The Danube Festival

The Danube Festival

Music from Vienna and the Austro-Hungarian Empire 20–27 August 2017 Benjamin Appl & Graham Johnson Daniela Lehner & Richard Egarr The Heath Quartet & Michael Collins The Wihan Quartet Capella Savaria & Capella Cantorum Orchester Wiener Akademie Wiener Kammerchor Collegium Viennense ZRI Ensemble

The Danube Festival

Music from Vienna and the Austro-Hungarian Empire Martin Randall Travel Ltd Voysey House Barley Mow Passage London W4 4GF United Kingdom

20–27 August 2017

Tel +44 (0)20 8742 3355 Fax +44 (0)20 8742 7766 info@martinrandall.co.uk www.martinrandall.com Martin Randall Australasia PO Box 1024 Indooroopilly QLD 4068 Australia Tel 1300 55 95 95 New Zealand 0800 877 622 anz@martinrandall.com.au Canada Tel (647) 382 1644 canada@martinrandall.ca USA Tel 1 800 988 6168 Connects with London office Martin Randall Travel aims to provide the best-planned, best-led and altogether most fulfilling and enjoyable cultural tours and events available. They focus on art, music, history and archaeology in Britain, continental Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, India, China, Japan and the Americas.

Each year there are about 250 expertled tours for small groups (usually 10 to 20 participants), five to six all-inclusive music festivals, a dozen music and literary weekends and about 80 study days in London. For nearly 30 years the company has led the field through incessant innovation and refinement, and set the benchmarks for itinerary planning, operational systems and service standards.

MRT is Britain’s leading specialist in cultural travel and one of the most respected tour operators in the world.

This brochure was produced in house. The text was written and edited chiefly by Tim Greenhalgh and Martin Randall. The layout was designed by Jo Murray. It was sent to print on 26 September 2016.

ATOL 3622 | ABTA Y6050 | AITO 5085

Front cover illustration: Vienna, Karlskirche, early-20th-century etching.

Above: Dürnstein, 1820s aquatint by Jacob Alt (1789–1872).

Ten private concerts in beautiful and appropriate historic buildings Music from the Austro-Hungarian Empire – Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms and Dvořák are among the composers featured Musicians of the highest calibre from Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Britain Three major pieces are performed in the places where they received their premières – two Beethoven symphonies and a Haydn Mass Accommodation is on a comfortable modern ship which has been chartered exclusively for the festival audience

Alternatively, stay in hotels and mix the concerts with country walks through the ravishing scenery of the Danube and its hinterland Daily talks by leading authorities on music and history Opportunity to see some of the loveliest towns and cities in the region and to savour its art and architecture

‘The opportunity to hear top-class artists in attractive surroundings without the hassle of booking, travel and planning is worth a lot.’

Comment from a participant on a previous Danube Festival.

Contents The festival package......................... 5

Accommodation & prices......12–13

Pre-festival tours......................15–16

The speakers..................................... 5

Fitness for the festival................... 13

Booking form...........................17–18

The programme.........................6–11

Joining & leaving the festival....... 14

Booking details & conditions....... 19

The Danube Festival, 20–27 August 2017

Matching music and place

A rare intensity of musical communication

The Danube Festival combines music and architecture in a singularly beguiling way. Concerts take place in historic buildings which are among the most beautiful in the Danube valley – palaces, churches, monasteries, country houses and other.

The concerts are private, being exclusive to the hundred or so participants who take a package which includes accommodation, meals, interval drinks, travel by air, river and road, lectures and much else besides.

But the value of the juxtaposition goes deeper. The buildings are generally of the same period as the music performed in them, and in some cases there are specific and potent historical associations between the two.

Musicians of the highest calibre Now in its twenty-fourth year, the festival is established as a prestigious event in the musical calendar and features musicians of the highest calibre from Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Britain.

The festival explores the music of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, perhaps the richest seam in the world. Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms and Dvořák form the core of this year’s programmes, along with a number of less familiar names. Some of the best-loved music in the Classical and Romantic repertoire is performed as well as little-known pieces.

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The small size of the audience and of the venues leads to an informality and intimacy which engenders a rare intensity of musical communication.

Musicians love playing for this festival. Not only are the venues an inspiring change from conventional concert halls, but the audiences are among the best in the world – attentive, knowledgeable and appreciative.

The spoken word Talks by leading experts on the music and the history of the region are another important ingredient. Musicologist and broadcaster, Stephen Johnson, and star historian, Professor Sir Richard Evans, give daily lectures on the ship. Music critic, writer and broadcaster Richard Wigmore is the lecturer attached to the walking party.

Their brief is to enlighten and stimulate, not merely to inform, and they are chosen not only for their knowledge but also for their ability to communicate clearly and engagingly.

Travelling in comfort To this exceptional artistic and intellectual experience is added a further pleasure: the comfort and convenience of a first-class river cruiser, chartered exclusively for the festival audience. The MS Amadeus Elegant is one of the more comfortable ships on European waters.

Acting as both hotel and principal means of transport, it enables passengers to attend all the concerts and see some of the finest art and architecture in the region without having to change hotel or drive long distances. The itinerary takes you through some of the most picturesque stretches of the Danube.

In many ways, however, this venture is far removed from the usual cruising routine. There is little regimentation, no obligatory seating plan, no on-board entertainment, no intrusive announcements – and absolutely no piped music.

The walking alternative Alternatively, you can opt to join the walking party and mix the concerts with country walks, and to stay in hotels rather than on the ship.

Seven of the ten concerts are included, and there are six guided walks of two to three hours through some of the most ravishing scenery along the Danube and its hinterland.

Participants stay in Dürnstein and Vienna.

The tour finishes a day before the main festival (the dates are 20–26 August). See the text in italics under each day of ‘The Programme’ for an outline of the daily itinerary. The group is limited to 22 participants.

The Speakers Stephen Johnson. Presenter for BBC Radio 3’s Discovering Music and frequent broadcaster for BBC Radio 4 and World Service. He has also been a critic and journalist for the The Independent, The Guardian and Gramophone and lectured at Exeter University. His books include Bruckner Remembered and Wagner. He is also increasingly busy as a composer: his orchestral piece Behemoth Dances had its première in Russia in April 2016, followed by four performances in the UK. Professor Sir Richard J. Evans.

Regius Professor Emeritus of History and President of Wolfson College at the University of Cambridge. He is author of numerous books on Central European history including The Coming of the Third Reich, The Third Reich in Power, The Third Reich at War and The Pursuit of Power: Europe 1815–1914, a volume in the Penguin History of Europe, published in September 2016. He is currently writing a biography of the historian Eric Hobsbawm.

Richard Wigmore (The Walking Party).

Music writer, lecturer and broadcaster for BBC Radio 3. He writes for BBC Music Magazine and Gramophone and has taught classes in Lieder history and interpretation at Guildhall College of Music & Drama, Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance and Birkbeck College. He read French and German at Cambridge and later studied Music at Guildhall. His publications include Schubert: The Complete Song Texts and Pocket Guide to Haydn.

Illustration: the Danube at Persenbeug, early 20th-century etching by Luigi Kasimir.

The festival package Access to the concerts is exclusive to those who take the festival package, the price for which includes: Ten concerts (seven for the walking party) and daily lectures.

Accommodation on a first-class river cruiser for seven nights, or for six nights in hotels for the walking party.

Flights between the UK and Munich for those on the ship, or London and Vienna for the walking party. There is a price reduction if you choose to opt out of these.

All meals, from dinner on the first day to breakfast on the last, with wine, and interval drinks. For the walkers, five dinners and three lunches (including one packed lunch) are included.

All tips, taxes and admission charges.

A detailed programme booklet which contains practical, musical and historical information.

The assistance of an experienced team of Germanspeaking festival staff.

Additionally, the choice of two pre-festival tours: King Ludwig II, 15–20 August 2017 (see page 15) or Munich’s Masterpieces, 16–20 August 2017 (see page 16).

See pages 12–13 for prices.

Coach travel between the airport and ship or hotel and to the concert venues (when not reached on foot). book online at www.martinrandall.com

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The Danube Festival, 20–27 August 2017

The Programme

Day 1, Sunday 20 August: Passau Fly from London or Manchester to Munich, from where you are taken by coach to Passau where our ship is moored. Alternatively, make your way to Passau independently (for travel options, see page 12).

The ship, MS Amadeus Elegant, is ready for boarding from 4.00pm.

Afternoon tea is available upon arrival.

Piled up on promontories at the confluence of three rivers, the Bavarian city of Passau is dominated by a great Baroque cathedral and crammed with unspoilt streetscape and historic buildings. It was one of the most important episcopal seats in Central Europe and served as a refuge for the Habsburg court in times of danger.

Within minutes of sailing at 6.30pm the townscape is replaced by wooded hills and fields. A reception is followed by dinner.

Walkers. Fly at c. 9.00am from London Heathrow to Vienna.

Drive directly to Felbring for an afternoon woodland walk through landscapes of beech and pine with vistas across the Danube Valley.

Walk c. 6km on a mixture of grassy footpaths and stony tracks, on level terrain with some downhill and uphill sections (sturdy walking boots are necessary). Arrive in Dürnstein, the prettiest little town on the Danube: a compact group of mediaeval, Renaissance and Baroque buildings set amid the finest wine-producing area in Austria. First of two nights here.

Day 2, Monday 21 August: Grein, Dürnstein The series of daily lectures begins. Moor at Grein, a charming little town squeezed between the Danube and the hills with a sixteenthcentury Schloss rising to one side. It is a short walk from the ship to the main square where the tiny theatre lies hidden within the town hall. Constructed in 1791 and seating 150, it is the oldest working theatre in Austria.

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Concert 1: Grein, Stadttheater Quartet and Quintets The Heath Quartet Michael Collins clarinet The Heath Quartet, formed in 2002, is an exciting and original voice on the international chamber music scene. Recipients of many awards, they perform regularly at major concert halls and festivals. They travel widely, and their debut at Lincoln Center is imminent. They are all members of the faculty at Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

Michael Collins won the woodwind section of the first ever BBC Young Musician of the Year Award, and is now one of the world’s most sought-after clarinetists. His extensive discography has won him many awards.

The programme includes two of the greatest of clarinet quintets, those by W.A. Mozart and Carl Maria von Weber, and a string quartet by Haydn, Op.33 No.1.

Return to the ship and sail downstream through the Wachau, one of the most beautiful stretches of the Danube, and moor at Dürnstein. The loveliest little town on the river, a gorgeous Baroque church is perched on the waterfront – which is the venue for the after-dinner concert.

Concert 2: Dürnstein Abbey Bruckner, Brahms, Schubert & Schumann Wiener Kammerchor (Vienna Chamber Choir) Michael Grohotolsky director One of Austria’s finest choirs, the Wiener Kammerchor performs throughout the country and abroad and has made many recordings. Their conductor, Michael Grohotolsky, is a teacher at Vienna’s University of Music and Performing Arts as well as being a freelance voice coach and lecturer.

Bruckner and Brahms are the composers most represented in the programme, with Schubert and Schumann among the others.

The sound world is a perfect match for the old gold richness of the church interior.

Concert 3a: Vienna, Lobkowitz Palace Beethoven’s Eroica: the première

Return to the ship and sail overnight to Vienna-Nussdorf.

Prince Franz Joseph Maximilian von Lobkowitz contributed to an annuity intended to relieve Beethoven of basic material anxieties, paid him for dedications and allowed him free use of his own liveried orchestra. Thus it was that the Third Symphony received its first trials and rehearsals in the Lobkowitz Palace and its first performance there before an invited audience on 7th April 1805.

Walkers. Drive along the picturesque road beside the Danube before turning into the hills to start the walk (c. 6km). Begin among upland pastures and farmland before descending through woods of pine, beech and birch to the sound of tumbling streams. Walk on moderately gentle woodland paths and quiet roads, the few steep sections being fairly short. Catch glimpses of the Danube and then of the little riverside town of Grein. Lunch here. Return to Melk and visit the abbey state apartments and church, which are among the most brilliant creations of the Age of Baroque. Attend the evening concert in Dürnstein Abbey. Final night in Dürnstein.

Day 3, Tuesday 22 August: Vienna Moor at Nussdorf, twenty minutes by coach from the centre of Vienna.

Principal seat of the Habsburgs for over six hundred years, Vienna became capital of a vast agglomeration of territories that encompassed much of Central and Eastern Europe. The fabric of the city is a glorious mix of the magnificent and imperious and the charming and unpretentious. It remains one of the world’s greatest centres of art and music.

After an opportunity to see something of the city, the afternoon is devoted to performances of Beethoven symphonies in the halls where they were first heard.

Illustration: Grein, steel engraving c. 1850.

Photographs, clockwise from top left: The Heath Quartet (©Kaupo Kikkas); Wiener Kammerchor (©Armin Bardel); The Wihan Quartet (©marklik.cz).

Orchester Wiener Akademie

Except when MRT recreated the original occasion in 2013, a performance of the Eroica had rarely, if ever, taken place here again. The reason is clear: the hall is too small for an audience more numerous than the orchestra, even with the original line-up of only 32 players.

Our solution is a true promenade concert – no seats, and freedom to move around. Entry is by timed ticket, issued randomly, and you leave when you please (unless a tap on the shoulder indicates that the maximum number permitted by the fire department has been reached). You won’t hear the whole symphony, but in exchange you will have an extraordinarily intense musical experience and spine-tingling proximity to one of the great moments in the history of music. And you do get to hear the whole piece – an hour later (see overleaf).

The Eroica was unprecedented in scale and emotional power, far longer and more complex than anything composed hitherto, a torrent of startling ideas bound into a heroic whole by the nobility of its overarching architecture.

Period-instrument orchestra Wiener Akademie was founded

by Martin Haselböck in 1985 and has become internationally respected for its unmistakably Austrian musicality, virtuosity and lively interpretation of repertoire ranging from Baroque to early Romantic music.

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The Danube Festival, 20–27 August 2017

From the Lobkowitz Palace to the Akademie der Wissenschaften is a leisurely twenty-minute walk through the heart of Vienna. The lavishly decorated Academy was built in 1753 as the University Aula and in the early nineteenth century became the most prestigious concert venue in the city.

Concert 3b: Vienna, Akademie der Wissenschaften Beethoven’s Third and Seventh Symphonies Orchester Wiener Akademie, Martin Haselböck conductor First there is a full performance of the Eroica, with the Wiener Akademie augmented from 32 to 44 players (and with the audience seated).

Day 4, Wednesday 23 August: Bratislava Wake up in Bratislava.

Now capital of Slovakia, Bratislava was for seventy years the second city of Czechoslovakia and for three hundred years before that the capital (as Pressburg) of the Habsburg rump of Hungary while Ottoman Turks occupied most of the country. Its compact historic centre is a delight, one of the loveliest along the Danube, a dense mesh of unspoilt streets, squares and well restored façades. There are several museums and historic buildings to visit.

Most of the day is free, though there will be optional tours with local guides.

Then follows Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony – which was first heard in this very hall, on 8th December 1813. After twenty years of war and economic crises, the mood in Vienna was lifting as the tide was finally turning against Napoleon. Despite its radical nature (‘the most remarkable symphony ever written, an elemental outpouring’, Richard Osborne 2003) it was greeted with almost universal acclaim and marked the apotheosis of Beethoven as the greatest musical genius of the age.

Concert 4: Bratislava, Primatial Palace Quartets from Bohemia

Return to the ship after the concert and sail downstream, reaching Bratislava in the early hours.

Founded in 1985, The Wihan Quartet is one of the best string quartets in the world today, with an outstanding reputation for the interpretation of its native Czech heritage as well as of Classical, Romantic and modern masterpieces. Currently they are Quartet in Residence at Trinity Laban Conservatoire in London.

Walkers. Drive to the Leopoldsberg, a high hill with fine views over the capital and the Danube valley. Walk down through beech woods, vineyards and salubrious ivy-clad suburbs on a 5.5 km walk on footpaths, country roads and quiet streets. Easy terrain. Continue to central Vienna for lunch. Attend the afternoon concerts. First of three nights in Vienna.

The Wihan Quartet The late-afternoon concert takes place in the Mirror Hall of the Primatial Palace, formerly the seat of the Archbishop of Hungary, now the Town Hall. When completed in 1781 it was the grandest building in Bratislava after the castle.

Their programme is appropriately Slavic, with three of Dvořák’s Cypresses, his own arrangements for string quartet of his love songs; Josef Suk’s beautiful and expressive Quartet Op.11 (1896); and finally Dvořák’s Slavonic Quartet, Op.51 in E flat, one of the greatest of his chamber works.

Afterwards, sail upstream and moor at Vienna-Nussdorf again.

Illustration, opposite page: Vienna, Neuer Markt, wood engraving c. 1880.

Photographs, clockwise from top left: Orchester Wiener Akademie (©Lukas Beck); Capella Savaria; Graham Johnson (©Clive Barda); Benjamin Appl (©Falk Kastell).

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Walkers. A free morning in Vienna with the option of a walking tour with a local guide. After lunch, drive to Bratislava for some free time before attending the evening concert. Dinner in Bratislava. Return to Vienna for the second of three nights.

Day 5, Thursday 24 August: Vienna, Kittsee Wake up in Nussdorf, and after the daily lecture, drive into Vienna for a spectacular morning concert.

Concert 5: Vienna, Basilica of Maria Treu (Piaristenkirche) Haydn, Mass in Time of War Capella Savaria & Capella Cantorum Ákos Paulik conductor Soloists to be confirmed The single work in this programme, Haydn’s Missa in tempore belli (or ‘Kettledrum Mass’, 1796), was commissioned by the Piarist fathers and first performed in this church. With French troops advancing on Vienna, this impassioned, dramatic work can be interpreted as an urgent appeal for peace.

The monastery church of the Piarists is one of the finest High Baroque churches in Austria. Designed ten years before Haydn was born, it was completed – with frescoes by Maulbertsch – when he was over thirty.

Founded in 1981, Capella Savaria is the oldest period-instrument ensemble in Hungary. Outstanding for the vigour and verve as well as the authenticity of their playing, they have performed in most countries in Europe as well as in the Americas, and have recorded nearly 100 CDs. Their regular collaborator, the choir Capella Cantorum, is of commensurate excellence.

Return to the ship, sail downstream again and moor at Hainburg, a pretty little town where Haydn went to school. Drive the short distance to Kittsee, a small and seemingly remote town now within Austria but close to the borders with Slovakia and Hungary.

Violinist Joseph Joachim was born here.

Concert 6: Schloss Kittsee Die schöne Müllerin Benjamin Appl baritone Graham Johnson piano A country house of modest size, Schloss Kittsee was built in the middle of the eighteenth century by Prince Paul Anton Esterházy, Haydn’s employer. Neglected after the War, it has been well restored and is now used for occasional concerts and exhibitions.

Remote and rural, the Schloss provides an appropriate background for a performance of Die schöne Müllerin, one of the greatest of all song cycles. Swinging from hope and joy to despair and tragedy, Schubert’s settings of poems by Wilhelm Müller constitute one of the most beautiful expressions of the Romantic sensibility.

Young German baritone Benjamin Appl is a rising star, with roles in opera and appearances on the recital platform in Germany, Austria, Britain and Ireland. He studied at the Guildhall School in London and is currently a BBC New Generation Artist.

Graham Johnson obe has appeared with the world’s leading recitalists. His extensive discography includes the entire Schubert and Schumann Lieder for Hyperion. Professor of Accompaniment at the Guildhall School, he holds Honorary Doctorates from Durham University and the New England Conservatory, is a Chevalier in the Ordre des Arts et Lettres, an Honorary Member of the Royal Philharmonic Society and recipient of the Wigmore Hall Medal.

Return to the ship and sail back upstream to Dürnstein overnight.

Walkers. Attend the morning concert. Drive to the small town of Berg for a moderate circular walk on the Königswarte which finishes at Schloss Kittsee (6.5 km). The walk offers views towards Bratislava and over the Pannonian Basin. Attend the late-afternoon concert.

Third and final night in Vienna.

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The Danube Festival, 20–27 August 2017

Day 6, Friday 25 August: Göttweig Moor in Dürnstein at c. 10.00am after sailing through the night.

On this return visit, there is time to explore and enjoy this exceptionally lovely little town. The more energetic may like to climb the steep hill behind the town to the ruins of a castle in which Richard the Lionheart was imprisoned.

Drive in the afternoon to Göttweig Abbey. There is time before the concert to see the splendid stair hall and state apartments.

Concert 7: The Refectory, Göttweig Abbey Brahms and the Gypsy ZRI Ensemble Brahms was a regular at Zum Roten Igel (Red Hedgehog Tavern) in Vienna, as were ensembles of ‘gypsy’ musicians – a term which was applied not only to Hungarian Roma but also to Jews, Greeks and Russians. His compositions were heavily influenced by soulful gypsy folk music, high-energy klezmer and spirited Hungarian dances he heard there. His Clarinet Quintet is here re-scored to accommodate accordion and cimbalom, with passages morphing seamlessly into traditional music from the eastern reaches of the Habsburg Monarchy. This makes for a thrilling full-length concert of rare musical insight and melancholic beauty.

The ZRI (Zum Roten Igel) Ensemble is made up of musicians distinguished in their own right: Ben Barlan (clarinet), Max Baillie (violin), Matthew Sharp (cello), Jon Banks (accordion) and Iris Pissaride (santouri).

Sitting atop a steep sided hill, Göttweig is an extraordinary sight. After a fire in 1718 it was rebuilt to the designs of Lukas von Hildebrandt in the form of a crown, a fine Baroque conceit.

Appropriately, the concert takes place in the former refectory.

Return to the ship after the concert and sail overnight to Linz.

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Walkers. Return to Dürnstein for some free time and an independent lunch. An afternoon walk (c. 8 km) takes in a segment of the road to Santiago – cross the Danube and walk through gently inclined land, a wine-producing area, towards Göttweig Abbey, the venue for this evening’s concert. Attend the concert. Overnight in Dürnstein.

Day 7, Saturday 26 August: Linz, St Florian Moor at Linz, the historic capital of Upper Austria. A picturesque maze of streets, alleys and historic buildings is grouped around the huge market square only yards away from the mooring.

Concert 8: Linz, Palais Kaufmännischer Verein Lieder: Haydn, Mozart and Dussek Daniela Lehner mezzo-soprano Richard Egarr fortepiano Austrian mezzo-soprano Daniela Lehner has developed a career in opera, with her Covent Garden debut in 2008 as Hermia in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. A frequent recitalist, she has participated in Graham Johnson’s complete Schumann song recordings (Hyperion).

Richard Egarr brings exceptional verve and sensitivity to his performances on the harpsichord and fortepiano. He has made over thirty recordings. As a conductor he has worked with many leading period instrument ensembles and since 2006 has been Music Director of the Academy of Ancient Music.

The programme consists of songs by Haydn, Mozart and Mozart’s Czech friend and contemporary Jan Dussek.

Built in the 1890s, the Palais Kaufmännischer Verein contains a suite of lavishly decorated halls for assorted gatherings and celebrations. The Picture Hall is a fin-de-siècle creation enriched with gilded Baroque motifs and fine history paintings.

Drive to the Abbey of St Florian.

More about the concerts Private events. These concerts are planned and administered

by Martin Randall Travel. The audience, no more than 120, consists exclusively of those who have booked the full festival package or walking tour.

Seating. Specific seats are not reserved. You sit where you want.

Acoustics. This festival is more concerned with authenticity and ambience than acoustical perfection. While some of the venues have excellent acoustics, others have idiosyncrasies not found in modern concert halls.

Changes. Musicians fall ill, venues require restoration, airlines alter schedules: there are many unforeseeable circumstances which could necessitate changes to the programme. We ask you to be understanding should they occur.

Floods and droughts. We cannot rule out changes to the programme arising from exceptionally high or low water levels on the Danube, either of which may bring river traffic to a halt.

These might necessitate more travel by coach or the loss of a concert, though we would always try to minimise the impact on the itinerary.

Concert 9: Stift St Florian, Sala Terrena W.A. Mozart, Gran Partita Collegium Viennense For one of the greatest works by Mozart, the Wind Serenade in B flat major K.361/370a is surprisingly rarely performed. The unusual requirement for twelve wind players and a double bass may be one reason, but also it doesn’t slip easily into a standard category which makes good box office, and with seven movements its duration is twice that of most of his symphonies. It is replete with utterly delightful and devilishly clever details, and, while the parts are less tied to an overarching structure than in a symphony, the cumulative impact is powerful and incredibly uplifting. The perfect way to finish a festival, therefore.

The Collegium Viennense was founded by orchestra musicians who grew up in the Viennese musical tradition. The ensemble studies, performs and records chamber music in all instrumentations and from all musical periods. It has performed in venues including the Konzerthaus and Musikverein in Vienna and the Haydn Festspiele in Eisenstadt.

Walkers. A morning walk of c. 6.5km starts with a climb of 15 minutes on a small road into the vine-clad hills overlooking the Danube and dips periodically into shaded gullies with butterflies, abundant wildflowers and red-roofed villages in the valley below.

The terrain is easy underfoot as the walk is predominantly on quiet, shaded roads. Return to Dürnstein for some free time before travelling by coach to Vienna Airport. Return to Heathrow at c. 6.40pm.

Day 8, Sunday 27 August: Passau, Munich The ship moors at Passau and coaches leave for Munich city centre and the airport between 8.30 and 9.30am. See page 14 for the options available for return travel to London. Selecting Option 2 allows for four hours of independent sightseeing in Munich.

Founded in the eighth century, the Abbey of St Florian became one of the richest in the Austrian Empire. Wholesale rebuilding took place between 1686 and 1751, Austria’s great period of political and military confidence and architectural ambition. The concert takes place in the Sala Terrena, a room used for music making.

Sail upstream overnight from Linz to Passau, with a reception and dinner against a backdrop of river and wooded hills receding into the dusk.

Illustration, opposite page: Linz, main square and Old Cathedral, aquatint c. 1930.

Photographs, opposite page: ZRI Ensemble; Richard Egarr and Daniela Lehner (both ©Marco Borggreve). Above: Collegium Viennense.

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The Danube Festival, 20–27 August 2017 Stateroom, Mozart and Strauss Deck

Accommodation & prices The Ship The Amadeus Elegant is one of the more comfortable cruisers on the waterways of Europe. The multinational crew is dedicated to the highest standards of service.

Cabins on the lowest (Haydn) deck have smaller windows (160 x 40 cm) which don’t open. There are no single cabins as such but we are allocating some two-bed cabins for single occupancy.

With a minimum floor area of 15m2 the cabins are reasonably spacious by the standards of river cruisers. All have windows to the outside and are equipped with the facilities one would expect of a first-class hotel including shower, w.c., individually adjustable air-conditioning, telephone, TV and safe. Special attention has been paid to noise insulation.

The public areas on the upper deck include the lounge and bar, a library area and a restaurant which can seat everyone at a single sitting. The sun deck has a tented area for shade.

In layout and furnishings the cabins are identical, the significant differences being the size of windows and height above water level (higher cabins enjoy better views and fewer stairs).

All prices are per person

AMADEUS ELEGANT

www.lueftner-cruises.com

Prices Haydn deck (lowest) £3,080, or £3,700* for single occupancy

Cabins on the top two decks (Mozart and Strauss) are the most desirable, with floor-to-ceiling windows (200 x 250 cm) which slide open. Also on the Mozart deck are eight suites measuring approximately 22m2 which have a table and armchairs, a bath, minibar, safe and a small balcony.

Strauss deck (middle) £3,710, Stateroom, or £4,450* for Mozart single occupancy and Strauss Deck Mozart deck (top) £4,120, or £4,950* for single occupancy

Suite

A-1

B-1

B-4

C-1

C-4

Below left: floor plan of a suite (Mozart deck only). Below right: floor plan of a standard cabin (which are identical in layout and furnishings on all decks).

Suites (Mozart deck) C-SNG

£4,840, (two sharing only) No flights: subtract £170 per person from the prices above.

*All cabins are designed to accommodate two passengers.

TECHNICAL DATA • Built: We 2010make a limited amount of cabins on each deck available for • Registry: Germany single occupancy, which usually sell out quickly. Around three • Length: 110 | 361 feet monthsmbefore the start of the festival we may offer any remaining • Width: 11,4 m | 37,5 feet unsold cabins previously reserved for double occupancy to single • Draft: 1,30 m | 4,4 feet on the waiting list at a higher price (Haydn £3,990; • Heighttravellers above water: Strauss £4,820; Mozart £5,360).

5,85 m | 19,2 feet • Speed: 25 km/h | 15,5 mph • Decks: 4 • Staterooms/Suites: 68/8 • Max. passengers: 150 • Crew members: approx. 40 AMADEUS ELEGANT

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.) +44 (0)20 8742 3355 | info@martinrandall.co.uk 12 Suite A-1 B-1 B-4

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The Walking Party: hotels & price Accommodation. Richard Löwenherz, Dürnstein (richardloewenherz.at): a lovely old-fashioned hotel occupying a historic building with garden and outdoor pool. Hotel Bristol, Vienna (bristolvienna.com): a 5-star hotel in a superb location on the Ringstrasse near the opera house, traditionally furnished and decorated.

Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,870 or £2,710 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,160 or £3,000 without flights.

Pre-festival tours Prices and full details for the pre-festival tours are given on pages 15–16.

Flights are included in the price of the pre-festival tours, including the inbound journey at the end of the festival itself.

Therefore, if you have booked a pre-festival tour, you pay the festival price without flights.

We also give a few alternative options for other tours that could potentially be linked with this festival on page 16.

Fitness for the festival Quite a lot of walking is necessary to reach the concert venues and to get around the towns visited. The ship has a lift, but most of the venues do not. Participants need to be averagely fit, sure-footed and able to manage everyday walking and stairclimbing without difficulty.

This festival is not really suitable for wheelchair users but please speak to us if you would like to discuss this.

There is no age limit but we do ask that participants assess their fitness by trying these simple exercises: 1. Chair stands. Sit in a dining chair, with arms folded and hands on opposite shoulders. Stand up and sit down at least eight times in 30 seconds.

2. Step test. Mark a wall at a height that is halfway between your knee and your hip bone. Raise each knee in turn to the mark at least 60 times in two minutes.

3. Agility test. Place an object three yards from the edge of a chair, sit, and record the time it takes to stand up, walk to the object and sit back down. You should be able to do this in under seven seconds.

Fitness for The Walking Party. This is a walking tour: it is essential for participants to be in good physical condition and to be used to country walking with uphill content. There are a few moderately steep climbs for short stretches, but no walk is more than 6 miles or 3 hours. There is not always the opportunity to return to the hotel to freshen up before every concert or dinner.

Vienna, early-18th-century copper engraving.

book online at www.martinrandall.com

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The Danube Festival, 20–27 August 2017

Joining & leaving the festival Option 3: Manchester Sunday 20th August. Fly from Manchester to Munich at 10.50am (LH 2501, departing Manchester 10.50, arriving Munich 13.45). Drive directly from Munich Airport to the ship at Passau, a journey of under two hours.

Sunday 27th August. Return to Manchester at 4.40pm (LH 2502, departing Munich 15.35, arriving Manchester 16.40).

Coaches take you first to the centre of Munich, where you have about two hours of free time, before continuing to the airport.

Note that it is not usually possible to arrange connecting flights between Manchester and other regional UK airports.

Making your own arrangements Option 4: No flights You can choose not to take any of these flights and to make your own arrangements for joining at Passau, boarding the ship between 4.00pm and 6.00pm. You are welcome to join one of the group transfers from Munich Airport.

There is a price reduction for this ‘no flights’ option of £170.

The Walking Party Flights from the UK

Sunday 20th August: fly at 9.05am from London Heathrow to Vienna. Saturday 26th August: fly from Vienna to London Heathrow, arriving at 6.40pm.

We are offering a choice of three scheduled Lufthansa flights to Munich, from London or Manchester.

Pre-festival tours

Please note that each outbound flight is tied to a particular inbound flight. You cannot mix flights from different options.

King Ludwig II

Option 1: Heathrow, lunch in Landshut Sunday 20th August. Fly from London Heathrow to Munich at 9.00am (LH 2471, departing Heathrow 09.00, arriving Munich 11.45). Break the journey to Passau with lunch at Landshut, a former capital of Bavaria. There are two hours here, and it should be possible to see the main street with its Renaissance and Baroque house fronts, the great Gothic church of St Martin or the precociously Italianate Renaissance ducal palace.

Sunday 27th August. Return to London Heathrow at 3.45pm (LH 2476, departing Munich 14.40, arriving London Heathrow 15.45).

Option 2: Heathrow, free time in Munich Sunday 20th August. Fly from London Heathrow to Munich at 10.55am (LH 2473, departing London Heathrow 10.55, arriving Munich 13.40). Drive directly from Munich Airport to the ship at Passau, a journey of under two hours.

Sunday 27th August. Return to London Heathrow at 7.40pm (LH 2480, departing Munich 18.35, arriving Heathrow 19.40).

Coaches take you first to the centre of Munich, where you have about four hours of free time, before continuing to the airport.

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+44 (0)20 8742 3355 | info@martinrandall.co.uk

Tuesday 15th August: fly from London Heathrow to Vienna at 9.05am. Thursday 27th August: fly from Munich to London Heathrow, arriving at 3.45pm (i.e. festival flight option 1).

(See page 15 for full details of this tour.)

Munich’s Masterpieces Wednesday 16th August: fly from London Heathrow to Munich at 9.05am. Sunday 27th August: fly from Munich to London Heathrow, arriving at 3.45pm (i.e. festival flight option 1). (See page 16 for full details of this tour.)

‘The planning and implementation were superb in every tiny detail. This was a holiday of a lifetime.’

‘An unimaginably blissful experience.’

Comments from participants on previous Danube Music Festivals.

Illustration: Hymen and Cupid, copper engraving c. 1760 after William Hogarth.

Pre-festival tours

King Ludwig II

& the Wittelsbach palaces of Bavaria

15–20 August 2017 (md 480) Lecturer: Tom Abbott

Day 5. Herrenchiemsee. In the countryside southeast of Munich and surrounded by a park, woodland and a great lake, Schloss Herrenchiemsee is a copy of Versailles. Ludwig II’s megalomaniac hymn of homage to the absolutism of Louis XIV, his final folly, brought the Bavarian state to the brink of bankruptcy.

Explore eight royal palaces and castles set against the breathtaking backdrop of Germany’s most beautiful state.

Learn about the lives, loves and legacies of King Ludwig II and the House of Wittelsbach, rulers of Bavaria for over 700 years.

Art and architecture from the Renaissance through to Late Romanticism, much of it opulent and theatrical.

Germany’s large and beautiful south-eastern state of Bavaria is an established destination for Martin Randall Travel, with a number of tours over the years dedicated to a variety of themes.

This tour has a different focus, that of the legendary ‘Swan King’ Ludwig II and the House of Wittelsbach from which he hailed, and his extraordinary architectural and cultural legacy.

Architecturally and artistically, the tour encompasses outstanding examples of Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo, Neo-Classical and Romantic styles as well as Ludwig’s fairytale follies. Historically it examines the eccentric world of one of Europe’s most controversial monarchs and the story of what, until German unification, counted as one of the continent’s most important little states.

It is true that Ludwig II’s predilection for aesthetic absorption over political and legal leadership gained him fierce opposition and criticism, but this handsome young king and his elaborate castles are responsible for a considerable proportion of Bavaria’s appeal today. Ironically, the dream world into which the sovereign retreated in order to escape the responsibilities of state now benefits Ludwig’s former kingdom in a way it never did when he inhabited it.

Was he, to quote one of his more defamatory labels, insane? Or simply weak, of solitary disposition, and therefore tragically unsuited to the role imposed upon him at a time of Bavaria’s considerable political fragility and conflict with Prussia, Austria and France? Once deposed in 1886, what was the cause of his untimely death?

Was it suicide, or did it take place at the hand of murderous detractors? Or was it mere accident?

Was he an impotent and irresponsible sybarite or a luminous benefactor of the arts?

Itinerary Day 1. Schleissheim, Munich. Fly at c. 9.00am from London Heathrow to Munich (British Airways). Between airport and city, the palace and garden at Schleissheim form a rare ensemble of Baroque taste from an early 17th-century retreat, through the 1684 Lustheim pavilion at the far end of a canal of absolutist straightness, to the magnificent Neues Schloss, begun 1701 but whose progress continued haltingly into the Rococo period. There is a gallery of Baroque

art, sculpted stucco of exceptional quality in the state apartments, Hofgarten (Court Garden) and a collection of Meissen porcelain in Schloss Lustheim. First of two nights in Munich.

Day 2. Munich. The Residenz in the centre of the city was the principal Wittelsbach palace and seat of government; a magnificent sprawl of buildings, courtyards, state apartments and museums of every period from Renaissance to the end of the 19th century. There are fine works of art and sumptuous interiors of the highest importance, especially the Rococo interiors and the Cuvilliés Theatre (subject to confirmation as the theatre can close for rehearsals at short notice).

Free afternoon.

Day 3. Nymphenburg, Linderhof, Murnau.

Drive to the city’s outskirts and the palace and park of Nymphenburg, birthplace of Ludwig II. An extensive complex including bathhouses and the Rococo Amalienburg lodge. After lunch drive to Ettal, site of the only one of Ludwig II’s commissioned castles to have been completed. 1870s Linderhof was reputed to have been the King’s favourite castle; it draws, like Herrenchiemsee, on French influences, lavish interiors in Renaissance and Baroque styles, extravagant terrace gardens including grottos and Oriental adornments. First of three nights in Murnau am Staffelsee.

Day 4. Hohenschwangau, Neuschwanstein.

Drive south to Hohenschwangau castle, site of Ludwig II’s childhood, owned by his parents Maximilian II of Bavaria and Princess Marie of Prussia. Majestic lakeside Alpine location, frescoes featuring medieval Swan-Knight Lohengrin which led to Ludwig II’s obsession with Wagner. Then continue to Neuschwanstein, the famous fairytale turreted castle ordered

by Ludwig II in homage to Wagner though never completed.

Day 6. Berg, Starnberg. Drive to Berg and the mock Gothic castle to which Ludwig II retreated from his ministers, and where he was placed under house arrest after his forced abdication in 1886 on grounds of insanity. Lake Starnberg surrounds the castle and is the scene of Ludwig II’s death and that of his doctor, officially by drowning. Visit the Memorial Chapel and have lunch in Starnberg. Travel by coach to Munich airport with the group in time to take a Festival coach transfer to Passau. Board the ship at c.

4.00pm. (Participants not combining this tour with the festival fly from Munich, returning to London Heathrow at c. 5.00pm.)

Sunday 27th August, final day of the festival.

Join festival flight option 1, returning to London Heathrow at c. 3.45pm.

Lecturer Tom Abbott. Specialist in architectural history, with a wide knowledge of performing arts. He studied at Carleton College, Minnesota and the Louvre School of Art History in Paris.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,220 or £2,090 without flights. Single occupancy: £2,480 or £2,350 without flights.

Included: flights (Euro Traveller) with British Airways (aircraft: A320); travel by private coach; accommodation; breakfasts, 1 lunch, 4 dinners with wine; all admissions; all tips; all taxes; the services of the lecturer and tour manager.

As flights are included with this tour, the festival will be charged at the ‘no flights’ price.

Accommodation. Hotel Torbräu, Munich (torbraeu.de): well-located 4-star, traditional in style and decor. Hotel Alpenhof, Murnau (alpenhof-murnau.com): rambling 5-star on the outskirts of Murnau with a country house feel.

How strenuous? This is a strenuous tour with long coach journeys and a lot of walking and standing around in the castles and gardens.

Average distance by coach per day: 65 miles.

Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

Illustration: Linderhof, wood engraving from ‘The Magazine of Art’ 1887.

book online at www.martinrandall.com

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Pre-festival tours

Munich’s Masterpieces

Art & architecture in the capital of Bavaria It is also possible to combine The Danube Festival with: Great Houses of the Czech Lands 11–19 August 2017 Frederick the Great 14–18 August 2017 The Schubertiade with Hill Walking 27 August–2 September 2017 Mitteldeutschland 27 August–4 September 2017 Please contact us for full details or visit www.martinrandall.com. We are happy to advise on accommodation and travel in between these tours and the festival.

16–20 August 2017 (md 482) Lecturer: Patrick Bade A short, sharp study of the best of the art in the city – painting, sculpture and decorative arts.

Also the key architectural monuments and characteristic streetscape.

Led by Patrick Bade, art historian and writer.

Munich is everyone’s favourite German city.

Not only is it the most prosperous in the country, but the attractiveness of the cityscape, the abundance of cultural activity, the relatively relaxed lifestyle and generally amenable ambience make it the most sought-after place to live and work in Germany.

The seat of the Wittelsbachs, who ruled Bavaria from 1255 until 1918 as Counts, Dukes, Electors and, from 1806, as Kings, Munich was a city which grew up around a court, not one spawned by trade or industry. Consequently, artistically and architecturally it is still one of the best-endowed centres in Europe.

There are fine buildings of every period, and it is also a city of museums. The Alte Pinakothek has one of the finest collections of Old Masters in the world, and the Treasury in the Residenz and the classical sculpture in the Glyptothek are among the best collections of their kind.

The accompanying lecturer, Patrick Bade, is an art historian with a wide range of knowledge and a deep understanding of contemporary Germany.

Illustration: Munich, Königsplatz, watercolour

by E.T. Compton, publ. 1912.

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Itinerary Day 1. Fly at c. 9.00am from London Heathrow to Munich (British Airways). An afternoon walk passes through the core of the historic city. See the Marienplatz, dominated by the 19th-century city hall, and the little Baroque church of St John Nepomuk created by the Asam brothers.

Day 2. Drive along some of the principal streets and boulevards of the city to see architecture of the 19th and 20th centuries. Disembark in the vicinity of the main art galleries and visit the Alte Pinakothek, one of the world’s greatest collections of Old Masters. After lunch continue to Königsplatz, a noble assembly of Neoclassical museums, and visit the Glyptothek, an outstanding collection of Greek and Roman sculpture. The Lenbachhaus has an outstanding collection of German Expressionist paintings.

Day 3. A morning in the Residenz, rambling palace of the Wittelsbach dynasty, Dukes, Electors and Kings of Bavaria, with sumptuous interiors of the highest art-historical importance from Renaissance to Romantic, and a marvellous Rococo theatre. After lunch visit the excellent collections of sculpture and decorative arts at the Bavarian National Museum.

Day 4. On the edge of Munich, Nymphenburg is one of the finest palace complexes of the 17th and 18th centuries, with main palace, park, gardens and pavilions. The delightful Amalienburg represents the apogee of secular Rococo interiors, and the carriage museum has sleighs made for King Ludwig II. Return to the centre of Munich and visit the Neue Pinakothek, which houses paintings from the 18th to the early 20th centuries.

+44 (0)20 8742 3355 | info@martinrandall.co.uk

Day 5. A morning walk includes the vast Gothic cathedral and the Town Museum which displays among many other artworks the famous Gothic Morris dancers, created by Erasmus Grasser for the festival hall of the Altes Rathaus. Some free time. After lunch a guided tour of the Villa Stuck, a museum and historic Art Nouveau house dedicated to the works of the Bavarian painter, Franz Stuck. Travel by minibus from Munich to Passau and board the ship at c. 4.45pm. (Participants not combining this tour with the festival fly from Munich to London Heathrow arriving at c. 5.30pm.)

Sunday 27th August, final day of the festival.

Join festival flight option 1, returning to London Heathrow at c. 3.45pm.

Lecturer Patrick Bade. Historian, writer and broadcaster.

Former senior lecturer at Christies Education.

He has worked for the Art Fund, Royal Opera House, National Gallery, V&A. His latest book is Music Wars: 1937–1945.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £1,680 or £1,540 without flights. Single occupancy: £1,960 or £1,820 without flights.

Included: flights (Euro Traveller) with British Airways (Airbus A319); accommodation; private coach; breakfasts, 1 lunch, 3 dinners with wine; all admissions; all tips; all taxes; the services of the lecturer and tour manager. As flights are included with this tour, the festival will be charged at the ‘no flights’ price.

Accommodation. Hotel Torbräu (torbraeu.de): a friendly, family-run, 4-star hotel in the centre of Munich.

How strenuous? There is quite a lot of walking and standing around in galleries. Participants need to be able to keep up with a group of averagely fit people.

Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

The Danube Festival, 20–27 August 2017

Booking form Name(s) as you would like it/them to appear to other festival participants Participant 1:

Participant 2:

Contact details for all correspondence Address Postcode/Zip Country Telephone (home) Mobile E-mail ☐ Please tick if you are happy to receive your festival/tour and booking documents by e-mail only, where possible. ☐ Please tick if you do NOT want to receive regular updates by e-mail on our other tours, music festivals and London Days. ☐ Please tick if you do NOT want to receive any more of our brochures.

What initially prompted your booking?: e.g. a marketing email from us, browsing on our website, or receiving this brochure.

Accommodation on the ship. See page 12.

Single occupancy

Twin cabin (beds separate)

Double cabin (beds together)

Haydn deck (lowest)

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☐

☐

Strauss deck (middle)

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☐

☐

Mozart deck (top)

☐

☐

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Mozart deck, suite

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The walking party 20–26 August 2017 (md 501) Accommodation – see page 13 ☐ Double room for single occupancy ☐ Double room (two sharing) ☐ Twin room (two sharing) Flights – see page 14 ☐ I require the included flights with the walking party ☐ I will make my own arrangements

Travel options. See page 14 for full details. (Leave this section blank if you have booked a pre-festival tour or the walking party – these have their own flight arrangements.) ☐ Option 1: London Heathrow with lunch in Landshut 20th August: Heathrow–Munich 09.00–11.45 27th August: Munich Heathrow at 14.40–15.45 ☐ Option 2: London Heathrow with free time in Munich 20th August: Heathrow–Munich 10.55–13.40 27th August: Munich–Heathrow 18.35–19.40 ☐ Option 3: Manchester 20th August: Manchester–Munich 10.50–13.45 27th August: Munich–Manchester 15.35–16.40 ☐ Option 4: no flights. I will make my own arrangements for travel to and from the festival.

Pre-festival tours – tick to add. ☐ King Ludwig II – page 15 15–20 August 2017 (md 480) ☐ Munich’s Masterpieces – page 16 16–20 August 2017 (md 482) Accommodation ☐ Double room (two sharing) ☐ Twin room (two sharing) ☐ Double for single use Flights ☐ I will fly out with the tour group, and back with the festival ☐ I will make my own arrangements

Further information and special requests, including dietary requirements (even if you have told us before).

The Danube Festival, 20–27 August 2017

Passport details. Essential for airlines and the ship/hotels, and in case of emergency during the festival or tour.

Title

Surname

Forename(s)

Nationality

Place of birth

Date of birth (dd/mm/yy)

Passport number

Place of issue

Date of issue (dd/mm/yy)

Date of expiry (dd/mm/yy)

1 2

1 2

Next of kin or contact in case of emergency.

1. Name

Relation to you

Telephone

2. Name

Relation to you

Telephone

Payment amount. ☐ EITHER Deposit(s). 10% of your total booking cost. ☐ OR Full Payment. This is required if you are booking within 10 weeks of departure (i.e. 11th June 2017 or later).

Carbon offset. We subscribe to Beyond Carbon, a carbon offset scheme approved by AITO. If you are taking our flights and wish to make a donation (£5 for short-haul flights), please tick below. Read more at www.martinrandall.com/responsible-tourism. ☐ I would like to add a carbon offset donation to my booking (please tick).

TOTAL: £ Payment method. ☐ By cheque. I enclose a cheque payable to Martin Randall Travel Ltd – please write the festival code (md 500) on the back. ☐ By debit or credit card. I authorise Martin Randall Travel to contact me by telephone to take payment from my Visa credit/Visa debit/Mastercard/AMEX.

Bookings paid for by credit card will have 2% added to cover processing charges. This brings us into line with standard travel industry practice. It does not apply to other forms of payment.

☐ By bank transfer. Use your surname and the festival code (md 500) as a reference and ask your bank to allow for all charges.

Account name: Martin Randall Travel Ltd | Bank: Handelsbanken, 2 Chiswick High Road, London W4 1TH

For transfers from UK (Sterling) bank accounts: Account number 8663 3438 • Sort code 40-51-62

For transfers from non-UK bank accounts: IBAN: GB98 HAND 4051 6286 6334 38 • Swift/BIC code: HAND GB22

I have read and agree to the Booking Conditions on behalf of all listed on this form.

Signature Date

ATOL 3622 | ABTA Y6050 | AITO 5085

Martin Randall Travel Ltd Voysey House, Barley Mow Passage, London W4 4GF, United Kingdom Tel +44 (0)20 8742 3355 Fax +44 (0)20 8742 7766 info@martinrandall.co.uk

Martin Randall Australasia PO Box 1024, Indooroopilly, QLD 4068, Australia Tel 1300 55 95 95 | New Zealand 0800 877 622 anz@martinrandall.com.au

www.martinrandall.com

USA Tel 1 800 988 6168

Canada Tel (647) 382 1644 | canada@martinrandall.ca

The Danube Festival, 20–27 August 2017

Booking details & conditions Before booking, please refer to www.fco.gov. uk to ensure you are happy with the travel advice for the places you are going to.

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it transpires you are not able to cope adequately, you may be asked to opt out of certain visits, or be invited to leave altogether.

2. Definite booking

Insurance. It is a requirement of booking that you have adequate holiday insurance for the duration of your holiday with Martin Randall Travel Ltd. Cover for medical treatment, repatriation, loss of property and cancellation charges must be included. Insurance can be obtained from most insurance companies, banks, travel agencies and (in the UK) many retail outlets including Post Offices. Experience tells us that free travel insurance offered by some credit card companies is not reliable in the event of a claim.

Fill in the Booking Form and send it to us with the deposit(s) or make a definite booking online, at www.martinrandall.com. It is important that you read the Booking Conditions at this stage, and that you sign the Booking Form if booking offline. Full payment is required if you are booking within ten weeks of the festival (i.e. 11th June 2017 or later).

Passports and visas. Participants must have passports, valid for at least six months beyond the date of the festival. Visas are not required for travel in the countries visited for UK or other EU citizens, or citizens of the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand. Nationals of other countries should ascertain whether visas are required in their case, and obtain them if so.

1. Booking option We recommend that you contact us first to ascertain that your preferred hotel option is still available. You can make a booking option which we will hold for one week (longer if necessary) pending receipt of your completed Booking Form and deposit. You can also make a booking option online.

3. Our confirmation Upon receipt of your Booking Form and deposit we send you confirmation of your booking. Further details about the festival may also be sent at this stage, or will follow shortly afterwards. After this your deposit is nonreturnable except in the special circumstances mentioned in the Booking Conditions.

Booking Conditions Please read these You need to sign your assent to these booking conditions on the booking form.

Our promises to you We aim to be fair, reasonable and sympathetic in all our dealings with clients, and to act always with integrity.

We will meet all our legal and regulatory responsibilities, often going beyond the minimum obligations.

We aim to provide full and accurate information about our tours and festivals. If there are changes, we will tell you promptly.

If something does go wrong, we will try to put it right. Our overriding aim is to ensure that every client is satisfied with our services.

What we ask of you That you read the information we send to you.

Specific terms Our contract with you. From the time we receive your signed booking form and initial payment, a contract exists between you and Martin Randall Travel Ltd. Eligibility. We reserve the right to refuse a booking without necessarily giving a reason. You need to have a level of fitness which would not spoil other participants’ enjoyment of the festival or tour by slowing them down – see ‘Fitness for the festival’ on page 13. To this end we ask you to take the tests described. By signing the booking form you are stating that you have met these requirements. If during the festival or tour

or tour exactly as advertised. We would try to devise a satisfactory alternative, but if the change represents a significant loss to the festival or tour we would offer compensation. If you decide to cancel because the alternative we offer is not acceptable we would give a full refund.

If you cancel. If you have to cancel your participation in the festival or tour there would be a charge which varies according to the period of notice you give. Up to 57 days before departure the deposit only is forfeited. Thereafter a percentage of the total cost will be due:

Financial protection: ATOL. We provide full financial protection for our package holidays which include international flights, by way of our Air Travel Organiser’s Licence number 3622. When you buy an ATOL protected flight inclusive holiday from us you receive an ATOL Certificate. This lists what is financially protected, where you can get information on what this means for you and who to contact if things go wrong. Most of our flights and flightinclusive holidays on our website and in our brochure are financially protected by the ATOL scheme. But ATOL protection does not apply to all holiday and travel services listed. Please ask us to confirm what protection may apply to your booking. If you do not receive an ATOL Certificate then the booking will not be ATOL protected. If you do receive an ATOL Certificate but all the parts of your trip are not listed on it, those parts will not be ATOL protected. In order to be protected under the ATOL scheme you need to be in the UK when you make your booking and/or one of the flights you take must originate or terminate in the UK with the group.

from 56 to 29 days: from 28 to 15 days: from 14 to 3 days: within 48 hours:

Financial protection: ABTA. We provide full financial protection for our package holidays that do not include a flight, by way of a bond held by ABTA The Travel Association.

40% 60% 80% 100%

If you cancel your booking in a double or twin room but are travelling with a companion who chooses not to cancel, the companion will be liable to pay the single occupancy price.

We take as the day of cancellation that on which we receive your written confirmation of cancellation.

If we cancel the festival or tour. We might decide to cancel the festival or tour if at any time up to eight weeks before departure there were insufficient bookings for it to be viable. We would refund everything you had paid to us.

Safety and security. If the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office advises against travel to places visited on a tour or festival, we would cancel it or adjust the itinerary to avoid the risky area. In the event of cancellation before departure, we would give you a full refund.

We would also treat sympathetically a wish to withdraw from a tour to a troubled region even if the FCO does not advise against travel there.

Seatbelts. Our tours and festivals subscribe to the health and safety legislation of the destination. In some parts of the world the law concerning seatbelts differs to the UK. The limits of our liabilities. As principal, we accept responsibility for all ingredients of the festival or tour, except those in which the principle of force majeure prevails. Our obligations and responsibilities are also limited where international conventions apply in respect of air, sea or rail carriers, including the Warsaw Convention and its various updates.

If we make changes. Circumstances might arise which prevent us from operating the festival

We will provide you with the services listed on the ATOL Certificate (or a suitable alternative).

In some cases, where we aren’t able do so for reasons of insolvency, an alternative ATOL holder may provide you with the services you have bought or a suitable alternative (at no extra cost to you). You agree to accept that in those circumstances the alternative ATOL holder will perform those obligations and you agree to pay any money outstanding to be paid by you under your contract to that alternative ATOL holder.

However, you also agree that in some cases it will not be possible to appoint an alternative ATOL holder, in which case you will be entitled to make a claim under the ATOL scheme (or your credit card issuer where applicable). If we, or the suppliers identified on your ATOL certificate, are unable to provide the services listed (or a suitable alternative, through an alternative ATOL holder or otherwise) for reasons of insolvency, the Trustees of the Air Travel Trust may make a payment to (or confer a benefit on) you under the ATOL scheme. You agree that in return for such a payment or benefit you assign absolutely to those Trustees any claims which you have or may have arising out of or relating to the nonprovision of the services, including any claim against us (or your credit card issuer where applicable). You also agree that any such claims maybe re-assigned to another body, if that other body has paid sums you have claimed under the ATOL scheme.

English Law. These conditions form part of your contract with Martin Randall Travel Ltd and are governed by English law. All proceedings shall be within the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

Martin Randall Travel Ltd Voysey House Barley Mow Passage, London W4 4GF United Kingdom Tel +44 (0)20 8742 3355 Fax +44 (0)20 8742 7766 info@martinrandall.co.uk www.martinrandall.com Martin Randall Australasia PO Box 1024 Indooroopilly QLD 4068 Australia Tel 1300 55 95 95 New Zealand 0800 877 622 anz@martinrandall.com.au Canada Tel (647) 382 1644 canada@martinrandall.ca USA Tel 1 800 988 6168 (connects with London office)

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Illustration: Dürnstein, German etching 1935.

More music festivals in 2017: A Festival of Music in Florence 13–18 March 2017 Toledo: A Festival of Spanish Music 20–25 May 2017 ‘The Miracle of Salzburg’ 18–24 June 2017 The Rhône: Bacchus & Orpheus 6–13 July 2017 The Johann Sebastian Bach Journey 4–10 September 2017 Vivaldi in Venice 6–11 November 2017 Please contact us for information.