Nash Ensemble
The London-based Nash Ensemble is a chamber orchestra consisting of 11 regular members, though the number can vary widely according to works performed. The group's repertory is broad but favors modern works by English composers like Lennox Berkeley, Harrison Birtwistle, James MacMillan, and Mark-Anthony Turnage. It performs most of its subscription concerts at Wigmore Hall but also appears at other locations, including the Royal Festival Hall's Purcell Room and Queen Elizabeth Hall.
Founded in 1964 by Amelia Freedman, its longtime artistic director, the Nash Ensemble took its name from the famous Nash terraces in London, designed by architect John Nash. The ensemble initially developed its reputation in Great Britain, only slowly gaining recognition abroad. Its first American tour took place in 1981, but the group remained little-known in the U.S. until the turn of the 21st century. In England, however, it became recognized for its artistic achievements throughout the 1980s and thereafter, both for concerts and recordings. An early recording came in 1976 as the group backed The King's Singers on an album of vocal pieces by John Tavener.
In 2010, the Nash Ensemble became the resident chamber ensemble of London's Wigmore Hall. It performs most of its subscription concerts there but also appears at other locations, including the Royal Festival Hall's Purcell Room and Queen Elizabeth Hall. By that time, it had given more than 300 premieres by more than 200 composers. The group's membership has evolved over its half-century of existence, but the revolving door has turned very slowly. In the early '80s, the Nash Ensemble began recording for the Hyperion label, and it has remained mostly associated with the label, although it soon began recording with other labels as well, including CRD (Hummel and Berwald septets; 1989), NMC (Turnage works; 1995), and BIS (various albums, including one of chamber works by Harrison Birtwistle; 2022). The Nash Ensemble has continued to record prolifically, with releases balanced between mainstream repertory and contemporary works in many styles and from many different countries.
The members of the group have displayed equal sympathy for, to name two composers it recorded in the mid-2010s, George Gershwin and Birtwistle; its recording of the latter's Moth Requiem, with baritone Roderick Williams and the BBC Singers, was hailed by Blair Sanderson as having "a haunting quality that invites closer study." Birtwistle recurred in the group's 2017-2018 season at Wigmore Hall, along with "French Connection" programs featuring French Romantic and Impressionist composers. In 2020, the Nash Ensemble was heard on a Hyperion album of music by Clara Schumann and Fanny Mendelssohn, as well as a BIS release of music by John Pickard. The group returned on Hyperion in 2022 with an album of chamber music by Beethoven's student, Ferdinand Ries, and in 2024 on a recording of sextets by Tchaikovsky and Erich Wolfgang Korngold.
© James Manheim & Robert Cummings /TiVo
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Discography
18 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Stravinsky: Orchestral Works
Alexander Gibson, Sir Simon Rattle, Neeme Järvi, The Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Nash Ensemble
Symphonies - Released by Chandos on 1 Mar 1999
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
John Pickard: The Gardener of Aleppo & Other Chamber Works
Nash Ensemble, Martyn Brabbins
Classical - Released by BIS on 1 May 2020
24-Bit 88.2 kHz - Stereo -
Ludwig van Beethoven : Septuor et Trio pour clarinette
Classical - Released by Parlophone UK on 1 Jan 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tavener: Canciones españolas & Requiem for Father Malachy
James Bowman, Nash Ensemble, The King's Singers, Kevin Smith, John Tavener
Choral Music (Choirs) - Released by Lyrita on 1 Jan 1976
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Shostakovich: Piano Quintet Op. 57, Piano Trio No. 2 & 4 Waltzes
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 1 Jan 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart - Flute Quartets/Chamber Music
Classical - Released by Parlophone UK on 5 Jan 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Debussy: Les chansons de Bilitis, Sonata for Flute, Viola and Harp, Violin Sonata, Cello Sonata & Syrinx
Delphine Seyrig, Nash Ensemble, Marisa Robles
Classical - Released by Parlophone UK on 28 Dec 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Harrison Birtwistle: Chamber Works
Classical - Released by BIS on 7 Jan 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven - Septet; Clarinet Trio / Schubert - Octet
Classical - Released by Parlophone UK on 5 May 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dvořák: Dumky Trio - Saint-Saëns: Le carnaval des animaux
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 1 Jan 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dvorák: String Sextet; String Quintet; Intermezzo in B Major
Chamber Music - Released by Musical Concepts on 20 Sep 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
PIERROT LUNAIRE
Jane Manning, Nash Ensemble, Sir Simon Rattle
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by Chandos on 1 Jul 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Schoenberg/Shostakovich - Chamber Music
Classical - Released by Parlophone UK on 27 Jun 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Holt: ...Era Madrugada, Canciones, Shadow Realm & Sparrow Night
Classical - Released by NMC Recordings on 1 Mar 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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David Matthews: Winter Passions
Classical - Released by NMC Recordings on 28 Jun 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Connolly: Verse, Triad III, Cinquepaces & Poems of Wallace Stevens I
John Alldis Choir, Vesuvius Ensemble, Philip Jones Brass Ensemble, Jane Manning, Nash Ensemble, Justin Connolly
Classical - Released by Lyrita on 1 Jun 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo