Wimbledon International Music Festival 2024

IMBLEDON

“Not just another classical music festival - just the best” Tokafi, Germany

“Transforming SW19 into a place of wonder and delight”

“I only managed to get to 10 events but each one was a total delight”

“Each year you introduce us to more superb artists”

“A breathtaking festival. I was quite transported”

Saturday 2 - Sunday 24 November

Patrons: Alfred Brendel - Michael Collins - John Gilhooly - Rivka

Golani - Ian Partridge - Raphael Wallfich

Autumn highlights at the Royal Festival Hall

Santtu conducts Sibelius and Grieg

Featuring pianist Stephen Hough in Grieg’s Piano Concerto

Thursday 26 September, 7pm

Part of Nordic Soundscapes

András Schiff: Haydn, Schubert and Mozart

Two concertos and Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony

Sunday 6 October, 7.30pm

Marin Alsop conducts Mahler’s Fifth Symphony

Plus a selection of songs by Alma Mahler

Thursday 24 October, 7.30pm

Maria Dueñas plays Sibelius

Sibelius’s Violin Concerto and Nielsen’s Symphony No. 5

Sunday 3 November, 3pm

Part of Nordic Soundscapes

Herbert Blomstedt and Leonidas Kavakos

Mahler’s Symphony No. 9 from a revered conductor

Thursday 21 November, 7.30pm

Santtu and Jess Gillam

The ebullient saxophonist plays Glazunov’s concerto, and Santtu conducts Romeo & Juliet

Sunday 1 December, 3pm

Tickets from £10 philharmonia.co.uk

0800 652 6717

A WARM WELCOME TO OUR 16th ANNIVERSARY

Anthony Wilkinson Festival Director

A warm welcome to our Sixteenth Festival, which is very much concerned with ‘Story Telling’.

The Academy Choir & Baroque Players kick off with a timely and vivid piece of story telling about Israel’s early fight for existence, involving a tragic personal sacrifice in Handel’s final masterpiece, his dramatic oratorio Jephtha.

The Wandering Tower is a unique and dazzling concert-drama in which Prokofiev’s life-story merges with his music – and his own stories – to reveal both the artist and the man beneath. Prokofiev’s music forms a mini-theme threading through the Festival programme.

We welcome back Armonico Consort with Purcell’s greatest semi-staged opera The Fairy Queen in a specially adapted script from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, melding with Purcell’s Dido & Aeneas, creating for the first time a modern-day retelling of both these incredible works in one joyous evening.

Moving on a hundred years, the Spanish early music ensemble, La Guirlande, brings a double programme of Haydn’s chamber music composed during the 30 years he served as Kapellmeister at the Esterházy court where, because of his isolation from other composers, he said he “was forced to be original.” This is followed by music composed during his enormously successful life as a freelancer in London.

Our chamber music focus brings some truly world-class artists to Wimbledon: the Pavel Haas Quartet from the Czech Republic feature in BBC Music Magazine’s ‘Ten Greatest String Quartets of All Time’ - violist Lawrence Power has long been considered among the finest in the world - and another UK musical treasure, pianist Steven Osborne, offers a programme revealing the breadth of his musical interests.

… and our US co-commissioning partner, Grammy Award-winning cellist Zuill Bailey is this year’s Artist in Residence, offering a recital with Piers Lane, an inspiring TED-based lecture “The Business of Music” and joining the Philharmonia in a performance of Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme

The Jazz night tells the story of Ronnie Scott, who was so influential to British jazz - Counterpoise tells the story of the banana-dancing star Joséphine Baker with a programme built around silent film classicsRegents Opera returns with its new production of Don Giovanni, Mozart’s exhilarating re-telling of the Don Juan story.

Mozart’s genius is at the heart of our now traditional day of two related concerts with themed interval mealin the company of the Brodsky Quartet, built around two ravishing Mozart Quintets: his K593 featuring two violas; and the sublime Clarinet Quintet, K581, performed by our Festival Patron Michael Collins Zuill Bailey also joins the Brodskys in a performance of Schubert’s String Quintet.

The lunchtime series showcases exceptional New Generation artists.

I look forward to sharing these and other wonderful musical events with you.

A MESSAGE FROM OUR CHAIRMAN

Anthony Wilkinson is to be congratulated on yet again packing in to the two week Festival a stunning range of concerts to be performed by hugely distinguished artists.

As well as the large-scale productions and ensembles mentioned by Anthony, I am particularly looking forward to the solo recitals, including Mahan Esfahani’s programme of baroque harpsichord pieces and Steven Osborne’s piano recital featuring jazz arrangements. I am glad that Connaught Brass are back after their highly entertaining concert at the 2022 Festival. I also strongly recommend the lunchtime concerts, all featuring outstandingly talented young artists. They have, for good reason, become increasingly popular with our audiences.

Andrew Lenon Chairman

There are two special concerts with children and young people in mind, the Family Concert and an interactive jazz concert given by the Blues And Roots Ensemble (BARE) at New Wimbledon Theatre on 12th Nov. This concert is being staged in conjunction with Merton Music Foundation and will enable c1500 young people and their teachers from Merton primary schools to attend. The Trustees would like to increase the outreach of the Festival to children and young people in parts of the borough who might not otherwise have experience of classical music. The BARE concert is a step in that direction.

In the past, grants from the Arts Council would have helped to bridge the gap between ticket revenue and costs and enabled the Festival to take on projects like the BARE concert. Unfortunately, in the last two years the Festival’s bid for funding has been turned down in common with numerous other London-based classical music organisations and everything suggests that we will not be any more successful in future years.

We are therefore enormously grateful to all those of you who support us as Sponsors, Benefactors and Friends but the simple truth is that the Festival will not be able to continue in its present form without a significantly increased level of support from those of us who value bringing high-quality live classical music to Wimbledon. That is why, in order to ensure the Festival’s long-term survival, the Trustees have decided to set a goal of raising £150,000 over the next three years to match a most generous gift from The Tertis Foundation, whose support has been invaluable since the Festival’s inception. For this to become a reality, I would urge you to become a Sponsor, Benefactor or Friend of the Festival if you have not already done so.

Finally, the Trustees are enormously grateful to our amazing team of local volunteers who act as ushers and bar staff for all the concerts and who are vital to its success.

I very much look forward to seeing you at the Festival!

Bringing the BEST to Wimbledonwe

need your help

Yes, it’s time for the fundraising pitch again!

As regular WIMF patrons know, at the 2023 Festival one of the Festival Trustees got up during most concert intervals to encourage people to increase support. We had an encouraging response and most people do now understand that a charity like the Festival cannot survive without donations, given the hard reality that ticket prices only cover about half our total costs.

Julian Marland Trustee

We are eternally grateful to our long-term supporter, The Tertis Foundation, who did indeed make a most generous final one-off donation which has given us ‘breathing space’ to plan for the future. But the longer term future for the Festival is still under threat unless we can further increase the level of private support from individuals and businesses. We have to plan on the assumption that Arts Council funding will not be there in the future.

In addition to individual supporters, we would particularly ask people with connections to local businesses to consider sponsoring a concert. The value of a brochure advert seen by over 30,000 people in and around Wimbledon is considerable and of course can be combined with hosting an event at the sponsored concert.

This year we also have a wonderful concert to help kids from less fortunate areas have the chance to experience live music. If you support us - it helps us to support them and our educational jazz programme this year - 1,500 children in over 100 schools.

As trustee with particular responsibility for fundraising, I would be delighted to discuss this with you in more detail at any time. Many thanks.

WIMF believes that the experience of live music can change lives

WIMF is pleased to support a multi-school school education project by the Blues and Roots Ensemble, with a performance in New Wimbledon Theatre o ering 1500 children from hard to reach communities the opportunity to experience a live music performance

NWT: 12 Nov 24

SUN 3 WED 13 MON 18

PETER AND THE WOLF FAMILY ORCHESTRAL CONCERT

CONNAUGHT BRASS

FAIRYTALE DANCES LAWRENCE POWER in RECITAL

9 THU 14 TUE 19

HANDEL: JEPHTHA ACADEMY CHOIR & BAROQUE PLAYERS

STEVEN OSBORNE PIANO RECITAL

LUNCHTIME CONCERT: CAN ÇAKMUR PIANO RECITAL

10 FRI 15 TUE 19

MOZART: DON GIOVANNI REGENTS OPERA

LUNCHTIME CONCERT: BACH CANTATAS

MAHAN ESFAHANI HARPSICHORD

MON 11 FRI 15

THE PAVEL HAAS QUARTET

TUE 12

LUNCHTIME CONCERT: LEIA ZHU

JAZZ EVENING: RONNIE SCOTT JAZZ PLAYERS

HAYDN IN ESTERHAZA & HAYDN IN LONDON

WED 20 SAT 16 THU 21 TUE 12

SCHUBERT & SCHUMANN LIEDER

ZUILL BAILEY & PIERS LANE: CELLO RECITAL

THE WANDERING TOWER PROKOFIEV: A CONCERT-DRAMA

17 FRI 22

JOSÉPHINE COUNTERPOISE ENSEMBLE

LUNCHTIME CONCERT: YEHUDI MENUHIN SCHOOL

PURCELL: THE FAIRY QUEEN

Armonico Consort & Baroque Players

22 SAT 23 SUN 24

A call to all performing musicians, professional and amateur PlayFest

2024 SAT 2

A day of informal music making

Following the success of previous years, which revealed some wonderful performing musicians in our community, PlayFest is back in 2024!

Arts participation in the festival and invite you to use the music and performers as inspiration for Painting - SketchingPhotography - Poetry.

WIMF is happy to have any genre of music, though reflecting the Festival, we anticipate that the majority will be classical.

We would particularly value chamber music groups as well as solo performers.

We request that works should be rehearsed to performance standard.

Single works, or groups of shorter works, should not exceed 20 minutes.

Please register from September 2024 with Orsi Torjak, Festival Producer Email orsi.torjak@wimbledonmusicfestival.co.uk indicating instrument, composer and work length, and amateur or professional choice of session.

4 sessions (2 hours) 10.30am - 12.30pm 1.30pm - 3.30pm 4.00pm - 6.00pm 7.30pm - 9.30pm

Performers should be Grade 5 or over

Donations welcome to defray costs.

St John’s Church, Spencer Hill SW19 4NZ

SUN 3

3.00pm

St Mary’s Church

Putney Bridge

Putney High Street SW15 1SN

Wimbledon Symphony Orchestra

Prokofiev: Peter and the Wolf - a symphonic folk tale.

Narrator: Tama Matheson

PETER AND THE WOLF FAMILY ORCHESTRAL CONCERT

The classic and much-loved story of Peter and the Wolf has resonated deeply with over five generations of children, enchanted by its power and sense of fun. Prokofiev is a master of musical storytelling, and is the perfect introduction to the colour and excitement of live orchestral music-making.

We are delighted to welcome back Wimbledon’s own Symphony

SAT 9

8.00pm

Sacred Heart Church

Edge Hill SW19 4LU

Matthew Best, Conductor

Benjamin Hulett, Jephtha

Helen Charlston, Storge

Rowan Pierce, Iphis

James Hall, Hamor

Event Sponsor:

£48 / £42 / £28

£10 Students

SUN 10

7.00pm

Trinity Church Mansel Road SW19 4AA

Sarah Heenan, Director

Ben Woodward, Musical direction

Don Giovanni, Oliver Gibbs

Leporello, Aidan Smith

Donna Anna, Christine Buras

Donna Elvira, Isolde Roxby

Don Ottavi, David Basso

Zerlina, Annie Fassea Commendatore, Andrew Tinkler

Massett, Alistair Ollerenshaw

£44 / £38 / £26

£10 Students

HANDEL: JEPHTHA - A Dramatic Oratorio ACADEMY CHOIR & BAROQUE PLAYERS

Seeking a strong man to deliver the tribe from an existential threat, the Israelites choose the outcast son of a harlot, Jephtha, to lead them into battle against the Ammonites. Having made a vow to God that if he is victorious he will offer in sacrifice the first thing he sees on returning home, rejoicing is turned to tragedy when it is his daughter who greets him. Jephtha faces the ultimate dilemma - the choice between faith and love, in Handel’s final dramatic oratorio.

MOZART: DON GIOVANNI or The Rake’s Punishment

In Regents Opera’s acclaimed new production, Mozart proves to be one of the great storytellers and observers of human nature in this darkly comic take on the Don Juan story.

Ignoring the warnings of his sharp-witted servant Leporello, the Don meets his match in Donna Anna, who swears vengeance on him after he kills her father, the Commendatore. In hot pursuit, the Don’s jilted wife Donna Elvira, wavers between tearing his heart out and saving him from eternal damnation.

MON 11

7.30pm

St John’s Church

Spencer Hill

SW19 4NZ

THE PAVEL HAAS QUARTET

Mozart: String Quartet No.22 in B-flat major, K.589

Martinü: String Quartet No.7 (‘Concerto Da Camera’)

Tchaikovsky: String Quartet No.3 in E-flat minor, Op.30

Named in BBC Music Magazine’s 10 greatest string quartet ensembles of all time, the Pavel Haas Quartet was described as ‘stylistically powerful and richly sonorous, known for its passionate and fearless performances.’

Their choice of programme exemplifies these qualities and gives us the chance to hear one of their countryman’s finest chamber works.

6.15pm

Free Film Screening

Narration written by: Anthony Burgess

Script and Direction: Anthony Wilkinson

Event Sponsor:

£40 / £35 / £28

£10 Students

Free Film Screening of: MUSIC OF EXILE

A dramatic telling of the life of Bohuslav Martinü

Filmed on locations in Moravia, Prague, Paris and New York, this film dating from 1966 tells the extraordinary story of a composer finding his own distinctive voice shaped by memories of, and longings for, his homeland occupied by Nazi Germany and then the Soviet Republic. Filmed during the Prague Spring, this film, including rare library footage, has been shown around the globe.

“An engrossing film” Sunday Times

“Vivid and often beautiful narrative style” The Times.

“Magnificent… film making at its best” Sunday Telegraph

“The most remarkable film of the Year” BBC: Pick of the Year

TUE 12

1.10pm

LUNCHTIME CONCERT

St John’s Church

Spencer Hill

SW19 4NZ

Dvorak Violin Sonatina in G major Op. 100, B. 183

Prokofiev Sonata Nr. 2

D-Major op. 94

-interval-

Debussy Violin Sonata in G minor, L148 (140)

Wieniawski Faust Fantasy

Castelnuovo-Tedesco “Figaro“

LEIA ZHU VIOLIN RECITAL

£18 suggested

£5 minimum

TUE 12

7.30pm

Trinity Church

Mansel Road

SW19 4AA

Tama Matheson, Writer, Storyteller

Robert Maskell

Alexander Karpeyev, Piano

Leia Zhu at just 17 is celebrated for her exceptional musical maturity and profound expressive interpretations, supported by remarkable technical prowess. The youngest artist ever represented by the prestigious London-based agency HarrisonParrott. Leia has performed with major orchestras and ensembles throughout the world and is currently Artist in Residence with the London Mozart Players.

THE WANDERING TOWER PROKOFIEV: A CONCERT-DRAMA

In a thrilling new concert-drama The Wandering Tower tells the story of one of classical music’s greatest storytellers, Sergei Prokofiev, who found fame and success in America. He returned to Russia in the mid-30s as a cultural hero to find an increasingly restrictive regime in the Soviet Union. This portrait makes a moving introduction to his music which features in several of this year’s concerts.

£35 / £30 / £22

£10 Students

Tama Matheson, twice short-listed for the prestigious RPS ‘Storytelling Award’, has attracted glowing reviews: “Riveting and convincing …” [Performing Arts Hub]- “... Illuminating, fascinating, a night to treasure” [Weekend Notes] - “An incredible evening of music and drama, beauty and emotion” [The Brisbane Theatre Review]

WED 13

7.30pm

St John’s Church

Spencer Hill SW19 4NZ

Victor Ewald: Quintet No. 1

Jan Koetsier: Kleiner Zirkusmarch and arrangements of:

Prokofiev: Lieutenant Kijé Suite

Vivaldi: Concerto in F major for trumpet

Fauré: Pavane

Tchaikovsky: The Seasons

£35 / £30 / £22

THU 14

7.30pm

St John’s Church

Spencer Hill SW19 4NZ

Schumann: Arabesque

Debussy: Children’s Corner Suite and Arabesques

Schumann: Kinderszenen

CONNAUGHT BRASS

Winners of the inaugural Philip Jones International Brass Ensemble Competition, Connaught Brass are quickly making a name for themselves as a vibrant, spirited, bold and fresh talent in the chamber music world. The concert features major core works from the specialist brass quintet repertoire.

STEVEN OSBORNE PIANO RECITAL

One of the country’s most treasured musicians (Royal Philharmonic Society ‘Instrumentalist of the Year’, two BBC Music Magazine and two Gramophone Awards) offers a typically fascinating programme revealing the breadth of his musical interests.

£40 / £35 / £28

£10 Students

The second half, built on his admiration for jazz, includes: Meredith Monk ’Railroad’; Frederic Rzewski’s great protest piece ‘Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues’; Keith Jarrett [trans. Osborne]: ‘My Song’; Oscar Peterson [trans. Osborne]; ‘Indiana’ “…the sort of musical intelligence and reflective grace he brings to an astonishing range of repertoire.” The Herald

FRI 15

1.10pm LUNCHTIME CONCERT

St John’s Church

Spencer Hill

SW19 4NZ

Daisy Livesey, Soprano

Florian Störtz, Baritone

Max Barley, Directing from the keyboard Musicians from The Royal Academy of Music and London’s leading early music ensembles

Event Sponsor:

Sheila & Andrew LENON

£18 suggested

£5 minimum

FRI 15

8.00pm JAZZ EVENING

Upper Hall

Sacred Heart Church

Edge Hill

SW19 4LU

BACH CANTATAS

J.S. Bach: Cantata BWV 82 ‘Ich habe genug’

J.S. Bach: Cantata BWV 51 ‘Jauchzet Gott in alle Landen’

Bach wrote more than 200 cantatas, the earliest dating from 1701 in Mühlhausen, but most from his years as Kantor at Leipzig’s Thomaskirche and Nikolaskirche where part of his job was to compose a new cantata every week.

This concert offers two of the most beautiful and celebrated of Bach’s cantatas for solo voice.

RONNIE SCOTT JAZZ PLAYERS

The Ronnie Scott story, direct from London’s world-renowned jazz club, combines live music, narration, projected images and film footage. Featuring classic music from the jazz greats who have performed at Ronnie Scott’s, and tales of old Soho, miscreant musicians and police raids, this concert offers a glimpse into this unique world and its incredible history.

Cabaret Setting

£45 all tickets

£10 Students

SAT 16

TWO PARTS

3.00pm & 5.30pm

St John’s Church

Spencer Hill

SW19 4NZ

HAYDN IN ESTERHAZY & HAYDN IN LONDON

With Spanish Early Music Ensemble LA GUIRLANDE

3.00pm: PART ONE: ESTERHAZY (1761-1790)

These two concerts were supported by a grant from

For 30 years Haydn served as Kapellmeister at the Esterhazy court in the backwaters of rural Hungary. His Patron, Prince Nikolaus, was a musical connoisseur who had assembled the finest orchestra in Europe. He was an accomplished player on the baryton and Haydn composed a flood of music, more than 200 works, for him to play. But Haydn felt trapped, distanced from musical developments elsewhere, isolated and lonely “so I was obliged to develop my imagination.”

Trios for baryton, viola and cello hob X1: 109/110/103

(Arr for traverso flute, violin, cello)

Divertimentos Hob 1V 7/10/9

A Vienese-inspired tea is offered in the interval for those attending both concerts (booked with tickets)

5.30pm: PART TWO: LONDON (1791-1792 and 1794-1795)

Each concert

£35 / £30 / £22

£10 Students

25% reduction for both concerts booked together

£18 - Tea with sandwiches and cakes - booked with tickets

In 1791, following the death of Prince Nikolaus he was succeeded by his son Anton who, wanting to economise, disbanded the orchestra. Haydn was free to accept an invitation to London where he enjoyed immense fame and success as a freelance musician and composer.

Trios for traverse flute, cello and fortepiano

Trios No 29, Hob XV 15 / No 30 Hob XV 17 / No 28 Hob XV 16

Variations in F minor, Hob.XVll for solo pianoforte

SUN 17

7.00pm

Trinity Church Mansel Road

SW19 4AA

JOSÉPHINE

COUNTERPOISE ENSEMBLE

Joséphine: Cassiopeia Berkeley-Agyepong

Musical director: Yshani Perinpanayagam

Joséphine tells the story, with text, visuals and movement, of the American-French dancer, singer and actress Joséphine Baker, notorious for her banana dance, but also a civil rights activist, champion of women’s rights, intrepid French Resistance fighter and “the most sensational woman anyone ever saw” (Hemingway).

£35 / £30 / £22

£10 Students

The acclaimed ensemble Counterpoise set the colourful scene in 1920s Paris: a time of experimental cinema, Dadaism and lively nightclubs, also performing newly commissioned scores for silent movie classics: Ghosts Before Breakfast, Fall of the House of Usher and the influential René Clair film Entr’acte featuring Picabia, Satie, Cocteau, Duchamp and Man Ray.

The charity supported me during my Masters and their help was absolutely invaluable. Now is an especially challenging time for musicians, both financially and emotionally, and charities like Help Musicians are vital during these difficult periods.

- Isata Kanneh-Mason Pianist & Help Musicians Ambassador

Let the soundtrack to your life live on by leaving a gift in your will to Help Musicians.

helpmusicians.org.uk/giftinwill 020 7239 9142 legacy@helpmusicians.org.uk

7.30pm

St John’s Church

Spencer Hill

SW19 4NZ

FAIRYTALE DANCES

LAWRENCE POWER in RECITAL

Lawrence Power, Viola/Violin

Simon CrawfordPhilipps, Piano

Concert supported by:

Stephen & Vicky STREATER

Schumann: Märchenbilder

Stravinsky: Divertimento

Berlioz: Death of Ophelia (arr Viola/Piano)

Prokofiev: Eight Pieces from Romeo and Juliet

£35 / £30 / £22

£10 Students

An international viola superstar, Lawrence Power is widely heralded for his richness of sound, technical mastery and passionate advocacy for new music. He has been guest soloist with many of the world’s most prestigious orchestras and is a noted chamber musician with the Nash and Wigmore Ensembles.

Starting out as a violist he does play the violin in recitals: “The viola is my mother tongue. It’s what I do. But it’s possible to speak other languages, even if perhaps you have an accent.”

Pictured: Mary Berry, Oz Clarke, Zandra Rhodes, Jeffrey Archer, Celia Imrie, Salman Rushdie

TUE 19

1.10pm

LUNCHTIME CONCERT

St John’s Church

Spencer Hill

SW19 4NZ

Schubert / Liszt Der Wanderer (7’)

Liszt Vallee

d’Obermann (14’)

Schubert 4

Impromptus D899 (27’)

CAN ÇAKMUR PIANO RECITAL

Turkish pianist Can Çakmur (Pronounced: Djahn Tchakmur)

1st prize winner of the 10th Hamamatsu International Piano Competition in 2018, and the Scottish International Piano Competition in 2017, has gained a reputation as one of the most gifted and versatile pianists of his generation.

£18 suggested

£5 minimum

TUE 19

7.30pm

St John’s Church

Spencer Hill

SW19 4NZ

Wilhelm Frederic Bach: Fantasia in E minor, FK3

Carl Philippe Emanuel

Bach: Fantasia in C Major Wq. 59/6

C P E Bach: Sonata in A Major, Wq 55/4

J.S. Bach: Partita No4 in D Major, BWV 828

The programme also includes:

Pachelbel: Chaconne in F minor

Handel: Chaconne HWV 435

£35 / £30 / £22

£10 Students

Can has performed in major concert halls worldwide, and broadcasted by BBC 3 Classic FM. ‘Çakmur is a musician with ideas and sophisticated beyond his years...he’s blessed with the means to express the richness of his imagination.’ Gramophone Magazine

MAHAN ESFAHANI - Harpsichord

The American-born Iranian harpsichordist has been dazzling audiences around the globe with his exciting programming and dynamic performances.

‘Esfahani’s towering musicianship ... the harpsichord can produce an exciting range of sounds’ Straits Times ‘ .. his remarkably fluid, fresh, almost improvisatory playing and rhythmic suppleness joyful as it was revelatory.’ The Scotsman “A performance by Esfahani is something to treasure.” The Times Pre-concert talk: An engaging speaker and enthusiastic scholar, Mahan Esfahani will talk about the programme and also perform on the clavichord.

WED 20

7.30pm

St John’s Church

Spencer Hill

SW19 4NZ

Christoph Prégardien, Tenor

Sholto Kynoch, Piano

Schubert: Drei Gesänge des Harfners, D478

Schumann: Liederkreis, Op.39

Schubert: Settings of poems by Mayrhofer

£38 / £32 / £24

£10 Students

THU 21

7.30pm

St John’s Church

Spencer Hill

SW19 4NZ

Zuill Bailey, Cello Piers Lane, Piano

Chopin Cello Sonata, Op 65

Chopin Polonaise

Brillante

Rachmaninov Cello

Sonata, Op.19

Rachmaninov Vocalise

SCHUBERT & SCHUMANN LIEDER

“A prince among tenors”, one of today’s greatest lieder singers, Christoph Prégardien returns with pianist Sholto Kynoch in a programme of song cycles to move the spirit. Schumann’s Leiderkreis captures the essence of the Romantic experience of landscape, an enigmatic weirdness and reflections on love. Schubert’s cycle of three settings of Goethe’s Songs of the Harpist are considered to be the first of his great song cycles. The recital offers two groups of songs that Schubert set to poems of his close friend Johann Mayrhofer.

ZUILL BAILEY & PIERS LANE

CELLO RECITAL

£38 / £32 / £24

£10 Students

Zuill Bailey and Piers Lane, both co-commissioning partners with WIMF, come together again in Wimbledon for a programme of two full-blooded romantic cello sonatas written by extraordinarily accomplished pianists. The Cello Sonata in G minor, Op 65 was the last of Chopin’s works to be published in his lifetime, and one of only eight works to feature an instrument other than the piano. Rachmaninov’s Cello Sonata was also a last work, his final chamber work, with a terrifyingly difficult piano part that the composer performed at its premiere.

FRI 22

1.10pm LUNCHTIME CONCERT

St John’s Church

Spencer Hill SW19 4NZ

Following the lunchtime concert: CELLO MASTERCLASS with ZUILL BAILEY

2.15pm - Talk: The Business of Music

2.30pmCello Masterclass

£18 suggested

£5 minimum

FRI 22

YEHUDI MENUHIN SCHOOL

Plus a Cello Masterclass with ZUILL BAILEY

This always popular concert will include a selection of solo and chamber works, with Mendelssohn’s monumental Octet in E-flat Major forming the heart of the programme, showcasing the talents of some of the finest young musicians from around the globe.

Zuill Bailey is a masterful giver of masterclasses bringing the audience a process of developing a performance. With limited time at his disposal, he assesses a participant’s performance and then takes one aspect with each to work together on. Always a fascinating experience.

PURCELL: THE FAIRY QUEEN ARMONICO CONSORT & BAROQUE PLAYERS

8.00pm

Sacred Heart Church

Edge Hill SW19 4LU

Christopher Monks, Director

Oz Clarke & Laura

Moretto, Narrators

Eloise Irving & Hannah FraserMackenzie, Sopranos

William Towers, Alto & Script

Graham Neal, Tenor

Robert Davie, Bass

£48 / £42 / £28

£10 Students

For 15 years, Armonico Consort has been in demand by festivals in the UK and Europe to perform its inimitable version of Purcell’s Dido & Aeneas. The singers and actors of the company now turn their attention to Purcell’s greatest semi-opera in a brand new semi-staged version with a specially adapted script from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. They create for the first time a modern-day retelling of both of these incredible works in one joyous evening. Armonico Consort will conjure up Purcell’s world of dreams and darkness, love and laughter in a not-to-be-missed evening!

SAT 23

PART ONE

4.00pm

INTERVAL

PART TWO

8.00pm

St John’s Church

Spencer Hill SW19 4NZ

MOZART QUINTET: DOUBLE EVENT BRODSKY QUARTET and CELEBRITY GUESTS

This double concert pairs two exceptional Mozart quintets, one with added viola, the other gloriously featuring the clarinet, with a quintet by Schubert and a sextet by Schoenberg.

Michael Collins, Clarinet

Luba Tunnicliffe, Viola

Zuill Bailey, Cello

Schubert added a second cello for his towering romantic masterpiece. Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht tells the story of a couple finding each other after moonlit wandering in a forest - a last great romantic outpouring so compelling that it left him little to explore before turning to his new 12-note, atonal system.

The Brodsky Quartet is joined by hugely distinguished guests: Grammy-winning US cellist Zuill Bailey; Luba Tunnicliffe, principal viola of the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra; and Michael Collins, clarinet, revered around the globe.

PART ONE 4.00pm

JS Bach Sonata for Solo Violin in G (arr Paul Cassidy)

Mozart String Quintet in D major, K.593

Schubert String Quintet in C, D.956

Interval: Pre-booked Themed Dinner at LIGHT HOUSE Restaurant

Available only to concert ticket holders. Book directly with the restaurant 020 8944 6338 - 75-77 Ridgway, Wimbledon Village SW19 4ST

£40 / £35 / £28

£10 Students each concert

25% reduction for both concerts booked together

PART TWO 8.00pm

Stravinsky Three Pieces for Clarinet

Stravinsky Three Pieces for String Quartet

Mozart Clarinet Quintet in A major, K.581

Schoenberg String Sextet Verklärte Nacht. Op.4

SUN 24

7.00pm

Trinity Church Mansel Road SW19 4AA

Robin O’Neill, Conductor

Zuill Bailey, Solo Cello

PHILHARMONIA ORCHESTRA

Prokofiev Classical Symphony

Tchaikovsky Rococo Variations for Cello and Orchestra

Tchaikovsky Andante Cantabile

Beethoven Symphony No 7

WIMF is particularly blessed to have one of the world’s finest orchestras as annual guests of the festival, and we know that the conductor and musicians relish both the intimacy of Trinity, and our welcoming audiences. The programmes are carefully selected to sound well in the space.

Prokofiev’s ’Classical’ symphony is a fascinating work that meshes traditional clarity and formality with his renegade spirit, and humorous approach. “It is what Haydn might have written had he lived another hundred years”, he said.

Event Sponsor:

Brigitte & Anthony WILKINSON

£48 / £42 / £28

£10 Students

A huge admirer of Mozart, Tchaikovsky’s glorious Variations on a Rococo Theme are full of subtle homages to the Classical composer. The theme itself is an original invention by Tchaikovsky himself rather than borrowing it from the past. As solist the orchestra is joined again by Grammy Award-winning US cellist, Zuill Bailey.

Beethoven considered his 7th Symphony to be one of his best works, having broken away from Classical restraints for the freedom and power of the Romantic imagination that he was so influential in developing. The 7th Symphony is built on dance rhythms and is often referred to be the ‘apotheosis of the dance.’

DONHEAD PREPARATORY SCHOOL

Fully Coeducational from 3 to 11

0333 666 3366

Monday to Friday 9.00am to 7.00pm Saturdays 9.00am to 5.00pm 0333 666 3366

Students with NUS card and children aged 5-18: £10 for all events. 2 . . . .

Season ticket

0333 666 3366

WIMF reserves the right to change a programme, or replace an artist, and we regret that no refunds can be made in these circumstances

Tickets are not refundable unless a performance is cancelled

Priority Bookings 2024:

Benefactors, Patrons and Sponsors opens on June 8

Friends booking opens on June 15

General booking opens on June 22

www.wimbledonmusicfestival.co.uk

Check venues on website.

The festival you support has become internationally recognised for the breadth and quality of its performers. Providing the best is understandably not cheap.

WIMF has always been dependent on voluntary donations from our Benefactors and Friends as ticket sales alone are not sufficient to meet the costs of mounting a world-class music festival. Additional challenges in 2023-2024 have been the loss of Arts Council funding and The Tertis Foundation’s target for us to raise considerably more from our sponsors and donors. Therefore, as we launch our 2024 Festival the Trustees are asking our Benefactors and Friends for their assistance to ensure the continuity of the Festival.

The Festival is so greatly indebted to you, our Benefactors and Friends, for your support. It is you who enable us to keep great artists coming to perform in Wimbledon.

Thank you also to The Tertis Foundation, Robert Holmes and Marcus Beale for their regular annual support.

Gifts In Wills

As a registered charity (no. 1142980), Gifts in Wills, whatever the size, can become an important source of income supporting our work in the future, and can ensure that your experience can be shared by future generations. Your gift will go a long way to:

• Provide performance and creative opportunities for established and emerging artists

• Help our schools and learning initiatives to develop

• Develop our audiences for the future

ENROLMENT / RENEWAL FORM FOR FRIENDS AND BENEFACTORS

Please complete this form and send it with your cheque and the Gift Aid declaration below, duly signed, to: Nicky Back, Benefactors and Friends Co-ordinator, 18 Home Park Road, London SW19 7HN 020 8946 8714 or nicky.back@wimbledonmusicfestival.co.uk. If you prefer to make an e-payment, please complete and send this form along with a copy of your e-transaction to Nicky at the above postal or email address. Our bank account details are: Wimbledon International Music Festival, Account Number 02279502, Sort Code 30-99-09, Lloyds Bank – Walton on Thames Branch and use your surname as the reference.

I wish to support the Wimbledon International Music Festival by becoming or continuing to be a Benefactor or Friend.

Friend (£50 and above)

Silver Friend (£125 and above)

Gold Friend (£300 and above)

Bronze Benefactor (£500 and above)

Silver Benefactor (£1,000 and above)

Gold Benefactor (£2,000 and above)

Platinum Benefactor (£5,000 and above)

☐ I have signed the Gift Aid declaration below (this boosts each £1 donated to £1.25)

☐ Please send me a standing order form for future contributions

Name: ___________________________________________________________________

Address: __________________________________________________________________

Email: ____________________________________________________________________

Postcode: _____________

Phone: ________________

GIFT AID DECLARATION: for past, present and future donations. Please treat as Gift Aid donations all qualifying gifts of money I have made today or in the past four years and will make in the future. I confirm that I have paid or will pay an amount of UK income tax or capital gains tax for each tax year at least equal to the amount of tax that all the charities I donate to will reclaim on my gifts for the tax year.

Signed: ________________________________

(Name, address and contact details as above)

Date: ______________

Full cycles in 2025: Feb 9, 11, 13, 16th and Feb 23, 25, 27th, Mar 2nd

At York Hall, Old Ford Road, Bethnal Green, London E2 9PJ

Director Caroline Staunton, Conductor Ben Woodward

New production with an international cast and 21-piece orchestra

“Regents Opera’s lean and mean Wagner packs a punch” (The Guardian)

Featuring Catharine Woodward, Peter Furlong, Ralf Lukas, Oliver Gibbs, Justine Viani, Brian Smith Walters. Mae Heydorn & Catherine Backhouse

FOR DISCERNING TRAVELLERS

Kirker Holidays offers an extensive range of holidays for music lovers.These include tours to leading opera and music festivals in the UK, Europe and beyond, as well as our own exclusive Kirker Music Festivals in unique settings from Sussex and Cornwall to Mallorca, Tenerife and Ischia in the Bay of Naples.

For those who prefer to travel independently, we can arrange short breaks with opera and concert tickets to all the major cities of Europe.

Supporting the Music Festival & the new Gehry Hall in Wimbledon

Frank Gehry with his model for the Wimbledon Concert Hall

FRANK GEHRY: “Concert Halls are the most exciting projects for me. To have the opportunity to make this happen in London is very exciting. Let’s do this!”

A New World-class home for Music in London

Wimbledon Concert Hall

-inWim

“To have a Frank Gehry-designed concert hall in Wimbledon would be a total transformation of London concert life. It would have a global effect. With these buildings the influence goes way beyond the art form” ESA-PEKKA

SALONEN Conductor

The Vision: an extraordinary space to experience music of all genres

• 1,500-seat Main Hall

• 450-seat Second Space

• Intimate & Flexible

• Major Educational, Community and Outreach programmes

To learn more, and how to be involved:

Patrons: Esa-Pekka Salonen •Vladimir Ashkenazy • Dame Darcey Bussell DBE