Respected internationally as a chamber musician and soloist, clarinettist Robert Plane takes centre stage at this year’s Presteigne Festival, with chamber music and concerto appearances, and repertoire ranging from Mozart to a world premiere by Huw Watkins.
With the Goethe String Quartet, Robert will perform Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet in A, K. 581, in a programme that includes works by Schubert and composer-in-residence Eleanor Alberga. Robert has explored the repertoire for clarinet and string quartet with leading quartets including the Elias, Marmen, Heath, Maggini, Brodsky, Carducci, Sacconi and Callino Quartets, and he is delighted to join the Goethe String Quartet for this concert.
Robert’s second appearance at the festival sees him join the Leonore Piano Trio to perform Stravinsky’s L’histoire du soldat suite and Huw Watkins’ Three Caprices for clarinet and piano trio, plus the world premiere of David Matthews’ A Song for Barrie for clarinet and piano. The concert, which also includes works by British composers Dani Howard, Mark Simpson and Shostakovich (whose compositions form the centrepiece of this year’s festival programming), takes place on August 24th.
In the festival’s final concert, Robert will give the world premiere of Huw Watkins’ Concertino for clarinet and string orchestra with the Presteigne Festival Orchestra under the direction of George Vass. Robert is known internationally as a champion of new works for his instrument, having given the world premieres of concertos by Judith Bingham, Diana Burrell, Piers Hellawell and Mark Boden, amongst others. Robert’s relationship with Watkins has included the commission of his ‘Four Fables’ in 2018, in celebration of the twentieth anniversary of the Corbridge Chamber Music Festival which he co-directs with the Gould Piano Trio in Northumberland. The performance is on August 25th at the St Andrew’s Church in Presteigne.
General booking for the festival opens on 20th May, and details for each of Robert’s engagements can be found by following the links below.
Presteigne Festival – Robert Plane with the Goethe String Quartet | 23 August 2025 | 2:00 pm
Presteigne Festival – Robert Plane with the Leonore Piano Trio | 24 August 2025 | 7:30 pm
Presteigne Festival – Robert Plane and the Presteigne Festival Orchestra | 25 August 2025 | 7:30 pm
