Robert Plane and the Gould Piano Trio look forward to four days of intense music-making at their very own Corbridge Chamber Music Festival in Northumberland, which this year runs 27-30 July.
In addition to their roles as joint Artistic Directors, putting together the programme and world-class line-up of resident chamber musicians, Rob and the Goulds will appear in six of the festival’s seven concerts, performing a wide range of chamber music, from Mozart and Beethoven through to John Casken, Paquito D’Rivera, and a new commission from Sarah Frances Jenkins.
The festival’s opening concert at 7pm on Thursday 27th July has a particularly prominent role for Robert Plane, performing Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet and Schubert’s Shepherd on the Rock for voice, clarinet and piano, with soprano Katharine Dain. The concert also features Ravel’s Chansons Madecasses for flute, cello, voice and piano, and Farrenc’s Nonet in E flat major. The following day sees the Gould Piano Trio in the spotlight, performing Ravel’s Piano Trio in A minor in a programme also featuring works by Weber, Ravel, L. Boulanger and American Songbook composers, at 6pm on Friday 28th July.
Day three of the festival, 29th July, features a 3pm concert in which the Gould Piano Trio will perform Heinrich Marschner’s Piano Trio No. 1 in A minor as well as Mozart’s Oboe Quartet in F major with oboist Chris Vettraino, alongside works by Schubert and Valerie Coleman. Later that evening, the Goulds will be back on stage for the 7pm concert, presenting Schumann’s Piano Trio No. 2 in F major and John Casken’s Lust of roots in the first half of the concert. The second half comprises Beethoven’s magnificent Septet in E flat major, featuring Robert Plane on the clarinet. The musicians are also hosting an open rehearsal event for the Beethoven Septet the previous day.
Saturday 30th July is the final day of the festival, and again sees the musicians in action for a double bill of concerts at Corbridge Church. In the 3pm concert, Rob and the Goulds particularly look forward to giving the world premiere of a brand new work for clarinet and piano trio by Sarah Frances Jenkins. The concert will also feature Dohnányi’s Sextet in C major and a selection from Brahms’s Book Four of Hungarian Dances. The finale concert at 7pm opens with Robert Plane performing a selection from Paquito d’Rivera’s Cape Cod Files, before the musicians launch into Coleridge-Taylor’s Nonet in F minor. The festival then comes to a magical close with Schubert’s String Quintet in C major, D. 956.
The festival also includes a few further events including a flute masterclass and an informal concert with café-style seating in the Parish Hall entitled “Bach and Beyond”.
Tickets for are now available via the Corbridge Chamber Music Festival website, with the option to purchase individual concert tickets or a festival pass covering all the concerts at a discounted price.
