22nd JUNE - 3rd JULY

WINTER PREVIEW

THIS PREVIEW We have reached that point in the year when the next ENF programme has settled and we can offer a preview of some of the delights now in preparation for 2016. This is always an exciting time and although the definitive programme (to be released on 8th February) will likely include some changes we hope this is enough to whet your appetite and allow for some forward planning!

New Features Over the past 11 years ENF has benefitted from great feedback. Last festival’s talk on violin making met with such enthusiastic responses that in 2016 we will have two music talks which shed light on the programme, including a chance to hear two experts explain what they think it is that makes a great string quartet.

We have also been inspired by some great advice of Goethe’s:

“Every day we should hear at least one little song, read one good poem, see one exquisite picture and, if possible, speak a few sensible words.”

Events listed as A Poem, A Picture & A Piece in this preview will include our imaginative responses to this advice, though we are struggling with “a few sensible words”!

If you know someone who you think might like a copy of this preview, please let us know – email ian@eastneukfestival.com or call 0131 669 1750 and leave us a note of where to send it (either by post or email).

Pavel Haas Quartet

The Retreat kicks off ENF on Wednesday 22 June. Should you hear sublime music pouring from an open window into the shimmering heat of the day (!) you can be fairly sure it’s one of our rising stars.

Here’s what it’s all about.

ENF has always been a great champion of young talent – how else will chamber music and its festivals continue if we do not support them?

In 2015 we raised our efforts to a new level and created a summer school – The Retreat. 10 young professionals were handpicked by top musicians and teachers to spend a week being coached by some of the best musicians in the world.

During the week, they explored music with an intensity, depth and breadth that their professional careers will rarely allow. They performed two concerts which, for most of the audience, were the very best of ENF 2015 – a wonderful result of the musicians’ youthfulness and their tutors’ experience.

Here’s what people said:

“…the Brahms Sextet was fresher and more emotional than I have heard before.” Audience member

“…if I say that the Mendelssohn Octet which concluded the second “Retreat” concert couldn’t be surpassed, it’s perhaps more remarkable: here, after all, were players who had never worked together before this week… producing not only the joy but also the subtlety of the 17-year-old Mendelssohn’s pure, undiluted genius.” David Nice, The Arts Desk

Due to its success in 2015 we will extend the retreat from seven days to nine and there will again be two public events – an informal sharing on Tuesday 28 June and a full-length evening concert on Thursday 30, to include Schubert’s Quintet in C for strings.

We are in the process of receiving nominations for the participants and making invitations. It’s very exciting: there are so many marvelous musicians out there!

2015 Retreaters in Elie

the retreat

TUESDAY 28 JUNE

The Retreat Concert 1 7.30pm, Elie Church Hall

An informal concert to hear the discoveries of the musicians’ first few days of intensive musical exploration. Don’t miss it!

WEDNESDAY 29 JUNE

A Poem, A Picture & A Piece 17.30pm, Crail Church

BEETHOVEN Eroica Variations LISZT Hexameron MENDELSSOHN Quartet Op 44 No 3

Calidore Quartet Joseph Moog piano

THURSDAY 30 JUNE

A Poem, A Picture & A Piece 211.30am, Crail Church

BEETHOVEN Fantasie Op 77 TCHAIKOVSKY Pezzo Capriccioso Op 62 Andante cantabile Op 1 No 11 Valse Sentimentale RACHMANINOV Cello Sonata Op 19

Julian Steckel cello Joseph Moog piano

Music Talk2pm, Crail Church Hall

MENDELSSOHN Conservative or Radical?

David Watkin joins ENF Director Svend Brown to tell the story of Mendelssohn’s string quartets and ask why he is still so often misrepresented as a purveyor of pretty Victoriana.

Calidore Quartet4pm, St Monans Church

MENDELSSOHN Quartet Op 13 Quartet Op 44 No 2

The Retreat Concert 27.30pm, Kilrenny Church

To include SCHUBERT Quintet in C

FRIDAY 1 JULY

A Poem, A Picture & A Piece 311.30am, Crail Church

Joseph Moog in recital

Music Talk2pm, Crail Church Hall

The Calidore Quartet joins Richard Wigmore to explore Mendelssohn’s string quartets from the inside.

Pavel Haas Quartet4pm, Kilrenny Church

MARTINŮ Quartet No 3 DVOŘÁK Quartet Op 34

Calidore Quartet & Christian Zacharias7.30pm, Crail Church

SCHUMANN Phantasiestücke Op 111 SCHUMANN Kreisleriana MENDELSSOHN Quartet Op 44 No 1

FRIDAY 1 & SATURDAY 2 JULY

Out Of The BoxMusic from the Mediterranean region, East Europe, the Middle East and Africa fuses with European jazz, classical and traditional music in a series of concerts featuring wonderful musicians including Max Baillie, Kosmos Ensemble and Nizar Rohana.

SATURDAY 2 JULY

A Poem, A Picture & A Piece 411.30am, Kilrenny Church

MENDELSSOHN Quartet Op 12 BACH Suite tbc MENDELSSOHN Quartet Op 80

Calidore Quartet Julian Steckel cello

Music Talk2pm, Crail Church Hall

What makes a great string quartet? We ask a national critic and a member of one of our finest quartets to tell us what they think.

From Your Ever Loving Son, Jack3pm, Crail Church

Joshua Ellicott tells the moving story of his Great Uncle Jack, who died at The Battle of The Somme, through Jack’s letters and songs of the period. With pianist Simon Lepper.

Memorial Ground5pm, Cambo Barn

World premiere of David Lang’s new piece marking the centenary of The Battle of The Somme, which falls during ENF 2016 on 1 July. To be performed by the SCO Chorus, singers from Fife choirs and by Theatre of Voices, directed by Paul Hillier. All else about this new work is under wraps until we launch the project in February, but we promise that this will be a fittingly memorable occasion.

Pavel Haas Quartet & Christian Zacharias8pm, Crail Church

CHOPIN Selection of Mazurkas DVOŘÁK American Quartet SCHUMANN Piano Quintet

SUNDAY 3 JULY

Once Upon a Time2pm, Crail Community Hall

An hour of stories in music from Theatre of Voices, to include David Lang’s heart-breaking telling of Hans Christian Andersen’s Little Match Girl Passion.

Festival Finale4pm, Cambo Barn

BEETHOVEN Prometheus Music SHOSTAKOVICH Cello Concerto No 1 in E flat SCHUMANN Symphony No 2

Julian Steckel cello Scottish Chamber Orchestra Christian Zacharias conductor

NEW AND OLD FRIENDS IN 2016 NEW FRIENDS So far it has been an amazing year for pianist Joseph Moog: he has been named Gramophone Young Artist of the Year 2015 and opened the Master Pianists Series at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, he makes debuts with the Philharmonia and Beethoven Orchester Bonn as well as continuing his strong relationship with the Wigmore Hall.www.josephmoog.com

This year, award winning cellist Julian Steckel will be performing the great concertos (Schumann, Haydn, Elgar and Dvořák) and playing chamber music with such partners as Janine Jansen, Christian Tetzlaff, Antje Weithaas, Elisabeth Leonskaja and Lars Vogt, amongst others.www.juliansteckel.com

Tenor Joshua Ellicott’s international career sees him appear with such conductors as Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Sir Roger Norrington, Harry Christophers, Sir Mark Elder, Daniel Harding and Esa-Pekka Salonen. He comes to ENF with a very personal project inspired by the story of his Great Uncle Jack. www.joshuaellicott.com

Pianist Simon Lepper loves song and is the pianist of choice for such singers as Karen Cargill, Allan Clayton, Malin Christensson, Angelika Kirchschlager, and Elizabeth Watts.www.simonlepper.com

Violist Max Baillie is a musical adventurer and explorer, working with like-minded artists such as Bobby McFerrin, Zakir Hussain, John Williams and Tinie Tempah. You will find him on stage both in New York’s Carnegie Hall and at Glastonbury. For us, he appears in various guises.www.maxbaillie.com

Oud player Nizar Rohana was born in the village of Isifya on Mount Carmel. From a root of traditional music he ranges across modern, experimental and world music, performing all over the world. For us, he comes with atmospheric solo and jazz trio programmes. www.nizarrohana.com

The Kosmos Ensemble draws on music from the Mediterranean, Russia, Hungary, Serbia, Argentinean tango, Brazilian samba, flamenco, Celtic and jazz traditions as well as contemporary classical music. The ensemble is described by Richard Morrison of The Times as having “telepathic rapport, dazzling virtuosity, serious scholarship, intellectual curiosity and impeccable musicianship”.www.kosmosensemble.com

Happy anniversary to the SCO Chorus which will celebrate its 25th year in 2016. The Chorus comes to ENF with music by Parry as well as participating in David Lang’s Memorial Ground.www.sco.org.uk

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OLD FRIENDSChristian Zacharias needs no introduction to regular ENF audiences: he inaugurated the very 1st festival and we are delighted to welcome him back for his 6th appearance at ENF. This year he focuses deeply on one of his greatest musical loves: Schumann. He plays solo and chamber works before conducting the thrilling second symphony to close our festival. www.christian-zacharias.com

Pavel Haas Quartet made its Scottish debut as young artists at ENF in 2006 and has gone on to become one of the very finest ensembles in the world. The quartet returns with its heartland repertoire of Czech and Bohemian music and joins forces with Christian Zacharias for Schumann’s Piano Quintet – sure to be a highlight.

“…they might just be the most exciting string quartet in the world” Gramophone Magazinewww.pavelhaasquartet.com

Calidore Quartet made its ENF debut just last year, but made such an impression that it was re-invited immediately. The quartet presents a complete cycle of Mendelssohn’s quartets – a stunning lifetime of music stretching from Mendelssohn’s 20th year through to his last. www.calidorestringquartet.com

Paul Hillier and his Theatre of Voices return to ENF for the 3rd time. Each time they thrill audiences with their sheer beauty of sound, their drama and musical passion. This festival they are all about storytelling. www.theatreofvoices.com

David Lang has history with ENF Director Svend Brown, who was one of the co-commissioners for the Little Match Girl Passion, the piece that won David the Pulitzer Prize and subsequently became one of his most performed pieces all over the world. www.davidlangmusic.com

The world-renowned Scottish Chamber Orchestra is a unique collection of talented musicians who inspire and connect with people of all ages. In the 2015/16 Season, with Principal Conductor Robin Ticciati, the SCO performs Brahms’ complete symphonies and Requiem.

The Orchestra enjoys close relationships with many of the world’s leading conductors, soloists and composers, and has commissioned more than 100 new works. Its discography exceeds 150 recordings, most recently adding a critically-acclaimed recording of Haydn Symphonies, conducted by Robin Ticciati.www.sco.org.uk

Calidore Quartet

David LangChristian Zacharias

The full, definitive, programme will be released on 8th February

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inks on FSC approved paper.In addition, all the carbon emissions

generated in printing will be offset by planting broadleaved trees

in a local community woodland resulting in the print becoming

completely carbon balanced.

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