PREVIEW OF LEAMINGTON MUSIC FESTIVAL, 2-6 MAY, 2024

This swan song on the retirement of the musical titan, Richard Phillips, is recognition of his efforts in crafting a career total of 108 festivals.  Appropriately,  with the Dvořák Society celebrating its 50th anniversary, the 2024 will be the Festival of Czech Music.

This year’s Leamington Music Festival from 2 to 6 May, Richard Phillips’ final festival, features the work of four best known Czech composers – Smetana (celebrating the bicentenery of his birth), Dvořák, Janáček and Martinů, together with talks, walk and art exhibition associated with Czech musical history. Czech musicians taking up residence in Warwickshire for the Festival will include pianist Martin Kasik, oboist, Vilém Veverka and Festival favourites, the Martinů String Quartet who will join forces to perform the world première of Sylvie Borodová’s Psalms and Exhortations for Oboe Quintet.

Festival traditions

By tradition, dating back to 1990, the Festival takes place over the first Bank Holiday weekend in May. Maintaining a tradition to promote new artists, the Kukal String Quartet will make their début playing a concert of Borodová, Smetana and Dvořák, organised by Leamington Music and supported by the Czech Recovery Plan of the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic. This innovative Saturday morning event precedes the exciting traditional collaborations by the Martinů String Quartet performing Dvořák’s Piano Quintet in A with Martin Kasik before joining forces with Vererka to play the Borodová première. During Saturday afternoon, David Beveridge will present the traditional talk, the title of which is Dvořák in Brtitain, to be heard at the Pump Room. Saturday may well be a big  day in the Festival tradition; however, the Festival breaks with tradition on Thursday 2 May with a new innovation, the arrival in Leamington of Amici della Musica, four well-known musicians combining to play Mahler as a chamber music composer, Smetana and Dvořák, with two members performing  Schulhoff’s Duo for Violin and Cello. Those four musicians will be well-known to many readers – Elizabeth Wallfisch (viola), Raphael Wallfisch (cello), Philippe Graffin (Violin) and Piers Lane (piano). What a remarkable line-up to begin the five day extravaganza and maintain the Festival tradition to intoduce new faces and seldom heard composers.

Popular returning artists

Friday morning heralds the return of Martin Kasik to Leamington to play works by Smetana, Dvořák and Chopin, who spent time in Prague giving concerts in the 1830’s whilst travelling across Europe from Warsaw via Dresden to Vienna.

A full-house can be expected on Friday evening for the long-anticipated return of the Guarneri Piano Trio who will stick to the script playing an all-Czech programme of Suk, Smetana and Dvořák. Suk’s Elegie in D flat major was composed as a celebration of Julius Zeyer’s 1880 epic poem about the legend which is Vyšehrad, an ancient fortress overlooking Prague. Another member of the popular Wallfisch dynasty, baritone, Simon, teams up with pianist Iain Farrington to sing a programme of songs by Mahler, Suk, Haas Korngold and Dvořák.

French horn playing wizardry returns with Ben Goldscheider accompanied by Richard Uttley on Bank Holiday Monday 6 May, playing more Mahler  together with seldom heard composers, Kofron and Kalivoda.

A Leamington Music Festival would be incomplete without an appearance by Gemma Rosefield. Thankfully, she makes a very welcome return - complete with red shoes to be sure -  joining the Martinů String Quartet to play Schubert’s String Quintet in C in a Festival finale to remember at Holy Trinity Church, Beauchamp Place. 

Talks, walks, organ, trumpet and art exhibitions

Associated Festival activities over the five days include two talks in the afternoons of Saturday and Sunday at the Conservatory in the Pump Room - Prague-based musicologist David Beveridge on the  4th on  Dvořák in Britain,  visitors  being treated to a tea party to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Dvořák Society.  Daniel Lowe-Beer will analyse the story behind Schindler’s List on Sunday 5th, describing the  competition for young architects to design a Museum of the Holocaust - the Brnĕnec Project - at the former factory of Oskar Schindler.

Throughout the Festival, Jane Williams, Leamington Music’s Artist-in-Residence, will host an exhibition of entitled Czech Connections depicting performances from previous Czech Festivals which have particularly inspired her.  Alongside this artwork will be displays by the Friends of Czech Heritage, the Friends of the Czechoslovak Memorial Fountain in Jephson Gardens and The Dvořák Society.

Sunday morning 6 May at All Saints Church brings trumpet playing Imogen Whitehead back to Leamington to join organist Oliver Hancock, known to many as Director of Music at St Mary’s Church, Warwick

Memories of the Czech Free Army’s time in Leamington will be rekindled by those wishing to explore those connections with the town when Sydney Syson of the Leamington History Group lead the walk on Sunday 6 May starting at 2.30 at the Pump Room Visitor Centre. Booking is essential for this hour-long walk to important sites in the town.

Promoting music education

Sunday afternoon at the Pump Room is often a highlight of the Festival with Leamington Music providing a platform for talented young musicians  across the county to play to a paying audience with performances designed to reflect the Czech theme. Since last year’s Festival at least one of Warwickshire Music Advanced Musicians has played with the National Youth Orchestra in January at Warwick Arts Centre under the leadership of Sir Mark Elder. The like of their performance of the Strauss Alpine Symphony will seldom, if ever, be heard again as very few orchestras can support 12 off stage horns and 4 Wagner tubas in their ranks! It is important to provide these platforms to encourage the re-growth of music education in schools. This Festival has an important role to play in this challenge.

Clive Peacock