THE CURTAIN is rising on the Petersfield Musical Festival on Friday, March 17, and there are highlights aplenty across the nine days.
Petersfield Orchestra will perform on Thursday, March 23, at 7.30pm, in the Festival Hall, under the baton of the second of this season’s three guest conductors, writes Piers Burton-Page.
“His name may ring a bell. Christopher Braime is already a busy conductor around London: one of the groups he directs is the London Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) Orchestra.
“Christopher will be taking the orchestra through a programme which starts with a breezy Schubert Overture ‘in the Italian style’ and ends with Mendelssohn’s Italian Symphony, full of Mediterranean light and warmth.
“There are also a couple of shortish pieces. On hearing the first cuckoo in Spring is one of those delightful Delius miniatures, once heard, never forgotten, and it comes complete with bird calls. Then Le roi s’amuse is Leo Delibes’ charming collection of pastiche 18th century courtly dances, delightfully easy on the ear and always buoyantly rhythmic.
“The name of the soloist in the Richard Strauss Horn Concerto no 1 may also ring a bell. Richard Steggall is a local boy, and although he is now based in London, he still has many Petersfield connections. There is a pre-concert talk at 6.30pm.
The musicians of tomorrow are being showcased, with the Youth Concerts on March 20 and 22, at 7pm. Elsewhere, there is a free recital at St Peter’s Church on March 21, at 1pm, with a trio on piano, trumpet and saxophone.
Jazz lovers are in for a treat on March 24, with an extravaganza from 11 rising stars of the Royal Academy of Music, led by Jonny Mansfield, a 20-year-old composer.
“They are already in demand in Europe and have played prestigious London venues,” said the festival’s Marcia Fielden. “A wide palette of textures and colours, musically speaking, will be on offer.”
Tickets are available from One Tree Books or online at www.petersfieldmusicalfestival.org.uk