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Last week I went up to Hertford, the attractive county town of Hertfordshire, to attend an inaugural concert and reception, ahead of this year’s Hertfordshire Festival of Music (HFoM) which runs from 7 to 14 June.

I have been involved in the Festival since its founding by conductor Tom Hammond (who tragically died in 2021) and composer James Francis Brown, initially in an ad hoc way by sharing details of the festival here and on my social networks, and since 2020 as the Festival’s publicist.

Now in its ninth year, the festival has grown from a weekend to a full week of concerts and related events/activities. The ethos and aims of the festival have remained largely the same – presenting world class classical music and musicians in the heart of Hertfordshire alongside education and outreach projects within the local community – and each year sees a different Principal Artist (Emma Johnson, Ben Goldscheider, Steven Isserlis and Stephen Hough to name a few) and Featured Living Composer (e.g. Judith Weir, CBE, David Matthews), as well as musicians who live and/or come from Hertfordshire (flautist Emma Halnan, pianist Florian Mitrea). The concert programmes are varied and imaginative, and the range of artists is impressive. Previous performers/ensembles have included ZRI, the Rosetti Ensemble, pianists Katya Apekisheva and Charles Owen, violinists Litsa Tunnah, Mathilde Milwidsky and Chloe Hanslip, cellist Guy Johnson, and guitarist Jack Hancher.

Potential audiences (and reviewers) who live in London are often reluctant to journey too far out of the metropolis to experience live music (it was via an online discussion about this issue that I first met Tom Hammond, back in 2015), yet the ease with which one can travel to Hertfordshire was quite evident when, after having lunch with my father near Kings Cross, I took the Circle Line a few stops to Moorgate and thence a train to Hertford North station (Hertford has 2 railway stations; trains from Hertford East go to Liverpool Street). The journey was less than an hour, comfortable and pleasant, and my hotel was an easy 10-minute stroll from the station to the attractive historic centre of town. Hertford is also easily accessible by road, again less than an hour’s drive from London.

HFoM concerts take place in the town’s two main churches, St Andrew’s and All Saints, both of which are within walking distance of the town centre. Other events take place at the Hertford Quaker Meeting House (the oldest meeting house built by Friends that has remained in unbroken use since 1670), and other local venues.

If you were to make a mini break or weekend visit to Hertford, or even just a day trip, you’ll find the town has a good range of independent shops, cafes, restaurants and pubs. Ahead of the evening event, I enjoyed a stroll around the town in unexpectedly mild sunshine.

This year’s festival runs from 7 to 14 June. I can’t reveal the full programme yet but I can tell you that this year’s Festival theme, ‘Shadows to Light: Musical Journeys in Conflicts and Peace’, which celebrates the universal language of music through times of adversity and peace, and touches on the 80th anniversary of VE Day alongside contemporary global conflicts. From young musicians to established international artists, jazz music, the Hertford Community Concert Band, and even a special Festival Church Service, this year’s Festival offers something for everyone and features over 30 events across music and outreach activities, of which 50% are free, with concessions applied to ticketed events.

You can enjoy early access to Festival news by signing up to the HFoM newsletter or by following the festival on social media.

Hertfordshire Festival of Music website

Hertfordshire Festival of Music is built on the involvement, support and encouragement of Hertford and the county’s communities who help build a thriving and rich Festival for the communities HFoM wishes to serve.

The Hertford hart
Artistic Director/pianist James Francis Brown & volist Sarah-Jane Bradley

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Anthony Hardwicke is attending the Rosendal Chamber Music Festival and has kindly offered to submit a series of reviews

Rosendal Chamber Music Festival- Day 1

Imagine a pretty Norwegian village in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by mountains and fjords. Add four of the most interesting and exciting pianists in the world; Leif Ove Andsnes, Yoel-Eum Son, Bertrand Chamayou and Roland Pontinen. Give them some first-class string players – Julia Hagen, Tabea Zimmerman and Sheku Kanneh-Mason to play with – along with many other fabulous musicians, such as superstar tenor Matthias Goerne, and you get this year’s Rosendal Chamber Music Festival. There are 11 mouth-watering concerts over four days and the focus is on Brahms and Ligeti.

The first concert opened with Brahms’ Violin Sonata Op.78, No. 1, played by James Ehnes and Yeol-Eum Son. Any preconceptions about Brahms’ chamber music being dense and stodgy, were brushed aside by Son’s exquisitely graceful piano playing. With impossibly smooth scales, sparing pedal and tonnes of detail, she gave Ehnes the space to use the full dynamic range of his Stradivarius, down to a whisper in the second movement coda. Their light, coy, bouyant approach to Brahms was refreshing and persuasive.

Ligeti’s outrageous ‘Mysteries of the Macabre’, arranged for trumpet (Hakan Hardenburger) and piano (Roland Pontinen) provided a complete contrast. Pontinen had a referee’s whistle attached to his right wrist, which he made good use of when acknowledging the audience’s applause, as well as during the third song.

To finish, Leif Ove Andsnes and the Dover Quartet played Brahms’ mighty F minor Piano Quartet Op.34. It felt like a gala concert, having five completely new performers on stage after the interval. Special mention to Camden Shaw, the Dover cellist, who barely looked at the score, so intense was his eye contact with the other players. You could tell the Dovers were listening to each other intensely too in the strings-only recitative section at the end of the first movement. Andsnes played solidly, but I would have liked him to have taken more risks. As the Artistic Director of the whole festival, Andsnes deserves huge credit for gathering such a dream team of chamber musicians.

Watch this space for reviews of the other concerts…

James Ehnes
Roland Pontinen
Yeol Eum Son
Hakan Hardenberger
Dover Quartet
Leif Ove Andsnes

Anthony Hardwicke is an Islington-based amateur pianist. He played Mozart and Scriabin for his LRSM diploma and attends Martino Tirimo’s class at Morley College. He also works part time as a chemistry teacher at Bradfield College.

(Images from Rosendal Chamber Music Festival)

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9-16 June 2023

Principal Artist: Emma Johnson, clarinettist

Box office now open

Hertfordshire Festival of Music celebrates live classical music in Hertfordshire with an exhilarating programme of magnificent classical music, both traditional and modern – an opportunity to enjoy world class music in the heart of Hertfordshire.

“The friendly, accessible vibe of Hertfordshire Festival of Music was accompanied by the very highest level of music-making and extremely imaginative programmes in beautiful locations.” – Judith Weir CBE, Master of the King’s Music

With a theme that explores the fascinating relationship between music and art, HFoM will unite the local communities of art and music lovers through illuminating talks and imaginatively devised concert programmes. The Festival will also mark the Coronation of King Charles III with two special events.

HFoM is honoured to have Emma Johnson, one of the world’s finest clarinettists, as this year’s Principal Artist, performing a captivating recital with the talented pianist Gregory Drott. There is also a special opportunity to observe her artistic insight in a masterclass for young and aspiring players at the beautiful Queenswood School in Hatfield. Emma Johnson will also be in conversation with Artistic Director James Francis Brown to talk about her musical journey, her passions and her interests, and to share insights and opinions on music, art and life.

Featured artists at this year’s Festival include:

Emma Johnson, Katya Apekisheva, Gregory Drott, Jack Hancher, Hertford Chamber Choir, Manvinder Rattan, Rossetti Ensemble, Daniel Swain, Litsa Tunnah, Daniel Grimwood, William Whitehead, ZRI

Highlights of this year’s Festival include:

Coronation Celebrations in Hertford

HFOM marks the coronation of King Charles III with two special events in Hertford. At Hertford Castle, the HFoM Community Concert Band musicians will perform arrangements of music associated with royalty in a fun, relaxed performance. The Hertford Chamber Choir and Manvinder Rattan take up the theme in a special performance at All Saints’ Church, including exquisite solo works for organ performed by William Whitehead.

The ever-popular ZRI ensemble return to HFoM with their genre-bending and audience thrilling ‘Cellar Sessions’, recreating the atmosphere of the legendary Red Hedgehog bar in Vienna, at the McMullen Brewery courtyard in Hertford.

Pianist Katya Apekisheva makes her Festival debut performing one of the war horses of art-inspired music, Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. Festival newcomer violinist Litsa Tunnah shares her passion for music and colour in a recital, and she will be in conversation with Artistic Director James Frances Brown exploring the rare phenomenon of synaesthesia, where sounds can trigger colours or shapes, and discussing how music can create visual impressions.

Guitarist Jack Hancher returns to Hertford with a solo recital of music inspired by art, and there will also be a special appearance of the highly regarded Rossetti Ensemble in a performance of music by David Matthews and Festival Artistic Director, James Francis Brown.

Emma Johnson
ZRI
Jack Hancher
Litsa Tunnah
Daniel Grimwood
Rossetti Ensemble
Gregory Drott
Katya Apekisheva
Manvinder Rattan
William Whitehead

HFoM plans 15 events/outreach projects in community venues, anticipating engagement with around 1,500 individuals (performers, audiences, participants/beneficiaries).  Eight of the events are free, with discounted ticket prices for concessions where possible.

As part of the Festival, and with the support of community sponsor, Network Homes and collaboration with Sing from the Heart, HFoM’s Music in Mind project offers a series of interactive sessions for people living with dementia, as well as their carers and families, in selected care homes across Hertfordshire. These sessions are led by specially trained musicians who share the gift of music with compassion and sensitivity. Music can have a positive impact on the symptoms of dementia, as well as bringing joy and happiness to those who participate.

In addition, HFoM is delighted to continue its vitally important education projects with exciting plans to get schoolchildren up and singing, in collaboration with Hertfordshire Music Service and Queenswood School, taking place later in the year.

Full details of this year’s Festival at hertsmusicfest.org.uk

Hertfordshire Festival of Music is the vision of the late Tom Hammond and composer James Francis Brown, and is registered as a charity supported by a board of Trustees and a team of volunteers.

Now in its eighth year, HFoM has grown rapidly from a small weekend event to one of the UK’s major summer music festivals, featuring international artists and ensembles alongside innovative outreach and educational projects, all based in and around the attractive historic county town of Hertford. Since its launch, HFoM has presented concerts that have inspired extraordinary audience responses to artists such as Tasmin Little OBE, Dame Emma Kirkby, Stephen Hough CBE, Steven Isserlis CBE, Ben Goldscheider, the Carducci Quartet, the Galliard Ensemble, Chloë Hanslip, ZRI and The Prince Consort.

HFoM is fortunate to receive support from a number of charitable trusts and foundations, county, district and town councils, while a growing Friends Scheme allows individuals to play an important role in supporting the Festival and furthering its scope and potential.

The Festival offers affordable ticket prices, several free events, concessions for those under 24 in full-time education, free tickets for the under 8s and a complementary ticket for a carer accompanying those patrons with access needs.

HFoM exists to celebrate and nurture exceptional music-making, featuring some of the world’s finest performers. The Festival also supports professional and young musicians from Hertfordshire, presents fascinating music by living composers and devises major, innovative projects for education and participation. Hertford is just over twenty miles from central London, easy to get to by rail and road but nestled in the beautiful countryside of the Lea Valley. Most concerts take place within a ten-minute stroll of the town’s centre, which boasts excellent restaurants, many independent shops and accommodation.

Website: www.hertsmusicfest.org.uk

Twitter: @HertMusicFest

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Hertsmusicfest/

Instagram: @hertsfestofmusic

Registered Charity Number 1175716

For further press information, please contact Frances Wilson | frances_wilson66@live.com

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This year’s Petworth Festival, which opens on 13 July, offers a feast for piano fans this year.

Thanks to a new partnership with the Leeds International Piano Competition, Petworth will showcase the first, second and third prizewinners over consecutive years, with current Leeds winner Alim Beisembayev performing at Petworth on 29 July in a programme of music by Haydn, Beethoven and Liszt.

“It is one of the greatest privileges we could wish for to be able to showcase winners of such an important international piano competition as The Leeds….I know they will be a source of great inspiration to young musicians in our area.” – Neil Franks, Chair of Petworth Festival

From a young concert pianist at the start of an international career to a grand statesman of the piano, Piers Lane gives a concert of Nocturnes by Chopin, some of the best-loved piano music in the repertoire, on 17 July.

Another piano treat awaits the next day when Steven Osborne performs Debussy, a glorious programme which includes the much-loved Arabesques.

For jazz fans there’s boogie-woogie with Ben Waters, who celebrates the music of some of his heroes – Fats Domino, Huey Piano Smith, Albert Ammons, Ian Stewart (founder member of the Rolling Stones), Jerry Lee Lewis, Diz Watson – as well as performing his own compositions.

In addition, the Festival welcomes some of the finest chamber pianists – Martin Roscoe, Iain Burnside, Charles Owen, Huw Watkins – joined by, amongst others, violinist Tai Murray, soprano Julia Sitkovetsky, and cellist Natalie Clein,

This feast of music takes place in the lovely West Susssex town of Petworth from 13 to 30 July. The town is easily accessible from London by road and rail, and there is plenty on offer during the two-week festival to satisfy all tastes, including events for children.

Full details and tickets on the Petworth Festival website