Worship to Gershwin, Haydn, Liszt, Chopin, and Schubert—each piece framed by witty and insightful anecdotes. Students of Bryden can even trace their musical lineage back to Beethoven! His warmth and flair made this lunchtime concert both entertaining and educational, a fitting finale to St. Faith’s International Piano Festival. A joyful reminder of how storytelling and musicianship can beautifully intertwine—let’s hope this inspiring festival returns soon.
https://musicinportsmouth.co.uk/review-john-bryden-in-havant

06/11/2025

REVIEW: The Renaissance Choir’s Song of Songs concert at St Peter’s, Petersfield (October 2025) beautifully bridged eight centuries of music. Celebrating Palestrina’s 500th anniversary, the programme paired his intricate “Fratres ego enim accepi” Mass for double choir and motets with modern settings of Biblical love poetry by Whitacre, Paulus and Daley. The evening opened evocatively with music by Hildegard of Bingen, and featured expressive piano interludes from Ravel and Peter Copley, sensitively played by Karen Kingsley. Under Peter Gambie’s direction, the Choir’s warmth, colour and commitment shone through, affirming the timeless appeal of Renaissance music and its living influence on today’s composers.

See https://renaissancechoir.org.uk/reviews/review-song-of-songs

04/11/2025

The poster says it all. See you there.

04/11/2025

🎶 Gather your loved ones for Christmas – The Candlelight Concert on Monday 1 December at 8:00pm.

A magical evening of live music, candlelight, and Christmas cheer awaits.

More details & tickets can be found here http://portcath.link/ctcc-25?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=facebook_page&utm_medium=Portsmouth%20Cathedral&utm_content=Christmas%20-%20The%20Candlelight%20Concert%202025

04/11/2025

04/11/2025

The venue!

04/11/2025

Wednesday 19th November, All welcome to join a Chamber Music Day University of Chichester Conservatoire following the piano duet recital on 18th November by Imma Setiadi & Nigel Clayton (piano duet) in the Chapel of the Ascension on the Bishop Otter campus. Music students - instrumentalists and classical singers - at the Conservatoire are invited to take part. It is open to the public from 1pm-6.45pm, free of charge, like open drop in masterclasses, ALL welcome.

03/11/2025

Review: Claire Barnett-Jones (mezzo-soprano) and pianist Rebecca Cohen brought Wigmore-level artistry to Portsmouth’s Menuhin Room on Nov 1 with a recital celebrating the fierce, overlooked voice of Alma Mahler. Moving beyond familiar “Felix, Robert, Wolfgang and Gustav,” they championed the women behind those names — Alma, F***y, Clara and Nannerl — through music of lush late-Romantic intensity. Alma’s songs, alongside works by Zemlinsky, Strauss, Korngold and Gustav Mahler, revealed drama, melancholy and radiant power, all delivered with rich tone and expressive sensitivity. Thoughtful programme notes illuminated the German texts, and a witty Tom Lehrer encore added a perfectly playful finish.
https://musicinportsmouth.co.uk/review-claire-barnett-jones-with-rebecca-cohen-at-the-menuhin-room

03/11/2025

Go to our News page to read our Autumn 2025 Newsletter, to find out about the exciting concerts planned for the 2026 festival, the celebration of our 125th birthday, the Festival of Young Composers, the September workshop, new trustees elected at the AGM, our Gold, Silver and Bronze sponsors and details of combined rehearsals for the Festival Chorus led by the inspirational Paul Spicer.

https://petersfieldmusicalfestival.org.uk/2025/11/01/festival-headlines-celebrating-125-years-1901-2026

31/10/2025

What's on in November 2025 - https://mailchi.mp/b374ad3657a7/mip-2025-nov