Leamington Music Festival, 2-6 May 2024

This was a memorable 2024 Festival in the year of Czech Music. Momentum was built throughout five days of glorious music to a shatteringly emotional last night with performances of  Vilem Tausky’s  Coventry: A Meditation, Sylvie Bodorová’s Terezín Ghetto Requiem and Schubert’s String Quartet in C. This Festival was the culmination of work by Richard Phillips – a colossus in the world of music promotion – as he called time on the career-defining 109 festivals to his name; also a timely reminder, so appropriately put into words by the Guarneri Piano Trio’s cellist Marek Jerie, prior to their second encore on an early Festival night when he reminded his audience of its individual inner angst when  he declared “in these difficult times it is important not to lose our humour”. To nobody’s surprise, their second encore was Dvořák’s ‘Humoresque’; a work soon to become the signature tune of the Festival with two more very different encore renditions by Festival superstar, pianist Martin Kasik and by horn player Ben Goldscheider.

Dvořák’s works featured prominently in this Festival focus on Czech connections. Audience numbers were swelled by members of the Dvořák Society celebrating its first fifty years with its welcome support of music by Czech and Slovak performers and composers. This list is endless with Martinů, Schuloff, Ullman, Haas, Suk, Janáček, Kaprálová  and Tauský all making significant contributions to the wealth and quality of the Festival’s chamber music over five enterprising days as the Czech connections kept on surfacing.  Remembering Dvořák’s nine visits to England, American musicolgist, David R. Beveridge, focussed on the composer’s appearances at Crystal Palace where in 1879 he conducted what became his calling card - his Slavonic Dances - and launched his career as an composer of international stature. By coincidence, another connection, baritone Simon Wallfisch was brought up close to Crystal Palace. Having recovered from bronchitis in three days, Simon sang works by  Viktor Ullmann and Pavel Hass, two of the several composers who were held at the Terezín Ghetto before being transported to Auschwitz between  1942 and 1944.  To gasps from the audience he sang the Four Songs on Chinese Poetry by Haas from a portfolio with a schematic drawing of Terezín on the front cover – another  Czech connection.  With support from a fine accompanist Iain Farrington, Simon sang works by Suk, Mahler, Korngold (who escaped capture and fled to the USA through Vienna), Janáček and Dvořák. These composers were masters of bringing emotion and intellect together, proving that music brings joy, their works a gift to humanity – yet, as cellist Marik Jerie hinted before that second encore - man’s inhumanity to man never fails to shock.  

Farrington played the Fazioli grand with care and attention, though he expressed a preference for a Steinway!  Other pianists, with superstar Kasik excepted, at times overwhelmed their colleagues. No matter what Kasik was asked to do, playing Dvorak’s Piano Quintet in A (a Festival highlight) with the Martinu String Quartet or accompanying oboeist, Vilém Veverka in the Bohemian Pot Pourri of works by Martinů, Smetana and Haas at no time did he lose sight of the importance of balance; his skill in  achieving balance in such differing contexts is immense. Veverka is a well- established professional, one of the Czech Republic’s most respected musicians.  Surely, his forté is in large concert halls playing solo works with large orchestras. He is a very fit man with huge lungs capable of delivering a very large output from his instrument which is known to have a bright and penetrating voice.  The small platform and front rows within touching distance would not be his preference or the preference of those in front rows!

Exhibitions by Leamington Music’s Artist-in-Residence are a feature of Festivals, no more so than this year where some very happy memories of artists over several years were recorded with an identifiable theme of “happiness”, a connection which Kasik forged with Smetana’s Bagatelles and Impromptus and the Kukal String Quartet (image above) forged with their remarkable début in the UK playing Schulhoff’s Five Pieces for String Quartet.  From the opening bars it was clear this quartet were very, very skilled. It transpires they are coached by Štĕpán Ježek, violinist with the Bennewitz Quartet; they brought huge happiness to Leamington with evidence that the future of chamber music in the Czech Republic is in good shape.  In a few years’ time they have good reason to believe they will a highly sought after quartet. Thanks to their performance on Radio 3 a day or so before this concert, the Leamington audience numbers were increased. Young Warwickshire musicians had their moment, too, at their Advanced Musicians concert. Joshua Tan, amongst many, showed talent which has equipped to play with the violin desks at the National Youth Orchestra.

Two young ladies starring over the weekend were Adéla Štajnochrová,  second violin with Martinů String Quartet and trumpet playing Imogen Whitehead. Adéla’s solo violin performance of Smetana’s From the Homeland with Kasik at the piano was sublime. She will be remembered, too, for twice fogetting to carry her score to the platform!!  Imogen has a strong social media presence which certainly helped to swell the numbers in All Saint’s Church to overflowing on Bank Holiday Monday.  Her flugelhorn performance of Song to the Moon from Dvořák’s Rusalka, accompanied by Oliver Hancock received a jubilant reception.

Bank Holiday Monday’s final Festival concert at Holy Trinity Church featured the Martinů String Quartet for the thirty-third time in Leamington and Warwick, playing one the greatest works in the literature of chamber music - Schubert’s String Quintet in C. In the finale Schubert emerges hopeful and optimistic. Let’s hope we can all be hopeful and optimistic for the future of Leamington Music.