It’s now two weeks on from our lovely 2022 Chamber Music Festival - four days of wonderful music.

In spite of losing the artistic director and main ’cellist Kate Gould to Covid at the last minute, and needing substitute players for pianist Dan Tong too, there were remarkably few programme changes.

We began with Britten and ended with Elgar with several pieces by other English composers along the way. Living and women composers were well represented and it was exciting to welcome several contemporary composers in person.

The first concert introduced us to the stunning playing of star oboist Olivier Stankiewicz principal of the London Symphony Orchestra, and set the bar high. “An incredible start to the Festival ….reaching perfection,” commented another audience member. The Thursday evening concert concluded with Fanny Mendelssohn’s String Quartet in E flat. In this the renowned Castalian Quartet demonstrated their extraordinary focus and strong communication skills.

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Friday was busy and one of the most exciting days I can remember in fifteen years of this marvellous Festival. We could enjoy an open rehearsal, a fascinating talk, and an afternoon concert with Schumann’s beautiful Romances for Oboe and Piano. Later with restorative glass in hand, there was an innovative, more relaxed Scandinavian evening introducing us to the beguiling tone of Sini Simon’s Hardanger Fiddle, before an exhilarating performance of the Sibelius Quartet.

Saturday evening’s wonderful gala concert in The Theatre Royal was the result of a highly successful collaboration between Festival musicians and string players from Winchester Camerata, directed by violinist David Adams, leader of Welsh National Opera orchestra. The performance of Elgar’s Introduction and Allegro was totally memorable, sumptuous in the rich string tone. Another innovation was the Family concert on Sunday morning in The Nutshell which had five star reviews from 3 - 80 year olds.

There was more fabulous Elgar to end the final concert - a consummate performance of his Piano Quintet. Behind the scenes there were concerts in schools, a masterclass, a funky lunch for Winchester GoLD and further community outreach events. This was a thrilling festival for audience, musicians and many more, a well crafted, yet extraordinarily varied programme performed to the highest standard with a friendly group of musicians whose enthusiasm for playing and deep love of the music delighted us all.

Reviewed by Hilary Webster, chair of trustees

Message from the editor Kimberley Barber

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