Tchaikovsky Nutcracker Suite for Solo Piano
Stravinsky Three Movements from Petrushka
Tchaikovsky Sleeping Beauty Suite for Solo Piano
Stravinsky Infernal Dance, Berceuse, and Finale from The Firebird
Back in Leamington by popular demand, 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 Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, which prompted an immediate standing ovation and invitations to return to the Festival – this is now his third solo concert for us.
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 most important concert halls across the world. We can certainly look forward to some fireworks in this Festival Finale!
This concert is generously supported by Peter Glanfield
The finer details…
Interval: 20 mins
Estimated finish: 9.30pm
Tickets:
Centre section: £28 full price | £3 child/student
Side sections: £18 full price | £9 under-35s | £3 child/student
‘My Father’s Son’
Howells The Little Boy Lost
Britten ‘Midnight on the Great Western’ and
‘Proud Songsters’ from Winter Words Op. 52;
‘The Larky Lad’ from Who Are These Children?, Op. 84;
‘A Highland Balou’ from A Charm of Lullabies, Op. 41
Fauré Les Berceaux, Op. 23 No. 1
Tippett ‘Full fathom five’ from Songs for Ariel
Orr ‘Shy Geordie’ and ‘The Boy in the Train’ from Songs of a Childhood
Rzewski ‘No Good’ from Dear Diary
Tchaikovsky At the ball, Op. 38 No. 3
Libby Larsen Pregnant
Victoria Wood Litter Bin
Wolf Mörike-Lieder: 48. Storchenbotschaft
William Bolcom Waitin
Dunhill The Cloths of Heaven
Ireland ‘Baby’ from Mother and Child
Barber A Slumber Song of the Madonna
Mahler Rückert Lieder: 4. Um Mitternacht
Previn ‘Will there really be a morning?’ from Three Dickinson Songs
Legrand Little Boy Lost
“Although this recital uses the words of others, it might as well be autobiographical,” said Nicky Spence in an article about this very programme in Gramophone. An examination of parenthood through the eyes of two performers who have gone through this very process, this programme takes in a whole range of viewpoints on matters parental, each song carefully considered in relation to the others.
Winner of the BBC Music Magazine Personality of the Year 2022 and world-renowned opera singer Nicky is an artist and broadcaster of great integrity and one of Scotland’s proudest sons, who was made an OBE in the King’s inaugural Birthday Honours in 2023 for services to Music. Multi-award winning pianist Dylan Perez is much in demand as a recitalist, chamber musician, and coach specialising in vocal repertoire.
This concert is generously supported in memory of Martin and Barbara Rantzen
The finer details…
Interval: none
Estimated finish: 4pm
Tickets:
Centre section: £18 full price | £3 child/student
Side sections: £13 full price | £6.50 under-35s | £3 child/student
Miguez Violin Sonata in A Major, Op.14
Brahms Violin Sonata No. 2 in A Major, Op. 100
Young Artist Spotlight Concert
Recently awarded the Grand Prize of both the Concert Artist Guild and Young Classical Artist Trust (YCAT) competitions, Brazilian violinist Nathan Amaral has also been collecting First and Special Prizes from plenty of other international competitions as well as being named one of Classic FM’s Rising stars under 30. Texas-born pianist Jonathan Ware is a previous YCAT winner who has also been collecting prizes across the globe.
Brazilian composer Leopoldo Miguez’s Violin Sonata in A major, Op. 14, written in 1885, offers lyrical richness while balancing evocative, nocturnal beauty and a Kreisler-like sweetness, and is the very definition of a forgotten gem to be rediscovered (or newly discovered for many), while Brahms’s Sonata is most certainly a favourite treasure.
The finer details…
Interval: none
Estimated finish: 12 noon
Tickets:
Centre section: £18 full price | £3 child/student
Side sections: £13 full price | £6.50 under-35s | £3 child/student
Sinfonia of Birmingham
Michael Seal conductor
Zoë Beyers violin
Peter Dixon cello
Dvořák Othello Overture, Op. 93
Brahms Double Concerto for Violin & Cello in A minor, Op. 102
Arnold Symphony No. 5, Op. 74
A welcome return to the Festival for this wonderful orchestra and CBSO Associate Conductor Michael Seal performing, as usual, with eminent soloists. South-African born Leader of the English Symphony Orchestra and Director of the Northern Chamber Orchestra Zoë Beyers has established a reputation as one of the finest violinists of her generation; Peter Dixon has been Principal Cellist with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra for 35 years.
They bring another passionate programme to fill All Saints Church as only they can – Dvorák’s dramatic musical characterization of the relationship between Othello and Desdemona; Brahms’s final work for orchestra, composed as a gesture of reconciliation toward his old friend, the violinist Joseph Joachim, after a personal rift had separated them; and Malcolm Arnold’s emotional Fifth Symphony, filled with memories of friends who all died young, allowing us a chance for the Festival to mark the twentieth anniversary of the composer’s death.
The finer details…
Interval: 20 mins
Estimated finish: 9.30pm
Tickets:
Unreserved Seating
Front Nave: £24 (full price)
Rear Nave: £18 (full price) / £9 (under-35s)
Student/Child: £3 (all seats)
A platform which again showcases the cream of Warwickshire Music’s students from across the county, with a programme reflecting the theme of the Festival.
The finer details…
Interval: none
Estimated finish: 4pm
Tickets:
Unreserved Seating
£8 adults / £4 students & children
Schumann Nine Pieces from Bunte Blätter Op. 99
Howard Skempton Chorales and Inventions (2025)
Clara Schumann Notturno Op. 6 No. 2
Fauré Nocturne No. 6
Debussy L’Isle Joyeuse
Described by The Sunday Times as “a thoughtful, poetic player”, William Howard is one of Britain’s leading pianists and enjoys a career that has taken him to over 40 different countries. His performing life consists of solo recitals, concerto performances, and guest appearances with chamber ensembles and instrumentalists. In 1983 he founded the Schubert Ensemble, with which he performed for the full 35 years of the Ensemble’s existence (it gave its final concert in June 2018).
William is passionate about 19th-century piano repertoire, particularly Schumann and Fauré, and throughout his professional life he has also been active in commissioning new works and has taken part in over 100 premières. Our ‘Favourite treasures, Forgotten gems’ theme shines out in this recital’s wonderful programme.
The finer details…
Interval: none
Estimated finish: 1pm
Tickets:
Centre section: £18 full price | £3 child/student
Side sections: £13 full price | £6.50 under-35s | £3 child/student
Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective
Ben Goldscheider horn | Elena Urioste violin | Tom Poster piano
Ethel Smyth Trio for Violin, Horn and Pianoforte
Brahms Horn Trio in E flat major, Op. 40
Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective, hailed for its “exhilarating performances” (The Times), was dreamed up in 2017 by Tom Poster and Elena Urioste, who met through the BBC New Generation Artists Scheme. Kaleidoscope’s flexible roster features many of today’s most inspirational musicians, both instrumentalists and singers, and the Collective is particularly renowned for its creative programming, marked by an ardent commitment to celebrating diversity of all forms and a desire to unearth lesser-known gems of the repertoire.
Indeed, it was this wonderful programme that inspired the theme for this year’s Festival of ‘Favourite treasures, Forgotten gems’.
Brahms’s Horn Trio is all 19th-century Romanticism, and is said to have a strong emotional connection to the death of his mother three months earlier. Dame Ethel Smyth is one of the most important British composers that bridged the gap between the 19th and 20th centuries; encapsulating technique, melodies and arrangement, her Trio is a good challenge for musicians.
The finer details…
Interval: none
Estimated finish: 1pm
Tickets:
Centre section: £18 full price | £3 child/student
Side sections: £13 full price | £6.50 under-35s | £3 child/student
Fibonacci String Quartet
Luna De Mol and Kryštof Kohut violins
Elliot Kempton viola | Findlay Spence cello
arr. Fibonacci Quartet Moravian Love Songs
Bartók String Quartet No. 5, Sz 102
Schumann String Quartet No. 3 in A major, Op. 41 No. 3
The Fibonacci Quartet is one of Europe’s leading young string quartets. They have recently taken prizes at the Royal Over-Seas League Competition and the Cavatina Chamber Music Competition at Wigmore Hall, and are quickly establishing a reputation as compelling performers of a wide variety of repertoire.
The Quartet blew us away on their first visit to Leamington with their magical performance of Bartók’s Fourth Quartet, and we simply had to invite them back to give us more at the earliest opportunity! This, partnered with Schumann’s brilliant Quartet No. 3 and a graceful nod to Leamington Music’s speciality in Czech music, they will get the Festival off to a very fine start indeed.
The finer details…
Interval: 20 mins
Estimated finish: 9.30pm
Tickets:
Centre section: £28 full price | £3 child/student
Side sections: £18 full price | £9 under-35s | £3 child/student
Paintings inspired by:
Handel Messiah | Schubert String Quintet D956
Haydn ‘The Bird’ Quartet | Bach Cello Suite No. 1
Brahms Clarinet Quintet, Op. 115 | Beethoven String Quartet, Op. 132
Sacconi String Quartet
Ben Hancox & Hannah Dawson violins
Robin Ashwell viola | Cara Berridge cello
Simon Callaghan piano
Ravel String Quartet in F major
Bliss Piano Quartet
Franck Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 14
The Sacconi Quartet are fast becoming Festival favourites and, considering they have been captivating audiences with their unanimous and compelling ensemble for over two decades now, it is easy to see why. They come this year with Simon Callaghan, whose impeccable playing we last enjoyed with the Greenwich Piano Trio in the 2023 Festival.
For our final concert, this is a true Festival programme in every way: arriving at the culmination of our celebrations of Maurice Ravel and Arthur Bliss, and finishing with one of the greatest Piano Quintets of all time.
Join us after the concert for a celebratory glass of wine!
The finer details…
Interval: 20 mins
Estimated finish: 9pm
Tickets:
Centre section: £28 full price | £3 child/student
Side sections: £18 full price | £9 under-35s | £3 child/student