Fenella Humphreys & Joseph Tong at Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall, York on Wednesday 4th March 2026

Fenella Humphreys & Joseph Tong

Part of the York Concerts 2025/2026 Cycle

Add to my Calendar 04-03-2026 19:30 04-03-2026 21:30 36 Fenella Humphreys & Joseph Tong Winner of BBC Music Magazine's Instrumental Award in 2018 and Premiere Recording Award in 2023, Fenella Humphreys is admired by audiences the world over for the grace and intensity of her playing. She is joined by the renowned British pianist Joseph Tong in a programme featuring a selection of the best-loved pieces in the repertoire. Composed during the last fifteen years of his life, Franck's Violin Sonata marked a turning point in his career. Encouraged by his pupils at the Paris Conservatoire, the Belgian-French composer shifted his focus from writing church music to chamber music. The dramatic and triumphant Sonata was written as a wedding present for the virtuoso violinist Eugène Ysaÿe and includes moments that evoke a marriage ceremony, such as the suggestion of wedding bells in the final movement. Beethoven composed his Eighth Violin Sonata in the weeks following the Heiligenstadt Testament. Joyful and exuberant, the Sonata stands in stark contrast to the famous letter the composer wrote to his brothers expressing his anguish over losing his hearing. The music can be seen as an example of Beethoven's renewed faith in both life and his art. The two works by Sibelius featured in the programme also emerged during significant moments in the composer's life. His Violin Sonatina was premiered as part of the celebrations for his fiftieth birthday in December 1915, and the Four Pieces for Violin and Piano were composed during the so-called 'Silence from Järvenpää' – a thirty-year period at the end of his life in which Sibelius did not produce any major compositions. 'Humphreys's utter absorption and delight shines forth at every turn … strong-toned, easy fluidity and immaculate technique' (Gramophone) Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall, York DD/MM/YYYY

Details

Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall
University of York
York
YO10 5DD
England

Wednesday 4th March 2026
7:30 PM

Tickets

Prices: Tickets: £5 to £16, booking required
Booking line: 01904 322439
Book Tickets

Programme

Jean Sibelius – 4 Pieces for violin and piano
Jean Sibelius – Violin Sonatina, Op.80
Joseph Phibbs – Violin Sonata
Ludwig van Beethoven – Violin Sonata no.8 in G major, Op.30 no.3

Performers

Fenella Humphreys – violin
Joseph Tong – piano

Other concerts in this Series (+)

Programme Note

Winner of BBC Music Magazine's Instrumental Award in 2018 and Premiere Recording Award in 2023, Fenella Humphreys is admired by audiences the world over for the grace and intensity of her playing. She is joined by the renowned British pianist Joseph Tong in a programme featuring a selection of the best-loved pieces in the repertoire.

Composed during the last fifteen years of his life, Franck's Violin Sonata marked a turning point in his career. Encouraged by his pupils at the Paris Conservatoire, the Belgian-French composer shifted his focus from writing church music to chamber music. The dramatic and triumphant Sonata was written as a wedding present for the virtuoso violinist Eugène Ysaÿe and includes moments that evoke a marriage ceremony, such as the suggestion of wedding bells in the final movement.

Beethoven composed his Eighth Violin Sonata in the weeks following the Heiligenstadt Testament. Joyful and exuberant, the Sonata stands in stark contrast to the famous letter the composer wrote to his brothers expressing his anguish over losing his hearing. The music can be seen as an example of Beethoven's renewed faith in both life and his art.

The two works by Sibelius featured in the programme also emerged during significant moments in the composer's life. His Violin Sonatina was premiered as part of the celebrations for his fiftieth birthday in December 1915, and the Four Pieces for Violin and Piano were composed during the so-called 'Silence from Järvenpää' – a thirty-year period at the end of his life in which Sibelius did not produce any major compositions.

'Humphreys's utter absorption and delight shines forth at every turn … strong-toned, easy fluidity and immaculate technique' (Gramophone)

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