EXMOOR 1-5 OCTOBER
DARTMOOR 8-12 OCTOBER
Extraordinary
with Elizabeth Watts,
music in remarkable places
Julius Drake, Cordelia Williams, Tianxu An, James Baillieu, Nick Pritchard, Guy Johnston, Tamsin Waley-Cohen, Colin Currie Quartet, APOLLO5, Chiaroscuro Quartet and more.
THURSDAY 2 OCTOBER, 7.30PM
All Saints’ Church, Dulverton, TA22 9DW
£37.50, £27.50, £15, £10
Tamsin Waley-Cohen & Friends: Schubert’s ‘Trout Quintet’
Franz Schubert Arpeggione Sonata D.821; Fantasie in C Major D.934; Piano Quintet in A Major D.667 The Trout Tamsin writes, “Schubert’s music encapsulates the intimacy, wonder, and intensity that great chamber music can offer at its best”, and this is the first of two concerts celebrating and showcasing the genius of Schubert at this year’s special anniversary Festival. This ‘all-star’ evening sees Tamsin joined by long-time musical friends and collaborators, pianist Cordelia Williams, cellist Guy Johnston, violist Gary Pomeroy and bassist Toby Hughes, (winner of the Two Moors Young Musicians Competition in 2008). As well as the beloved and joyful ‘Trout Quintet’, one of the greatest chamber music pieces of all time, two other jewels of the repertoire make this an evening not to be missed.
Cordelia Williams
Tamsin Waley-Cohen
Gary Pomeroy
Toby Hughes
Guy Johnston
‘Elizabeth Watts is… a national treasure among singers’ The ArtsDesk
‘With the luxurious participation of Julius Drake on the piano, a guarantee of quality and musicality...’ Scherzo
SATURDAY 4 OCTOBER, 11AM £30, £20, £12, £10
All Saints’ Church, Dulverton, TA22 9DW
English Song with Elizabeth Watts and Julius Drake
Ivor Gurney Five Elizabethan Songs; Michael Head The Singer; Ralph Vaughan Williams Silent Noon; Rebecca Clarke A Dream; Frank Bridge Sigh no more ladies; Arr. Britten Sweet Polly Oliver; Madeleine Dring Business Girls; Song of a Nightclub Proprietress; Geoffrey Bush Cuisine Provençale; Sigh No More, Ladies; Ivor Novello We’ll gather lilacs; Noel Coward Alice is at it again; A bar on the Piccola Marina.
Begin the weekend in true Two Moors Festival fashion with a delightful programme of English song, performed by one of the UK’s most treasured sopranos, Elizabeth Watts. A winner of the Rosenblatt Recital Song Prize at the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition, Elizabeth, together with the acclaimed accompanist Julius Drake, will entertain and entrance you with songs by Ivor Gurney, Vaughan-Williams and Noel Coward among others. Enjoy an hour of world-class music from ‘one of the most beautiful voices Britain has produced in a generation’ (International Record Review).
Julius Drake
Elizabeth Watts
SATURDAY 4 OCTOBER, 1.30PM £15
The Priory Church of St George, Dunster, TA24 6SH
Young Musicians Competition Winners’ Concert
Ted Lunt Recorder (Age 12); River Peryer Piano (Age 11); Belinda Gifford-Guy Voice (Age 14); Victoria Stolte Viola (Age 16)
Like the Festival itself, our Young Musicians Competition continues to go from strength to strength. The four talented young winners of this year’s Competition, who were selected from a field of 40 entrants, will each give a 25-minute recital, showcasing their musical and technical prowess. The repertoire will be confirmed closer to the time. Hear two former winners of the competition — our own Tamsin Waley-Cohen and bassist Toby Hughes — in performance together in Schubert’s Trout Quintet in Dulverton on Thursday 2 October.
Have budding musicians in your family? Come along to our all ages singing workshop — see below for details.
SATURDAY 4 OCTOBER, 4.30PM
The Priory Church of St George, Dunster, TA24 6SH
All Ages Singing Workshop with APOLLO5
£15
Five-piece vocal ensemble, APOLLO5, is giving a dazzling performance to conclude our Exmoor weekend but before these five versatile singers show us what they can do, they want to get you singing with them! No prior singing experience is necessary in this highly interactive and enjoyable session for all ages.
Tickets are free for children aged 16 and under – see back page for details
‘It was really inspiring’ Workshop participant ‘The whole school was buzzing after the workshop’
Headteacher in Nottingham
SATURDAY 4 OCTOBER, 7.30PM
All Saints’ Church, Dulverton, TA22 9DW
Tianxu An plays Liszt, Chopin & Rachmaninov
£35, £25, £15, £10
‘Tianxu An immediately establishes himself in the front ranks of the musical world.’ Classica Magazine
César Franck Prélude, Fugue et Variation in B Minor Op.18; Franz Liszt selection from Années de pèlerinage: Première année: Suisse: III. Pastorale, IV. Au bord d’une source, V. Orage and VI. Vallée d’ Obermann; Frederic Chopin arr. Leopold Godowsky Study No.1 after Chopin Etude Op.10 No.1; Sergei Rachmaninov Etudes-Tableaux Op.39.
At the final of the International Tchaikovsky Competition in 2019, virtuoso pianist Tianxu An, then only 20 years old, was expecting to play one piece, and the accompanying orchestra started to play something completely different. He kept calm and carried on with the performance and — as well as being a competition prizewinner — was awarded a special medal for heroism. He’s gone onto achieve world-wide fame as a result. Since then, he has performed with some of the world’s leading orchestras including the Philadelphia Orchestra, toured extensively in his native China, and made his debut in the Musikverein, Vienna. A graduate of the prestigious Julliard School in New York, he makes a rare appearance in the UK with his debut at the Two Moors Festival, performing works by Franck, Liszt, Chopin and Rachmaninov.
Tianxu
SUNDAY 5 OCTOBER, 11AM
Emmetts Barn, Simonsbath, TA24 7LD
Talk & Exhibition: Exmoor Farms — A Year on the Moor
£10
Exmoor Farms: A Year on the Moor, written by Victoria Eveleigh, charts a farming year on Exmoor and features many different farms within the National Park. Commissioned by the Exmoor Hill Farming Network and The Exmoor Society, the book – which features photographs by Eleanor Davis – records the human stories behind Exmoor’s farmed landscape at a time of huge change for agriculture. Victoria Eveleigh will be in conversation with Mark de Wynter-Smith, Exmoor Forest Estate’s farm manager since the mid-1990s, and Anne May, who combines farming alongside her husband, Alex, with bringing up a young family and working for the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group. They will focus on how, and why, land management on Exmoor has changed in the past thirty years or so, and what is likely to happen in the future.
SUNDAY 5 OCTOBER, 7.30PM
St Mary Magdalene, South Molton, EX36 3AN
Vocal Ensemble APOLLO5
£35, £25, £15, £10
Programme includes: Francisco Guerrero Veni Domine; Paul Mealor Beneath Thy Compassion; trad. Scottish arr. APOLLO5 The Parting Glass; Ralph Vaughan Williams arr. Chris Moore Whither Must I Wander; Camille Saint-Saens Les fleurs et les arbres; George & Ira Gershwin arr. Matt Greenwood They Can’t Take That Away From Me; Jerome Kern & Dorothy Fields arr. Matt Greenwood The Way You Look Tonight.
Singing supergroup APOLLO5 have wowed audiences across the globe with their vocal virtuosity and ‘exceptionally beautiful singing’ (Classic FM). Hear them perform a varied and entertaining programme featuring choral masterpieces, timeless folk music and joyful arrangements of jazz classics. This small but perfectly formed ensemble — comprising of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, two tenors and a bass — has become known for its rich, dynamic sound, demonstrating how powerful five voices can be. Visit our website for the complete programme.
‘Exceptional cohesion and effortless style… faultless.’
WEDNESDAY 8 OCTOBER, 10AM
The Hall, Stepcote Hill, Exeter, EX1 1BD
Intesa: Love & Lullabies for 0-5s and their grown-ups
£10
Enjoy a relaxed performance by the award-winning duo, Intesa, without the additional expense of a babysitter! Combining the stunning combination of viols, (a Renaissance string instrument), and voice, this relaxed, lullaby-themed morning concert from Lucine Musaelian and Nathan Giorgetti will feature traditional songs from Ireland and Wales, as well as a rich tapestry of works from the 16th-century and a contemporary piece by Lucine Musaelian. Running time approximately 40 minutes. Tea & coffee available; visit our website for access information.
WEDNESDAY 8 OCTOBER, 7.30PM
The Hall, Stepcote Hill, Exeter, EX1 1BD
Intesa: Viols & Voice
Programme includes: Orlando di Lasso Susanne un jour; George Frideric Handel Piangerò la sorte mia (from Giulio Cesare); Barbara Strozzi Amor dormiglione; Claudio Monteverdi Lamento della ninfa; Francesca Caccini Maria, dolce Maria; John Dowland Can She Excuse My Wrongs.
£20
The award-winning duo, Intesa, was formed at the Royal Academy of Music by Lucine Musaelian and Nathan Giorgetti, where they were Chamber Music Fellows in 2023-24. Nathan and Lucine, who is also an exceptional singer, have a shared passion for the sound of the viol (also referred to as the viola da gamba, or gamba) and its combination with the voice. The effect is stunning in its beauty and drama. They will perform a varied programme that includes traditional Armenian songs and music from the baroque period by Monteverdi, Strozzi and Handel, among others. Visit our website for the complete programme.
‘These two artists are supreme performers with style, a smile, and profound skill.’ La Dépêche
THURSDAY 9 OCTOBER, 7.30PM
All Saints’ Church, Okehampton, EX20 1LE
A Night at the Opera with National Opera Studio
£35, £25, £15, £10
Five performers from National Opera Studio past and present will perform arias and ensembles that showcase a wide range of the operatic repertoire from baroque to Broadway, and everything in between. Featured composers include Mozart, Puccini, Handel, Bizet, Verdi, as well as a few hidden gems. Following a sold-out concert in Wiveliscombe in 2022, be sure to book early for this memorable musical night as these performers bring the drama and emotion of some of the most famous operas ever written to Okehampton. Enjoy a light pre-concert supper for a small additional cost – visit our website for more information.
FRIDAY 10 OCTOBER, 5PM
St Lawrence Chapel, Ashburton, TQ13 7DD
Poetry Reading by Carol Hughes
Carol Hughes is Devonian and was married to Ted Hughes for 28 years. The poems she will read were written during their life together in North Tawton. Carol will be introduced by Jane Feaver, writer and Editor at Large in poetry for Faber and Faber.
£10
National Opera Studio
FRIDAY 10 OCTOBER, 7.30PM
St Andrew’s Church, Ashburton, TQ13 7DT
Tchaikovsky Serenade
£35, £25, £15, £10
and a Two Moors World Premiere with Tamsin Waley-Cohen, Colin Currie and United Strings of Europe
Jessie Montgomery Starburst; Erkki-Sven Tüür Memoirs for Violin, Percussion and String orchestra; Caroline Shaw and the swallow; Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Serenade for Strings.
It goes without saying that we are excited about all the concerts at this year’s Festival, but we are especially excited by this undoubted highlight featuring Festival Artistic Director, Tamsin Waley-Cohen, with the acclaimed percussionist Colin Currie and the United Strings of Europe. Before being swept up in Tchaikovsky’s delectable Serenade for Strings, and short works by two Grammy Award-winning contemporary American composers, be part of musical history as you witness the world premiere performance of a new piece by the Estonian composer Erkki-Sven Tüür. Tüür is one of the most sought-after composers of today, known for the rhythmic groooves and tonal beauty of his works, and has been commissioned by orchestras and soloists all over the world, including the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Philharmonia, the Royal Concertgebouw, the Orchestre de Paris, the Hilliard Ensemble and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, among many others. His piece Memoirs for Violin, Percussion and String orchestra has been commissioned by the Two Moors Festival to celebrate our 25th anniversary.
‘Velvet-toned sound with beguiling warmth’ The Strad
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‘James Baillieu is in a class of his own… a remarkable pianist.’ The Daily Telegraph
‘Extraordinary… Williams unapologetically takes her place among the most eloquent exponents of this great work’ Gramophone on Cordelia Williams’s recording of Schubert Sonata D958.
SATURDAY 11 OCTOBER, 6PM
Canonteign House, Lower Ashton, EX6 7NT
Schubertiade at Canonteign with Nick Pritchard, James Baillieu and Cordelia Williams
Franz Schubert Die schöne Müllerin; Impromptus Nos.1 & 3 D899; Sonata in A Major D959
£90
Our second all-Schubert event at this year’s Festival comprises two recitals, interspersed with a delicious meal at this beautiful private home. The first recital features a performance of Schubert’s masterful song cycle Die schöne Müllerin by tenor Nick Pritchard and leading song and chamber music pianist, James Baillieu. Following supper, pianist Cordelia Williams — highly esteemed for her interpretations of Schubert — performs late piano works; the First and Third Impromptus, D899 and his Sonata in A Major D959, written in the last months of his tragically short life.
This is a limited capacity event. You may like to consider becoming a member of the Festival to enjoy priority booking – visit the Support page of our website for information.
Nick Pritchard James Baillieu
Cordelia Williams
One of the best young tenors singing today’ The Observer
SUNDAY 12 OCTOBER, 10.30AM £10
The Drewe Arms, Drewsteignton, EX6 6QN
Talk: Rivers & Rights with Amy-Jane Beer
Biologist turned writer Amy-Jane Beer gives a talk about rivers and rights, covering elements of her book The Flow: Rivers, Water and Wildness, for which she was awarded the 2023 Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing. She will talk about her work with Right to Roam and the campaigning group’s recent book Wild Service: Why Nature Needs You.
SUNDAY 12 OCTOBER, 12PM
FREE TICKETS; TO BE BOOKED IN ADVANCE
The Activity Hut at Castle Drogo, Drewsteignton, EX6 6PB
Workshop: Nature Writing with Amy-Jane Beer
Following her talk at The Drewe Arms, award-winning author Amy-Jane Beer will lead a special workshop on nature writing, exploring how to take inspiration from the world around you, and how to bring the natural world alive in all its profound beauty on the page. Bring a folding chair or rug - if the weather's nice we'll be writing outside.