Updated 24 June 2026

Header photo: Shiry Rashkovsky

---

Dear Friends,

Due to ill-health Lana Suran has had to cancel her tour with us. We are very sad about this but hope that she will come at some future date. We are very fortunate that Hiroaki Takenouchi has agreed to come to perform with Shiry Rashkovsky. The programme will change to the one shown below.

We therefore welcome SHIRY RASHKOVSKY and HIROAKI TAKENOUCHI this week from 26-27 June for the fifth tour of the season. They will perform in Bridport, Ilminster and Crewkerne. Just click on the BOOK TICKETS button at the top of this page and find the venue you would like to go to. We hope that the hot weather will have calmed and cooled.

JS Bach arr. Rashkovsky
Coffee Cantata (selected movements)

Ralph Vaughan Williams Suite for Viola
I. Prelude II. Carol

Frederick Delius Serenade from ‘Hassan’

Kreisler arr. Lionel Tertis
Cherry Ripe

Rebecca Clarke
Passacaglia on an Old English Tune

interval

Astor Piazzolla
‘Café 1930 from Histoire du Tango

F Waley-Cohen arr. Rashkovsky
Caffeine

Glass arr. Rashkovsky
Violin Sonata

Bridport: Piazzolla, Clarke, Bach, Kreisler, Glass

Lauded by The Strad for her ‘thrilling and exuberant’ Royal Festival Hall debut, SHIRY RASHKOVSKY pursues an international and diverse career. In demand as a chamber musician, she is frequently invited to international festivals. She is a founding member of Trio Klein and the founder and Artistic Director of Up Close and Musical festival, held in the intimate Fidelio Café in Clerkenwell. She will be releasing her debut album in 2026, including premiere recordings of works she has commissioned from Errollyn Wallen and Ben Nobuto.
www.shiryrashkovsky.com

HIROAKI TAKENOUCHI‘s curiosity, and a natural penchant for integrity makes his playing and vast repertoire unique amongst his generation of pianists. His love for the music of classical masters – particularly Haydn, Beethoven and Chopin – sits side by side with his passion for the music of Medtner, lesser-known British composers such as Sterndale Bennett and Parry, and the contemporary repertoire.

As a soloist, Takenouchi has appeared on many concert platforms including Wigmore Hall, Tokyo Opera City and the South Bank Centre, and has given recitals across Europe and North America. 2022 saw the release of his latest solo disc on French specialist piano label Artalinna, featuring works by Grieg, Medtner and Dupré. Hiroaki is also editor of the published scores of Sherwood’s two-piano works (as recorded for Lyrita), now available from Nimbus Music Publishing. He is frequently invited to make recordings for BBC Radio 3’s Composer of the Week. His recording of the Mendelssohn and Sterndale Bennett Sextets with members of Sinfonia Cymru (Artalinna) was released in May 2023. The Russian composer Georgy Catoire’s music is somewhat neglected today but Takenouchi is a passionate advocate of his Piano Concerto and recorded the work with Martin Yates and Royal Scottish National Orchestra.

Hiroaki Takenouchi is a Blüthner Artist and owns a beautiful 1922 Blüthner piano.

---

Booking started on 5 January for the whole season. We look forward to seeing you at one of our venues – all our regulars and new faces.

You can download the Brochure 2026 HERE.

---

The best way to hear about upcoming concerts is by receiving our email newsletters. You can join the list very simply by filling in the form at the bottom of this page.

---

You can find the dates for 2026 HERE. Details are available via the BOOK TICKETS button above.

---

News – please check for news about our artists.

---

Taking part – We are delighted to hear from musicians who would like to take part in the series. However we get so many requests that it is difficult to respond to every email (we do try) but thank you for your interest. I am sorry if this appears rude but we are a very small team. If you don’t hear from me then I am afraid there are no dates available for the foreseeable future.

Applications will be considered carefully but as we only have eight to ten tours a year I can make no promises. You will need to email me a CV, a concert biography and a photograph. Our performers have generally been trained to a minimum of post-graduate conservatoire level and are in the process of establishing themselves in the profession; some are a little older and returning to CinW. A little warning: we are not able to pay big fees as we play in small, intimate venues; we are a charity; and out of London, where life is very different.

---

To return to this Home page click on the Concerts in the West logo at the top of any page.

---

Bridport Arts Centre – please note that bookings for Bridport go through their booking arrangements. All the concert tours go to Bridport.

Ticket prices: £20 for evening concerts – £16 for the morning concerts in Bridport.

---

2019, 2020, 2020 Online, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 Seasons – you can see the list of performers for each year under our News section.

Archived concerts from 2006 when the concert series began – if you go to Concerts by date, scroll down to Previous concerts, this will take you back to earlier seasons.

Under Concerts by venue you will find venues where we have held concerts in the past as well as those we go to currently. In 2026 we will be visiting Bridport (all tours), Ilminster (all tours), and Crewkerne (all tours).

---

Concerts in the West was launched in 2006. We aim to bring talented young professional musicians to small, intimate venues in the West Country, in areas that may not have easy access to music of this quality. Short intensive tours, lasting a few days, are arranged mainly in Dorset and Somerset.

We feel privileged to hear music performed to such a high standard. The repertoire is enormously varied and gives local audiences a wonderful opportunity to hear both familiar and unusual works for voice and instrument in many combinations.

Hiroaki Takenouchi

Shiry Rashkovsky
viola

Hiroaki Takenouchi
piano

26 – 27 June 2026