THERE will be ‘ghostly goings-on’ for the prime performance of Whittington Music Festival, organisers have announced.

The festival runs from Thursday, May 16 to Sunday, May 19 with a packed programme of top class music for all tastes, with a spooky session booked in for Saturday, May 18.

Entitled ‘Visions and Apparitions’, the programme is devised around pieces which have some kind of visual link, following the ‘Sound Images’ theme of the festival, meaning ghosts and visions abound.

OTHER NEWS:

A festival spokesman said: “The concert opens with Beethoven’s “Ghost” Trio in D Major.

“This wonderful work was made famous by Christopher Nupen’s film of a performance by the young super-talent Jacqueline du Pre on cello, with Daniel Barenboim, piano and Pinchas Zukerman, violin.

“This film can still be found on YouTube.

“The work gained the moniker “Ghost” when Beethoven’s most famous piano student, the composer Carl Czerny, wrote in 1842 that the second movement reminded him of the ghost of Hamlet’s father.

He probably wasn’t far wrong, as Beethoven’s own notebooks suggest that the movement may have been intended for a scene with the three witches in Macbeth.

“The Theme et Variations for violin and piano is a 1932 composition by Oliver Messaien and has an unusual visual link.

“Messaien was famously synaesthetic – he perceived colours when he heard certain musical chords – and combinations of these colours were important in his composition.

“He also found birdsong fascinating, notating birdsong worldwide and incorporating birdsong into his music. His innovative use of colour and birdsong are among the features that make Messaien’s music so distinctive.

“In this concert we also have the world premiere of a brand-new song cycle by our composer in residence Jeremy Sams.

“‘People and Paintings’ is written for soprano, string quartet, flute and piano, and will conjure some beautiful imagery.

“Jeremy’s works performed in the previous two festivals have been tremendously well received, so we are sure that audiences will love his latest composition.”

Get in touch

Share your views on this story by sending a letter to the editor. To get in touch email news@bordercountiesadvertizer.co.uk, or fill in the form on this section of our website.

The second half opens with a short musical work by Arvo Part written in 1977 and entitled ‘Fratres’ (Brothers), followed by the concert’s grand finale, Robert Schumann’s wonderful Piano Quartet in E flat Major.

They added: “While the Scherzo movement has a slightly sinister undercurrent, the contrasting Andante cantabile features one of the most beautiful cello themes of the Romantic period.”

The full festival programme can be found on the festival website whittingtonmusicfestival.org.uk