This year’s Investec International Music Festival is in its ninth season and has been extended to include four concerts over two weekends to accommodate the growing demand for a more comprehensive programme of music and artists for enthusiastic Festival goers.

The season gets underway on Thursday 19 April in Shere with an Insight Evening hosted by former Radio 3 broadcaster, musician and author Sandy Burnett who will share his thoughts on the composers and music from the 2018 programme.

According to Sandy: “Looking at this year’s wonderful programme, two works stand out that I’m particularly looking forward to. First up is the Belcea Quartet, a consistently exciting group who are sure to push Janáček’s first string quartet, the Kreutzer Sonata, to the very edge. And at the other extreme, Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante, played by Leticia Moreno, Maxim Rysanov and the London Mozart Players with conductor Leonard Elschenbroich, is an evergreen classic that’s simply bursting with gorgeous tunes. For those two highlights, and everything else in this great local festival, I simply can’t wait.”

The Belcea Quartet, led by Corina Belcea (violin), Krysztof Chorzelski (viola), Axel Schacher (violin) and Antoine Lederlin (cello), will open the concert series on Thursday 3 May, performing Mozart, Janáček and Mendelssohn at a new Festival venue for 2018, the Menuhin Hall, Stoke d’Abernon. Tickets for this concert only are available at themenuhinhall.co.uk or call 08700 842020 (priced at £25 or £5 for under 21s).

Friday 4 May will be an ‘evening of song‘ as soprano Anna Patalong, mezzo-soprano Anna Huntley, tenor Paul Curievici and the baritone Ben Nelson, accompanied by Festival directors the pianists Wu Qian and Tessa Marchington, perform works by Schubert, Schumann, Mendelssohn and Brahms in the baroque surroundings of Holy Trinity Church, Guildford.

Holy Trinity Church will also host The Sitkovetsky Trio (Alexander Sitkovetsky (violin), Wu Qian (piano) and Isang Enders (cello) who return to the Festival on 11 May with Michael Collins (clarinet) and Kate Woolley (principal horn from the Philharmonia Orchestra, London) to perform a varied programme of Stravinsky, Brahms and Beethoven. The evening will also feature the European premiere of Lost on Chiaroscuro Street, a new work by American composer Akiho.

The season finale takes place on Saturday 12 May at the Mairlot Hall, St Teresa’s Effingham, when the Festival is once again delighted to host one of the most revered chamber orchestras in the world, the London Mozart Players. Featuring guest conductor Leonard Elschenbroich and featuring the violinist Leticia Moreno and violist Maxim Rysanov performing key pieces from Mozart, Rossini and Beethoven, this concert promises to offer a most spectacular end to the 2018 Festival season.

David Richardson, divisional director of Festival sponsor, Investec Wealth and Investment, said: “Investec is a long standing supporter of the arts over many years and our involvement with the Festival goes back five seasons. We are therefore delighted to see it growing in stature and enjoying continued support from a loyal and growing following of music lovers right here in the Surrey Hills. The Festival organisers work extremely hard behind the scenes to pull together a most impressive programme and we wish them every success for the coming season.”

A free glass of Prosecco will be offered by The Cricketers, Downside (01932 862105) on 3 May and the March Hare (01483 401530) on 4 May and 11 May to Festival goers who make a pre-concert supper reservation, and show their concert tickets on arrival.

essence info

Investec International Music Festival
Tickets priced from £25 to £29 (under 21s: £5) for the 4, 11 and 12 May concerts are available from the Tourist Information Centre, 155 High Street Guildford, telephone 01483 444334, by phone or in person or online at tickets.visitguildford.com. Full details of all concerts can be found at www.iimf.co.uk. The Insight Evening on Thursday 19 April in Shere has tickets priced at £5 which can be reserved by emailing Julia@iimf.co.uk.