Steve Bingham (violin) and Brenda Stewart (viola)
Video and audio recording and editing by Steve

00:00    Don’t adjust your set!
00:11    Brenda introduces…
01:27    Canonic Sonata No.3 in D by G.F. Telemann (1681 - 1767) 
                  Mov.1: Spirituoso

03:40    Steve introduces…
04:05    Kela by Suzanne Lundeng (b.1969) 
                 Solo violin 

06:22    Steve introduces…
06:52    Us Two by Aleksey Igudesman (b.1973)

09:06    Brenda introduces…
10:10    ‘Cello Suite No.3 in C, BWV 1009 by J.S. Bach (1685 - 1750)
                   Mov.5: Bourée 1 and 2 
              Transcribed for viola by Watson Forbes

14:50    Steve introduces…
16:01    44 Duos for Two Violins, Sz.98, BB 104 by Béla Bartók (1881 - 1945) 
                 No.3: Menuetto
                 No.13: Lakodalmas (Wedding Song)
                 No.8:  Tót Nóta (Slovak Song)
                 No.14: Pámás Tánc (Cushion Dance)

20:10    Steve introduces…
21:07    Owner of a Lonely Heart by Yes, arr. S. Bingham
                 Solo violin

23:28    Brenda introduces…
24:24    Duo No.1 in G, K.423 by W.A. Mozart (1756 - 1791)
                 Mov.1: Allegro           

Partners both in marriage and music, Steve and Brenda have played together for many years in the Bingham String Quartet and more recently also in Duos with a Difference. Steve formed the Bingham String Quartet in 1985, an ensemble which has become one of the foremost in the UK, with an enviable reputation for both classical and contemporary repertoire. The Quartet has recorded numerous CDs and has worked for radio and television both in the UK and as far afield as Australia. The group has toured in Europe, the Middle East and Australia and has worked with distinguished musicians such as Jack Brymer, Raphael Wallfisch, Michael Collins and David Campbell. As its name implies, Duos with a Difference takes a fresh look at duos for violin and viola, often including electric violin and bass violin in new repertoire as you can hear in the video for "Music Matters at Home" on our Everyone Matters Music YouTube channel.

Steve studied violin at the Royal Academy of Music where he won prizes for orchestral leading and string quartet playing. He has appeared as guest leader with many orchestras including the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, English National Ballet and English Sinfonia. He has given solo recitals both in the UK and America and his concerto performances include works by Bach, Vivaldi, Bruch, Prokofiev, Mendelssohn and Sibelius given in venues as prestigious as St. Johns’ Smith Square and the Royal Albert Hall.

In recent years Steve has developed his interest in improvisation, electronics and World music and also plays live with No-Man, the progressive art-rock duo of Tim Bowness and Steve Wilson.
Steve has released four solo CDs and is currently recording two more in 2021. He has also released many single tracks, and has an active YouTube channel featuring many weird and wonderful video creations!

Beyond performing on the violin Steve is a conductor of some repute and currently conducts the Ely Sinfonia, Ad Hoc Sinfonia and City of Peterborough Symphony Orchestra, with guest appearances with several other ensembles.

Steve is also Joint CEO of PartPlay (www.partplay.co.uk), an exciting online music service for chamber musicians. Steve’s interests include ornithology, photography and Celtic knotwork.

www.stevebingham.co.uk | @stevebinghamviolin  

Brenda Stewart read music at Manchester University, studying viola with Roger Bigley of the Lindsay String Quartet and, as a post-graduate student at the Royal Academy of Music, with John White. She has had an active career in freelance orchestral playing and has also had wide experience in education. She was on the staff at the junior department of the Royal Academy of Music and was for nine years Head of Strings at Radley College, Abingdon. More recently she was Head of Strings at Culford School, Bury St Edmunds. In June 2009 she was ordained as a minister in the Church of England. Alongside her duties as Rector of four parishes in north Norfolk she continues to perform professionally with the Bingham String Quartet and in Duos with a Difference with her husband Steve Bingham. She is also a tutor at the NLMS summer school and several courses at Benslow Music Trust. She loves walking, flower identification, birdwatching and moth identification.

This original video is in the series "Music Links", a project supported by funding from the Coronavirus Community Support Fund, distributed by The National Lottery Community Fund. This series of videos is created by professional musicians, visual artists, narrators and technicians for everyone to share, including for the entertainment of our friends in residential care homes and other care settings. If you enjoy this video please pass it on to others who may enjoy it too.

Everyone Matters is grateful to the Government for making this possible.