Exciting prospect of festival’s rising stars
Remarkable musicianship on show at Newbury Spring FestivalYoung Artists concerts
NEWBURY Spring Festival director Mark Eynon has always been keen on supporting young artists and this year there is a plethora of fresh talent included in the programme, with concerts in both the Corn Exchange and St Nicolas’ Church.
On September 13, two young guitarists called Duo will be performing a concert at the Corn Exchange. Better known for their busking in the South of England, you can regularly see them anywhere from Oxford to Reading, Guildford to Winchester, where they are known for ‘playing songs you know in ways you probably don’t’. Together, the pair met at the Royal Academy of Music and have now recorded four albums.
The Spanish saxophonist Manu Brazo last came to the festival in 2019, where he gave a lunchtime recital and received a standing ovation. Often praised for his unique sound and virtuosity,
...praised for his unique sound and virtuosity, he regularly performs a mixed programme that is always musical and often technically challenging, leaving the audience on the edge of their seat
he regularly performs a mixed programme that is always musical and often technically challenging, leaving the audience on the edge of their seat.
This year he will be performing at the festival in the Corn Exchange on September 14, alongside violinist Claudia Gallardo and his regular accompanist Prajna Indrawati, with a programme called Revive, featuring some well-known classical pieces.
Mozart’s Serenade for 13 winds ‘Gran Partita’ will be part of a concert on September 15, one of the composer’s most popular and accomplished works which is full of variety, melody and contrapuntal invention. Specially commissioned by the festival from students of London’s Royal College of Music, it is led by Italian postgraduate conductor protégé Nicolò Foron, who is at the start of a spectacular international career.
Also included in the programme is Richard Strauss’ homage to Mozart’s masterpiece, with his own Serenade for 13 winds.
The National Youth Jazz Orchestra make a welcome return to the festival on September 11. NYJO has grown from a single jazz orchestra to a multi-faceted organisation that works in jazz education across the country. The concert, which will take place in the beautiful setting at Horris Hill School’s brand-new David Brownlow Theatre, features a quintet of young rising stars from the UK jazz scene.
Pianist Benjamin Grosvenor is one of Britain’s greatest pianists and is making his fourth visit to the festival. He made his Newbury debut, aged 18, a decade ago and will be giving a recital at the Corn Exchange on September 12, with a programme featuring Brahms, Chopin and Liszt.
On September 10, Kabantu return to the festival with a concert at Donnington Valley Hotel. They are an award-winning quartet from Manchester who unravel new marriages of music from around the globe to celebrate a space where different cultures meet.
You can expect vocal harmonies from South Africa mixing with Celtic Reels to Brazilian sambas and beyond.
The festival runs from
September 4-20. Visit www. newburyspringfestival.org.uk