What is ‘Young Talent in Oxford’?
Oxfordshire’s professional symphony orchestra, Oxford Philomusica, and the Oxfordshire County Music Service have combined their skills and expertise to provide opportunities that are essential to a musician’s overall development, giving you the chance to experience high-level orchestral playing, as well as solo and chamber music performance.
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Ceri Owen, graduate of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and current doctoral musicology student at Oxford University
Like Clare, the enormously prestigious faculty for this year’s Piano Festival attracted me instantly, and the prospect of playing to any of the number of distinguished artists resident in Oxford during this week in August convinced me of the need to apply. Now preparing for the festival, I am working hard at a piece that is relatively new for me, Janacek’s ‘On an Overgrown Path’, a series of short pieces completed by the composer between 1900 and 1911. The challenges presented by this music are complex, and it’s a project that has led me into thinking about sound in a way that has increasingly been informing a host of other music currently in preparation (not least a Bach English Suite, which I also intend to perform during the course). The idea of a week spent immersed in playing to- and listening to a group of widely divergent and highly experienced pianists at this level is fantastic, and with the isolated world of pianism in mind, the social opportunities offered by a course like this are always attractive! But that aside, the chance meetings and hearings potentially afforded by this kind of festival are rich with promise, and while the course is a first for me this year, my sense is that the experience will inspire a level of creative thinking and playing that will reach far beyond the week spent in Oxford. That, at least, is the plan!
Clare Hammond, BBC Young Musician Keyboard Finalist 2004
I was initially keen to attend the Festival this year just because of the incredibly high calibre of professors who teach there. There’s such variety in their musical interests, the repertoire they specialise in and how they approach it. To have all that in one place is unique. The chance to hear professors in concert, and then to have the benefit of their perspective on my own playing, should be intriguing. To be surrounded by musicians of all levels, be they teachers, participants or observers, will make for a dynamic and stimulating environment and from a social point of view, the course provides an opportunity to meet new people, see old friends, and to share musical insights. It’s also wonderful that students are given the opportunity to perform, as, of course, that’s what we’re all working towards. As for the venue, St Hilda’s is a fantastic place and there’s little that can beat Oxford in the summer!
For more details about Clare Hammond visit http://www.clarehammond.com/home.html
Kate began her violin studies at the age of nine, taking lessons in her home town of Guildford with Pamela Spofforth. She joined Pro Corda (The National School for Chamber Music) soon after its inception and there gained a life-long love of chamber music. Kate’s progress to music college took a stimulating and productive detour via a music degree at Oxford in the halcyon days of Denis Arnold’s professorship. While at University College she met future husband cellist, Spike Wilson, who was also reading music – conveniently just across the road at The Queen’s College. At Oxford, she continued her violin studies with David Ogden and Emanuel Hurwitz, before going on to become a student of Erika Klemperer at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
Discover Classical Music
Ever been frustrated that you can’t get a babysitter for a concert? Don’t bother, as The Eight Seasons on Saturday 15 May is ideal to introduce children aged 6+ to the classical concert. The concert has been specially designed to be accessible for all the family so you can enjoy the excitement of an orchestral concert together.
‘We’ve never been brave enough to take him to a classical concert before because we were worried he’d make a noise or get bored, but he lapped up every minute.’
THE EIGHT SEASONS
Oxford Philomusica’s recently appointed new leader, Tamás András, will make his solo debut with the orchestra in a fascinating double bill featuring Vivaldi’s much loved and familiar Four Seasons juxtaposed with Astor Piazzolla’s Four Seasons of Buenos Aires. The glorious Baroque concertos will be followed by the Argentinian master of tango’s vibrant and passionate twentieth century work.
The concept that at any given moment the two hemispheres of our planet have opposite seasons – eight in total – is the inspiration for this novel combination of works, all of which are lively, engaging pieces and extremely child-friendly. Doors open at 7pm for families with a treasure trail, FREE activity packs and musical craft activities during the interval.
Tickets £37, £26, £17.50, £10 (child tickets ½ price or £1 in the Upper Gallery) on 020 8450 1060
Oxford Philomusica’s teaming of works by Mahler and Mendelssohn with a modern piece by St Anne’s undergraduate Eldon Fayers seemed at first to defy explanation or logic.
But what binds these three together is their youthfulness; Fayers, clearly, needs no further explanation, but the other two were captured here in their formative years, in pieces that spoke volumes about their burgeoning genius and of the fact that greatness lay just around the corner. Mendelssohn was but 16 when he penned his delightful Octet in E flat, while the seeds for Mahler’s first symphony were sown when the composer was 24.
The Philomusica’s International Piano Festival and Summer Academy has long since become a landmark feature of Oxford’s summer musical life and the 12th festival, 1st – 8th August, looks set to meet all of the highest expectations. Six concerts and more than 50 hours of public master classes feature some of the world’s most celebrated pianists. The anniversaries of Schumann and Chopin are naturally extensively acknowledged in the concert programme.
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