Bath Mozartfest 2018

I am delighted to invite you to the 28th Bath Mozartfest. This annual festival retains its original purpose, to present great music, with a special emphasis on the works of Mozart, in performances of the highest quality, amidst the splendid surroundings of Bath and its historic buildings.

A glittering line-up of ensembles this year includes the Jerusalem Quartet, playing Mozart, Debussy and (with cellist Gary Hoffman) the wonderful Schubert Quintet, the Nash Ensemble in Mozart, Weber and Beethoven, the Takács Quartet in Mozart, Shostakovich and Brahms, London Winds with a delightful evening of Mozart’s music for wind instruments, and the Belcea Quartet in a pair of concerts, the first including late Janácek and late Beethoven, the second consisting of more late quartets by Mozart, Bartók and Mendelssohn.

Other full-length recitals are by the celebrated pianist Angela Hewitt, the mezzo-soprano Dame Sarah Connolly, star of the world’s opera houses, and the Tallis Scholars, who will be singing anthems by Purcell and his English predecessors in the sympathetic surroundings of St Mary’s Bathwick.

The Hallé and its music director Sir Mark Elder bring us Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto, with Francesco Piemontesi, and excerpts from two Wagner operas, an Elder speciality. La Nuova Musica and the Holst Singers with the conductor David Bates, the team that gave us a memorable Mozart C minor Mass last year, return to end the festival with Haydn’s Creation in Bath Abbey.

The Lunchtime Series at the Guildhall, in the heart of Bath, offers some enticing programmes in the hands of internationally renowned artists: the Sitkovetsky Piano Trio, the oboe-and-strings team of Céline Moinet, Henning Kraggerud,Lawrence Power and Adrian Brendel, the violin-and-piano duo of Chloë Hanslip and Danny Driver, and the gifted American pianist Jonathan Biss.

I would also like to draw your attention to two special events:Bath Camerata’s concert of choral music marking the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War, on the afternoon of Remembrance Sunday in St Mary’s Bathwick; and our showcase for members of BBC Radio 3’s New Generation Artists scheme, a programme of piano quartets on Friday afternoon in the Guildhall.

As ever, I gratefully acknowledge the support Bath Mozartfest has received from the A M Purnell Charitable Trust and many other funders. On behalf of my colleagues – board, staff and volunteers – I look forward to welcoming you to Bath for another enjoyable and inspiring celebration of the art of music.

Amelia Freedman CBE FRAM
Artistic Director