Side by Side: Figure return to Stone Nest with Baroque masterpieces contrasted with contemporary works

Our Mother – Rowan Pierce, Emma Kirkby, Alexandra Achillea Pouta – Figure at Stone Nest in 2024 (Photo: Kristina Allen)

Following their performances of Our Mother, the staging of Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater alongside music by Alex Mills, [see my review], Frederick Waxman’s ensemble Figure is returning to Stone Nest on 15 February 2025 for Side by Side an up-close performance of baroque masterpieces by Corelli, Handel and van Wassenaer, contrasted by contemporary compositions by Caroline Shaw, Edmund Finnis, Freya Waley-Cohen and a specially commissioned world premiere by rising star Joanna Ward.

The evening will feature concerto grossos by Corelli and Handel, Vivaldi’s Concerto in D ‘Madrigalesco’ and the Concerto Armonico No. 4 by the Dutch 18th-century composer Unico Wilhelm van Wassenaer. Alongside these will be Finnis’ The Centre is Everywhere, Shaw’s Punctum and Waley-Cohen’s Talisman along with the new piece from Joanna Ward.

Joanna Ward studied at the university of Cambridge and then at Guildhall School with Amber Priestly and she was a Britten Pears Young Artist in 2021-22. Her recent work has included a new piece for the Marian Consort and Playing frisbee May 2022 for the trombone quartet, Slide-Action, included on their recent disc [see my interview with Slide-Action].

Full details from the Stone Nest website.