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
Deniz Sensoy violin | Alessio Enea piano
Debussy Beau Soir
Ravel Tzigane
Amy Beach Romance, Op. 23
Franck Violin Sonata in A major
This is the launch of our new ‘Young Artist Spotlight’ concerts, destined to be a sparkling feature of the Leamington Music Festival going forward. Turkish violinist Deniz Sensoy has already achieved notable recognition for her talent – she was named one of Classic FM’s Rising Stars for 2024, awarded the 2024/25 London Symphony Orchestra Conservatoire Scholarship, and recognized as a Britten Pears Young Artist among other accolades.
This is a perfect programme to complement our celebrations of Ravel who took inspiration in his early days from Debussy, and no violin recital in a French-infused Festival would be complete without Franck’s awesome Violin Sonata.
The finer details…
Interval: none
Estimated finish: 1.30pm
Tickets:
Centre section: £18 full price | £3 child/student
Side sections: £13 full price | £9 under-35s | £3 child/student
Roderick Williams baritone | Andrew West piano
‘A taste of exotic’
Schubert Kennst du das Land (Mignons Gesang), D321
W. Denis Browne Arabia
Bliss Siege
Rebecca Clarke A Dream
Amy Woodforde-Finden Pale hands I loved beside the Shalimar (Kashmiri Song)
Duparc L’invitation au voyage
Sally Beamish Four Songs from Hafez
Harry T. Burleigh Five Songs of Laurence Hope
The return of another Festival favourite (and a National Treasure to boot!). Roderick Williams never ceases to delight with both his performances and his thoughtful programming. This time he features the music of Leamington-born composer William Denis Browne among other works inspired by distant lands.
Generously supported by Helen & Stan Ireland and Diane Holt
The finer details…
Interval: None
Estimated finish: 1pm
Tickets:
Unreserved Seating
£23 (full price) / £11.50 (under-35s)
£3 (students & children)
Bliss Masks
Ravel Sonatine
Bliss Triptych
Poulenc Improvisation No. XV, “Hommage à Edith Piaf”
Poulenc Napoli – suite for piano
Coventry-born, and a noted pupil of Aldo Ciccolini, The Times has called Mark Bebbington “truly a remarkable pianist”. His international career has taken off in recent years, and we welcome this great champion of British music back to Leamington. Mark continues our Festival Ravel celebrations and begins for us those of Arthur Bliss who died 50 years ago this year.
Generously sponsored by Wiglesworth
The finer details…
Interval: none
Estimated finish: 1pm
Tickets:
Centre section: £18 full price | £3 child/student
Side sections: £13 full price | £9 under-35s | £3 child/student
Kofron Horn Sonatina
Mahler Urlicht from Des Knaben Wunderhorn
Janáček On an Overgrown Path selections
Kaprálová April Preludes
Punto Adagio from Horn Concerto No 5
Beethoven Horn Sonata in F Op 17
Ben Goldscheider’s stunning performance in the final concert of the 2023 Festival, plus his family’s Czech background, made an invitation to return inevitable. Finalist in the BBC Young Musician Competition in 2016, he plays regularly now in leading continental concert halls and with major orchestras, including his BBC Proms debut in 2022. Richard Uttley, Ben’s regular recital partner, comes to Leamington for the first time.
Generously supported by Stan & Helen Ireland
£18 | £12
(£1 children / students)
Martinů String Quartet
Lubomír Havlák violin and Adéla Štajnochrová violins
Martin Stupka viola, Jitka Vlašánková cello
with Vilém Veverka oboe
and Martin Kasík piano
Bohemian Pot Pourri
Martinů Quartet for oboe, violin, cello & piano H315
Haas Suite for oboe and piano Op 17
Klein Wiegenlied
Smetana From My Homeland
Dvořák Silent Woods Op 68
Dvořák Humoreske Op 101 No 7
Dvořák Terzetto in C Op 74
Martinů Mazurka-Nocturne H325
Imagine being part of a relaxed Sunday evening in a spacious drawing room in a palace in Prague and enjoy, with the Festival’s Czech musicians in residence, an eclectic mix of works ranging from Dvořák’s ever-popular Humoreske, to some lesser-known Martinů for discovery, and other well-chosen bonbons.
Generously supported by Hugh & Jane Beale, Malcolm & Jenny Burns, and Jennifer Lorch
£27 | £17
(£1 children / students)
Smetana Bagatelles & Impromptus
Dvořák Suite in A Op 98
Chopin Ballade in G minor Op 23
Chopin Nocturne in D flat Op 27 No 2
Chopin Scherzo in B flat minor Op 31
Concert given in memory of Iain Smith (Leamington Music Chairman, 2006-15) and Teresa Halikowska-Smith.
Iain Smith had a special regard for the leading Czech pianist Martin Kasík, following performances for Leamington Music as well as the Wigmore Hall, in the Leamington Hastings concerts, and the Festival in Stratford. Martin Kasík was Director of the Chopin Festival in Mariánské Lázně, which Iain and Teresa Smith attended in 2008 and greatly enjoyed. The Fryderyk Chopin Society is based in this Czech spa town where Chopin spent the summer of 1836.
Martin gives performances with the Martinů Quartet and his regular partner on oboe, Vilém Veverka, in the evening concerts on Saturday and Sunday.
Generously supported by Stefan, Milena, and Adrian Smith
£18 | £12
(£1 children / students)
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)
Roman Kosyakov and Tanya Avchinnikova
four hands one piano
Mozart Sonata for Piano duet in D K381
Schubert Ave Maria D839
Glière Douze Morceaux Op 48
Rachmaninov Six Morceaux Op 11
Siberian pianist Roman Kosyakov was a Leamington Music Prize winner in 2019, and stepped in at the last minute to save the day last year giving a stunning concert to close the Festival with Ukrainian pianist Sasha Grynyuk. This year he teams up with his Belarusian wife, Tanya Avchinnikova, for a delightful afternoon duo concert.
Opening with a piece that Mozart regularly included in his own programmes when touring with his sister, Nannerl, as child prodigies, we follow his charm with some of Schubert’s characteristic warmth. Glière was born in Kyiv, of German and Polish descent, and this is a rare opportunity to hear these delightful pieces written in 1909.
Rachmaninov’s Six Morceaux Op 11 are an absolute must for this Festival programme. Written in 1894, they are among the best compositions of his youthful period following his studies at the Moscow Conservatory.
Generously sponsored by Maestro! Touring
£17.50 | £12.50
(£1 children / students)
Includes tea and cake served afterwards
Preludes, Nocturnes and Rhapsody
Bach/Busoni Chorale Prelude “Ich ruf zu Dir, Herr Jesu Christ” BWV639
Chopin Nocturne in E minor Op 72 No 1
Chopin Nocturne in E flat Op 9 No 2
Gershwin Three Preludes
Valentin Silvestrov Nocturne
Rachmaninov Prelude in G Op 32 No 5
Rachmaninov Prelude in G sharp minor Op 32 No 12
Grieg Notturno Op 54 No 4
Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue
Unwind at the end of the first full day of the Festival with a glass of wine in this relaxed late-night concert.
Since winning First Prize at the Maria Canals Competition in Barcelona, Viv has enjoyed an extremely varied career as soloist and chamber musician, performing with most major British orchestras and many leading chamber groups. Viv last appeared in our Festival back in 2018, and one of his many admirers – Howard Skempton – proposed his return with a programme like this for us to round off a truly Festival day. We are pleased to include music by Valentin Silvestrov, who was born in Kyiv but currently lives in Berlin.
Generously supported by Howard Skempton
£16 unreserved
(includes a glass of wine)