Guided by group members’ interests, we listen to, and watch chosen musical performances and documentaries, mainly via DVD on a big screen. These may include classical, popular, opera, folk, ballet, modern dance, jazz and other genres, together with historical details on composers and performers, leading to discussion.

£2 pp is payable towards room hire at each meeting. Please allow time to order interval refreshments from the bar before the start.

Previous Meetings

Wednesday 12 November 2025
10am-noon at Fort Stamford

Becoming Traviata

This is a ‘behind-the-curtains’ documentary on the creative process of singers and musicians as they collaborate to produce a contemporary rendition of the classic opera, Verdi’s La Traviata.

Philippe Béziat’s 2012 film features soprano Natalie Dessay, director Jean-Francois Sivadier and the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Louis Langrée.1

10:00 Traviata part 1
10:55 Interval
11:00 Traviata part 2
12:00 End

Wednesday 26 November 2025
10am-noon at Fort Stamford

The Glenn Miller Story

This musical biography of 1953 from Universal Studios features Jimmy Stewart and June Allyson in tribute to Glenn Miller, charting his rise from obscurity to fame and wealth in the early 1940s.

10:00 The Glen Miller Story part 1
10:50 Interval
11:00 The Glen Miller Story part 2
12:00 End

22nd October 2025 Meeting

Summer Night Concert from Vienna 2025.
Performed by the Vienna Philharmonic at the Schön-brunn Palace Garden.

10:00 Summer Night Concert Part 1
10:45 Interval
11:00 Summer Night Concert Part 1
11:45 Discussion
12:00 End

8th October 2025 Meeting

Unmissable Moments of the BBC Proms 2025.

Robert Newman founded the Proms in 1895 to make classical music more accessible, with Henry Wood conducting. The BBC took over the Proms in 1927, now the largest classical music festival in the world, with around 80 concerts over eight weeks at the Royal Albert Hall.

10:00 BBC Proms part 1
10:55 Interval
11:00 BBC Proms part 2
12:05 End

24th September 2025 Meeting

Helen Beatrix Potter (1866-1943), born in London, loved to sketch animals as a child and write stories about them. The Tale of Peter Rabbit  was published in 1902, followed by more than 20 others, becoming children’s classics.

In 1992 a musical interpretation of her tales, based on a film of 1971, was choreographed by Sir Frederick Ashton, composed and scored by John Lanchbery, and danced by members of the Royal Ballet.

10:00 Tales of Beatrix Potter Part 1
10:45 Interval
11:00 Tales of Beatrix Potter Part 2
11:45 Discussion
12:00 End

10th September Meeting

German composer and musician of the late Baroque period, Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) was featured in the ‘Great Composer’ series televised by BBC in 1997, presenting its subjects through extensive performance sequences, interviews and comments.

“Creativity is more than just being different. Anybody can play weird – that’s easy. What’s hard is to be as simple as Bach. Making the simple awesomely simple, that’s creativity.” (Charles Mingus, composer and jazz musician).

10:00 Bach part 1
10:30 Interval
10:45 Bach part 2
11:15 Discussion
11:30 End

Optional visit: St Andrews Minster Church, final 2025 Summer Recital 13:10-14:00.
Levowan Chamber Choir. Lunch available from midday.

Free admission, opportunity to donate towards organ restoration after the recital.

July 9th 2025 Meeting

William Shakespeare wrote The Tragedy of Othello in 1603-04, a story of a Moorish general in the Venetian army, his wife Desdemona, and his envious ensign, Iago. Based on this story, Giuseppe Verdi wrote the opera Otello, premiered in 1887. A film of the opera, Otello was made in 1986 directed by Franco Zeffirelli, starring Placido Domingo in the general’s role, and transferred to DVD in 2005. Italian with subtitles.

10:00 Othello part 1
11:00 Interval
11:05 Othello part 2
12:05 End

June 2025 Meetings

The Penguin Café Orchestra was the inspiration of English classically-trained guitarist Simon Jeffes (1949-1997), in 1972. With cellist Helen Liebmann, he brought together a loose association of various different musicians as required for different pieces. The documentary gives background to the achievements of the Orchestra recorded in 1987.

Still Life at the Penguin Café was choreographed by David Bintley as a ballet from Simon Jeffes compositions, performed with the Royal Ballet. It explores nature, environment and the animal kingdom, receiving international acclaim.

10:00 The Penguin Café Orchestra.
10:45 Interval
11:00 Still Life at the Penguin Café
11:45 Discussion
12:00 End

Hungarian pianist Béla Bartók (1881-1945) is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century, developed from his interest in folk music and breaking new symphonic ground in harmonies and rhythms. Following a documentary of Bartók’s life and influences, his successful Concerto for Orchestra (1943) is performed by Berliner Philharmoniker under Pierre Boulez in 2007.

10:00 Béla Bartók documentary
10:30 Interval
10:45 Concerto for Orchestra
11:30 Discussion
12:00 End