Funders Welcome Contents Canterbury is a special city and few would Cathedral Play 2 - 3 dispute that the Cathedral is its heart. The Festival, the Cathedral and its Friends Classical Music 4 - 10 have been entwined since the late 1920’s Principal Sponsor Media Partners Opera 11 producing a series of Cathedral Plays KENTISH supported by GAZETTE between 1928 and 1948 that brought Theatre & Dance 12 - 18 the Church and the Theatre together in a The official newspaper of Comedy 20 - 21 2008 Canterbury Festival way not seen since medieval times, and allowed challenging questions of Faith to World Music 22 - 24 Sponsors be explored through drama. Literature 25 As a curtain-raiser this year, we have reinvigorated this tradition Talks 26 - 27 out of which our Festival was born, and working with the Dean Festival Carnival Parade 28 and Chapter and theatre company Paines Plough are delighted to present in September, a new Cathedral Play - Dallas Sweetman Family 29 by Sebastian Barry (page 2). With funding from the Arts Council, Film 30 the Friends of Canterbury Cathedral and Canterbury City Council the sacred, civic and cultural communities combine in Festival Fringe 31 this extraordinary theatrical event. Lunchtimes 32 And that’s just for starters! We are delighted to be hosting Festival Club 34 - 36 the President of Albania and the Radio Television Orchestra of Exhibitions 37 - 40 Albania as they make their first ever tour to the UK. Legendary theatre company Footsbarn roll into town, setting up their beautiful Walks 41 - 43 tent and presenting a magical A Midsummer Night’s Dream for The Big Eat Out & 44 - 45 all the family (page 13), and our focus sharpens on all things The Big Sleepover Literary as we celebrate 40 years of the Man Booker Prize (page 26). There are too many interesting events to single out so I have Artists’ Open Houses 46 - 49 highlighted some of my recommendations on page 54-55. Umbrella Events 50 - 52 At A Glance Diary 54 - 55 Come out to Play at Canterbury Festival – see you there! Acknowledgments 56 Trusts and Patrons Rosie Turner Map 57 The Sir John Swire 1989 Charitable Trust / The Tory Family Foundation / The RG Hills Charitable Trust / The Seary Charitable Trust / Festival Director 01227 378188 | www.canterburyfestival.co.uk Festival Box Office: 01227 378188 | www.canterburyfestival.co.uk Festival Box Office: The Sunley Foundation / Mr and Mrs James Bird / Richard Sturt / Dr Mark Rake and Mrs Jill Jordan / Canterbury Festival Foundation (Friends) 1 2 Festival Box Office: 01227 378188 | www.canterburyfestival.co.uk CATHEDRAL PLAY 3 Festival Box Office: 01227 378188 | www.canterburyfestival.co.uk CATHEDRAL PLAY Canterbury Choral Society Festival Evensong Fine Arts Quartet Sophiko Simsive Aviv Quartet Canterbury Philharmonic Canterbury (Chicago) (Piano) (Israel) Orchestra Cathedral Choir Ralph Evans violin Sophiko Simsive was born in Sergey Ostrovsky violin Efim Boico violin Tblisi, Georgia, and discovered Evgenia Epshtein violin Berlioz La Damnation de Faust Dr David Flood Director Yuri Gandelsman viola there at the age of eleven by Shuli Waterman viola Richard Cooke Conductor A special Festival Evensong Wolfgang Laufer cello Lev Markiz, founder of the Rachel Mercer cello Faust Amsterdam Sinfonietta. At fifteen Peter Hoare on the birthday of influential Beethoven Beethoven Victoria Simmonds Marguerite British composer Ralph she was accepted to study piano String Quartet Op 74 ‘The Harp’ String Quartet Op 18 No 1 CLASSICAL Mephistopheles at the Amsterdam Conservatory, CLASSICAL Benjamin Bevan Vaughan Williams in the 50th Bernard Herrmann Shostakovich Graeme Danby Brander anniversary year of his death. one of their youngest and most Echoes (1965) gifted students. Earlier this String Quartet No 8 The story of Faust’s encounter with the devil Sunday 12 October Mendelssohn year she won both the Yamaha Beethoven challenged many Romantic composers, Cathedral Quire 3.15pm String Quartet Op 44 No 1 Benelux Prize and the Princess String Quartet Op 59 ‘ Admission free ‘Razumovsky’ No 1 including Schumann, Liszt and Mahler. The Festival is delighted to welcome Christina Concours, and now, Perhaps the finest and grandest setting of Chicago’s Fine Arts Quartet - one aged just sixteen, is forging The Aviv Quartet plays with a all lies with Berlioz, whose Damnation of The City of today’s most distinguished what promises to be a stellar youthful and energetic enthusiasm Faust gives us a powerful and evocative chamber ensembles. With half a international career. Sophiko that always feels totally secure epic, full of longing and drama. It depicts of Canterbury century of performing success and will play works by Beethoven, and technically accomplished. Faust’s journey through the countryside of Chamber Choir an extensive recording legacy, three Debussy, Prokofiev and Liszt. Recognised as Shostakovich Europe, his love of Marguerite, and his final of the Quartet’s current members Monday 13 October (SP13) experts, they have recorded to downfall in Pandemonium, as the choir of George Vass Conductor have now been performing together St Peter’s Methodist Church critical acclaim on the Israeli label the ‘damned and the devils’ calls out in its Jo Harris trumpet for nearly twenty-five years. For 7.30pm Dalia Classics and on Naxos. ‘infernal language’. Edward Kemp-Luck organ musicianship and ensemble Tickets £12 (£6 students) Their international reputation was The score is packed with vivid and dramatic playing they are simply unrivalled. confirmed when last year they In a programme of musical Piano Recital Ticket Offer: Buy writing for the solo characters, chorus and An exceptional opportunity to hear replaced the indisposed Borodin “Meditations” the choir performs a full price ticket for Sophiko large-scale orchestra, remarkable for its them in Canterbury. Quartet (the world’s oldest and most works by Vaughan Williams, Simsive and Artur Pizarro and exceptional variety, boldness and great respected) at the Zurich Festival - to Purcell, Martin, MacMillan, Sunday 12 October (C12) save £4. beauty. A suitably theatrical opening for standing ovations. this year’s Festival. Tavener, McDowall and Tippett. Cathedral Western Crypt 8pm Tickets £15 £10 Sponsored by Dr Mark Rake Tuesday 14 October (C14) Saturday 11 October (C11) Sunday 12 October (S12) and Mrs Jill Jordan 2. (Some seats have a restricted view) Cathedral Western Crypt 7.30pm Cathedral Nave 7.30pm St Clement’s Church, Sandwich 7.30pm Tickets £15 £10 1. Tickets £27 £23 £18 £14 £10 Quartet Ticket Offer: Buy a £15 Tickets £14 (Some seats have a restricted view) ticket for Fine Arts Quartet and Sponsored by (£12 concessions £2 children) 1. Canterbury Cathedral Aviv Quartet and save £5. Quartet Ticket Offer: Buy a £15 1. 2. Canterbury Choral Society ticket for the Aviv Quartet and Fine Sponsored by Arts Quartet and save £5. 2. Festival Box Office: 01227 378188 | www.canterburyfestival.co.uk Festival Box Office: James and Jenny Bird 1. Fine Arts Quartet 01227 378188 | www.canterburyfestival.co.uk Festival Box Office: Sponsored by 2. Sophiko Simsive 3. 4 The Seary Charitable Trust 3. Aviv Quartet 5 The Cardinall’s Musick Listening to the Acoustic Triangle – Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra Andrew Carwood Director Space 3 Dimensions Doh, Ray, Me Jonathan Brett Conductor Freddy Kempf piano A jewel in the crown of early-music consorts, The How does the space Malcolm Creese double bass - How we Cardinall’s Musick specialises in music of the 16th and in which we listen to a Tim Garland bass clarinet, flute, saxophones Liszt Mazeppa 17th centuries. Through concerts and recordings they performance change how Gwilym Simcock piano and french horn learn to listen Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No 2 have established an enviable reputation as one of the we perceive it? In this Ben Hancox, Hannah Dawson Tchaikovsky Symphony No 4 most expressive, entertaining and professional ensembles digital age, are we losing Charlotte Scott, Emma Parker violins This October, ‘Kempf has the maturity and musicality with which to harness his gifts to in the world, recreating the sounds of the past in a way the significance of a venue’s Robin Ashwell viola Canterbury Festival CLASSICAL artistic ends. He has the fearless exuberance of youth. He is prepared to CLASSICAL that makes them live in the present. natural acoustic? Cara Berridge cello is the performance take risks, a readiness that brings spontaneous combustion to his playing; This evening’s programme progresses from large-scale Ahead of the performance partner in Hear Nine virtuoso players present a unique but he has sensitivity too’ (The Telegraph) music written for Henrys VII and VIII, to highly devotional by Acoustic Triangle, this Here! – the UK’s first three-dimensional feast of melodic and motets for the more severe times of Edward VI, to a burst discussion will explore the classical music project thought-provoking music. Expect to hear glorious In previous Festivals we have enjoyed stirring concerts by visiting Russian of Catholic colour for Queen Mary. It climaxes with a relationship between what we dedicated to listening sounds emanating from almost every nook and cranny and Eastern European Orchestras. Tonight’s concert perfectly illustrates the glorious end to the decade - English music at its zenith hear and where we hear it. presented by the Royal Festival’s aim of showing the best of the world to Canterbury - and the best in the Cathedral during this very special concert. Philharmonic Society under Elizabeth I. A procession of great works by William Friday 17 October of Canterbury to the rest of the world. Though London-born, international Cornysh the Elder, Turges, Fayrfax, Taverner, Tallis and The super-trio of Malcolm Creese, Tim Garland and Classic FM, and pianist Freddy Kempf is thought of as one of Canterbury’s own – his Byrd is knit together by a specially prepared narrative and Gwilym Simcock has teamed up with six supported by the Paul meteoric success began when as a pupil at St Edmund’s he won the BBC introducing the monarchs whom these composers served.