Events

The Liverpool String Quartet returns with friends, to perform a very special evening of music, inspired by 'The Phantoms at the Priory' installation.

The 'Transfigured Night' programme is as follows:
P. I Tchaikovsky - Souvenir de Florence, Op. 70
Interval
Andrew Lloyd Webber - Music of the Night (from 'The Phantom of the Opera')
A. Schoenberg – Verklärte Nacht (Transfigured Night), Op. 4

The players (Liverpool String Quartet & Friends) are:
Roisin Walters – violin
Kate Marsden – violin
Dani Sanxis – viola
Sarah Hill – viola
Nick Byrne – cello
Mark Lindley – cello

Programme Notes
Tchaikovsky’s 'Souvenir de Florence', composed in 1890, is one of his most expansive and expressive chamber works. Written for string sextet, it combines symphonic breadth with moments of intimacy and lyricism, reflecting the warmth and vitality of the composer’s Italian experiences. 'Music of the Night' is the emotional centre of The Phantom of the Opera. In this arrangement for strings, the music takes on a more intimate and atmospheric character, emphasising its nocturnal quality and making a natural connection with the 'Phantoms at the Priory' installation. Schoenberg’s 'Verklärte Nacht', composed in 1899, is a landmark of late-Romantic chamber music. Inspired by a poem by Richard Dehmel, the work unfolds as a continuous narrative, moving from darkness to transformation through rich harmony and intense emotional expression. Though controversial at its premiere, it is now regarded as one of the great chamber works of its time.

About the Ensemble
Liverpool String Quartet & Friends brings together the Quartet’s core members with guest musicians for larger-scale chamber repertoire. The ensemble is known for its expressive playing and imaginative, context-led programming, and performs regularly in concert series, festivals, and special events across the UK and Europe. The Liverpool String Quartet is Ensemble in Residence at Norton Priory.

Featuring 'Man-Size in Marble' and more…

A timeless author of her age, Nesbit's writing for children will never be forgotten and will be eternally reprinted.

But this Mothering Sunday evening is not a time for the childhood pleasures of 'The Railway Children'…

Edith Nesbit was equally renowned in her day as the author of ghost stories and tales of the supernatural. With an overwhelming fear of the dark and the beyond, Nesbit poured that out into her hugely successful stories of the dead. Join Norton’s Narrator, Gav Cross for another evening of frightening tales told in the tradition of the Victorian Readings. Lose yourself to the joy of being read to once again in the atmospheric Norton Priory.

Enjoy a Mothering Sunday evening like no other in this historic place.

Surrounded by 900 years of history, it's a beguiling offer. Don’t wander too far though. The Phantoms will be watching you…

Audience Feedback for Norton’s Narrator:
“Gav is a remarkable storyteller in a brilliant setting”
“Entertained with live story-telling, delivered by an expressive storyteller.”
“Unique and atmospheric, entertaining and memorable.”

Feedback for Gav Cross:
“Like Jackanory for Grown Ups."
“A masterclass in storytelling!” NorthWestEnd.com
“It’s quite astounding how entertaining, funny and enthralling Gav Cross is.” Pound Arts, Wiltshire