Concerts in Association with the German YMCA in London
Programme
Programme
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827)
Violin Sonata No. 10 in G major, Op. 96
for violin and piano
I. Allegro moderato
II. Adagio espressivo
III. Scherzo: Allegro
IV. Poco allegretto
Franz Schubert (1797–1828)
Impromptu No. 3 in G-flat major, D. 899
for solo piano
Johannes Brahms (1833–1897)
Violin Sonata No. 3 in D minor, Op. 108
for violin and piano
I. Allegro
II. Adagio
III. Un poco presto e con sentimento
IV. Presto agitato
The Schubert Society of Britain's
Summer Concert
with
Madeleine Mitchell
Violin
&
Lorna Griffitt
Piano
Thursday, 21 May 2026, 14:00
St. James's Church
Sussex Gardens
W2 3UD
Madeleine Mitchell
Madeleine Mitchell, described by The Times as ‘one of the UK’s liveliest musical forces (and) foremost violinists”, has performed as solo violinist and chamber musician in 50 countries, frequently broadcast for radio and TV, in festivals including the BBC Proms. Recent major tours include Japan, USA and Brazil 2026. Her latest album, Violin Conversations (Naxos) was reviewed by The Telegraph: ‘Is Madeleine Mitchell the future of classical music? An album of subtle charm’.
A frequent recitalist in a wide repertoire, Mitchell represented Britain in the Canberra International Music Festival, broadcast by ABC, UKinNY at Lincoln Center and for the Queen’s Jubilee in Rome. She has given recitals at Sydney Opera House, Seoul Center for the Arts – part of a 3 month world tour, in Vienna, Moscow, Singapore, London’s Southbank Centre and Wigmore Hall and for BBC Radio 3. She is also known for her engaging spoken introductions and imaginative programmes.
As a recording artist, Madeleine has been nominated for Grammy and BBC Music Awards, including many works written for her by well known composers - MacMillan, Nyman, Wallen etc. Her popular albums include Violin Songs (including Schubert ‘Ave Maria’) - Classic FM Album of the Week, Violin Muse and FiddleSticks in her award winning collaboration with percussion. She’s also championed early 20th century music including Grace Williams Chamber Music (no.2 in the Classical Charts).
Madeleine Mitchell has performed concertos with BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Czech and Polish Radio Symphony, Wurttemberg and Munich Chamber, Kiev Radio/TV, St Petersburg Philharmonic, the Royal Philharmonic and other London orchestras.
She won a Royal Philharmonic Society award to make a short film (on YouTube) with the V&A Fabergé exhibition and the live quartet concert she curated with the London Chamber Ensemble which she founded. Their album of Howells & Wood Quartets Quartets has been widely praised, with further albums of 1st recordings of Charles Wood String Quartets released in 2026, and concerts this year at the English Music and Three Choirs Festivals. Her piano trio has also had great success.
Madeleine devised the eclectic Red Violin, the first international festival celebrating the violin across the arts, Founder Patron Lord Menuhin. She is a professor at the Royal College of Music, gives masterclasses worldwide and teaches on www.LMFL.org and the Orfeo Festival in the summer.
Lorna Griffitt
Lorna Griffitt began her performing career aged 16 as soloist in the Grieg Piano Concerto. Her teachers included Gyorgy Sebok and Maria Curcio. She received her doctorate with distinction in piano performance from Indiana University under the tutelage of Menahem Pressler.
Griffitt enjoys an active career as soloist, chamber musician and pedagogue in the US, South America, Europe and the Middle East. Her performances have taken her to Carnegie Hall, Performance Today with Martin Goldsmith, the Presidential Palace in Nicosia, Cyprus, many appearances in Brazil, including the British Embassy in Brasilia, the German Consulate, Sala Cecilia Meireles, Candelaria Cathedral and Centro Cultural Justica Federal in Rio de Janeiro, as well as other major cities in the country.
In London, Griffitt has performed at the Conway Hall for the London Chamber Music Series and at the Brazilian Embassy. She has also performed extensively in Italy and France and on live national radio and TV broadcasts in France, Lebanon, Brazil, and Cyprus. In California, she has performed at the LACMA-Music, Sundays Live from the Leo S. Bing Theatre and for Sundays at Four, Dame Myra Hess Concerts, Live Chamber Music Broadcasts on KUSC. At the Barclay Theatre, she has performed for the Philharmonic Society and Laguna Chamber Music Society Series and for the UCI Chancellor’s Distinguished Series with the Chilingirian String Quartet. She has also given chamber music tours in England, France, Portugal and Italy.
Griffitt has enjoyed a long career as a professor of piano, beginning her teaching career in 1974 at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana and, in 1993 after more than two decades there, joined the music faculty at the University of California, Irvine. In 2022, Griffitt recorded in London a compact disc of solo piano and violin duo works by Clara Schumann, Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms with violinist Haroutune Bedelian, produced by Michael Ponder and released by Centaur Records.
Currently during the summers, Griffitt is invited as guest artist to the Orfeo International Music Festival in Vipiteno, Italy and to the Rio International Cello Festival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil where she teaches, gives master classes and performs in concerto and chamber concerts with various international artists. She and Madeleine Mitchell have performed together both at theOrfeo Festival and in the USA.