It’s summer and that means festival time is upon us! This weekend sees the launch of yet another batch, including the Leicester International Music Festival and Bradford International Festival, Be There 2003. Today, Arts Hub previews a number of upcoming festivals in England, but watch this space in coming weeks for events across the British Isles. So no matter where you are in the UK, it’s time to brave the train, grab a cheap flight or organise a road trip, and get out of town!
If you are a chamber music devotee, Leicester is the place to be this weekend. In residence at this year’s Leicester International Music Festival is The Fibonacci Sequence under Artistic Director, Kathon Sturrock, who says this year’s programme has been designed to complement an exhibition at the main festival venue, the New Walk Museum and Art Gallery.
‘One of the pleasures of directing a chamber ensemble is the challenge of designing programmes to fit the occasion,’ Sturrock comments on the festival’s website.
‘The music of Prokofiev and Bax is included in our concerts, acknowledging the 50th anniversary of both composers’ deaths this year. The main Festival venue, New Walk Museum & Art Gallery, has a fascinating art exhibition, entitled Expressionism and Beyond, which gives an intriguing focal point to this year’s festival. The continually evolving definition of Expressionism, both in art and music, is reflected in several concert programmes.’
Festival-goers can catch a piano recital by Paul Lewis this evening, who was recently named the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Instrumentalist of the Year, as well as the recipient of the South Bank Show Classical Music Award 2003. Tomorrow night, Richard Hickox conducts the Philharmonia with Vaughan Williams, Elgar and Beethoven’s Violin Concerto, featuring James Ehnes on violin. The Fibonacci Sequence features throughout the programme in various talks, rehearsals and performances, while other highlights include tenor James Gilchrist and an Indian classical music recital by Rakesh Chaurasia and Tarun Bhattacharya.
Leicester International Music Festival, June 13-22 www.musicfestival.co.uk
Londoners or visitors to the capital may want to head east to the Spitalfields Festival, which began this week. This year’s performances have relocated to Shoreditch church, while previous festival venue, Christ Church, undergoes renovations. This weekend features COMA, (Contemporary Music-making for Amateurs), who have collaborated with Cardboard Citizens for this free performance event. Check out the website for events and performances next week, from chamber to choral to new music, as well as guided walks divulging the history of Spitalfields.
Spitalfields Festival, June 9-27 www.spitalfieldsfestivalorg.uk
Heading north? Fourteen venues in Liverpool and Manchester come to life with the sounds of Africa this weekend and until the end of the month, in Africa Oye (‘Listen to Africa’), dubbed Europe’s biggest free African music festival. South African group currently touring the UK festival scene, Mighty Zulu Nation, join musicians from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Jamaica, Zimbabwe, Senegal, The Gambia and Barbados in this 14-day event. The festival coincides with La Fete de la Musique – European Music Day, which will take place in Liverpool’s Concert Square featuring music from the UK, USA, France and Lebanon, on June 21.
Africa Oye 2003 www.africaoye.com/
Meanwhile, Bradford International Festival, Be There 2003, (featured this week on Arts Hub) launched last night in a blaze of fireworks by pyrotechnic company, External Combustion. But you can still catch more free spectacular outdoor theatre at the event, which literally takes off again tonight with The World Famous’ new touring show, Blast.
Bradford International Festival www.bethere2003.com
Further down the track, July plays host to a number of festivals, noteably the Harrogate International Festival. This year, Harrogate continues the event’s strong orchestral, classical and jazz programme, as well as featuring a world music strand, dance and the opening night parade.
Coming from a festival which has previously featured the likes of B B King, it’s no surprise that this year’s event has attracted soul-pop diva Dionne Warwick. Other festival highlights include jazz legend Dame Cleo Laine, and the acclaimed Budapest Festival Orchestra conducted by Ivan Fischer.
Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov abound in the programme – an appropriate tribute to mark St Petersburg’s tercentenary. Both the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and leading UK chamber choir, Canzonetta, perform Tchaikovsky, while the St Petersburg Piano Trio pay tribute to both celebrated composers and the Syzmanowski Quartet take on Shostakovich.
Harrogate International Festival July 17- August 1 www.harrogate-festival.org.uk
Continuing the festivities up north, the recently named European Capital of Culture 2008 plays host to the Merseyside International Street Festival in July. Formerly the Brouhaha International Street Theatre Festival, the event began in 1990 as part of the Liverpool Playhouse Youth Festival, which celebrated Eastern European and local youth theatre. It became a street festival in 1995, and now attracts companies from all over the world, including South Africa, Australia, Mexico, Cuba, USA and Europe.
This year’s programme is a melting pot of diverse cultures and artforms. Dance is a strong point, with a programme spanning the graceful classical and flamenco moves of Spain’s Ballet Entredanzas, while African Dance and British ‘street-style’ youth culture is mixed up in Elements, a collaboration between Noyam Dance and Koromanti Arts.
El Nombre add to the musical soundscape with their blend of Flamenco and Jazz melodies fused with Indian Tabla’s, while the eight-piece Bombay Baja combine brass with dhol drums.
And it wouldn’t be a street theatre festival without circus arts, in this case Skylight Circus Arts swings through Snakes and Ladders. Meanwhile, Common Ground Theatre showcase their unique sign dance theatre, while also featured in the theatrical programme is multi-lingual company, Chol Theatre.
Merseyside International Street Festival July 27- August 4
www.brouhaha.uk.com/brouhaha.htm
