ChamberMusicBox
Saturday, 10th May, 2025 | 7:30pm
Elgar – Piano Quintet in A minor, Op. 84
INTERVAL
Fauré – Piano Quintet No. 1 in D minor, Op. 89
Mahler – Piano Quartet in A minor
Yuri Kalnits, violin
Alicja Smietana, violin
Matthew Kettle, viola
Julia Morneweg, cello
Ilya Kondratiev, piano
The ChamberMusicBox journey originally started in the most unlikely of ways when, halfway through 2015, the weekly delivery of organic vegetables landed on the doorstep of the food-obsessed household of violinist Yuri Kalnits and cellist Julia Morneweg, both at that point already well-known on the chamber music circuit. As Julia marvelled at the wonderful quality and variety of these ingredients in her veg box that had led her to discover so many new flavours and recipes, a thought came to her mind: “Why not come up with a similar concept for chamber concerts? Why does it always have to be a whole programme of string quartets, piano trios or cello sonatas when there is so much fabulous chamber music repertoire out there that barely gets heard and we have so many amazing musician friends from all over the world to play it with?” She shared her thoughts over dinner with Yuri – a man well-accustomed to his other half’s late-night musings – and, several glasses of wine later, the idea had a name: ChamberMusicBox!
Six months later, in January 2016, the first ever ChamberMusicBox concert took place in the cosy surroundings of Burgh House in Hampstead, North London, a picturesque historic building and museum that became our first ‘home’ for two seasons. The artist roster grew quickly, with renowned soloists, members of leading ensembles and principals of top UK and European orchestras all joining forces to perform programmes that are as diverse as they are unique. Having outgrown the capacity of Burgh House by 2018, ChamberMusicBox moved its base to nearby Rosslyn Hill Chapel, a wonderful concert venue boasting ample space and a Steinway concert grand piano. In the first four seasons, more than 55 CMB artists from over 20 nations performed more than 60 different works ranging from duos to nonets!
Post-COVID and since 2022, ChamberMusicBox continues to perform concerts of exceptional calibre across London and the rest of the UK, both in their own series as well as by invitation for some of the country’s leading chamber music promoters. Recent appearances include the 2023 Swaledale Festival, a tour of South West England for Concerts in the West, a recital at the London School of Economics as well as their international debut in the prestigious Pharos Arts Foundation Series in Nicosia, Cyprus. We look forward to the next chapter of this unique journey that is made so special by the incredible talent, friendship and dedication of all those involved.