Investec International Music Festival In the Surrey Hills September 2021 The Chamber Season www.iimf.co.uk Paula Chateauneuf Jess Gillam Wu Qian & Juho Pohjonen Alexander Sitkovetsky The Tallis Scholars 1 Thursday 16 September at 6.30pm and 8.30pm Place Farm Barn, West Horsley Place, Epsom Road, West Horsley KT24 6AN Chorales and Dances Wu Qian & Juho Pohjonen, piano Those of you who were fortunate enough to hear Qian and Juho’s extraordinary recital in the 2019 festival will be as excited as we are at the prospect of a reprise of this thrilling musical partnership, this time in a programme of piano duets for four hands, one piano. Their recital is the first of two events to be held this season in the idyllic historic setting of West Horsley Place (see also Thursday 23 September), in this case in the newly refurbished, beautifully airy Place Farm Barn – the perfect setting for an enchanting programme of irresistible dances and serene chorales. Duration approx 60 mins with no interval Felix Mendelssohn Andante & Allegro brillante Op. 92 J.S. Bach (transcr. Kurtág) Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir BWV 687 Trio Sonata for Organ No.1 in E flat major BWV 525 Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit BWV 106 Samuel Barber Souvenirs Op. 28 Antonín Dvořák Slavonic Dances (Selections) Tickets £26, £10 aged 8-30 2 Saturday 18th September at 6pm and 8.30pm Holy Trinity Church, High Street, Guildford GU1 3RR The Best of The Tallis Scholars The Tallis Scholars conducted by Peter Phillips “The rock stars of Renaissance vocal music...” The New York Times The Tallis Scholars return to Guildford for the first time in a decade with a glorious selection of highlights from their touring programmes chosen especially for us by founder and conductor Peter Phillips – including Allegri’s exquisite and much-loved Miserere alongside relative newcomers by Arvo Pärt and Nico Muhly, and sacred works by those touchstones of the ensemble’s identity, Tallis and Byrd – ‘indescribable masterpieces which never pall’ (Peter Phillips). Duration approx 60 mins with no interval Thomas Tallis Loquebantur Thomas Tallis Suscipe quaeso Gregorio Allegri Miserere Arvo Pärt Virgencita Nico Muhly Marrow William Byrd Tribue domine Tickets £30, £10 aged 8-30 3 Wednesday 22nd September at 10.30am and 1.30pm Church of St. Martha’s, Halfpenny Lane, Chilworth GU4 8PZ Pilgrims’ Guided Walk & Concert Amy Thompson & Julia Flint, bassoon duo We are delighted to present our inaugural Pilgrims’ Concert, a new annual event combining a guided walk in our glorious Surrey Hills countryside with the chance to enjoy a lunchtime recital in an inspirational location, beginning high on the ancient Pilgrims’ Way itself at the tiny hilltop church of St Martha’s. Join us for an exhilarating one hour walk and a lively performance of works by Rossini, Bozza, Telemann and Hindemith by two gifted bassoonists, Amy Thompson - a Yeoman of The Musicians’ Company which supports prize-winning performers as they establish their professional careers - and fellow Royal College of Music student Julia Flint. See our website for detailed timings and meeting points – www.iimf.co.uk. Ticket price includes both walk and concert, but you are welcome just to join us in the church if you prefer (please select the appropriate ticket option when booking online). Tickets £12 4 Thursday 23rd September at 6pm and 8.30pm Stone Hall, West Horsley Place, Epsom Road, West Horsley KT24 6AN Bright Apollo’s Lute Paula Chateauneuf, lute & theorbo “…a magical ability to transcend technique and penetrate to the musical heart of a work…” The Boston Globe In the second of our concerts at West Horsley Place, former home of the Duchess of Roxburghe, virtuoso lutenist Paula Chateauneuf brings the house’s past to life performing exquisite works from the Golden Age of lute music and flamboyant works for theorbo. The programme is inspired by some of the great historical figures connected to the house including Elizabeth I and Sir Walter Raleigh. Learn more from Paula herself about her beautiful instruments and revel in colourful English dances by John Dowland and others, vivacious Italian works and lyrical transcriptions from Lully operas, all in the elegant setting of the Stone Hall in which Henry VIII himself once dined. You might recognise it from the BBC’s ‘Ghosts’! Duration approx 70 mins with no interval Tickets £26, £10 aged 8-30 5 6 Saturday 25 September at 7.30pm Hilltop Garden Room, RHS Wisley, Woking GU23 6QB Festival Finale with Jess Gillam, Alexander Sitkovetsky & Friends “Gillam… spreads joy” The Times To mark the end of this very special Chamber Season, we welcome you to a spectacular new venue – the Garden Room in RHS Wisley’s newly completed Hilltop Building overlooking their breathtakingly beautiful grounds. Join us in this glorious setting as we celebrate the return of live music to the Surrey Hills with an unforgettable evening of collaborative music-making – with trail-blazing saxophonist and BBC Radio 3 presenter Jess Gillam, plus a performance led by international violinist and great friend of the festival Alexander Sitkovetsky of Astor Piazzolla’s irresistible Four Seasons of Buenos Aires, marking the legendary tango composer’s 100th anniversary. Duration approx 70 mins with no interval Jess Gillam, saxophone with James Bailleu, piano and Sam Becker, double bass Meredith Monk Early Morning Melody (transcr. Parkin) Luke Howard Dappled Light Thom Yorke Suspirium (arr. Rimmer) Kurt Weill Je ne t’aime pas Astor Piazzolla Night Club 1960 from Histoire du Tango Alexander Sitkovetsky, violin with James Bailleu, piano, Sam Becker, double bass, Tom Ellis, electric guitar and Julian Rowlands, bandoneon Astor Piazzolla Four Seasons of Buenos Aires Tickets £35, £10 aged 8-30 7 Provisional new date: Friday 8 October Hatchlands Park, Epsom Road, East Clandon GU4 7RT Beethoven in Poetry and Music Ruth Padel, poet Carole Cerasi, piano Subject to the National Trust’s re-opening plans, we are working with Guildford Book Festival, Hatchlands Park and The Cobbe Collection to reschedule our unique celebration of Beethoven’s 250th anniversary for Friday 8 October, combining readings by Ruth Padel from her collection Beethoven Variations: Poems on a Life with a taste of the great composer’s music performed by historic instrument specialist Carole Cerasi on a piano once played by Beethoven himself. Please sign up to our mailing list at www.iimf.co.uk/contact to ensure you receive the latest updates. 8 2022 Surrey Hills Young Composer Competition A brand new competition open to all young composers aged 18 or under at the closing date of Friday 14 January 2022 and living in or attending school or college in Surrey. Let your musical imagination take flight and express what our vibrant county means to you in a work between 4-8 minutes scored for any combination of violin, cello and piano. Shortlisted works will be judged by our eminent jury, Wu Qian, IIMF Artistic Director, Charlotte Bray, Ivor Novello Award-winning composer, and Stephen Goss, Professor of Composition at University of Surrey. The winning work will be premiered by members of the Sitkovetsky Trio as part of our 2022 festival season. Visit www.iimf.co.uk for full details. Sunday Listening Club on BBC Radio Surrey We are delighted to be working in partnership this season with BBC Radio Surrey and would love you to become part of our Sunday Listening Club! Tune in on the third Sunday of each month to join presenter Emily Jeffery and Festival Manager Isabel Dawson, exploring music’s power to comfort and inspire and, we hope, tempting seasoned classical music-lovers and newcomers alike to give our themed playlists a try! You can hear BBC Radio Surrey on 104/104.6FM, Digital Radio, Freeview and Smart Speaker and find links to past playlists on the Sunday Listening Club page of our website www.iimf.co.uk. 9 Your Festival Needs You! Let’s be Friends! For more than a decade now, our steadily growing community of Friends has been instrumental in spreading the word about our wonderful Festival, and their support continues to be vital in enabling us to bring the highest calibre performers to the Surrey Hills and also to support budding young professionals and fund invaluable music education projects in local primary schools. There is still time to join up and benefit this season from the following: • Priority booking & preferential seating • Discounted ticket prices • Invitations to exclusive events such as our upcoming Friends’ Summer Party 2021 Subscription: £80 individual or £150 joint for 2 adults. To join online please visit www.iimf.co.uk/about-us/friends or contact our Friends’ Co-ordinator at [email protected]. Get Involved! Have you ever wondered what’s going on behind that stage-door in the lead up to a concert or longed to be part of the bustle and excitement which surrounds the planning of any live performance? If so, we’d love to hear from you! Our fantastic team of Volunteers provides invaluable practical help on concert days, and we are always on the look-out for enthusiastic new helpers! Do be in touch with our Festival Manager at [email protected] if you would like to know more. Supporting the Festival If you would be interested in supporting our musical and charitable endeavours as a Corporate or Individual Sponsor, we would be delighted to hear from you. As an Artist or Concert Sponsor, we can offer you a range of benefits including complimentary tickets, VIP receptions, meet-the-artist opportunities and reduced-cost advertising. Please be in touch with our Festival Manager at [email protected] for more information.