Biggest Harrogate International Festival to date!
HOW well do you know the Harrogate International Festivals portfolio of annual events?
You probably know the reputation of its Summer Festival is built on delivering world-class music, particularly classical and world music acts, to Yorkshire's doorstep. This year, you can certainly expect a powerful, life affirming programme featuring the finest pianists in the world.
But be prepared to hold onto your hats. Yes, you'll still find the sophisticated high-end classical music programme that's the bedrock of the event. But the festival is after all under new management: Sharon Canavar is the CEO. Rather than reinventing the steady foundations the festival is built on, Sharon has simply built a few extensions.
"The festival is still very much about delivering the world's best classical and contemporary acts to Yorkshire's doorstep." Sharon said. "His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales has come on board as the new festival patron, so of course you can expect the best. But you can also expect something new."
The festival this year is to have its first proper fringe for some years which promises to shake the spa foundations of the town up with acts including a Fringe Crawl Day on Saturday July 31 across town centre venues featuring an incredible 60 live indie/ rock acts from Harrogate, Leeds and London. As well as getting more bangs for your bucks at the Fringe, the mainstream Summer Festival is bending boundaries too with its New Music, New Venues scheme that sees the Festival move away from the civilised seats of the theatre and pitch a very big tent in Crescent Gardens offering a diverse range of world music. Even those who live out in the sticks there's no escape from the festivities as the festival goes on tour, bringing world-class artists to village greens, churches and pubs. And if that hasn't got your attention, the festival will be blowing its own trumpet as a brass band will play at the same time, every evening, somewhere across Harrogate.
"It's kind of a call to arms to the region to come and join in the festivities," Sharon said. "This year is a real celebration of the 45 years the festival has been flourishing – we're still true to our roots, but we're hoping more of the region will come out in force and support Yorkshire's leading arts festival. We truly believe we've got something to inspire everyone this year - there's film, theatre, comedy and an expanding literary programme headed by Alan Bennett. We hope Harrogate will be as excited about it as we are."
Hitting all the Right Keys – Arcadi Volodos
Whether you love to blast a little Beethoven, swoon over Schubert or dig your Johann Sebastian Bach - you really won't want to miss the world-class pianists in Harrogate this year.
There's a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see Arcadi Volodos - the man dubbed as the world's most outstanding pianist: 'The Russian whirlwind Volodos, who appears to have 50 fingers,' (The Times) attracts accolades that leave you wading through the words like treacle. ‘A truly spectacular virtuoso’ his first album and live performances in 1997 caused an absolute sensation. Today, he’s celebrated as a ‘keyboard genius’ being ‘without a doubt one of today’s most outstanding pianists’.
It speaks volumes about the reputation Harrogate has built since 1966, becoming the north of England’s leading arts festival that the small Yorkshire town is attracting such world-class stars. There’s a plethora of the world’s elite pianists on offer celebrating the festival’s honorary president: Dame Fanny Waterman DBE. Don’t miss the chance to see the first woman to win the prestigious Leeds International Piano Competition – 2009’s winner Sofya Gulyak. And check out rising star Sasha Grynyuk who regularly appears at Wigmore Hall and Carnegie Hall and benefits from the artistic guidance of such greats as Alfred Brunel.
Too Cool for School - Peter Cincotti and Christine Tobin
Jazz comes in many different shades, from the drunk-blues-band-falling-down-a-flight-of-stairs style to the smooth blends of jazz, funk, rock and pop exemplified by the too-cool-for-school Peter Cincotti. The 25-year-old mentored by the great Harry Connick Jr promises to bring a little American smooth to proceedings with his cinematic-inspired songs from his album East of Angel Town.
Catch a genuine jazz legend – Courtney Pine - presenter of Jazz Crusade on BBC Radio 2 as he plays tribute to the first great saxophone star: Sidney Bechet at the Royal Hall. For a cosy cabaret at the Crown Hotel there’s a see BBC Jazz Awards Best Vocalist, Christine Tobin, who has sang on soundtracks for cult film-director Mike Figgis and been compared by The Guardian to those great troubadours – Cave, Mitchell and Cohen.
Jazz legend Jacques Loussier
If there’s ever evidence that today’s sounds owe more than a debt of gratitude to classical music and jazz, it has to be the fact that the French jazz pianist Jacques Loussier filed a law suit against the American rap artist Eminem, after claiming that the rapper stole one of his tunes. Loussier, famed for his reworking of Bach’s Air on the G String, which was used for Hamlet cigar ads for over 35 years, is the pianist best known for music that combines jazz with rock, electronic sounds and elements from classical composers such as Vivaldi. He’s sold millions of albums world-wide, with Pink Floyd, Elton John and Sting having worked in his recording studio in the south of France. This is a unique chance to catch the Jacques Loussier Trio in a rare UK appearance.
The Soulful Sir Willard White
The bass baritone who inspires headlines like ‘The Devil and the Deep Dark Voice’ (The Telegraph) is known for his formidable physique and potent voice. For some truly earth-moving vibrations, Sir Willard White promises a soulful evening. White has appeared with the English National Opera as well as the opera houses of Paris, San Francisco, LA and all the major European cities. An accomplished actor, he’s also appeared alongside Sir Ian McKellen in Othello. In Harrogate, he’ll explore his relationship with a voice he’s often compared with – the inspirational Paul Robeson.
Ticket prices range from 8 - 40. For the full programme and ticket prices, visit www.harrogate-festival.org.uk
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Weather for Harrogate
Thursday 09 February 2012
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