From classical music favourites to rock classics – and just about everything in between!
Musicians in Residence curated by Robin Green
Harrogate Music Festival is set to welcome acclaimed pianist, chamber musician, conductor and 2023 Guest Curator Robin Green, who is bringing together 11 other musicians for a long weekend of music in Harrogate from Thursday, 6 July 2023.
The Residency offers twelve musicians from around the UK and Europe the opportunity to stay in Harrogate for five days, performing 10 concerts across four days. They will present a varied and eclectic mix of concerts, with different musicians contributing to different projects. As well as some beautiful and traditional chamber music, there is the opportunity for audiences to try something new and hear our incredible musicians present their own solo projects.
Kicking off with Messiaen’s magnum opus Quartet for the End of Time, our Musicians in Residence will be performing works by Dvořák and Bartok, Strauss and Schoenberg, Radiohead and Queen, with the Finale taking place on Sunday 9 July.
“I can’t wait to get up to Harrogate. It’s a dream festival for the musicians because in terms of the programming we’ve been given carte blanche,” says Green.
The idea is that all 12 musicians will contribute to the concerts, which offer something for everyone. “It’s really varied. There’s some of the best classical chamber music. So there’s work by the likes of Dvorak, Mozart and Gabriel Faure,” says Green.
There are two solo projects in the Residency line up. One features renowned cellist and composer Christian Elliott, who is presenting his project called ‘Android Summer’ (July 8, 1pm, The Crown). “This is a very eclectic repertoire including some Beatles and Iron Maiden side by side with Strauss and Faure. It’s really amazing,” says Green. Green himself will perform Rzewski’s ‘The People United Will Never be Defeated!‘ an ambitious and exciting piano work featuring lid slamming, whistling, and improvisation.
Among the many other highlights is the Sunday Brunch concert, Dowland Plus (July 9, 11am, The Crown), based around music by English Renaissance composer John Dowland. “The idea is we take original works by Dowland, which would have been performed with a lute and a singer, and expand them.”
Tango by Piazzolla (July 7, 3pm The Crown), features an afternoon of Tango music led by master bandoneon player Julian Rowlands. “Julian is one of the world’s great bandoneon players so we’re very lucky to have him.”
Perhaps the quirkiest concert features the acclaimed Romanian violinist and composer Vlad Maistorovici doing Queen Classics (July 7, 8pm, The Crown). “For years he’s been obsessed with Queen and he’s spent a lot of time making the most amazing arrangements of their songs. Not just songs like the wonderful Bohemian Rhapsody and We Will Rock You, that everyone knows, but also some of the lesser known stuff like Take My Breath Away and Love of My Life. So we really do have something for everyone,” says Green.
For the musicians taking part the festival is an opportunity to not only showcase their own work, but also to collaborate with each other.
“The festivals I like to be involved in are the ones where people get to see lots of different things and I think this programme is very ambitious and very exciting. That’s why it’s wonderful that a festival like this exists because they don’t happen every day,” says Green.
“As musicians, very often when we’re travelling and doing our recitals we usually go somewhere for a day, we do the project and then we go home. What’s nice, and maybe a little bit romantic about a residency like this, is that we all live together and play together in a number of different projects.”
The festival is also a chance for audiences and musicians alike to share a unique experience. “There’s just no substitute for listening to live music,” says Green. “I had this experience during the pandemic of watching some of the greatest musicians I know performing some of the greatest music at home on TV and just feeling completely uninspired by it. I was wondering why I was feeling like this and it’s simply because we weren’t in the same room. Music is something to be experienced live, it doesn’t make sense unless there’s an audience living and breathing it.”
Which is why he hopes as many people as possible attend this summer’s concerts. “Life can sometimes feel quite isolating and repetitive, and being at a concert and being part of the experience is the foundation of our culture. So I hope the audiences in Harrogate get a sense of magic about what is possible with music and culture.”
This event is sponsored by:
