The 2011 Festival programme was huge success!

Festival Service
11.30am  St Margaret’s Church, King's Lynn
Preacher: The Very Revd Jonathan Meyrick, Bishop of Lynn
 

King’s Lynn Festival Chorus & European Union Chamber Orchestra
7.30pm  Corn Exchange
£23.50, £20.50, £18.50, £5 standby
20% discount for bookings of four or more

Tom Appleton music director for King's Lynn Festival Chorus/conductor
Hans-Peter Hofmann director/violin
Arco van Zon oboe
Judith Blauw oboe
Katy Hill soprano
Rosie Aldridge mezzo

Vivaldi Gloria
Bach O Jesu Christ mein lebens licht
Bach Concerto for Oboe & Violin
Allegri Misereri
Albinoni Concerto for Two Oboes
Purcell Hear my Prayer
Lotti Crucifixus

One of Europe's leading chamber orchestras returns to King's Lynn and joins the Festival Chorus, soloists and music director Tom Appleton for an evening of uplifting music including Vivaldi's most famous choral piece, Gloria. With its distinctive melodies, this piece is characteristic of all of Vivaldi's music, giving it an immediate and universal appeal. Performing with the choir are participants of Gresham's Britten Music Course.

More information:
www.klfc.org.uk
www.greshams.com

Mark Bowden

Contemporary Consort
6.00pm  Town Hall
£7.00

Sarah Thurlow director/clarinet/bass clarinet
Tom Hankey violin
Oliver Wilson viola
Robin Michael cello
Heejung Kim piano

Mark Bowden airs no oceans keep
Mark Bowden quartet
Rebecca Clarke Prelude, Allegro and Pastorale
Pedro Faria Gomes Dual
Peter Seabourne Last Dance
Huw Watkins Quartet from Crime Fiction

British composer Mark Bowden discusses his work with Festival Director Ambrose Miller as part of the ensemble’s 11th annual concert. The programme will include samples of his work. Following the concert there will be an opportunity to meet the composer and musicians at a post-concert reception. Contemporary Consort was founded in 1998 at the Royal College of Music, and first appeared at the Festival in 2001. Since then they have performed together live on BBC Radio 3, at the Cheltenham Festival, in London's Purcell Room and at the Royal Albert Hall. This concert will end at approximately 7.30pm.

Sponsored by BOW BRAND INTERNATIONAL LTD

More information: www.contemporaryconsort.com

Photo: Captain Scott just before leaving for the Southern journey by Herbert Ponting, credit Royal Geographical Society

ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY (with IBG) in association with KING’S LYNN FESTIVAL
Scott of the Antarctic: From Hero to Villain?
Max Jones
8.00pm Guildhall (Arts Centre)
£10, £9 concessions, £8 RGS-IBG members

Captain Scott’s death almost a century ago ignited a frenzy of hero-worship throughout Britain. This talk locates Scott’s last expedition at the climax of an age of exploration and empire, and maps his changing reputation as celebrations faded while condemnations grew. Max Jones’ work on the heroic reputation of the British polar explorer Robert Falcon Scott has been published in The Last Great Quest: Captain Scott’s Antarctic Sacrifice and his new edition of Scott’s Last Journals. He has been invited to speak about Scott of the Antarctic to audiences from Los Angeles to Tasmania.

More information: www.rgs.org 

Tasmin Little

Tasmin Little
with European Union Chamber Orchestra
7.30pm St. Nicholas’ Chapel
£22.50 (unreserved)

Hans-Peter Hofmann director/violin

Bach Violin concerto No.1 in A minor
Bach Violin concerto No.2 in E major
Holst St Paul’s Suite
Tchaikovsky Elegy for Strings
Mozart Serenade in C minor, K.406

Tasmin Little has played with many of the world's greatest orchestras in a career that has taken her to every continent of the world. She was recently honoured with a nomination for the Classic Brit Awards 2011 Critics’ Choice award. In 2011 she tours New Zealand and Australia and she will play with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Andrew Davis, at the BBC Proms shortly after her visit to King’s Lynn. The European Union Chamber Orchestra's concert in Santiago, Chile, was voted Best Concert of the Year by the Chilean Circle of Arts Critics in 2010, a year which included tours of four countries in South America and nine countries in Europe. Other recent highlights have included tours with Sir James Galway in Italy and with Nicola Benedetti and a broadcast on BBC Radio 3 from the Cheltenham Festival.

“Tasmin Little makes the lines speak with warmth and great clarity, that she communicates with the greatest immediacy.” The Guardian

Sponsored by ANDREW & FRANCES SCHUMANN

More information:
www.tasminlittle.net
www.etd.gb.com

Andrew Wallace Hadrill

Illustrated Talk
Pompeii and Herculaneum:
A Second Catastrophe
Professor Andrew Wallace-Hadrill OBE
8pm Guildhall (Arts Centre)
£10, £9 concessions

In AD 79 many towns were buried by Vesuvius, including Herculaneum and the better-known town of Pompeii. Centuries later, with excavations still in progress, restoration and conservation is now critical to protect these ancient sites from a second, man-made, catastrophe. Distinguished classicist and Roman cultural historian Andrew Wallace-Hadrill has headed the Herculaneum Conservation Project since 2001. In this fascinating talk he explains why Pompeii continues to fall down and how, at Herculaneum, they are trying to preserve this unrivalled example of ancient Roman life.

“Wallace-Hadrill has done more than anyone else to bring Pompeii and Herculaneum into the mainstream.” Times Literary Supplement

Sponsored by KING’S LYNN PRESERVATION TRUST
 

Vienna Mozart Trio
7.30pm Guildhall (Arts Centre)
£16.00

Irina Auner piano
Daniel Auner violin
Diethard Auner cello

Mozart Piano Trio in No.5 in E major, K.542
Beethoven Piano Trio in B flat, Op.97 Archduke
Smetana Piano Trio in G minor, Op.15

In the 20 years of its existence the Vienna Mozart Trio has performed in some of the most prestigious concert halls of Europe and Asia. Irina, Daniel and Diethard Auner convey music as a spontaneous and original experience and as a result have made audiences familiar with all epochs, styles and possibilities of musical expression, ranging from the great Viennese classics to the present day.

“…it is easy to appreciate the sophisticated playing of this fine ensemble, with their meaningful phrasing and expressive control of rhythmic inflection.” Daily Telegraph

Sponsored by KATE & ADRIAN PARKER

More information:www.mozarttrio.com

Why not visit the Festival Exhibition at the Fermoy Gallery before the concert? Late opening until 7.30pm.
 

Literary Dinner
Introduced by Dr Simon Thurley, Chief Executive of English Heritage
Guest Speakers: Mark Logue, Peter Conradi & Mavis Cheek
6.30pm for 7.00pm Town Hall
£39.50 per ticket or £316/£355.50 for tables of 8/9
All seats numbered and reserved


Mark Logue and Peter Conradi are authors of the bestselling The King’s Speech. Drawing exclusively on the diaries and archive of Lionel Logue, the book is an astonishing insight into how the Australian self-taught speech therapist single-handedly turned the famously nervous, tongue-tied Duke of York into one of Britain’s greatest kings.

Mark Logue is the grandson of Lionel Logue. He is a film maker and the custodian of the Logue Archive. Peter Conradi is an author and journalist for the Sunday Times.

More info: www.quercusbooks.co.uk

Mavis Cheek's writing career began firstly with journalism and travel writing, then short stories before her first novel was published in 1988. The novel won the She/John Menzies First Novel Prize and she has since gone on to write fourteen novels including Pause Between Acts, Mrs Fytton's Country Life, Janice Gentle Gets Sexy, Truth to Tell and, most recently, The Lovers of Pound Hill.

"Marvellously entertaining… Cheek’s writing is infused with terrific comic energy" Mail on Sunday

More info: www.mavischeek.co.uk


CHOICE OF STARTER
Sunblush tomato with basil soup & parmesan croutons OR Melon medley in pink champagne

MAIN COURSE
Trio of loin of cod served on an asparagus mash

VEGETARIAN OPTION (pre-booked only)
Dolcelatte and English pear tarte with wild risotto

DESSERT
Deep baked Fair Green blueberry cheesecake

Cafetières of coffee/pots of tea with petit fours

Sponsored by HAWKINS SOLICITORS

La Serenissima
Vivaldi’s French Connections
7.00pm  (Please note early start time)
St Margaret’s Church
£18 (unreserved)
Ticket Offer: See Late Night Early Music concert below


Vivaldi ‘Paris’ Concerto No.2 in E, RV.133
Vivaldi La Cetra Concerto No.6 in B flat, RV.526
Vivaldi ‘Paris’ Concerto No.8 in D, RV.127
Vivaldi Concerto L’amoroso in E, RV.271
Vivaldi ‘Paris’ Concerto No.11 in G, RV.150
Vivaldi La Cetra Concerto No.9, RV.530
Vivaldi Concerto in B flat, RV.365

In his day, Vivaldi was famous across Europe as one of the greatest composers of virtuoso violin concertos, not least in the French capital. La Serenissima, formed in 1994, has now firmly established itself as one of the leading exponents of his music and that of his Italian contemporaries. The ensemble has made nine recordings to date, the most recent of which – Gods, Emperors and Angels – was awarded the Gramophone Award for Best Baroque Instrumental CD in October 2010. The ensemble prides itself on bringing seldom-heard works to the concert platform. Almost all the repertoire is edited from manuscript sources, a testament to the ensemble’s commitment and passion for rare and exciting Italian music and a feat which makes it unique among other baroque ensembles.

Sponsored by BESPAK

More information: www.laserenissima.co.uk
 

Carole Cerasi

Late Night Early Music
Carole Cerasi harpsichord
9.30pm St Margaret’s Church
£9.50 (unreserved)

SPECIAL OFFER: £7.50 if bought as a double ticket with La Serenissima

Bach Toccata in D BWV.912
Bach Prelude, Fugue and Allegro in E flat BWV.998
Bach English Suite No.6 in D BWV.811

Carole Cerasi is recognised as one of the leading harpsichordists of her generation. She is regularly praised for her refined and exciting music-making with her repertoire extending from the English Virginalists to Beethoven’s early sonatas. She is a professor of harpsichord at the Yehudi Menuhin School and of fortepiano at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama and the Royal Academy of Music.

Sponsored by JOHN MALLEN

More information: www.carolecerasi.com

Music for an English Country House
Callino Quartet
3pm Park House Sandringham
£15 (unreserved) including light afternoon tea

Haydn Quartet No.27 in D Major, Op.20, No.4
Beethoven Quartet No.14 in C sharp minor, Op.131

The Callino Quartet was formed in June 1999 following a critically-acclaimed performance at the West Cork Chamber Music Festival in Bantry, Ireland. The quartet appears regularly at festivals and concerts throughout Europe and has collaborated with artists such as the Vanbrugh and Vogler String Quartets, violist Rivka Golani and the Paris- Bastille Wind Octet.

“Wonderfully expressive and fabulously exciting.” Irish Examiner

Sponsored by ALAN & ROSEMARY KING

More information: www.callinoquartet.com

Hayley Westenra
7.30pm Corn Exchange
£30, £28

New Zealand-born soprano Hayley Westenra has taken the world by storm with her accessible yet challenging delivery of a huge repertoire, from classical favourites to folk songs and pop. No stranger to the stage from early childhood, Hayley began performing when she was just six years old, made her first recording in a professional studio at 12 and was only 16 when she released her double-platinum album Pure which has been certified as the best-selling classical album of the 21st Century. The mesmerising appeal of Hayley’s music has led to her being in great demand as a duet partner and she has sung with José Carreras, Bryn Terfel, Andrea Bocelli and Il Divo among others. The talent and versatility of one of the most-recognised voices in modern classical music promises a memorable evening.
 

Sponsored by: THE BOROUGH COUNCIL OF KING'S LYNN & WEST NORFOLK

More information: www.hayleywestenra.com 
 

Coffee Concert
Callino Quartet
11am Town Hall
£12, £5 under 18s, £10.50 if all five concerts booked together

TICKET OFFER: £10.50 if all five booked together

Haydn Quartet No.66 in G major, Op.77, No.1
Mendelssohn String Quartet No.2 in A minor, Op.13

A second opportunity to see the Callino Quartet, considered one of the finest young ensembles to have emerged in Europe in recent years. Since they formed in 1999, the quartet has been impressing audiences and critics both at home and abroad with its fresh and enthusiastic performances. The quartet gave its Carnegie Hall debut last year, and undertook a residency at the Banff Centre for the Arts in Canada. Recent engagements have included Cheltenham Festival, Queens Hall in Edinburgh, the Trondheim Festival in Norway and Wigmore Hall. They were second-prize winners in the 2008 Tromp International String Quartet in the Netherlands.

Sponsored by MURIEL & MIKE BRINDLE

More information:www.callinoquartet.com

Terry Jones

James Turnbull Photo: Benjamin Harte Craig White

THE RUTH FERMOY MEMORIAL CONCERT
Coffee Concert
James Turnbull oboe
Craig White piano
11am Town Hall
£12, £5 under 18s, £10.50 if all five concerts booked together

TICKET OFFER: £10.50 if all five booked together

Handel Sonata in C minor HWV.366
Schumann Three Romances, Op.94
Saint-Saëns Sonata for Oboe and Piano, Op.166
Vaughan Williams Six Studies in English Folk Song for Cor Anglais
Daelli Fantasia on
Verdi’s Rigoletto

James Turnbull began playing the oboe aged seven. As a soloist, he has performed live on BBC Radio 3’s In Tune and on Songs of Praise. He has given recitals throughout the UK and released his first recital disc this year. He is accompanied by pianist Craig White, currently a Junior Fellow at the Royal College of Music. Craig has performed in some of the UK’s most prestigious venues such as the Royal Albert Hall, Barbican and Wigmore Hall.

Sponsored by MARY ROCHE

This concert is dedicated to the memory of Ruth Lady Fermoy, founder of the King’s Lynn Festival.

More information:
www.james-turnbull.com

The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain

The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain proudly presents
Ukulelescope
7.30pm Corn Exchange
£23, £13 under 18s, £65 family ticket (2 adults and 2 under 18s)

The UOGB have collaborated with BFI National Archive to find a host of unusual and little-seen gems from the early days of silent film, and have sculpted them into a delightfully eclectic evening of music, film, comedy and pathos. This mixed bill combines short films and clips including adverts, singing pictures, actualities, dramas, science and nature, hints and hobbies and documentary footage to amaze, amuse and baffle. All of this, of course, is presented in the UOGB’s own inimitable style, and set to a programme of original and carefully-chosen old favourites from musical history.

“Plucking brilliant.” The Sunday Times

More information: www.ukuleleorchestra.com

Aquinas Piano Trio

Coffee Concert
Aquinas Piano Trio
11am Town Hall
£12, £5 under 18s, £10.50 if all five concerts booked together

Ruth Rogers violin
Katherine Jenkinson cello
Martin Cousin piano

Haydn Trio in A major Hob XV.18
Dvorák Trio No.4 Dumky

The Aquinas Piano Trio was launched in 2009 and has quickly become one of Britain’s most sought-after ensembles. All three players are established solo artists in their own right and have vast experience of the chamber music repertoire. They have performed at such prestigious venues as Wigmore Hall, Royal Albert Hall, South Bank Centre, Barbican Hall and Bridgewater Hall, Manchester. They are all major prize-winners from numerous competitions, have performed with the country’s leading orchestras and played chamber music throughout the globe.

“Accomplished, artistic, assured - these three words alone would warrant the Aquinas Piano Trio its
triple-A rating.” The Plymouth Herald

Jointly sponsored by FRIENDS OF THE FESTIVAL & PAUL BURALL

More information:www.aquinaspianotrio.co.uk 

 

Virginia Ironside

SCAMP THEATRE PRESENTS
The Virginia Monologues: Why Growing Old is Great
7.30pm Guildhall (Arts Centre)
£14

Written and performed by Virginia Ironside
Directed by Nigel Planer

When an agony aunt reaches 60, she can lie like a trooper, jump off a bridge – or take to the stage. Virginia Ironside explains that unlimited free drugs, fun funerals, grandchildren and sex – or, even better, no sex – make the 60s the best – and funniest – time of your life…

The Virginia Monologues premiered at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe to great acclaim and played a limited season of UK sell-out shows in 2010.

“This doyenne of Fleet Street delivers her observations with precision, style and wit. Her writing is beautiful, funny, sensible and smart – and her show, directed by The Young Ones’ Nigel Planer, is an absolute delight.” The Scotsman

More information: www.virginiaironside.org
 

Coffee Concert
Maria Marchant piano
11am Town Hall
£12, £5 under 18s, £10.50 if all five concerts booked together

Mozart Fantasia in C minor K.475
Chopin Nocturne Op.27 No.1 in C sharp minor
Chopin Nocturne Op.27 No.2 in D flat
Poulenc Trois Pièces
Liszt Années de Pèlerinage - Venezia e Napoli

Maria Marchant completed the MMus Advanced Piano Performance Course at the Royal College of Music and is currently a highly-regarded recitalist, concerto soloist and chamber musician. She has worked with many prestigious artists, conductors and orchestras and was selected as a young artist on the Concordia Foundation, Park Lane Group and Tillett Trust schemes.

Sponsored by DR. DONALD WOODGATE
 
More information: www.mariamarchant.com

Melvyn Tan Photo: Sheila Rock

Melvyn Tan
7.30pm Corn Exchange
£18.50, £10 under 18s

PRE-CONCERT TALK: Melvyn Tan in conversation with Festival Artistic Director Ambrose Miller at 6.45pm

Bach Italian Concerto in F major, BWV.971
Mozart Sonata in C, K.330
Beethoven Sonata Op.27 No.2 Moonlight
Chopin Two Scherzos No.2 in B flat and No.4
Schubert Four Impromptus Op.90 D.899

Pianist Melvyn Tan was born in Singapore and has lived in the UK since 1978, beginning his studies at the Yehudi Menuhin School. At the Royal College of Music he studied both piano and harpsichord and, intrigued by the sound of early keyboards, soon focused his attention on the fortepiano. Rapidly building a formidable international reputation for his performances, he produced a series of ground-breaking recordings, including the complete Beethoven sonatas and concertos. The majority of his time is now devoted to the modern piano.

“The ever-personable Tan continues to impress for his clarity of touch, intelligent phrasing and sensitive dynamics.” The Australian

Why not visit the Festival Exhibition at the Fermoy Gallery before the concert? Late opening until 7.30pm.

More information: www.melvyntan.com

Sarah Thurlow Photo: Chris Christodoulou

Coffee Concert
Contemporary Consort Goes Classical
with Sarah Thurlow clarinet
11am Town Hall
£12, £5 under 18s
£10.50 if all five concerts booked together

TICKET OFFER: £10.50 if all five booked together

Villiers Stanford Fantasia for Clarinet and String Quartet No.1 in G minor
Brahms Clarinet Quintet in B minor Op.115

This concert features two late works by well-known composers. Brahms wrote his quintet for clarinet and strings in 1891, despite having retired from composition. He was inspired to take up his pen again by the playing of clarinettist Richard Mühlfeld, and produced a masterpiece widely considered to be among his greatest chamber works.

Brahms' music was a great inspiration to Charles Villiers Stanford, professor of composition at the Royal College of Music, and teacher of many illustrious British musicians, such as John Ireland and Herbert Howells. Stanford wrote this energetic and imaginative Fantasia for Clarinet and Strings at the age of 69. Formed in 1998 from Junior Fellows at the Royal College of Music, Contemporary Consort specialises in the performance of works by British composers, and members have been regular visitors to the Festival since 2001.

“Outstanding young instrumentalists.” The Guardian

More information:www.contemporaryconsort.com
 

Dr Paul Richards FRSA Photo: Borough Council of King’s Lynn & West Norfolk

Illustrated Talk
Dr Paul Richards FRSA
Lynn Fisherfolk, the North End and True’s Yard
6pm Town Hall
£8, £4 under 18s

What do we know of the town’s fishing quarter, Fishers End and later North End, in the 18th century and even earlier? What kind of place was Lynn when Vaughan Williams visited it in search of folk songs in 1905? And why is True’s Yard so significant to the story? Lord Fermoy was a friend of the fisherfolk and Festival founder Lady Fermoy was the first Patron of True’s Yard Museum which celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2011.

This lecture will end at approximately 7.15pm.
 

Clare Teal

Clare Teal
8pm Guildhall (Arts Centre)
£18.50

Twice voted British Jazz Singer of the Year and winner of BBC’s Jazz Singer of the Year award, one of the UK’s finest jazz singers and much-loved performer Clare Teal makes her debut at King’s Lynn Festival. Not just for her soaring voice and Northern charm, Clare is also becoming increasingly well-known for her two weekly shows on BBC Radio 2, Clare Teal Sunday Night and Big Band Special where she shares her knowledge and enthusiasm of the history of jazz and popular song. In this special performance, Clare performs tracks from her newest album Hey Ho, which is a collection of the best of British jazz and popular music from the past 100 years.

Sponsored by: DR KEITH RIX & ELIZABETH RIX

“The new first lady of Jazz.” The Independent
“The new Queen of Swing.” Mail on Sunday
“Teal has a big-heartedness that blows warmth through her work, and is perfectly offset by her bluff Yorkshire wit.” Independent on Sunday

More information: www.clareteal.co.uk

Family Event
Antony Penrose: The Boy Who Bit Picasso
11am Guildhall (Arts Centre)
£8.50 adults, £4 under 18s, £20 family ticket (2 adults & 2 under 18s)

When Antony Penrose was a child he was lucky enough to meet and become friends with Pablo Picasso, the greatest artist of the 20th century. Tony, the son of photographer Lee Miller and Surrealist artist Roland Penrose, recalls the many happy hours he spent with Picasso at their farm in Sussex and in Picasso’s house and studio in France. His memories include pretend bullfights on the floor, playing in Picasso’s ‘messy’ studio, being given a drawing as a consolation for not being allowed to visit him… and the time he bit Picasso.

A family event for adults and children age eight years plus.

“A must for children of all ages, whether grey haired or still of the biting variety.”
The Art Newspaper

Czech National Symphony Orchestra
7.30pm Corn Exchange
£36, £28.50, £24 including side balconies, £5 standby

Libor Pesek conductor
Jakub Junek violin

Rossini Italian Girl in Algiers
Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto in D, Op.35
Dvorák Symphony No.7, Op.70

Considered one of the Czech Republic's greatest orchestras, the Czech National Symphony Orchestra is highly respected and is one of busiest symphonic ensembles in Europe. Libor Pesek became Chief Conductor of the orchestra in 2007 bringing with him an international conducting career of more than 50 years. He has worked internationally at the highest level, giving concerts with the world’s most celebrated orchestras at the most prestigious venues. To honour this illustrious career, in 1996 the Queen made him a Knight of the British Empire. Talented young prize-winning violinist Jakub Junek joins the orchestra, completing what promises to be a triumphant finale to the Festival.

“The Czech maestro, a link with his country’s great, but threatened, musical tradition, conducts with old-fashioned authority.”
The Times

Sponsored by THE BOROUGH COUNCIL OF KING’S LYNN & WEST NORFOLK

More information: www.csno.cz/en