Wigmore Soloists

The Wigmore Soloists are a flexible chamber ensemble of 12 players associated with London's Wigmore Hall. It is the first ensemble honored with such an association. The Wigmore Soloists originated as a product of the COVID-19 pandemic. The group was founded in 2020 by Wigmore Hall director John Gilhooly, who created several other ensembles around the same time to serve audiences interested in streamed classical music concerts from the London hall. He worked with the group's two leaders, violinist Isabelle van Keulen and clarinetist Michael Collins, to organize the new ensemble, which consists of 12 instruments: three violins, viola, cello, double bass, clarinet, flute, bassoon, trumpet, horn, and piano (in other words, a string quintet, a wind quintet, and a piano). All of the members are London soloists of note. The new group made its debut in a streamed concert from Wigmore Hall on January 8, 2021, but went on to perform live as coronavirus restrictions eased. The group's large size allows for flexibility in the repertory it performs, and it has played a wide range of music from standard repertory to contemporary works, many of them newly commissioned. The Soloists' repertory has also excavated lesser-known chamber works from the pre-contemporary era; a May 2022 concert included the Septette Militaire in C major, Op. 114, of Hummel, and music from Bohuslav Martinu's ballet La revue de cuisine, as well as the more familiar Concertino of Leoš Janáček and the Piano Quintet in A major, Op. 81, of Dvořák. The Wigmore Soloists frequently perform at its namesake hall (with multiple performances scheduled through the 2022-2023 season) and have also appeared at major chamber music venues in countries other than Britain. Signed to the BIS label, the ensemble released its first album, featuring Schubert's Octet in F major, D. 803, in 2021. The Soloists followed that up in 2022 with an appearance on an album of Mozart clarinet works, featuring Collins and including Mozart's Clarinet Quintet in A major, K. 581.
© James Manheim /TiVo