BOURNEMOUTH Chamber Music Society celebrates its 80th anniversary in the 2024-25 season, opening with a recital by Jiaxin, the cellist wife of the celebrated cello virtuoso Julian Lloyd Webber, on 20th October at the usual time of 3pm at Kimmeridge House on the Bournemouth University Talbot campus.

The society made its debut on the local music scene before the end of the Second World War – on 7th October 1944, with a recital at St Peter’s Hall by the Griller Quartet, dressed in their RAF uniforms. They played quartets by Haydn, Ravel and Mozart; the annual subscription for that first season was just £1.1s (£1.05) Weathering several financial crises and interrupted only by Covid, the society has been presenting concerts of great music by the finest artists continuously ever since.

Artists in the early days included Eileen Joyce and John Ogden, and cellists Paul Tortelier and Jacqueline du Pre. String quartets are the backbone of any chamber music series and the society welcomed the Amadeus and Allegri Quartets several times as well as return visits by the Griller Quartet. Singers have included Peter Pears and there were three visits by Kathleen Ferrier. Conductors Charles Groves and Andrew Litton appeared as pianists with ensembles of BSO players.

The society has always encouraged up and coming musicians – Natalie Clein and Benjamin Grosvenor both gave recitals before they became international celebrities and each season artists just at the start of their careers are welcomed.

To celebrate the 80th Anniversary in October, Jiaxin will play Bach’s Cello Suites 1-3 and Malcolm Arnold’s Fantasy for cello, with insights into the music and his life. The Piatti String Quartet make a welcome return on 24th November, playing quartets by Moeran, Fanny Mendelssohn and Schubert. Next spring the society will welcome outstanding young musicians, Zoe Tweed (horn) in February, and Ensemble Renard (wind quintet) in March. The season continues with a recital by the pianist Ashley Wass in April and concludes with Trio Shalam–Erez–Wallfisch in May.

Pictured is an archive photograph of the Griller Quartet, which disbanded in the early 1960s.