Festival Curtain Raiser
The Gould Piano Trio launch their Corbridge Festival Schumann Trio cycle with his first tempestuous essay in the genre. After quirky contributions from a youthful Benjamin Britten and Jamaican British composer Eleanor Alberga we return to the world of high Romanticism with Brahms at the peak of his powers.

Benjamin Britten: Three Divertimenti
Robert Schumann: Piano Trio no. 1 in D minor, op. 63
Eleanor Alberga: Duo from Dancing with the Shadow
Johannes Brahms: String Sextet in G major, op. 36

Under Nordic Skies
We travel north to explore the music and the folk traditions of Scandinavia with the evocative strains of the Hardanger fiddle and a selection of Danish folk tunes, as arranged by the Danish String Quartet. These sit alongside lesser-known works from the classical tradition in this night under the Northern Lights.

Niels Gade: Fantasiestücke for Clarinet and Piano, op.43
Folk music performed on the Hardanger Fiddle
Edvard Grieg: Andante con Moto in C minor, for Piano Trio
Danish String Quartet arrangements

Family Concert Corbridge Safari!

Climb aboard for a journey into a musical savanna, where we’ll meet lions and elephants, as well as animals from much closer to home. Fun for all the family!

Once upon a Time

Weber was renowned for his mastery of German Romantic Opera, and the clarinettist certainly gets to play the diva in his ebullient quintet. Ravel’s enchanting set of fairy tales sets the scene.

Maurice Ravel: Mother Goose Suite
Carl Maria von Weber: Clarinet Quintet, op.34

Flute Focus

Tarantelle Op.6 We shine the spotlight on the flute in this programme, in a youthful Beethoven trio, Messiaen’s evocation of a blackbird’s vocal prowess, and dancing alongside a clarinet in Saint-Saens’ cure for a scorpion’s bite.

Ludwig van Beethoven: Serenade op. 25
Rebecca Clarke: Prelude, Allegro and Pastorale
Olivier Messiaen: Le Merle Noir
Camille Saint-Saëns: Tarantelle, op. 6

Festival Finale

The sound of the cimbalom brings extra Eastern European spice to our closing concert. Hungarian composer György Kurtág celebrated his 100th birthday this February, and his Tre Pezzi are typical of his evocative work. But Debussy also fell for the cimbalom’s quirky charm! The Gould Trio complete their Schumann cycle, and Tchaikovsky finally sends us away bathed in Tuscan sunshine.

Claude Debussy: La plus que lente
György Kurtág: Tre Pezzi for clarinet and cimbalom, op. 38
Robert Schumann: Piano Trio no. 3 in G minor, op. 110
Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky: String Sextet in D minor, op.70, Souvenir de Florence