July 5 - August 18
Bard College,
Mid-Hudson Valley,
USA
Bard SummerScape 2013
Bard SummerScape 2013 presents seven inspired weeks of opera, music, theater, dance, film, and cabaret. The hub of these offerings is the 24th annual Bard Music Festival, this year examining the life, work, and cultural milieu of the 20th-century composer Igor Stravinsky. From ballet to chamber works, from sacred music to symphonies, the festival will explore Stravinsky's long and illustrious career, along with many works by his contemporaries. Other highlights of the season include Sergey Taneyev's Oresteia, an opera based on Aeschylus' tragic Greek trilogy; a collaboration by Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company and SITI Company celebrating Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring; a theatrical adaptation of Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita; an adventurous film festival; and the return of cabaret at the Spiegeltent.
SummerScape takes place in the extraordinary Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts and other venues on Bard College's Mid–Hudson Valley campus. For more information go to fishercenter.bard.edu, or call 845-758-7900.
9 July - 23 July
Lugano, Italy
Martha Argerich Project 2013
The Martha Argerich Project, organised by the Lugano Festival, RSI Rete Due and BSI, will be held from 9 June to 3 July 2013. It will once again bring together some 50 artists around the great pianist, who will alternately take the stage in duos, chamber groups or with the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana.
Pianists will include Stephen Kovacevich, Lilya Zilberstein, Gabriela Montero, Nicholas Angelich, Sergej Babayan, Polina Leschenko and Alexander Mogilevsky, while the line-up of violinists will feature Renaud Capuçon, Ilya Gringolts, Julian Rachlin and Dora Schwarzberg. Cellists Mischa Maisky and Gautier Capuçon will also perform.
There will also be an appearance by trumpeter Serge Nakariakov, who will perform at the evening concert in honour of Giuseppe Verdi and Richard Wagner. The concert has been organised to celebrate the bicentenary of the birth of the two composers, with a programme based on instrumental arrangements of their works. Lastly, the centenary of Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring" will not be forgotten, with an arrangement for four pianos and percussion.
19 October -
2 November
Canterbury, England
Canterbury Festival: Kent's International Arts Festival
The 30th Canterbury Festival continues to deliver an exciting and diverse programme of arts events throughout the city, including performances in Canterbury Cathedral, the Marlowe Theatre and in this year's new Festival venue, the Spiegeltent. The Festival comprises over 200 events across two weeks including world music, theatre, dance, literature, comedy and visual arts.
The full programme will be announced in July but highlights for 2013 include the Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra and the mesmerising Tallis Scholars. The programme also features pianist Yevgeny Sudbin, cellist Matthew Barley, opera singer Lesley Garrett with Emma Johnson and Andrew West, plus a special performance with Mikhail Rudy in the new Colyer-Fergusson Concert Hall.
Summer 2013
Denmark
Carl Nielsen
In Odense, Denmark, the annual celebration of the great Danish composer Carl Nielsencomprises an international music competition for young soloists as well as a festival of concerts and recitals with a strong focus on Nielsen's music.
During four competition rounds, 42 young clarinetists chosen among 197 applicants from 43 countries will be playing music from four centuries. The festival comprises symphonic concerts with music of Carl Nielsen and Bernstein, and this year's recitals feature a great number of Nielsen's popular songs along with art songs of Schumann and Hugo Wolf.
The music competition, dating back to 1980, runs in a sequence of rotating disciplines (clarinet - 2013, flute - 2014, organ - 2015 and violin - 2016). The festival is built around the competition and is leading up to 2015, Nielsen's 150th anniversary.
2 - 11 August
Dumfries and Galloway,
Scotland
Dumfries and Galloway International Musicians Platform
International Musicians will perform and participate in this delightful classical music festival in one of the loveliest rural areas of Scotland with ten concerts across Dumfries & Galloway and a Summer School of masterclasses based at Annan Academy Performing Arts Centre.
The opening weekend 2 – 4 August will present a series of piano recitals given by selected Blüthner artistes.
Cellist, Johannes Goritzki, will lead an exciting program of solo and chamber repertoire during the second weekend, which will be performed at Greyfriars Church, Dumfries, Annan Academy and venues including the Buccleuch Centre, Langholm and the Catstrand, New Galloway.
The International Musicians Platform gratefully acknowledges the support of Creative Scotland, the Holywood Trust, Blüthner Piano, Stringers of Edinburgh and the Queensberry Arms Hotel, Annan.
5 - 9 June
Bridgnorth, England
English Haydn Festival
20th Anniversary Year
Internationally acclaimed soloists from Europe and the UK will perform at the English Haydn Festival, including the celebrated French cellist Christophe Coin, trumpet soloist Crispian Steele-Perkins, violin virtuoso Simon Standage and pianist Yoko Kaneko.
This year's theme focuses on Haydn's legacy with performances six of his symphonies, together with music by Beethoven, Pleyel, J. C. Bach and Viotti, including concertos by Mozart , Kraft and Hummel's. Performances are enhanced by the orchestra performing on period instruments, conducted by the distinguished director Anthony Halstead.
String quartet concerts feature the Chiaroscuro Quartet, the Salomon Quartet and the English Haydn Ensemble.
The Festival finishes with Haydn's masterpiece The Creation.
9 July - 23 July
Lugano, Italy
Fishguard International Music Festival
Fishguard International Music Festival goes from strength to strength with increased Arts Council of Wales and other support enabling the Artistic Director to provide a diverse range of orchestral, choral and chamber music featuring international artists.
This year Fishguard makes its contribution to composer anniversaries with music by Benjamin Britten and Francis Poulenc.
Musicians from across the world will be taking part in this year's Festival including old favourites and new players. Popular concerts will include Rachmaninov's 2nd piano concerto and Grieg's evergreen piano concerto, both played by Peter Donohoe in his 60th Birthday year here in Fishguard
We have new commissions, established classics and lighter programmes. We are a world-famous, top-value classical music festival (Frommer's Travel Guides) and . . . ‘an annual event not to be missed'. . . (BBC Music Magazine, 2012).
Concerts take place in venues in Fishguard and Goodwick as well as St. Davids Cathedral, Rhos-y-Gilwen Mansion near Cardigan, Picton Castle and Tregwynt Mansion. Great music, coast, countryside, dining, and convivial atmosphere are all available at the Fishguard Festival in 2013.
Enquiries 01348 891345. Brochure late May. Box Office mid June. 01348 875538
19 –28 July
La Foce, Val d'Orcia, Tuscany
Music in a Tuscan Paradise
Based in the magical setting of La Foce and the Val d'Orcia, the Tuscany-based festival celebrates 25 years with an eclectic programme that features a celebration of the bicentenaries of Verdi and Wagner, music and dance from Latin America, chamber works by Schubert, Beethoven, Boccherini and Franck and much more.
The international line-up of musicians includes violinist Ani Kavafian, 'cellists Ralph Kirshbaum and Antonio Lysy, pianist Andrew von Oeyen, the Quartetto di Cremona, the Orchestra della Toscana and flamboyant Baroque ensemble Red Priest. Igudesman & Joo close the festival with a dazzling combination of virtuosity and humour. Pre-concert Beyond Music events include wine tastings, lectures and dinners.
Artistic Director: Antonio Lysy
8 - 12 May
St Helier, Jersey
Liberation Music Festival
Rub shoulders with stars from across the world at one of the British Isles' most original and exclusive boutique music festivals - the Liberation Music Festival - celebrating Jersey's freedom from occupation.
See opera stars, chamber music, concertos, and jazz in intimate, unusual and stunning settings. Stars perform in medieval castles, and at beautiful heritage sites in the breathtaking countryside.
Award winning artists for 2013 include the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir James Galway, Michael Collins, Boris Brovstyn, Jennifer Stumm, and Anton and Erin from BBC's Strictly Come Dancing.
26 - 29 September
New Ross, Wexford, Ireland
New Ross Piano Festival
The eighth New Ross Piano Festival promises to be another fascinating weekend.
Russia is one of the iconic sources of piano music and pianists, from Tchaikovsky and The Five to Shostakovitch and Alfred Schnittke, from Rachmaninov, Gilels and Richter to Kissin, Demidenko and Volodos, to name but a few.
So it is with great anticipation that we have this year engaged three Russian pianists: Denis Kozhukhin, Nikolay Khozyainov and Ilya Gringolts. Finally, in honour of the special year in New Ross, which is celebrating the anniversary of President JF Kennedy's visit to the town of his ancestors 50 years ago, we are looking forward to an all-American solo programme played by an American pianist Alexander Bernstein.
28 July - 6 August
Oxford, England
Oxford Philomusica
Oxford Philomusica's acclaimed Piano Festival and Summer Academy is a ten- day stretch of pianistic bliss running from Sunday 28 July – Tuesday 6 August.
Featuring a packed schedule of concerts and recitals, with masterclasses from a Faculty of esteemed pedagogues including Yoheved Kaplinksy and Dame Fanny Waterman, the Festival provides gifted musicians with a rare opportunity to work alongside and learn from some of the world's finest pianists.
András Schiff will demonstrate his exceptional interpretive artistry as he opens the Festival, and performances from such master pianists as Stephen Kovacevich and Peter Frankl as well as an extraordinary collaboration between two greats - Christoph Prégardien and Menahem Pressler – will also feature.
With a commitment to music-making of the utmost quality, the Festival offers everybody a chance to observe and enjoy artists of the highest calibre. Options for Observers include full-board accommodation at an Oxford college.
12 May - 2 June
Prague,
Czech Republic
Prague Spring International Music Festival
Every year, the Prague Spring, the oldest Czech music festival presents about fifty concerts performed by more than a thousand musicians. Berliner Philharmoniker, Sir Simon Rattle, Magdalena Kožená, Die Münchner Philharmoniker, Lorin Maazel.... This makes the Prague Spring Festival among the most important arts events in the Czech Republic.
On a French wave
The main line of programming for the 68th Prague Spring International Music Festival will consist of French music with the top French ensembles and performers. In this way, we will be commemorating over seven centuries of contact with the cultural traditions of France, one of the world's great musical centers. Within the context of this dominant programming feature for the coming season, the emblematic work of Czech music, Bedřich Smetana's cycle of symphonic poems Má vlast, will be played for the first time by French musicians – L'Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France. At the helm for this occasion of this prestigious European radio ensemble will be its frequent guest conductor, Peter Oundjia
21 - 27 August
Presteigne, Wales
Presteigne
Nestling in the beautiful countryside of the Welsh Marches, the Presteigne Festival has become a mecca for those seeking artistic nourishment and musical discovery. With a truly forward looking commissioning policy, the organisation works closely with composers and artists to create and curate an inspiring programme for its ever-widening Festival community.
In 2013 we celebrate the Britten centenary and David Matthews 70th birthday year with eight Festival commissions and performances of Curlew River and Sally Beamish's new chamber opera Hagar in the Wilderness. Gabriel Jackson is composer-in-residence and the wonderful array of performing talent includes Nova Music Opera, Badke Quartet, Sara Trickey, Clare Hammond, Sarah-Jane Bradley, Tim Lowe, Helen-Jane Howells, Andrew Tortise, Chris Hopkins, Catriona Scott and the Presteigne Festival Orchestra.
7 - 22 June
London, England
Spitalfields Music Summer Festival
East London's most extraordinary and treasured spaces resound with classical music, contemporary sounds, family activities and more this summer.
Associate Artists Early Opera Company (director Christian Curnyn) and Scanner (Robin Rimbaud) lead a diverse programme of over 400 years of music re-imagined through the prism of Spitalfields. Hear Handel's Susanna in the splendour of Christ Church Spitalfields, explore the underground history of the area through the music of John Dowland, and a Monteverdi dance collaboration featuring some of his most arresting works.
Alongside, is a wealth of music from artists including The Sixteen, The English Concert and The Cardinall's Musick; a feast of Handel's love songs from Arte dei Suonatori; a Venetian extravaganza with Choir of Clare College, Cambridge; intimate recitals from Marcus Farnsworth, Nicky Spence, Mark Simpson and Carla Rees; and music for all ears as we welcome Michael Rosen and City of London Sinfonia and present opera for babies.
Tickets from £5.
21 - 30 June
Boughton Aluph,
Kent England
Stour Music Festival of Music
STOUR MUSIC, the early music festival set in the heart of the Kent countryside, was founded in 1962 by the celebrated counter-tenor Alfred Deller.
Performers at this year's festival include The King's Singers, William Christie conducting the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment with mezzo-soprano Renata Pokupić, Fretwork, in a concert to celebrate the 450th anniversary of the birth of John Dowland with lutenist Elizabeth Kenny and tenor James Gilchrist, The Magdalena Consort and a performance of Monteverdi Vespers with His Majestys Sagbutts & Cornetts and Brecon Baroque Players led by Rachel Podger.
Box Office: 05603 434123. Brochure: 01233 812740
19 July - 9 September
Stresa, Italy
Stresa Festival
The 52nd Stresa opens with the Midsummer Jazz Concerts second editions, scheduled in the third weekend of July. The five open-air concerts will be performed in Stresa, in the gorgeous scenery in front of the Borromeo Islands.
The Festival will continue, from July 25 to 28, with the Musical Meditations, offering an ideal itinerary through Renaissance and late Baroque music and whose highlight is the complete cycle of Bach's Cello suites at the Hermitage Santa Caterina del Sasso.
The Festival's main theme, in 2013 entitled Between heaven and earth and running from August 24 to September 7, represents the perfect compliment to summer spent on stunning Lake Maggiore, and includes, as always, exceptional orchestras and soloists (Gstaad Festival Orchestra, Czech Philharmonic, Orchestra e Coro del Teatro Regio di Torino, Neeme Järvi, Jiří Bělohlávek, Gianandrea Noseda). Not-to-be-missed events are also scheduled at the Borromeo Palace on Isola Bella, at the Loggia del Cashmere on Isola Madre, at the Visconteo Castle in Vogogna and at the Rocca Borromeo in Angera.
27 July - 4 August
Gloucester, England
Three Choirs Festival
A 300 year old annual classical choral festival with an outstanding series of evening concerts in the Cathedral by our Festival Chorus, the Philharmonia Orchestra and artists of international renown, supported by a daytime programme of recitals, chamber music, lectures, theatre, jazz and masterclasses. The city of Gloucester will be transformed for festival week into a musical and cultural mecca!
Programme to include: Rachmaninov The Bells, Elgar Cello Concerto, Verdi Four Sacred Pieces, Coleridge-Taylor The Song of Hiawatha, Pärt Berliner Mass, Beethoven Choral Symphony, Holst The Planets, Walton Belshazzar's Feast, Handel Messiah
Guest conductors: Vladimir Ashkenazy, Edward Gardner, Stephen Layton, John Butt
Guest artists include: Helena Juntunen, Sarah Connolly, Philip Higham, Rosemary Joshua, Toby Spence, Polyphony
The world's oldest and greatest choral festival!
Tel: 0845 6521823. Email: booking@3choirs.org. Online booking from April 18th
19 July - 4 August
Verbier, France
Verbier Festival
To celebrate the 20 years of the Verbier Festival, many artists who took part in the very first edition of the Verbier Festival in 1994 return to the beautiful mountain village, among them Itamar Golan, Barbara Hendricks, Evgeny Kissin, Mischa Maisky, Kent Nagano and Maxim Vengerov. Notable Verbier Festival debuts include Russian pianist Grigory Sokolov and French soprano Natalie Dessay. Pianists Elisabeth Leonskaja, Denis Matsuev, Hélène Grimaud, Emanuel Ax, Yuja Wang, Menahem Pressler, Michail Lifits, Khatia Buniatishvili and Jan Lisiecki will perform numerous concerts and recitals.
The Verbier Festival commemorates the 200th anniversary of the birth of both Richard Wagner and Giuseppe Verdi with an opera gala directed by Valery Gergiev, featuring soprano Anna Netrebko as Desdemona in Verdi's Otello as well as Bryn Terfel and Eva-Maria Westbroek in Wagner's Valkyrie.
Chamber music repertoire will be at the heart of no less than forty concerts, five of which by the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra, under the musical direction of Gábor Takács-Nagy, Pinchas Zukerman, Leonidas Kavakos and Daniel Harding, respectively. Miloš Karadaglić's enchanting guitar, Monty Alexander's jazz and reggae tunes and Rufus Wainwrights smooth pop songs will guarantee a musical escape.
Tickets available online or at the box office +41 (0)848 771 882