Wigmore Hall launches late night concerts

Director of the Wigmore Hall, John Gilhooly says: ‘This adventurous and eclectic series presents American art songs, an intimate evening of storytelling, a dynamic reed quintet, and much more. The atmosphere at these late night concerts is quite unique; there is a real buzz and sense of excitement in the air as we start the weekend in style.’

Classical guitar player Miloš Karadaglic opens the series on 31 May at 10.00pm. Following the success of their critically acclaimed debut album, A Tribute to Benny Goodman, clarinettist Julian Bliss and his band return to Wigmore Hall to continue the evening with a stylish journey through the great tunes of the swing era.

On 7 June, countertenor Yaniv d’Or and Ensemble NAYA present a programme which celebrates the strong connections between early western music and works from other musical traditions. The Kairos 4tet then joins us in the bar from 11.15pm.

On 14 June award-winning actress Patricia Routledge and pianist Piers Lane tell the extraordinary story of Myra Hess and her famous wartime National Gallery concerts. The evening continues in the company of Trish Clowes’s Tangent Quartet, dubbed by Jamie Cullum as ‘British Jazz at its best’. Regarded at the apex of emerging jazz talent in the UK, Trish’s latest album And In The Night-Time She Is There was listed in the Guardian’s best albums of 2012.

A founding member of the engaging and vibrant reed quintet Calefax, Raaf Hekkema joins his colleagues on 21 June with his unique arrangement of Bach’s Goldberg Variations. The Classic Buskers then take over, when the dynamic duo shares its passion for performing classical music in two of the best ways possible – with virtuosity and laughter.

With a sure sense of style, musical insight and unrestrained passion, the Amstel Quartet’s arrangements and original compositions for soprano, alto, tenor and baritone saxophone are guaranteed both to thrill and move when they take to the stage on 5 July. The evening continues when Kit Downes is joined by bassist Calum Gourlay and drummer James Maddren for an intimate trio gig. Praised by Time Out as ‘one of the finest pianists of his generation’ and by Ivan Hewett in The Telegraph as ‘an exceptional talent’, Kit’s reputation as one of the leading lights of contemporary jazz continues to grow.

The Prince Consort, founded in 2003 by British pianist Alisdair Hogarth, is an outstanding ensemble of internationally recognised and versatile young artists: soprano Anna Leese, mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnston, countertenor Tim Mead, tenor Andrew Staples and baritone Jacques Imbrailo. The group takes to the stage on 12 July to perform Jake Heggie’s song-cycle Facing forward/Looking back interleaved with fine American songs by Ned Rorem and Aaron Copland. Finally, having brought an understated eloquence to last year’s series, we welcome back the Dorian Ford Trio later in the evening. A favourite fixture at Ronnie Scott’s, the trio is sure to mark a memorable close to the Wigmore Lates @ 36 series this year.

Rounding off the week, these late night events promise to be the perfect musical nightcap!