Mitsuko Uchida gives three London concerts in celebration of the Borletti-Buitoni Trust

From Friday the Southbank Centre will be inundated with musicians, an array of talent to mark the 10th anniversary of the Borletti-Buitoni Trust (BBT).

Antoine Tamestit neatly sums up what the BBT is about:

In the life of a young artist, the freedom and space for artistic inspiration and development are essential. The Borletti-Buitoni Trust is full of incredible personalities whose main goal is precisely to give this. They offer not only the financial support to help build one's dreams, but also the advice, encouragement and practical means to realise them.

A truly remarkable array of internationally acclaimed musicians coming together for three days of spirited music-making: pianists Jonathan Biss and Llŷr Williams, violinists Veronika Eberle and Alina Ibragimova, violist Antoine Tamestit, cellists Nicolas Altstaedt and Marie-Elisabeth Hecker, oboist Alexei Ogrintchouk, trombonist Jörgen van Rijen, clarinettist Martin Fröst, percussionist Colin Currie, mezzo Christianne Stotijn, baritone Henk Neven, the Elias String Quartet and Quatuor Ebène  will all gather in London for three concerts led by founding trustee Mitsuko Uchida, plus many free daytime and late evening events.

The combined virtuosity and talent of these outstanding young musicians are showcased in concert programmes of classical chamber music and lieder repertoire – including Mozart, Schubert, Brahms and Mahler – as well as an astounding contemporary work for trombone by maverick Dutch composer Jacob ter Veldhuis.  Late night concerts in the QEH Front Room  present a rather more unorthodox musical mix with Martin Fröst donning a mask, Jörgen van Rijen teaming up with a loopstation and Quatuor Ebène transforming to its alter ego, The Other Ebène, for jazz and popular singing – plus other surprises.

The Borletti-Buitoni Trust proudly opens up as many doors as possible this weekend, not just to entertain, but also enlighten audiences. Free daytime events include masterclasses in trombone, percussion, oboe and clarinet, offering practical insight into what it takes to become a virtuoso performer able to master these intriguing instruments. Broadcaster and journalist Tom Service analyses these issues further with several pre-concert onstage interviews with members of the Elias String Quartet, Jonathan Biss and the dynamic BBT team of Ilaria Borletti-Buitoni, Susan Rivers and Mitsuko Uchida DBE, while a public debate – Is Talent Enough? – further probes the challenges facing today's performers.

Check out the three-day programme

Gramilano( Editor )

Graham Spicer is a writer, director and photographer in Milan, blogging (under the name ‘Gramilano') about dance, opera, music and photography for people “who are a bit like me and like some of the things I like”. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy.

His scribblings have appeared in various publications from Woman's Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the ‘Danza in Italia' column for Dancing Times magazine.