Concert for Peace: Music by Les Six 

Eminent pianist Julian Jacobson is joined by some of the country’s finest wind players at Lauderdale House, in a concert of French music by the group of composers known as ‘Les Six’.

This title was coined in 1920 by the critic Henri Collet, in recognition of their shared aim of writing music that showed no influence of earlier musical giants like Wagner or Debussy. Even so, each of the six possessed strong individuality, and they often pursued very different paths.  

Since 1983, Musicians for Peace (formerly named Musicians Against Nuclear Arms) have been organising events which raise funds for the peace movement. The famous guitarist John Williams OBE is MPD’s President, and many leading figures from different areas of music make up the list of Patrons.

The programme encompasses a huge range of styles, and includes works for different combinations of instruments, ending with Poulenc’s ebullient Sextet. Along the way, we will hear solos for several instruments; duos including Poulenc’s Élégie for horn and piano, written in memory of Denis Brain, and providing a darker, more serious foil to the generally lighter style of the other works; a trio by Louis Durey – one of the lesser known names – and Milhaud’s popular wind quintet La cheminée du roi René, which evokes the atmosphere of the court of René 1 in the 15th century.