Music on Thursdays
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Thursday 9 July 2026
12.30 lunchtime
Venue: Leatherhead Methodist Church KT22 8AY
Parking: Swan Centre multi storey KT22 7RH
Basil Alter
violin
Gwenllian Llŷr
harp
Programme
Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (1797-1848)
Larghetto e Allegro for violin & harp, A508 [5:30]
John Marson (1932-2007)
Sonatina for Violin and Harp (1999)
1 Grave, Allegro
2 Andante Pastorale
3 Allegro Moderato
John Thomas (aka Pencerdd Gwalia, 1826-1913, Harpist to HM The King)
Romance for violin (or violoncello) & piano (before 1910)
dedicated to the Misses Marianne & Clara Eissler
Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921)
Fantaisie for violin and harp Op 124 (1907)
Basil Alter & Gwenllian Llŷr are City Music Foundation artists
Concert duration approx: 45+ minutes
Please donate to help fund these concerts at: cafdonate.cafonline.org/14455
Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (1797-1848)
Larghetto e Allegro for violin & harp, A508 [5:30]
John Marson (1932-2007)
Sonatina for Violin and Harp (1999)
1 Grave, Allegro
2 Andante Pastorale
3 Allegro Moderato
John Thomas (aka Pencerdd Gwalia, 1826-1913, Harpist to HM The King)
Romance for violin (or violoncello) & piano (before 1910)
dedicated to the Misses Marianne & Clara Eissler
Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921)
Fantaisie for violin and harp Op 124 (1907)
Basil Alter & Gwenllian Llŷr are City Music Foundation artists
Concert duration approx: 45+ minutes
Please donate to help fund these concerts at: cafdonate.cafonline.org/14455
Basil Alter
In the 2025–2026 season, violinist Basil Alter enjoys a busy schedule between the US and Europe. Based in the UK, he is an artist for the Tillett Trust in 2026, the City Music Foundation, and the Hattori Foundation. Solo appearances of the season include the concertos of Bruch, Korngold, and Tchaikovsky and numerous recital appearances. In the US, upcoming performances include appearances in New York City at the Frick Collection and on the Memphis Chamber Music Society with pianist Evan Solomon. He is a prizewinner at several international competitions, including most recently 2nd prize at the Julio Cardona competition in Portugal.
He is a recent Masters graduate of London's Royal Academy of Music, where he enjoyed working alongside figureheads of the UK music scene including Tasmin Little, as well as pursuing a highly-commended academic project related to the violin works of Stravinsky. He was selected for numerous public engagements and led the Academy orchestra in their appearance at the Aldeburgh Festival, as well as working on a project involving Ravel’s Duo and long-distance performance. Before living in London, he studied in New York at Manhattan School of Music, where he led the orchestra on several occasions and won the school’s chamber music prize.
A US native, he comes from a musical family in Tennessee. Outside of music, he enjoys crossword puzzles and walks through Regent’s Park. He is supported in part by the Craxton Trust.
Gwenllian Llŷr
Welsh harpist Gwenllian Llŷr is known for her charismatic and engaging performances. With prizes too numerous to list, including from the USA International Harp Competition and the Royal Over-Seas League Annual Music Competition.
Gwenllian is becoming increasingly in demand as a solo performer. Her career has already taken her across the globe to perform in prestigious venues alongside renowned artists such as jazz legend Al Jarreau, pianist Imogen Cooper, and international opera singer Bryn Terfel.
Following the successful release of her debut solo album, ‘Dusk to Dawn’, for which her playing was hailed as “magnificent” and “powerful”, Gwenllian toured the UK both in concert venues and in the community as part of her work for the charity Live Music Now. As many a harpist before her, Gwenllian became inspired – largely by her students – to expand the harp’s repertoire with her own compositions. Some of her pieces are regularly featured on the concert circuit and have been heard on BBC Radio 3 and BBC Radio Cymru, as well as being featured on exam syllabuses for Trinity and ABRSM. Gwenllian’s latest work, her own take on that quintessential Welsh hymn, Calon Lan (Guileless heart), featured on her CD with Ty Cerdd, ‘Soliloquies for harp’.
A graduate of the Royal Academy of Music, The Juilliard School and the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Gwenllian is enjoying a busy and varied freelance career. Alongside several solo recitals, her upcoming year will feature a tour with the other half of Aliara Duo, flautist Sirius Chau, both within the UK as well as at the World Harp Congress in Toronto.
Gwenllian is becoming increasingly in demand as a solo performer. Her career has already taken her across the globe to perform in prestigious venues alongside renowned artists such as jazz legend Al Jarreau, pianist Imogen Cooper, and international opera singer Bryn Terfel.
Following the successful release of her debut solo album, ‘Dusk to Dawn’, for which her playing was hailed as “magnificent” and “powerful”, Gwenllian toured the UK both in concert venues and in the community as part of her work for the charity Live Music Now. As many a harpist before her, Gwenllian became inspired – largely by her students – to expand the harp’s repertoire with her own compositions. Some of her pieces are regularly featured on the concert circuit and have been heard on BBC Radio 3 and BBC Radio Cymru, as well as being featured on exam syllabuses for Trinity and ABRSM. Gwenllian’s latest work, her own take on that quintessential Welsh hymn, Calon Lan (Guileless heart), featured on her CD with Ty Cerdd, ‘Soliloquies for harp’.
A graduate of the Royal Academy of Music, The Juilliard School and the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Gwenllian is enjoying a busy and varied freelance career. Alongside several solo recitals, her upcoming year will feature a tour with the other half of Aliara Duo, flautist Sirius Chau, both within the UK as well as at the World Harp Congress in Toronto.
Recordings of the works in today's concert
Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (1797-1848)
Larghetto e Allegro for violin & harp, A508 [5:30]
This work is often called the Sonatina for Violin and Harp. The performers here are Zbyňka Šolcová, harfa/harp, and Viktor Mazáček, housle/violin:
Larghetto e Allegro for violin & harp, A508 [5:30]
This work is often called the Sonatina for Violin and Harp. The performers here are Zbyňka Šolcová, harfa/harp, and Viktor Mazáček, housle/violin:
John Marson (1932-2007)
Sonatina for Violin and Harp (1999)
1 Grave, Allegro [6:45]
2 Andante Pastorale [3:00]
3 Allegro Moderato [4:55]
The musicians on these three recordings are Greta Papa, violin, and Anna Astesano, harp:
Sonatina for Violin and Harp (1999)
1 Grave, Allegro [6:45]
2 Andante Pastorale [3:00]
3 Allegro Moderato [4:55]
The musicians on these three recordings are Greta Papa, violin, and Anna Astesano, harp:
John Thomas (aka Pencerdd Gwalia, 1826-1913, Harpist to HM The King)
Romance for violin (or violoncello) & piano (before 1910)
dedicated to the Misses Marianne & Clara Eissler
Let's look at those dedicatees. They were the youngest of five sisters, all born in Brno in modern day Czechia. Clara was the harpist and Marianne the violinist and they were friends of fellow Jewish musician Mahler who, like them, had moved to Vienna for a better life. These two sisters died in Cannes in 1942 & 1943 respectively.
This performance is by Martina Trumpp, violin, and Silke Aichhorn, harp, at the Villa Wieser in Herxheim, near Karlsruhe, SW Germany. This French country palace was built as a holiday home by a brewer who had made his fortune in France. It is now an arts school and concert venue.
Romance for violin (or violoncello) & piano (before 1910)
dedicated to the Misses Marianne & Clara Eissler
Let's look at those dedicatees. They were the youngest of five sisters, all born in Brno in modern day Czechia. Clara was the harpist and Marianne the violinist and they were friends of fellow Jewish musician Mahler who, like them, had moved to Vienna for a better life. These two sisters died in Cannes in 1942 & 1943 respectively.
This performance is by Martina Trumpp, violin, and Silke Aichhorn, harp, at the Villa Wieser in Herxheim, near Karlsruhe, SW Germany. This French country palace was built as a holiday home by a brewer who had made his fortune in France. It is now an arts school and concert venue.
Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921)
Fantaisie for violin and harp Op 124 (1907)
From Studio 104 of the Maison de la Radio et de la Musique, by the Seine in Paris, comes this recording by Kerson Leong, violin, and Tjasha Gafner, harp. They are playing in the Gala Concert for the 40th Anniversary of the Prix Jeune Soliste in 2022:
Next TWO concerts
we are ALL invited to enjoy 40 minutes of fun music-making
with the pupils AT Leatherhead Trinity School
pupils present their musical talents
choir, guitars, recorders, piano
Friday 10 July 2026 - AT 11:00 am AT Leatherhead Trinity School & Nursery, Woodvill Road (off Kingston Road at the garage) KT22 7BP - plenty of on-site parking
♦ 465 & 479 buses stop at "All Saints" ♦
with the pupils AT Leatherhead Trinity School
pupils present their musical talents
choir, guitars, recorders, piano
Friday 10 July 2026 - AT 11:00 am AT Leatherhead Trinity School & Nursery, Woodvill Road (off Kingston Road at the garage) KT22 7BP - plenty of on-site parking
♦ 465 & 479 buses stop at "All Saints" ♦
6 voices - click anywhere above for more info
16 July 2026 - The Lion's Mouth - Six Voices - A Feral Vocal Ensemble click here
Previous concert
2 July 2026 - Shirley Smart • cello & Inja Stanovic • piano click here
