Trustees’ Annual Report for the period
From 1 January 2023 To 31 December 2023
Charity name: Richter Ensemble
Charity registration number: 1196634
Charity’s principal address: Flat 3 Liston House 3 Fleming Drive London N21 1SU
Structure, Governance and Management
The Richter Ensemble is registered as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO), established on 17 November 2021 and its registration number is 1196634. If the CIO is wound up, the members of the CIO have no liability to contribute to its assets and no personal responsibility for settling its debts and liabilities.
The Richter Ensemble is comprised at its core of leading experts in the area of Historically Informed Practice. They are unique in their performances for being able to switch from music of different and contrasting eras using the appropriate instruments at ease. Any guest artists are invited based on their caliber and a common aesthetic approach to ours.
There must be at least three charity trustees and the maximum number of trustees is six.
A Music Director is appointed from among the trustees to serve as such as long as it remains as a charity trustee.
The day to day management of the ensemble is delegated to the Music Director.
The trustees may appoint additional trustees as and when the need arises. Every trustee, apart from the first charity trustees, must be appointed for a term of three years by a resolution passed at a properly convened meeting of the charity trustees.
All trustees give their time freely and no remuneration or expenses were paid in the year.
Trustees
The trustees who served during the year were:
Rodolfo Richter, Music Director John Reeve Julian Armstrong Sir Nicholas Mander
Objectives and Activities
The objects for which the Charity is established are to advance the education of the public in the art and science of music and the study, promotion, encouragement and appreciation of music from the baroque through the twentieth century played on period instruments.
The Richter Ensemble present live concerts of music from different eras in the UK and abroad, giving performances characterised by fresh vitality and clear insight. One particular area of interest, for example, is exploring the music of the Second Viennese School. Performing uniquely with instruments of the epoch and investing in new research, the Richter Ensemble seeks to challenge preconceived ideas and enhance the understanding of this music.
To support our mission and further our purposes for the public benefit the main activities the ensemble undertook were a series of concerts in France, the preparation and release of a new recording and a series of online talks that aimed at involving and inspiring participants as well as advancing their knowledge of music. These activities were presented free of charge, aiming they were accessible to the widest possible community.
We aim to strengthen relationships with audiences through cultivating current and new partnerships with venues and festivals in the UK and overseas.
We have considered the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit , including the guidance on public benefit and free charging.
Achievements and Performance
In 2023 the Richter Ensemble has performed the integral of Haydn’s op. 20 in three concerts in their series of concerts at he Musée Bossuet in Meaux, France. They have also performed concerts promoting works by Webern, Schoenberg, Schubert and Durosoir in France (Meaux, Nanteuil, Argenteuil and Paris), Germany (Heilingenhaus) and Brazil (Curitiba).
A significant milestone was the recording of the ensemble’s third album in October 2023, exploring the connections between Schoenberg’s third string quartet and Schubert’s ‘Rosamunde’ string quartet. The record will be released in 2025 by the Belgium label Passacaille.
In addition to our concerts, we started the rehearsals and research towards the next recording, which will feature Schoenberg’s fourth string quartet and works by other
composers written in the same year (1936) and commissioned by the American philanthropist Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge.
Plans for Future Periods
Future plans include the launch of a regular concert series in London (UK) in addition to regular guest appearances throughout concert halls and festivals in the UK and abroad, the preparation and recording of the fourth volume on a series of the complete string quartets of the Second Viennese School, the continuation of a series of concerts in Meaux, France and the creation of an annual chamber music festival in Brazil in 2026.
Financial Review
The Richter Ensemble have not received any income or had any spending for this financial year.
The CIO has no assets or liabilities at present
Declarations
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.
Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees
Signature(s) Full name(s) Rodolfo Richter
Position (eg Chair Secretary, Chair, etc) Music Director
Date 30/10/2024