SINCE 1999 A LIVE REVIEW SITE FOR OPERA, BALLET, CONCERTS, BROADCASTS, AND THEATRE
Germany Bayreuth Festival 2023 [1] – Wagner, Parsifal: Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of the Bayreuth Festival / Pablo Heras-Casado. Recorded (directed by Michael Beyer) at the Bayreuther Festspielhaus, Germany, 25.7.2023. (JPr)
United Kingdom Three Choirs Festival 2023 [7] – A Choral Fantasia: Oriel Singers, ORA Singers / Suzi Digby (conductor). Gloucester Cathedral, 26.7.2023. (JQ)
United Kingdom Three Choirs Festival [6] – Hélène de Montgeroult, Ravel, Beethoven, Coleridge-Taylor, Albéniz: Clare Hammond (piano). Holy Trinity Church, Longlevens, Gloucester, 24.7.2023. (CS)
Music at Paxton – Summer Festival of Chamber Music 2023 (MC)
Music at Paxton 2023 is held at Paxton House in the county of Berwickshire, part of the Scottish Borders region. This is my fifth occasion attending Music at Paxton, a ten-day festival that is taking place between the dates Friday 21st July to Sunday 30th July 2023.
Set in the spectacular rolling scenery of the Scottish Borders, Paxton House is only a short walk to the River Tweed, and some five miles from the Northumberland town of Berwick-upon-Tweed. Most of the concerts are held in the beautiful Picture Gallery of this historic Georgian house that makes an elegant backdrop, while some other concerts use a large marquee in the substantial grounds of the estate.
Festival artistic director Angus Smith and his Music at Paxton team have put together a varied and thoughtful music programme, gathering a talented group of musicians. Consisting of seventeen events including those appealing to the seasoned chamber music follower, to concerts for all the family to enjoy, and to those especially designed for young children.
My stay was for the first three days of Music at Paxton, and I selected four concerts to review.
Music at Paxton – Summer Festival of Chamber Music 2023 [1]:
21.7.2023 – Dudok Quartet Amsterdam (Judith van Driel, Marleen Wester [violins], Marie-Louise de Jong [viola], David Faber [cello]), Picture Gallery, Paxton House
United Kingdom Three Choirs Festival 2023 [5] – Svane, Bax, Holst, Pott: April Fredrick (soprano), Clare Presland (mezzo-soprano), Marcus Farnsworth (baritone), Three Choirs Festival Chorus, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra / Adrian Partington (conductor). Gloucester Cathedral, 25.7.2023. (JQ)
Germany Second International Chamber Music Academy at the Landesakademie in Ochsenhausen [2]: in partnership with the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. Faculty members Matthias Buchholz (viola), Hillel Zori (cello), François Benda (clarinet), Elina Gotsouliak and Sun Hee Kim (pianos), and students. Kloster Bibliothekssaal, Ochsenhausen, 15.7.2023. (LV)
United Kingdom Prom 12 – Helen Grime, Beethoven: Eleanor Dennis (soprano), Karen Cargill (mezzo-soprano), Nicky Spence (tenor), Michael Mofidian (bass-baritone), BBC Symphony Chorus, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra / Ryan Wigglesworth (conductor). Royal Albert Hall, London, 23.7.2023. (CC)
United States Tanglewood 2023 [2] – Handel, Acis and Galatea, a Masque: Soloists, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra / Richard Egarr (conductor and harpsichord). Seiji Ozawa Hall, Tanglewood, Massachusetts, 20.7.2023. (CSa)
