October 2026 sees the beginning of a new partnership between the Cosman Keller Trust, Burgh House and ChamberStudio in a project that remembers Milein Cosman and Hans Keller in the heart of Hampstead, where they made their home together. They met in 1947 and their first home as a couple was in Willow Road, only two minutes’ walk from Burgh House. Shortly after Milein and Hans first met (through the inaugural Edinburgh Festival) Milein started renting a little studio in Willow Road, where she lived for several years despite its rather primitive conditions: it was a former donkey stable and metal workshop with a leaky roof and no hot water, but Milein loved its idyllic setting on the edge of Hampstead Heath. In due course Hans joined her there until in 1955 they managed to buy a house a few doors away (where a blue plaque now commemorates them). In 1967 they moved a few streets away to Frognal Gardens, where they were to stay for the rest of their lives. Their gregarious personalities and close friendships with so many other artists, musicians and writers made their home the setting for remarkable gatherings.

Burgh House has many connections with Milein Cosman, including a number of her works in its collection. She exhibited there during her lifetime, including her 2008 solo show, Lifelong Impressions, which covered 60 years of her artistic output. A celebration of her 90th birthday was held at Burgh House in 2011, as was a moving memorial event after her death.

Two works from the Burgh House collection: Left is Marie-Louise von Motesiczky’s picture of Milein painting in her studio (with Hans sitting writing in the corner). Right is Milein’s portrait of Hampstead chef Guy Monnier, seated in her kitchen at Frognal Gardens.
Milein Cosman and Hans Keller in Heath Street, Hampstead, shortly before they bought their house in Willow Road.
Hans Keller and Milein Cosman photographed by Gerti Deutsch in their Willow Road home in 1961. (Milein’s model of Hans’s head on the shelf behind them has also recently been donated to the collection at Burgh House.
Hans Keller and Milein Cosman photographed by Gerti Deutsch in their Willow Road home in 1961. (Milein’s model of Hans’s head on the shelf behind them has also recently been donated to the collection at Burgh House.)

The Trust is delighted to have been instrumental in bringing to Burgh House ChamberStudio’s acclaimed Hans Keller Forum, which the Trust has been funding since its inception, in memory of Hans’s deep love and understanding of chamber music. Now in its fifth year, the Hans Keller Forum offers specialised mentoring to outstanding college-level chamber ensembles, through its intensive residencies at Cambridge. ChamberStudio’s new partnership with Burgh House will build on this by offering Forum alumni the chance to take part in residencies at Burgh House, where they will reunite with leading chamber musicians for masterclasses before sharing the results of their work with audiences in intimate evening performances in Burgh House’s beautiful Music Room. Free public masterclasses with each ensemble will offer audiences a rare opportunity to witness the creative process behind chamber music performance before experiencing the finished interpretation in concert.

Among the ensembles taking part in the inaugural residency programme are three of the UK’s most exciting emerging ensembles: Trio Musae, Talland Quartet and Quartet Concrète. Representing a new generation of talented musicians, the groups have already performed at leading festivals and venues across the UK and Europe, won major chamber music awards and received mentorship from some of the world’s foremost chamber musicians. During their residency at Burgh House they will work with internationally acclaimed mentors Tim Horton, Alex Redington and Sini Simonen, culminating in public performances that showcase the artistic development fostered through the programme.

Alongside the three musical residencies, Burgh House will present a complementary exhibition in the Wells Room Gallery celebrating the work of Milein Cosman. One of Britain’s most fascinating  twentieth-century artists, Milein was renowned for her expressive depictions of musicians, writers and artists, including Benjamin Britten, Igor Stravinsky, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore. The exhibition will run from 21 October until 18 March, and will be accompanied by curator-led talks exploring Milein Cosman’s remarkable artistic career, her relationship to Hampstead and her close friendships with many of the twentieth century’s leading creative figures.

Further information can be found here.

Three of Milein Cosman’s portraits of artists and musicians at work
Left to right: Barbara Hepworth, Wilhelm Furtwängler and Henry Moore

From its inception, the Hans Keller Forum in Cambridge has incorporated an artistic dimension, marking Hans and Milein’s cross-disciplinary partnership, and Milein’s lifelong love of drawing musicians in action. The Trust supports young artists from the Slade School of Fine Art to join ChamberStudio’s musicians during their Cambridge residencies. For both artists and musicians this has given them a fascinating and inspiring insight into another creative process. Some of the work of these artists will be displayed at Burgh House during the Hans Keller Forum’s residencies.

Finally, to return to Hans Keller’s and Milein Cosman’s partnership, below is a clip from a 1970s documentary of Hans Keller talking about Wilhelm Furtwängler’s conducting, to show some of his musical insights alongside Milein’s visual impression in her etching above.