To say thank you to Ensemble Cymru’s valued friends and members, we have set up Discover Chamber Music, a new part of our website where you will find enhanced content, exciting facts and amazing stories especially for you.
Articles
June 2026
Rising to the occasion
When I think of a violin and cello duo, I suppose my first thought is of Brahms’s Double Concerto in A minor, his final orchestral work, composed in 1887. For whilst the violin/cello duo does have its own repertoire, with no need for an orchestra, it’s not as large as one might expect … read more
May 2026
Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness
I always think of the clarinet as an autumnal instrument. It reminds me of that wonderful late poem by John Keats, To Autumn, written towards the end of his life, with its opening lines “Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun” … read more
April 2026
Two’s company, three’s a crowd
I grew up with two older brothers; one played the violin, the other viola and violin, and they liked to busk! They’d head off in the summer with their instruments, hitch-hiking round Europe and busking in towns and cities …. read more
March 2026
If music be the food of love, play on
Musical gifts, from composers to their loved ones, are a bit of a thing. Grieg, Strauss, Mahler and Schumann all created them, as did Elgar whose “Salut d’Amour” was given as an engagement present for his wife Alice …. read more
December 2025
The French and the Flute
The word ‘flute’ probably started as the Latin verb ‘flare’ meaning ‘to blow’, before entering the Old Provençal language as ‘flaüt’ and subsequently Old French as ‘fleüte’ or ‘flahute’. Early English spellings include ‘floute’ and ‘flowte’ …. read more
November 2025
Natural bedfellows – voice and violin
It is often said that the cello is the instrument best able to imitate the human voice. And that the piano or guitar are the instruments best suited to accompany the voice. But which instrument is best able to converse with the voice? …. read more
October 2025
One of our instruments is missing!
There are three different types of string trio. You can have two violins and a viola, or two violins and a cello, or a violin, viola and cello. Now, a cynic might say that a string trio sounds like a string quartet with one of its players missing …. read more
June 2025
Hidden away for 90 years!
“The clarinet is by far the finest woodwind instrument”. Now, there’s a controversial statement, if ever there was one! It’s one I’m sure the founder of Ensemble Cymru, clarinettist Peryn Clement-Evans, might entirely agree with! …. read more
May 2025
The Invention of the Reed Trio
After the First World War, when Margaret and Gwendoline Davies were back from France and were busy setting up Gregynog Hall as a flourishing centre for the performing arts… read more
