Those who think that first-rate high culture stops at the M25 or, worse, is confined to single digit London post codes zone one on the Tube, it must come as a terrible shock to learn that for under a tenner the very best of chamber music is available in Leicester. Leicester is just over an hour from St Pancras with four trains an hour. The Queen came visiting last week to start her Jubilee tour and saying yes to this multi racial reasonably harmonious city, by going to Church for a multi faith service, by visiting the increasingly impressive De Montfort University and by meeting the (elected) major, Sir Peter Soulsby, with the citizens and denizens gathered in the streets to greet her.
To return to music. The Leicester International Music Festival provides us with the Thursday lunchtime concerts, summer celeb recitals and every September a long weekend of non-stop chamber music. Nicholas Daniels, recently honoured by the Queen, directs the whole and brings the best of the rising generation up here.
One of the special treats of the concerts are the intelligent programme notes (Mr Wheeler, step forward and thanks for the extended internet version) and the pithy intros by Mr Mike Baker.
Many concerts now sell out and the queues are to behold. Hint: get the value season tickets. The season ended today with the triumphant return of the Sitkovetsky trio playing Haydn's piano trio in C major Hob. XV: 27 and Beethoven's Archduke trio Op.97. I thought the speed of the last movement of the Haydn was possibly reckless but all worked out well in the end. The Archduke was, er, er, archducal. Very moving and authoritatively played. I thought I knew both trios well but this so gifted group of musicians brought altogether new insights to me.
One suggestion for improvement: in a city with such a rich cultural heritage as Leicester it really is a pity that some efforts are not made by the organisers to include at least some of Indian classical music. All it needs is the same bravery shown by them in including contemporary western classical music. The other sad lack is jazz. Yet when one recent performer shifted from the classical canon into jazz the audience seem to love it. This audience is up for stretching I think. As Alex Ross shows in his ground breaking book 'The rest is noise' the categories (of classical, jazz, folk, popular) that used to separate increasingly fall to bits in one's hands when examined carefully. Pragmatically, although I do not know if the Festival gets City Council funding, but if it does, it really does need to think about the wisdom of not including some classical music from the non western traditions. This is not just to appease those who check the demographics of any publicly funded event (old, bourgeois and white mainly) but a wish to widen the audience for nonwestern classical music. I realise we are someway from having a Leicester Gamelan but if we can have a Fazioli piano up at the DMH, why not think big.
Gripes apart this is written by a punter who is deeply grateful for what we get. Special thanks to Catherine and Tim Watt for the care they provide for the disabled. Much appreciated.
The man in the red hoodie with a yellow chaise roulant says thanks.
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