Festival
Carducci Festival Highnam 17-19th May 2019
We are so much looking forward to being back in Highnam for our 2019 Festival this May! It’s always a treat to bring our favourite programmes and guest artists ‘home’ to Highnam, and the warmth of the audience reaction recharges us for the rest of the year.
This year, the piano is the star, and features in all three church concerts. On Friday pianist Daniel Tong joins us to perform Brahms classic Piano Quintet, while on Saturday we welcome back oboist Nicholas Daniel and welcome pianist (and composer!) Huw Watkins, for a French-themed programme including Saint-Saens Piano Quintet. The Coffee Concert at Highnam Court on Sunday morning has an eastern theme, courtesy of Serbian accordionist Miloš Milivojević, before our final concert on Sunday afternoon featuring pianist Clare Hammond with a chamber version of Mozart’s Piano Concerto.
As ever, tickets for most Festival concerts are free for anyone aged under 26, thanks to support from the Cavatina Chamber Music Trust, so please help us spread the word and introduce a new audience to these wonderful works.
Matthew, Michelle, Eoin and Emma
Friday 17th May 2019
‘Sturm und Drang’
7.30pm, Highnam Church
With Daniel Tong, piano
Beethoven String Quartet No. 11 in F minor Op. 95 ‘Serioso’
Janáček Piano Sonata I X 1905 ‘From the Street’
Brahms Quintet for Piano and Strings in F minor Op. 34
The 2019 Festival opens with two of our favourite chamber works – Beethoven’s ‘Serioso’ Quartet, and Brahms Piano Quintet. Brahms originally scored his quintet for two violins, viola and two cellos, before rearranging it in 1864 for string quartet and piano in a version described as “a masterpiece of chamber music” by his friend the conductor Hermann Levi.
Tickets from £12 (free tickets for under-26s)
Saturday 18th May 2019
‘Entente Cordiale’
7.30pm, Highnam Church
With Nicholas Daniel, oboe and Huw Watkins, piano
Poulenc Sonata for Oboe and Piano
Rebecca Clarke Poem for String Quartet
Delius Two Interludes for Oboe and Piano
Finzi Interlude for Oboe and String Quartet Op. 21
Saint Saens Quintet for Piano and Strings in A minor Op. 14
Saturday evening’s concert has an Anglo-French theme, with pieces by Delius, Finzi and Poulenc featuring the oboe. The programme culminates in a performance of Saint Saens piano quintet, which has a particularly virtuosic piano part and which Saint Saens dedicated to his great aunt Charlotte Gayard Masson, who gave him his first piano lessons.
Tickets from £12 (free tickets for under-26s)
Sunday 19th May 2019
Coffee Concert: ‘Music Box’
11.00am, Highnam Court Orangery
With Miloš Milivojević, accordion
Programme including music by Bach, Scarlatti, Sarasate, and Piazzolla.
Always a popular event and often a sell-out, this year’s coffee concert features virtuoso Serbian accordionist Miloš Milivojević who joins the Carducci Quartet for a foot-tapping programme which is sure to be a perfect way to spend the morning.
Tickets: £32 (children and students £20) – includes a cup of coffee, or a glass of sherry or juice and access to Highnam Court Gardens after the concert
£5 from every ticket will be donated to the Pied Piper Appeal
SORRY – THIS CONCERT IS SOLD OUT!
‘Musical Masterpieces’
4.30pm, Highnam Church
With Clare Hammond, piano
Ravel String Quartet in F major
Mozart Piano Concerto in No. 24 in C minor K491 (chamber version)
The 2019 Festival comes to a close with two chamber masterpieces. Ravel’s quartet broke new ground and earned him the accolade ‘one of the masters of tomorrow’. Paired with this is Mozart’s own chamber version of his remarkable Piano Concerto No.24, one of only two concertos Mozart wrote in a minor key. Explosive, dark and tragic, Beethoven expressed his profound admiration for the work.
Tickets from £10 (free tickets for under-26s) – includes a cup of tea or coffee and a cake before the concert (from 3.30pm).
Free events
Saturday 18th May
Festival Masterclasses
10.30 – 12.00pm, Highnam Church
FREE EVENT – a chance to watch talented young musicians take part in a masterclass led by pianist Daniel Tong.
Gloucestershire Young Musician Showcase
1.00pm, Highnam Church
FREE EVENT – A half hour showcase by the winner of the ‘Carducci Audience Prize’ at the Gloucestershire Young Musician Competition 2019
Directions
For the Gambier Parry Hall and Highnam Church: From Gloucester take the A40 (signposted ‘Ross-on-Wye’). Then 1km from Over roundabout, turn right at the traffic lights onto B4215 (sign-posted ‘Newent’). 250 metres on the left turn left into car park.
For Highnam Court: From Gloucester take the A40 (signposted ‘Ross-on-Wye’). At Highnam roundabout take third exit (un-signposted). Continue up the drive to carpark.
Use google maps for directions to Highnam Court and Church Or use Multimap Map Other useful sites (inc. accommodation) Bed and Breakfasts Gloucester Tourist Information Centre