This year Battle Festival has some real treats in store for music lovers – as well as a fantastic afternooon out for the whole family on the last day of half term.
Last year saw the start of a new relationship between Battle Festival and the Primrose Piano Quartet, one of the UK’s leading chamber ensembles. The first concerts the group performed were a great success, and this year promises an even more exciting programme.
Celebrated mezzo-soprano Louise Winter, a regular at Covent Garden and Glyndebourne will join the Quartet for a tea concert on 15 October enticingly entitled Love and Obsession. The programme will tell the story of one of the most famous love triangles in music, between Robert and Clara Schumann and Johannes Brahms, through songs and key chamber works. Uniquely the songs will be woven into the fabric of the two big piano quartets, thus creating a real musical narrative.
Saturday, 28 October sees clarinet superstar Michael Collins join the Primrose players. Prizewinner at the first BBC Young Musician Competition back in 1977, Michael Collins is without doubt one of the biggest names in music worldwide. Michael’s presence at Battle Festival is a real coup – and even better, the programme will feature one of the most glorious pieces of music ever written, Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet.
The string players of the Primrose Piano Quartet will also be giving a free coffee concert the same morning, to take place in Battle Baptist Church and featuring a selection of chamber music.
Following on from last year’s successful family concert, this year promises one bigger, better and – more magical! Taking place on the last Sunday of half term, 29 October, the event will again feature arts, crafts and entertainment throughout the afternoon, with two concerts at 2pm and 4pm. The music will be all about magic, with fairies, magicians, elves and even the odd skeleton appearing in Battle’s Memorial Hall. Top London Soloists will join the Primrose for a programme to include “Harry Potter”, “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice”, “Beauty and the Beast” and much more.