TRIO SHAHAM EREZ WALLFISCH
Hagai Shaham violin
Arnon Erez piano
Raphael Wallfisch cello
Haydn Trio in C Hob XV:27
Beethoven Allegretto in B flat WoO 39
Beethoven Variations on ‘Ich bin der Schneider Kakadu’ Op 121a
Beethoven Trio in B Flat Op 97 ‘Archduke’
Festival favourite, Raphael Wallfisch, brings his Trio back to Leamington for the first time since 2015 when they delighted our audience with all of Brahms’ wonderful piano trios; this time, of course, it is Beethoven’s turn for the Shaham Erez Wallfisch treatment with a little sprinkling of Haydn too.
The greatest of Beethoven’s trios, the Archduke, is accompanied by lesser-known works, which makes for an exhaustive picture of the composer’s approach to the medium throughout his life – the Kakadu Variations being the last piece for piano trio that Beethoven published in his lifetime.
Trio Shaham Erez Wallfisch has performed, broadcast and recorded widely throughout Europe, Canada and Israel including concerts in the United Kingdom, Belgium, Germany, France and Spain. Amongst other recitals the trio enjoys performing regularly at the Wigmore Hall and comes to Leamington direct from there for this visit.
Tickets: £25 and £20 reserved central block, £15 unreserved sides.
£1 Student Standby
Concert generously supported by Paul & Jane Watts
Festival Saver Ticket available – call Leamington Music office on 01926 497000 for more details.
A platform to showcase the cream of Warwickshire Music’s students from across the county, performing works that complement the Festival’s programmes and themes.
Tickets: £2.50 students and children, £8 adults
to include tea, squash and cake
Festival Saver Ticket available – call Leamington Music office on 01926 497000 for more details.
Cherubini Horn Sonata No 2 in F
Beethoven Horn Sonata in F Op 17
Schulhoff Selection from Esquisses de jazz WV90
Rosetti Allegro and Romance from Horn Concerto in E flat C48
Schumann Adagio and Allegro in A flat Op 70
Aged only 21, Ben Goldscheider is a name to watch. He won the Brass Category and was a Concerto Finalist of the BBC Young Musician Competition in 2016, since when he has made his BBC Proms debut as well as concerto performances all over Europe. Richard Uttley won the British Contemporary Piano Competition in 2006; he has since released several recordings to critical acclaim and performed as recitalist and concerto soloist throughout the UK, Europe, Canada, and China.
Tickets: £16 reserved central block, £13 unreserved sides.
£1 Student Standby
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.
Anthony Philip Heinrich (1781-1861) was born in Bohemia but made his name in the United States, where he was dubbed ‘The Beethoven of America’. Heinrich was really the first “full time” American composer and a musician of great influence, chairing the founding meeting of the New York Philharmonic Society in 1842 and bringing Beethoven’s music to the fore across the pond.
Tickets: £8 including tea and cake served from 3.30pm
£1 Student Standby
Festival Saver Ticket available – call Leamington Music office on 01926 497000 for more details.
Schulhoff Flute Sonata
Martin Červenka Suite for Flute and Piano ‘Obrazy’
Martinů Flute Sonata No 1 H306
Hummel Flute Sonata in A Op 64
Czech flautist Veronika Klírová brings her CBSO colleague Ben Dawson to add our traditional Czech flavour to the Festival. With them come the Czech Republic’s famous sons and a composer whose work is new to the Festival – Martin Červenka – who dedicated this Obrazy Suite to Veronika which receives its Leamington debut.
Tickets: £16 reserved central block, £13 unreserved sides.
£1 Student Standby
Concert supported by The Dvořák Society
Festival Saver Ticket available – call Leamington Music office on 01926 497000 for more details.
TOM POSTER piano
SACCONI STRING QUARTET
Ben Hancox and Hannah Dawson violins
Robin Ashwell viola, Cara Berridge cello
ANDREW MARSHALL double bass
Beethoven Piano Sonata in E minor Op 90
Beethoven String Quartet in B flat Op 18 No 6
Beethoven arr. Lachner Piano Concerto No 5 in E flat Op 73 ‘Emperor’
The opening concert of the 2020 Leamington Music Festival sets the scene beautifully for our celebration of Beethoven’s 250th birthday, bringing together the composer’s piano, chamber and orchestral works, although perhaps in a way you have never heard before. The piano sonata with which we begin the Festival was written in 1814 – the year the Royal Pump Rooms was built.
Tom Poster’s superb performance of Shostakovich’s Piano Quintet with the Aronowitz Ensemble in last year’s Festival proved that he is a piano force to be reckoned with. He is joined by the Sacconi Quartet, which embarks on its 20th-anniversary tour next year, and double bassist Andrew Marshall for the Emperor Concerto which should certainly begin the weekend with a bang!
Tickets: £25 and £20 reserved central block, £15 unreserved sides.
£1 Student Standby
Festival Saver Ticket available – call Leamington Music office on 01926 497000 for more details.
Magnus Johnston and Marije Johnston violins, Tom Hankey and Rosalind Ventris violas
Guy Johnston and Pierre Doumenge cellos, Tom Poster piano
Strauss Sextet from Capriccio Op 85
Shostakovich Piano Quintet in G minor Op 57
Tchaikovsky Souvenir de Florence Op 70
This is the Leamington debut of one of the best young string ensembles in the country, joined by their pianist Tom Poster for one of Shostakovich’s most powerful works. With the charming sextet from Strauss’s opera Capriccio and Tchaikovsky’s rousing Souvenir de Florence, this is a true Festival programme. Following its sell-out debut at St John’s Smith Square, and subsequent invitation to join the BBC’s New Generation Artists scheme, the Ensemble has maintained a busy schedule of engagements across the UK and beyond – including appearances at the Wigmore Hall, the Aldeburgh, Bath, Cheltenham and Spoleto Festivals and the BBC Proms – performing a vast range of repertoire: familiar, neglected and new. Magnus and Marije Johnston are known to Leamington audiences as one half of the Navarra String Quartet which opened last year’s Winter Season. Joining his brother and sister-in-law in the Ensemble is cellist Guy Johnston, winner of the BBC Young Musician of the Year award in 2000, and pianist Tom Poster who won the Keyboard section of the BBC competition in the same year.
Tickets: £24 and £19 reserved, £14 unreserved sides.
Concert generously supported by Margaret Goode