Newsletter

Lindsay Kemp, Artistic Director writes -

Among the most successful Lufthansa Festivals of recent years, "Fountain of the Baroque" saw our largest audience since 2007 and featured many remarkable performances by some of Europe's most gifted Baroque performers.

Warm thanks to everyone for their generous and enthusiastic support, especially to our newly formed Festival Friends, who we very much hope will multiply over coming years.

Information about the 2011 Festival will be announced in September.

FESTIVAL REVIEW HIGHLIGHTS

Monteverdi Vespers
Thursday 13 May

"My ideal performance of Monteverdi's Vespers has long been a mirage... but now, thanks to Claudio Cavina and his Venexiana ensemble at the Lufthansa Festival, I have heard it for real... Cavina conjured miracles in the echoing St John's Smith Square acoustic... a feast of the delicately aspirated sounds which the passion of this music demands. Never have I been so aware of Monteverdi's consummate word-setting, nor of the correspondence between his treatment of The Song of Solomon, and its treatment in Sufi mysticism. Two religions but the ecstasy is one and the same."
The Independent, 25 May

"The glories of Lauda Jerusalem Dominum; the burbling brass in the Sancta Maria sonata; the Magnificat's treasure chest, prefaced here by the two excellent sopranos, exquisitely caressing an inserted antiphon: these were the night's golden moments."
The Times, 18 May

The Birth of the Trio Sonata
Saturday 15 May

"In the afternoon we were treated to an exceptionally high quality performance and, at the same time, to fascinating entertainment by Baroque Fever. Presenting eleven pieces by nine composers... the 70-minute long concert without an interval sparkled with brilliance and astonished with varied artistry all the way through."
Musical Criticism online, 22 May

Madrigal into Opera
Sunday 16 May

"At their best in the works for male voices, the group demonstrated paradoxically an expressive unanimity and an individual fluidity of expression that really allowed the music to live... They tackled the mind-bendingly complex issue of tuning such harmonically unstable music with impressive precision..."
Musical Criticism online, 19 May

"This concert was stage managed with flair... Sonically, the proceedings were managed superbly, with every voice and instrument having its moment... partly because the curtains behind the stage were opened, enhancing reflection of the sound from the back window to the auditorium."
Musical Pointers online, 22 May

"...as intellectually stimulating as it was musically invigorating."
The Arts Desk, 17 May