Rachel Mahon organ
Director of Music, Coventry Cathedral
Rachel Laurin Toccata from Symphony No 1
Parry Chorale Prelude on “Martyrdom”
JS Bach Prelude & Fugue in C minor BWV546
Whitlock Scherzo & Paean from Five Short Pieces
Vaughan Williams Prelude on ‘Greensleeves’
Bales Petite Suite
Widor Adagio & Toccata from Symphony No 5
A whirlwind programme for our annual Bank Holiday organ recital of music spanning five centuries, which features Preludes, Fugues, and Toccatas from the very greatest composers for the instrument.
Generously supported by the Friends of All Saints Music
Free entry | Retiring collection
Emma Johnson clarinet
Raphael Wallfisch cello
John Lenehan piano
Beethoven Trio in B flat Op 11 ‘Gassenhauer’
Beethoven Cello Sonata in C Op 102 No 1
Vaughan Williams Six Studies in English Folksong for Clarinet
Simpson Trio for Clarinet, Cello and Piano
We welcome three of the UK’s most distinguished musicians back to Leamington for a little bit more of Ludwig who was so short-changed in 2020 thanks to the pandemic.
A sprinkling of RVW from the clarinet leads us on to Leamington-born composer Robert Simpson’s Trio which should have been played in last year’s Festival celebrating his centenary year. Raphael Wallfisch champions Simpson’s music and his father, Peter, played the piano in the Trio’s première in 1968.
Generously supported by Jennifer Lorch and Paul & Jane Watts
Tickets: £25 reserved centre | £17 unreserved sides
Christopher Cromar organ
Vaughan Williams Prelude & Fugue in C minor
Howells Psalm Prelude Op 32 No 1
Howells Sonata for Organ (1st mvt): Vivo, energico ed agitato
Simpson Eppur si muove
A Festival Feast of English music.
Generously supported by Dr J Fenlon, Dr Sara Liptai and Mrs N Kohler
Free entry | Retiring collection
Warwickshire Music
Advanced Musicians Concert
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.
Lynn Arnold & Charles Matthews – four hands one piano
Vaughan Williams Suite
Maconchy Preludio, Fugato and Finale
Ravel Mother Goose Suite
Tovey Waltzes
Bliss Rout
Howard Skempton Plain Sailing
Howard Skempton Première of new work
Benjamin Jamaican Rumba
A concert of music for four hands on one piano is a first for Leamington Music, but who could resist such an eclectic but exciting programme?
Howard Skempton celebrates his 75th birthday this year and commissioning a new work from him to mark the occasion was an absolute must!
These two wonderful pianists have a mutual passion for English music and this is the perfect platform for them to share it with us as we celebrate RVW and his inspirations.
Tickets: £17 reserved centre | £12 unreserved sides
Sinfonia of Birmingham
Michael Seal conductor
Nicholas Daniel oboe
Vaughan Williams The Wasps Overture
Parry An English Suite
Vaughan Williams Oboe Concerto in A minor
Vaughan Williams Symphony No 5 in D
No Festival celebrating RVW’s music could be complete without his Concerto for Oboe and Strings – written in 1944 and all too often woefully overlooked. We are delighted to welcome Nicholas Daniel, the UK’s premier oboist, to shine a much-deserved light on this beautiful work in the central concert of our five-day Festival.
Associate CBSO conductor Michael Seal directs the Sinfonia of Birmingham which last appeared in the area as part of the Warwick & Leamington Midsummer Music Festival last June and is quickly gaining a reputation with our audiences for its lively and exciting performances.
A quintessential reminder of the influence on RVW’s music by his teacher, Hubert Parry, appears in the form of another rare gem – Parry’s English Suite for Strings – but it is RVW who occupies centre stage in this concert as we take advantage of having a full symphony orchestra in our Festival for one night only!
Unreserved Tickets: £25 front nave | £17 rear nave
Vaughan Williams 150: Musical Connections
Talk by Dr Ceri Owen | University of Birmingham
RVW expert Dr Ceri Owen discusses the works appearing in the Festival and RVW’s links to our other featured composers, interwoven with extracts from his letters to give a personal insight to the process of the great composer.
Lana Trotovšek violin and Maria Canyigueral piano
Tartini Violin Sonata in G minor ‘Devil’s Trill’
Vaughan Williams The Lark Ascending
Ravel Violin Sonata No 2 in G
Prokofiev Five Pieces from ‘Cinderella’
We welcome Slovenian violinist Lana Trotovšek and Spanish pianist Maria Canyigueral to Leamington for the first time, delighted to be able to keep our European connections alive.
Following our Festival themes, they bring RVW’s original 1914 version of The Lark Ascending for violin and piano, paired with Ravel’s astonishing later Violin Sonata.
Tartini was born in Piran, on the coast of Slovenia, south of Trieste, and his explosive ‘Devil’s Trill’ Sonata is a treat. The addition of Prokofiev to the programme introduces a Russian flavour ahead of Monday night’s Festival finale.
Tickets: £17 reserved centre | £12 unreserved sides
Gemma Rosefield cello & Tim Horton piano
Beethoven Cello Sonata in D Op 102 No 2
Bruch Kol Nidrei Op 47
Grieg Cello Sonata in A minor Op 36
Festival favourites Gemma and Tim bring us an intimate Duo performance ahead of their evening concert with Ensemble 360.
Tickets: £17 reserved centre | £12 unreserved sides
Sacconi Quartet
Ben Hancox and Hannah Dawson violins
Robin Ashwell viola, Cara Berridge cello
with Emma Abbate piano
Vaughan Williams String Quartet No 1 in G minor
Ravel String Quartet in F
Elgar Piano Quintet in A minor Op 84
We begin the 2022 Festival with a relatively rare gem from Ralph Vaughan Williams. RVW wrote his First String Quartet in 1908 after studying with Ravel for three months; it seems only natural, therefore, to pair this work with Ravel’s only Quartet which was completed in 1903.
Both RVW and Ravel served in World War I in non-combative roles, as ambulance crew and lorry driver respectively. Elgar’s great period was also the years before and during the Great War, writing patriotic music and following with his three great chamber works including the Piano Quintet of 1918.
The Sacconi Quartet return to Leamington after a superb opening concert of the Autumn Season and Emma Abbate, originally from Italy and now a professor at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, makes her Leamington Music debut in this fine Festival opener.
Tickets: £25 reserved centre | £17 unreserved sides