The Music of Jane Austen

Sophie Rosa | Violin
Ian Buckle | Piano
Programme includes music by Weber, Beethoven, Cramer and J. S. Bach

“What felicity it is to hear a tune again which has made one happy!” It is a truth universally acknowledged that Jane Austen loved music, in fact, she owned a library of more than 600 different songs and piano pieces. Today, Sophie Rosa, Ian Buckle and Olivier Award-winning actor Juliet Stevenson (Emma; Truly, Madly Deeply) invite you to a musical evening at home with the Austens. Hear the melodies that enlivened Jane’s world: the dances she enjoyed, the sonatas that delighted Regency society and the pieces that she played at home herself. And savour her own thoughts and feelings, with readings from her candid and gloriously witty correspondence with her beloved sister Cassandra.

Like Austen’s own novels, the atmosphere is friendly but the unspoken emotions embrace whole worlds. Expect both sense and sensibility as music by Beethoven, Mozart, Bach and Cramer (some familiar, some rediscovered) is interwoven with the words and private confessions of this most beloved – and brilliant – of English novelists. As Austen herself put it, “Accomplishments, such as they are, should be cultivated, not as the means of distinguishing oneself, but as the means of making oneself agreeable.” That is our only wish tonight, and we would be delighted to have your company. May we request the pleasure..?

Tuesday 13 October 2026, 2pm
Museum of Making

Tickets £15/ £5 concessions*
Group Discount Book 10 or more tickets and save 10%

Multibuy discount ​Book 3 or more concerts in our ​26-27 Derby season and save 10% (discount will be applied automatically at checkout).

Book online or call Ticketsource on 0333 666 3366.

Running time: Approx 70 minutes with no interval

* Concessions apply for Under 18s, Students or those on Universal Credit. Proof of eligibility may be requested.

Visit the Museum of Making website for information on the venue’s facilities and accessibility.

The Sonata in A minor (Op.2, no.3 )by Jane Austen’s contemporary, Hélène de Montgeroult, features in our concert. Watch Sophie Rosa and Ian Buckle perform it in the video above.