Octagon Music Society have announced their 40th season of chamber music concerts. All concerts are on Sunday afternoons at 4pm at the Clarendon Muse at Watford Grammar School for Boys on Rickmansworth Road, Watford.

This season brings the society’s most ambitious and exciting series yet, with a mix of internationally established artists and younger musicians whose talents already show promise of future celebrity.

The season starts with a bang, literally, on Sunday, October 20, with the world’s finest and most daring percussionist, Colin Currie. He will give a solo recital in which he will introduce and perform classics from the world of contemporary percussion repertoire.

On Sunday, November 17, cellist Jamal Aliyev and pianist Maria Tarasewicz will perform works by Beethoven, Rachmaninov, Tchaikovsky and Brahms. Born in Azerbaijan, Jamal has appearances at the BBC Proms and with leading orchestras to his credit.

The young Georgian pianist Luka Okros, following a sell-out London Southbank solo concert this summer, will give a recital on Sunday, January 19. He will play sonatas by Haydn and Chopin (Funeral March) and works by Rachmaninov and Liszt (Hungarian Rhapsody).

On Sunday, February 23, the legendary Trio Martinu give a programme of piano trios by their compatriots Martinu, Dvorak and Smetana. The trio’s members have remained unchanged since 1993 and have come to embody the essence of Czech music. Their rare visits to UK are eagerly awaited by their growing body of admirers.

The internationally-acclaimed baritone Roderick Williams and pianist Iain Burnside will bring this season’s concerts to a close on Sunday, March 15, with a performance of ‘Winter Journey’, a new translation of Schubert’s ‘Winterreise’ by Jeremy Sams.

Full details are available at octagon-music.weebly.com/

Season tickets for all five concert are priced at £60; individual concerts are £16. Young persons under the age of 26 are able to come to all the concerts free of charge, thanks to the support of Cavatina Chamber Music Trust.

Tickets may now be booked online at www.ticketsource.co.uk/octagonmusic or by phone from Henry Moring on 01923 231917.