We will add performances here as we hear about them!
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Read our latest Winter newsletter here - mainly online performances, including some special children's shows
Read our October newsletter here - dozens of online performances and a few concerts with real audiences too! Read our September newsletter here 
The 15th Malcolm Arnold Festival
Director, Paul Harris 17 - 18 October 2020 Live-streamed and FREE to view ‘A Man of the People’ is the theme of this year’s Malcolm Arnold Festival; the annual celebration of the multi-faceted composer and his music. Available online for the first time, listeners will be able to join proceedings via the website portal over 17th - 18th October 2020: www.malcolm-arnold-festival.livevideostream.co.uk Directed by Paul Harris and launched this year by Professor Colin Lawson, Director of the Royal College of Music where Malcolm Arnold studied, the event will be broadcast from the Festival Director’s studio using pre-recorded events inter-cut with both live and recorded music and informative introductions and discussions. Free-to-view, audiences will be invited to donate to the Festival’s charity, who’s objective is to advance the understanding and appreciation of Malcolm Arnold’s music. ‘A Man of the People’ Historically, the Festival has taken place in the composer’s birthplace, Northampton, in and around the town’s dedicated arts’ venue, Royal & Derngate; itself closed for the foreseeable future due to Covid-19 lockdown restrictions. “The Malcolm Arnold Festival is one of the eagerly anticipated annual events taking place at the venue which contribute towards the life-blood of arts festivals in the Northamptonshire region", said Paul Harris, Festival Director, who will be introducing the programme. "Disappointing though it is not to be able to welcome our audiences in person, our online presence is providing a great opportunity to focus on a wealth of smaller chamber pieces every bit as inventive as the composer’s larger works he is perhaps better known for, and to reach out to listeners across the globe, something Sir Malcolm would have relished.” “This year’s theme, ‘A Man of the People’, sums up the essence of Malcolm’s drive; he was a consummate communicator and had a deep desire to reach the widest audience possible through his music”, said Mr. Harris. Amongst the recital performers recording especially for the event will be flutists Jenny Dyson and Emma Halnan who are featuring in, amongst other works, Arnold’s Wind Divertimento and his Trio for Flute, Viola and Bassoon. Peter Fisher will give a violin recital, whilst Roger Coull will be joined by pianist Lynn Arnold for the Violin Sonata No. 2. The Amos Miller Brass Quintet will perform Three Shanties and the first Brass Quintet, whilst pianist Scott Mitchell will be performing selections from the ballet The Three Musketeers. Classical guitarist, Hugh Millington, will be marking the half-century of the Fantasy for Guitar, edited by Julian Bream, who gave the first performance at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in May 1971. And signing off in style will be a recording of the exuberant Fantasy for Audience and Orchestra; a work commissioned by the BBC for performance at the 'Last Night of the Proms' in 1970. Discover more about Sir Malcolm Arnold A selection of Guest Spots will allow for discussion of the composer’s works and his colourful life. Illustrated talks, from Janet Hilton on working with Malcolm Arnold; Ellie Fox on Gordon Jacob, his fellow composer at the Royal College of Music, and from composer Timothy Bowers, will also contribute to this informative strand. This year’s roster of guest speakers will include local broadcaster and Festival regular, John Griff, who will be focussing on Malcolm Arnold’s work with film director, David Lean. Credited with writing over 100 film scores, this was a particularly fruitful genre for the composer and in 1957 he won an Academy Award for the music to Lean's epic The Bridge on the River Kwai. Other collaborations with David Lean included The Sound Barrier (1952) and Hobson's Choice (1954). Looking ahead, 'Malcolm Arnold 100' will be an international celebration for the composer's Centenary in 2021. Access the online Festival via this link: www.malcolm-arnold-festival.livevideostream.co.uk Follow on Twitter and Facebook: @marnoldfestival - Ends - Notes for Editor For further information, interviews with artists and photos, please contact Karen Fletcher at Archery Promotions: archerypromos@btinternet.com m: 07973 175588 or Paul Harris, Festival Director: m.arnoldfest@googlemail.com Sir Malcolm Arnold (1921-2006) composed many popular and exuberant concert works including English Dances, Tam O’ Shanter, The Padstow Lifeboat, A Grand, Grand Overture (for floor polisher and vacuum cleaners), as well as nine amazingly diverse, powerful and complex symphonies, concertos and a wealth of smaller pieces for brass, woodwind and piano. “The show-stopper of the whole weekend. The applause…was thunderous. I count myself very fortunate indeed to have been there.” Rob Barnett, MusicWeb International (on a performance of Malcolm Arnold’s Concerto for Piano Duet and Strings at the Festival) Paul Harris, Festival Director: www.paulharristeaching.co.uk Paul Harris, who is a composer himself as well as one of the UK's leading educationalists and Malcolm Arnold's co-biographer, has worked tirelessly to present the composer's genre in an accessible and exciting format for enthusiasts of the music and to introduce it to those who are less familiar, as well as encouraging performances from music students. The Malcolm Arnold Festival Charity The Charity's objects are to advance the education of the public in the understanding and appreciation of the art of music, particularly in the music of Sir Malcolm Arnold CBE and other composers and artists connected through his influence, through the hosting of an annual Festival. There will be the opportunity to support the Charity and donate online during this year’s event. Further information Sir Malcolm Arnold Biography: www.malcolmarnold.co.uk/bio.html The Malcolm Arnold Society www.malcolmarnoldsociety.co.uk Malcolm Arnold: Rogue Genius by Anthony Meredith and Paul Harris (090341354X) Malcolm Arnold’s Northampton (film): www.youtube.com/watch?v=hv_vS_V2kqs Malcolm Arnold 100 – Forthcoming Centenary in 2021 https://www.wisemusicclassical.com/news/3968/Malcolm-Arnold-100--Centenary-in-2021/ https://www.fabermusic.com/news/rethinking-malcolm-arnold-the-2021-centenary22012020-1 
Header photo: Nicholas Daniel - director of the Leicester International Music Festival
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The Jubilee Quartet, one of the UK's most exciting young ensembles, is holding an Online Academy to explore the fundamentals of string quartet playing this December 5-7. If you're already in a quartet or you’re a solo player who wants to see what a quartet does, or even if you don't play but love the repertoire, this is for you! http://www.jubileequartet.co.uk/
Booking is now open for the Oxford Lieder Festival 2020: Connections Across Time! Over eight packed days from 10-17 October, we welcome many of our favourite Festival artists for a rich programme of live-streamed concerts and events. More than 100 singers, pianists and speakers will contribute to this bold programme, that you will be able to enjoy from the comfort of your own home.
We have been working hard to find advantage in adversity, and while we will miss seeing you in person, there are many exciting possibilities offered by this online format. We will be taking you into special venues in our magical city, introducing you to music both old and new performed by exceptional artists, sharing the familiar favourites of the repertoire, and showcasing brilliant new artists. Individual tickets are on sale now, and full details of all events are available on our website. Festival Passes represent extraordinarily good value. All tickets include access to added resources in the Digital Concert Hall from two weeks before the Festival, and allow you to watch events again after they have taken place, until two weeks after the Festival. |
FROM DUET TO DECET
Roger Higson, Chairman of Ripon Concerts has told us of this worthwhile project - please support! (it would make a great Christmas present for someone!) "All of us who work with musicians are very aware of their dire plight during the current almost complete shut down of the music industry. In the absence of concerts, we have therefore written a short, illustrated, and lighthearted book entitled: “FROM DUET TO DECET A Novice’s Guide to Chamber Music”, to raise money for them in this time of crisis and at the same time introduce people to chamber music. The book is full of information about musical instruments, types of ensembles, chamber music compositions, how to access concerts, what to expect at a concert and much more. All production costs have been covered, so that ALL the money raised from sales of the book will be given to the charity HELP MUSICIANS UK. It costs only £12 (inc p&p) and can be ordered through our website www.riponconcerts.co.uk or by using the attached order form. We are hoping that everyone who is concerned about the future of music, will wish to help those who have enriched and enhanced our lives so much, by generously supporting this fund raising venture." 
An online concert given by Loré Lixenberg (mezzo-soprano) and Bartosz Glowacki (accordion) 'Der Wanderer und der Flüchtling' (The Wanderer and the Refugee) Songs by Franz Schubert and Hanns Eisler The Schubert songs are selected to focus on ‘Der Wanderer’ and those of Eisler are very much based around the ‘Hollywood Liederbuch’ that he wrote as a refugee in exile in the USA between 1938 and 1943. Programme Schubert Ständchen Der Wanderer an den Mond Der Tod und das Mädchen An die Musik Der Jüngling an der Quelle Wehmuth Der Wanderer Der Leierman Eisler Zwei Wiegenlied für Arbeitsmutter A Hollywood Elegy Die Maske des Bösen Ostersonntag Die Heimkehr Der Graben Im Blumenengarten Tickets are £7.50 and the concert lasts around 40 minutes. On purchase of a ticket you will receive an email with a unique link and the concert will be available for you to view at any time until midnight on Saturday, 31 October. The link to purchase a ticket is https://www.stage-hub.com/hay-music Some viewers’ comments: “I enjoyed this concert very much. Loré’s voice was superb and I thought the duo worked beautifully. I was surprised at how many of the songs were familiar too. And yes, I am a fan of the accordion ‘played brilliantly’ as it was by Bartosz!” “Loré’s voice is lovely and in Bartosz’s hands the accordion is capable of subtlety of expression that I wouldn’t have believed possible. A good programme mix of the familiar and the immediately appealing new.” “I thought it was absolutely wonderful! So refreshing, and what lovely playing and singing.” Loré Lixenberg Having studied with Galina Vishnevskya, Martin Isepp, Graham Johnson, Elisabeth Söderstrom and David Mason, Loré Lixenberg's career began performing with Complicite at the National Theatre in 'Out of a House Walked a Man' directed by Simon McBurney, and at the Almeida opera in 'Miss Donnithorne's Maggot' by Maxwell Davies. She has performed internationally on concert platforms, in operas (ROH, Danish Royal Opera, Hanover Opera) and in new installations and vocal performances with experimental visual and sound artists like Stelarc, Bruce Mclean, ORLAN, Georgina Starr and David Toop. She has performed the works of, and worked with, composers such as Aperghis, Sörensen, Oehring, Turnage, Ligeti, Stockhausen, Furrer, Birtwistle, Earle Brown, Luc Ferrari, Barry, Oliveros, Acquaviva, Phill Niblock, Dufour, Fujikura, Hind, Rønshold, performing with many ensembles and orchestras (Halle, BBC SO, LSO, Danish Radio Orchestra, Tokyo Phil...) in music festivals worldwide. Loré has performed many classics of the contemporary repertoire such as the first complete recording on CD of John Cage’s ‘Songbooks’ for Sub Rosa with Greg Rose and Rob Worby. Loads of world premieres. She has also directed works by Kagel, Sciarrino, Berio and Wishart. She is a performer of her own works in pieces such as ‘Bird’ or her series of ‘Panic Room – The Singterviews’, also her real-time political opera installation 'Pret à Chanter'. She has published an artist book ‘Memory Maps’ and her first monographic CD ‘The afternoon of a phone (£@B)’. Loré has also performed in comedy, physical theatre and free improv with Simon Munnery, Richard Thomas, Stewart Lee, creating with them the TV series 'Attention Scum', 'FTRTV' and 'The Kombat Operas' for BBC2 TV. Her new recording ‘Nancarrow Karaoke’, vocal transcriptions of Nancarrow piano rolls, comes out on the De Player label in November 2020. Bartosz Glowacki Bartosz is one of the leading lights of a new generation of accordionists. His artistic goal is to continue to improve awareness of the accordion in classical music, as well as to develop a new repertoire for his instrument. Bartosz graduated from The Royal Academy of Music receiving Bachelor and Master’s Degrees with distinction as well as being honoured with the Regency Award. He won the Polish Young Musician of the Year in 2009, following which he represented Poland in the final of Eurovision Young Musicians Competition in Vienna. He is a winner of many national, as well as international music competitions. Bartosz was one of the 2015 Artist of the City Music Foundation and recipient of Zygmunt Zaleski Stichting scholarship. He won Sir John Manduell Prize at The Bromsgrove International Musicians Competition 2018. As a soloist he has performed in many prestigious concert halls, among them the Wigmore Hall, The Royal Festival Hall, The Purcell Room, Salle Cortot, The Colston Hall and Studio SI of The Polish National Radio. His solo recitals have been described as extremely engaging and inspiring. As well as being a soloist, Bartosz is extremely active chamber musician and is a founding member of The Deco Ensemble. During his career he has collaborated with many great musicians of a wide variety of music such as Nigel Kennedy, Trevor Pinnock, the Atom String Quartet and Tanita Tikaram. Bartosz has worked with musical institutions including The Royal Opera House, The Royal Ballet, The National Theatre, London Symphony Orchestra, The Chroma Ensemble, London Sinfonietta and many others. "In terms of blows, for me the coup de foudre was Bartosz Glowacki. By instinct, a solo accordion is not my top choice for a good night out. Life deals its shocks, however. (...) the young Pole creates a poignant and distinctive sound world". Fiona Maddocks - The Observer. www.haymusic.org 
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