Alasdair Beatson
Chamber Ensemble in Residence at Wigmore Hall, the Nash has been presenting an annual themed series there since 1979. During the 2024-25 season at Wigmore Hall the Nash marked its 60th anniversary with a range of programmes illustrating the variety of music performed by the Ensemble over the years, from Mozart to the avant garde. New works by Julian Anderson, John Casken, Helen Grime, Simon Holt, Colin Matthews, David Matthews, Mark-Anthony Turnage and Huw Watkins were commissioned to celebrate the 60th anniversary. Regarded as a standard-bearer of British music-making around the world, the Group has premièred over 300 new works, of which 215 have been especially commissioned. The Nash has toured throughout Europe, the USA and Canada. The group is a regular visitor to many European and British music festivals and can be heard on radio, at the BBC Proms, and at music clubs throughout the country. Recent CD chamber music releases for Hyperion include string sextets by Tchaikovsky and Korngold and Debussy chamber works. Future releases include a CD of chamber works by Ravel for Onyx. The Ensemble has received two Royal Philharmonic awards “for the breadth of its taste and immaculate performance.”
Scottish pianist Alasdair Beatson is renowned as a sincere musician and intrepid programmer. He champions a wide repertoire on both modern and historical instruments with particular areas of interest: classical, early romantic and French music (especially Fauré), alongside the music of today’s composers. A prolific chamber musician, Alasdair’s colleagues include Joshua Bell, Steven Isserlis, Viktoria Mullova, Pieter Wispelwey, the Doric, Gringolts and Meta4 string quartets, and the Nash Ensemble. Recent recordings include works of Beethoven and Schubert for violin and fortepiano with Viktoria Mullova, and a solo piano recital Aus Wien on Pentatone. These join a discography of solo and chamber recordings on BIS, Champs Hill, Chandos, Claves, Evil Penguin, Pentatone, Signum and SOMM labels. Performances during 2025 include regular appearances at Wigmore Hall, as concerto soloist in Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw with the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, and at festivals including Bath Mozartfest, Cumnock Tryst, Musikdorf Ernen, Festivalta, IMS Prussia Cove, Lewes Chamber Music, Resonances, and Yellow Barn. Alasdair is artistic director of the chamber music festival at Musikdorf Ernen in Switzerland.
