SEEN AND HEARD INTERNATIONAL

Small is beautiful in Warwick: Roy Brewer reports on this year's Warwick International Festival 24.6.2008 - 6.7.2008 (RB)


The Warwick Festival is well established having been started 20 years ago though its  musical components are obviously still limited by the availability of suitable venues. Within Warwick these have been mainly churches, including St.Mary's, the largest of them, which is capable of seating an audience of 250. Last year's recital by Freddie Kempf was held in the gymnasium of the King's High School for Girls.

The continuation of the festival could not have been achieved without considerable local support, high quality musical content and other practicalities however. This year a new direction has been taken towards  painting a wider canvas, though chamber music has clearly always been the festival's strong suit.　The recently appointed director, Esther Blaine, told me that attempts will be made to expand the scope and location of festival events in the area around Warwick and to broaden its appeal. There is a sense of adventure and experiment in this small festival which has always marked out its programming and which it is hoped will not be replaced by popularisation or dumbing down in the future: something which, to my mind, has affected the Bath Festival rather badly in recent years.  I am not against anyone  having a local knees up in Bath but recent programming there seems to have  replaced what was an event of national musical importance with less significant features.

This year's Warwick programme indicates the re-thinking currently taking place, though it is by no means short changing its many supporters both locally and further afield in terms of musical quality. There were  were fewer daytime events such as lunchtime concerts but the programme included The Armonico Consort and Nicola Benedetti playing music by Bach and Handel, the Boys and Men of St. Mary's Church Choir singing Tudor music and works by Maxwell-Davies and Leighton, the lutenist and theorbo player Matthew Wadsworth playing music by Kapsberger, Piccinini and contemporaries (cf. The Rolf Lislevand Ensemble in Cheltenham. Ed) and a recital by the clarinet virtuoso Julian Bliss playing classics by  Schumann, Poulenc, Debussy and Brahms.  The Armonico Consort Opera  presented Purcell's  Dido and Aeneas and Lully's version of  Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme and Welsh National Opera's orchestra brought the festival to a rousing conclusion with an outdoor concert of music by Puccini, Dukas and Tchaikovsy complete with the almost obligatory fireworks display.

In recent years the festival has occasionally extended into the Pump Room at nearby Leamington Spa but this, I understand, is not envisaged at present. I have found it surprising in the past that closer collaboration with Warwick University has not already happened and if expansion is sought this might well be a good place to look for it. My own first choice from this year's programme was typical of the more adventurous items; Matthew Wadsworth's theorbo recital,  which showed not only the important role that early music is now playing in the festival but also gave a remarkable insight into the freshness and unconventionality of this instrument. Mr.Wadworth's brief, illuminating introductions, drew attention to the unusual qualities of the sound of the theorbo. This noble instrument is rarely heard outside of ensembles and Mr.Wadworth's programme showed off his qualities both as a soloist and also in two substantial works for theorbo and baroque violin performed with his companion Ghislaine. The charm and freshness of the playing made this a considerable personal success for both artists, in works which strayed pleasantly from the published programme into the solo repertory.  If I may include a personal note, like Mr.Wadsworth I am registered blind and therefore would like to express my deep personal admiration for the extent of his achievement on this difficult instrument.

Roy Brewer


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