Leicester International Music Festival 16 – 19 September 2010

Take 5 Composers - Bach, Mozart, Schubert, Schumann, Woolrich

An Introduction from Artistic Director Nicholas Daniel

Since I was very young I have enjoyed becoming obsessive about a writer, a composer, a piece, an artist; experiencing as much of their work as I can get my hands on, utterly immersing myself in their world. In this way I wondered if it would be possible and practical to have single composer concerts in our festival so as to focus purely for an evening on one composer's voice. On reflection I decided that it would be good to consider the festival as 5 single composer concerts, all mixed up, plus extra goodies of course, but that the Festival could be viewed, and attended as a single extended concert in its own right, with a small amount of time-travelling required both backwards and forwards to get the single composer effect!

We will present a concert of Schubert, with the C major String Quintet and Winterreise, a concert of Mozart, with the G minor Piano Quartet, a concert of Schumann, with the Piano Quintet, a concert of Bach, with works for solo violin and cello as well as ensemble pieces, and a concert of the music of John Woolrich, who will be our composer in residence. John was one of the Aldeburgh Festival's Artistic Directors and a major force in new music as well as someone with a profound love of music and a great understanding of the way music can affect people's lives.  The Dartington Hall Trust has just appointed John as the new Artistic Director of its world-renowned international music festival, the Dartington International Summer School.

John is the living composer with whom I have collaborated most closely, and who has written so many important and beautiful pieces for me. Leicester commissioned and I performed his staggering and haunting Oboe Quintet in the Festival a number of years ago, and we will be reviving this piece in 2010 with a special pre-concert talk on the work with the composer at the Saturday Evening Concert. I am also delighted to announce that the Festival Board has secured funding from the Britten Pears Foundation for a new commission from John for this Festival. I know it will be interesting to get to know him and his music better.

He is the living composer with whom I have collaborated most closely, and who has written so many important and beautiful pieces for me. Leicester commissioned and I performed his staggering and haunting Oboe Quintet in the Festival a number of years ago, and we will be reviving this piece in 2010 with a special pre-concert talk on the work the composer. As one of the Aldeburgh Festival's Artistic Directors and a major force in new music as well as someone with a profound love of music and a great understanding of the way music can affect people's lives I know it will be interesting  to get to know him and his music better. 

As well as these bulwarks of the structure of the Festival we will be having a family concert on Sunday, a Chamber Music Masterclass, and we shall be visiting John Lewis Leicester for a Saturday Morning Drop-in Shoppers' Concert..

I hope that this Festival may be seen as a very complete experience in terms of people attending every concert, and I think it’s ok to become a little obsessive about the music and the performances.

Nicholas Daniel

 Photograph of Nicholas Daniel courtesy Steve Rogers

PATRONS
Thea Musgrave CBE; James MacMillan CBE;
Paul McCreesh; Lars Tharp

Leicester International Music Festival is a Registered Charity Number 702670  
Company registered in England: No. 02380796