Gower Festival -2012
Monday July 16th to Saturday July 28th 2012
As many thousands of visitors from all corners of the globe make their way to London to attend the 2012 Olympic Games in the brand-new Stadium and impressive ancillary arenas, the contrasting intimacy of the beautiful churches of the Gower peninsula – several of which date back to the 12th & 13th centuries – will be providing the usual delightful setting for this year’s Gower Festival. The event, now in its 37th year, comprises a fortnight of chamber music presented by artists of international stature, and among others we welcome musicians from Mexico, Sweden, Germany, Lithuania, Switzerland, Israel and South Africa.
Our distinguished Patron Llŷr Williams is featured in two of this year’s concerts. He will open the festival with a recital that includes sonatas by Beethoven, Scriabin and Rachmaninov and works by Kreisler (arranged by Rachmaninov), Bartók and Daniel Jones. 2012 is the centenary of the birth of Daniel Jones who was President of the Gower Festival for several years, and a number of other concerts during the fortnight will include his music. We have also arranged for a special showing of a BBC TV documentary about the composer on 24thJuly.
In his second appearance Llŷr will be heard in another role which has earned him international acclaim – that of accompanist. The soloist who he accompanies on this occasion is the fine South African baritone Njabulo Madlala whose programme includes songs by Duparc, Schumann, Vaughan Williams, Bridge and Gurney, and Mahler’s song cycle Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen. He will also sing folk songs from Wales and from his native country.
Of the three string quartets playing for us in 2012 two are from the U.K. and one from Germany. Whereas the Allegri Quartet has for many years maintained its reputation as one of the foremost ensembles in the country, the Piatti Quartet is rapidly becoming recognised as an outstanding example of the younger generation. The Henschel Quartet has given concerts at prestigious venues worldwide and we are pleased to welcome them with their recently appointed violinist Daniel Bell, formerly a member of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. We look forward to performances of quartets by Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Ravel, Borodin, Mendelssohn and Daniel Jones.
Two other very different evenings of string music will be provided by the Mexican guitarist Morgan Szymanski (who guides us on a journey through Spain and Mexico in the company of Sor, Tárrega, Llobet, Albéniz, Ponce and Julio César Oliva), and by the quartet of harpists – 4 Girls & 4 Harps – whose programmes for this very unusual ensemble have impressed audiences throughout the country. As well as brilliant and colourful arrangements of music by, among others, Handel, Khachaturian, Falla and Piazzolla, they will play pieces specially composed for the group by Paul Patterson, Eleanor Turner and Harriet Adie.
Another ensemble that is guaranteed to provide an exciting evening of music is Red Priest. This group of four musicians puts its own very individual stamp on baroque music and in Carnival of the Seasons they perform works by Bach, Biber, Corelli, Purcell, Johnson, Jacob van Eyck and Vivaldi that describe in musical terms the changing seasons of the year.
It is some time since we last included a clarinet recital in our schedule and we are pleased to be able to make amends this year when Sarah Williamson, accompanied by John Reid, presents a programme that assembles an attractive selection of works from the clarinet repertoire. Three fine sonatas by Brahms, Poulenc and Martinů are complemented by the hypnotic Spiegel im Spiegel by Arvo Pĺrt and the brilliant Solo de concert by Messager.
The Swansea Bach Choir will appear this year under the direction of their new conductor Greg Hallam who has chosen a programme of British choral works by Holst, Daniel Jones, Tippett, Parry, William Harris and James MacMillan; and as a contrast we will hear organ music by Vaughan Williams and Charles Wood.
A distinguished NADFAS lecturer Matthew Williams, Curator of Cardiff Castle, will present this year’s talk; and bearing in mind that he is an authority on the work of William Burgess it is not surprising that he has chosen to talk about Two Wonders of Wales - Castell Coch and Cardiff Castle, both of which are closely associated with Burgess.
Our second piano recital this year will be given by the young Lithuanian pianist Evelina Puzaitė who is not only an outstanding player but also a gifted poet and composer. As well as works by Haydn, Chopin, Rachmaninov, Bach-Siloti, and Prokofiev she will give the first performance in Wales of her own Sonata in C major. And to bring to an end this year’s festival we are very pleased to welcome back the Anglo/Swedish Kungsbacka Piano Trio with a programme that includes the Trio in D minor, Op. 120 by Fauré and the great Trio Op 97 by Beethoven (“The Archduke”).
Finally, we endeavour to cater for those of our visitors who are keen to hone their skills in specialised Workshops and we have been able to arrange two this year - one for guitar on the morning of 19th July and one for recorder on the morning of 26th July. Please refer to our lists of events for further details.
We very much look forward to seeing you.
Gareth Walters F.R.A.M., Artistic Director
The Gower Festival
is a member of Gwyliau Cymru, which works with the Arts Council and Wales
Tourist Board to promote festivals throughout Wales