Rachmaninov Preludes Op 32
Tchaikovsky Album for the Young Op 39
Mussorgsky Pictures at an Exhibition
Andrey Gugnin was introduced to the Festival in 2019 by the violinist Tasmin Little and they launched it with a memorable concert. Three days later, Andrey gave a lunchtime concert which ended with a performance of Pictures at an Exhibition, which prompted an immediate standing ovation. He was invited back to repeat this work the following year and the following two, but the pandemic and bureaucracy intervened. He returns this year with important examples of Russian music before repeating the Mussorgsky, which will again lead us to the Great Gate of Kyiv.
Andrey studied at the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory and soon after leaving began to win an impressive number of prizes in Vienna, Sydney, Zagreb and many others. Valery Gergiev invited him to appear with the London Philharmonic and Mariinsky Orchestras and he has performed in many of the world’s most important concert halls.
Concert generously supported by Peter Glanfield
£26 | £16
(£1 children / students)
Beethoven Violin Sonata in F Op 24 ‘Spring’
Brahms Violin Sonata in D minor Op 108
Arvo Pärt Fratres
Beethoven Violin Sonata in A Op 47 ‘Kreutzer’
Tasmin Little has firmly established herself as one of today’s leading international violinists; she has performed on every continent in some of the most prestigious venues of the world, in a career spanning more than thirty years.
Imagine our delight when Tasmin told us she had so enjoyed her Festival concert last year, she would like to return to Leamington with Andrey Gugnin and play for us again before she hangs up her concert gowns for good in the summer.
With a programme featuring two of Beethoven’s finest violin sonatas, this will be one of the last chances to hear Tasmin play in the Midlands and is certainly an opportunity not to be missed!
Tickets: £25 and £20 reserved central block, £15 unreserved sides.
£1 Student Standby
Concert generously supported by Diane Holt
Festival Saver Ticket available – call Leamington Music office on 01926 497000 for more details.
Beethoven Piano Sonata in B flat Op 106 ‘Hammerklavier’
Mussorgsky Pictures at an Exhibition
Winner of the 2016 Sydney International Piano Competition and introduced to us last May by Tasmin Little, Andrey Gugnin is now deservedly making his name in the UK. His recently released CD of works by Shostakovich achieved universal critical acclaim – “Gugnin possesses an extraordinarily versatile and agile technique, which serves an often inspired musical imagination.” (Gramophone Magazine).
We knew that, of all Beethoven’s wonderful piano sonatas, Andrey must play the Hammerklavier for us and finding a work to pair with that mighty piece was no mean feat. But as Andrey achieved a roaring standing ovation with his astonishing performance of Pictures at an Exhibition last year, it seemed the only natural choice to give those who missed it a second chance to experience Mussorgsky’s epic work in the hands of this extraordinary Russian pianist.
Tickets: £25 and £20 reserved central block, £15 unreserved sides.
£1 Student Standby
Concert generously supported by Peter Glanfield
Festival Saver Ticket available – call Leamington Music office on 01926 497000 for more details.
Tchaikovsky Dumka Op 59
Scriabin Sonata No 2 in G sharp minor Op 19 ‘Sonata Fantasy’
Mussorgsky Pictures at an Exhibition
Introduced by Tasmin Little in the opening Festival concert, Moscow-trained Andrey Gugnin gives an all Russian programme, ending with Mussorgsky’s great Pictures at an Exhibition, originally written for piano solo and which Andrey has made a highly acclaimed recording for Steinway & Son’s own label. Andrey has won more than a dozen competition prizes, including Sydney in 2017, appeared in many leading festivals like Verbier, and has played under maestro Gergiev with the Mariinsky and London Philharmonic Orchestras.
Tickets: £16 reserved, £13 unreserved sides.
Brahms Sonatensatz WoO2
Delius Violin Sonata No 2
Prokofiev Violin Sonata No 2 in D Op 94a
Schubert Moment Musicale No 4 in C sharp minor D780
Strauss Violin Sonata in E flat Op 18
Szymanowski Notturno e Tarantella Op 28
There can be no finer beginning to the thirtieth Festival than a concert from Tasmin Little, and we look forward to welcoming Andrey Gugnin to Leamington for the first time. Tasmin has for years delighted audiences in the area, playing at Charlecote Park, in Leamington, Leamington Hastings, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwick Arts Centre and Warwick town. A pupil of Yehudi Menuhin, she has championed Delius and, more recently, Szymanowski and includes both of them in the wide-ranging programme that opens the Festival. Awarded the OBE in 2012 and with appearances all over the world, she can, ”justly be regarded as Britain’s finest violinist.” (The Independent). She has performed with Andrey Gugnin in Australia and throughout the UK, and we have a solo recital from Andrey to look forward to as our Monday lunchtime concert.
Tickets: £24 and £19 reserved, £14 unreserved sides.