The Danube Music Festival, 20–27 August 2015

M A RT I N R A N D A L L T R AV E L

The Danube Music Festival A Schubertiade

20–27 August 2015 In association with Wigmore Hall Curated by John Gilhooly

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The Danube Music Festival A Schubertiade • Nine private concerts in beautiful and appropriate historic buildings • A Schubert festival, with his music in almost every programme alongside other composers of the Austro-Hungarian Empire • Musicians of the highest calibre, most of whom are regulars at Wigmore Hall, London • Choice between accommodation on a ship which sails the Austrian Danube or in hotels for a variant which features country walks • Daily talks by leading authorities on music and history

20–27 August 2015 In association with Wigmore Hall Curated by John Gilhooly

Matching music & place The annual Danube Music Festival combines music and architecture in a singularly beguiling way. Concerts take place in palaces, churches, monasteries, country houses and other historic buildings which are among the most beautiful and historically resonant along the Danube.

But the value of the juxtaposition goes deeper. The buildings are generally of the same period as the music performed in them, and in some cases there are specific historical associations between the two.

Musicians of the highest calibre Now in its twenty-second year, the festival is established as a prestigious event in the musical calendar, featuring musicians of the highest calibre. Most of the artists performing this year are regular guests at Wigmore Hall in London – itself a guarantee of excellence.

This is the line-up: singers Ailish Tynan (soprano), Robin Tritschler (tenor) with accompanist James Baillieu and Florian Boesch (baritone) with accompanist Graham Johnson; chamber ensembles the Bennewitz Quartet, the Endellion String Quartet, the Heath Quartet, and the ATOS Trio; Igor Levit (piano), Michael Collins (clarinet) and Alasdair Tait (cello); the Austro-Hungarian Haydn Philharmonic with their conductor Adam Fischer and the Wiener Kammerchor.

‘We’ve been on many MRT Music Festivals, starting in 1997 on the Danube. They have always been the BEST travel experiences we have ever had!’

Martin Randall Travel Ltd Voysey House, Barley Mow Passage, London, United Kingdom W4 4GF Tel 020 8742 3355 Fax 020 8742 7766 info@martinrandall.co.uk www.martinrandall.com

Australia: Telephone 1300 55 95 95 New Zealand: Telephone 0800 877 622 anz@martinrandall.com.au Canada: Telephone 647 382 1644 canada@martinrandall.ca USA: Telephone 1 800 988 6168

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The Danube Music Festival, 20–27 August 2015

Wigmore abroad All the artists have been selected by John Gilhooly, Director of Wigmore Hall in London, the world’s leading centre for chamber music and song. Almost all the musicians are Wigmore Hall favourites, or are due to make their debut in 2015.

John worked closely with Martin Randall and his team to ensure a good fit between artists, music and place.

Celebrating Schubert Every edition of the festival explores the music of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, sometimes focusing on a particular theme. In 2015, the music of Franz Schubert will form the core of the programmes.

A rare intensity of musical communication The concerts are private, being exclusive to the approximately 140 participants who take a package which includes accommodation, meals, interval drinks, travel by air, river and road, lectures and much else besides.

The small size of the audience and of the venues leads to an informality and intimacy which engenders a rare intensity of musical communication.

Musicians love playing for this festival. Not only are the venues an inspiring change from modern concert halls, but the audiences are among the best in the world – attentive, knowledgeable, appreciative.

Travelling in comfort To this exceptional artistic and intellectual experience is added a further pleasure: the comfort and convenience of a first-class river cruiser, chartered exclusively for the festival

audience. MS Amadeus Silver II is one of the most modern and comfortable passenger ships on European waters.

Acting as both hotel and principal means of transport, it enables passengers to attend all the concerts and see some of the finest art and architecture in the region without having to change hotel or drive long distances.

The itinerary takes you past some of the most picturesque stretches of the Danube.

In many ways, however, this venture is far removed from the usual cruising routine. There is little regimentation, no obligatory seating plan, no on-board entertainment, no intrusive announcements – and absolutely no piped music.

The spoken word Talks and lecturers are another important ingredient.

Musicologist Dr Michael Downes, Director of Music at the University of St Andrews, and Professor Sir Richard Evans, a leading authority on the history of German-speaking Europe, give daily talks on the ship. Richard Wigmore, music critic and broadcaster, is the lecturer attached to the walking party. See page 12 for their biographies.

The walking alternative The walking alternative mixes the concerts with country walks. Six of the concerts are included, and there are five guided walks of two to three hours through some of the most ravishing scenery of the Danube valley. Participants stay in hotels, in Melk, Vienna and Dürnstein, rather than on the ship.

The tour finishes a day before the main festival (the dates are 20–26 August). See the text in grey under each day of ‘The Programme’ for an outline of the daily itinerary. The group is limited to 22 participants.

Contents The Programme....... 5–11

Travel Options...............13

About us.........................15

Making a booking..........19

Lecturers.........................12

Accommodation............14

Pre-festival tour.............16

Booking Conditions......19

Fitness requirements....12

Prices & the package.....15

Booking form.......... 17–18

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artin Randall music festivals are always spoken of with such enthusiasm by those who attend them that the opportunity to curate such a Festival is both a challenge and a privilege. I hugely enjoyed curating the 2012 Danube Festival, meeting friends both old and new, and I am therefore delighted to be given a second opportunity to showcase some of the wonderful performers we often hear at Wigmore Hall and love to share with others, especially as the iconic concert venues along the Danube route add so much to the beauty and richness of the events. As before I have tried to link artists and venues as appropriately as possible, and, also as before, it is a particular pleasure for me to collaborate with Martin, who is such a good friend and supporter of our programme at Wigmore Hall.

When I first heard the pianist Igor Levit I was struck at once by the maturity and sensitivity of this young artist.

His Wigmore Hall debut was something of a sensation, and he is now greatly in demand, as are the three magnificent string quartets which join us throughout the week. I am very pleased that the acclaimed Bennewitz Quartet will open the Festival, and look forward to the Heath Quartet with Alasdair Tait for Schubert’s Quintet in C, as well as the Endellion Quartet in partnership with the celebrated clarinettist, Michael Collins. There is likely to be an Irish flavour to the song recital by the appealing Irish singers 4

introduction

Ailish Tynan and Robin Tritschler, with South African born accompanist James Baillieu, another firm audience favourite, who will also do his best to keep Irish mischief at bay! Baritone Florian Boesch will already be known to many of you as among the most compelling of all current recitalists, a singer who holds audiences in thrall. He will be partnered by Graham Johnson, doyen of accompanists.

An always rewarding aspect of my job is the chance it gives me to hear young artists at early stages in their careers, sign them up for Wigmore Hall appearances, and watch with pride as their careers blossom, nationally and internationally. It is gratifying to see the rise in recent years of so many singers, instrumentalists, chamber and baroque groups: the ATOS Trio, founded in 2003, belongs firmly in this category of relatively new and important stars, with their ever-imaginative repertoire and committed playing. What better way to hear Schubert Symphonies than at the Palais Ferstel with the Austro-Hungarian Haydn Philharmonic and surely the world famous Wiener Kammerchor will give us a moving and memorable evening in the glorious surroundings of DĂźrnstein Abbey.

These are all performers I feel sure both you and I will enjoy and be inspired by, and I have very much appreciated the opportunity to share them with you.

John Gilhooly, October 2014

Illustration: Schubert and friends in Vienna, painting 1927 by Otto Nowak (1874–1945).

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The Danube Music Festival, 20–27 August 2015

The Programme Day 1, Thursday 20 August Passau Fly from London or Manchester to Munich, from where you are taken by coach to Passau. Alternatively, make your way to Passau independently (for travel options, see page 13).

The ship, MS Amadeus Silver II, is ready for boarding from 4.00pm. Afternoon tea is available upon arrival.

Piled up on promontories at the confluence of three rivers, the Bavarian city of Passau is dominated by a great Baroque cathedral and crammed with unspoilt streetscape and historic buildings. It was one of the most important episcopal seats in Central Europe and served as a refuge for the Habsburg court in times of danger.

After sailing at 6.30pm there is a reception followed by dinner.

Walkers. Fly at c. 9.00am from London Heathrow to Vienna.

Drive directly to Felbring for an afternoon woodland walk through landscapes of beech and pine, with vistas across the Danube Valley. Walk c. 6km on a mixture of grassy footpaths and stony tracks, on level terrain with some downhill and uphill sections (sturdy walking boots are necessary). Arrive in Melk, a delightful little town on the Danube nestling under the abbey.

First of two nights here.

Day 2, Friday 21 August Grein, Dürnstein The series of daily lectures begins. Moor at Grein, a charming little town squeezed between the Danube and the hills with a sixteenth-century Schloss rising to one side. It is a short walk from the ship to the main square where the tiny municipal theatre lies hidden within the town hall. Constructed in 1791 – the year of The Magic Flute – it is the oldest working theatre in Austria.

It is too small to hold the entire audience in one sitting so the walkers have the afternoon performance to themselves.

Concert 1 Grein, Stadttheater The Bennewitz Quartet The Bennewitz Quartet was founded in 1998 at the Academy of Performing Arts, Prague. They studied with Rainer Schmidt and were taught by Walter Levin at the Basel Music Academy where they were Quartet in Residence for some time. They have won many awards including the first prize at the International Chamber Music Competition, Osaka and at the Borciani Competition, Italy.

The Quartet will play a Schubert and Mozart programme, the exact pieces are to be confirmed.

Return to the ship and sail downstream through the Wachau, one of the most beautiful stretches of the Danube. Moor at Dürnstein, perhaps the loveliest little town on the river. The ruins of a castle in which Richard the Lionheart was imprisoned cling to a steep hill which rears behind, while a gorgeous Baroque abbey church perches on the waterfront. Disembark for an evening concert.

©Kevin V Ton

Illustration, above: Dürnstein, German etching 1935. Photo: the Bennewitz Quartet.

Previous spread, main image: Dürnstein, 1820s aquatint by Jacob Alt (1789–1872); inset: Franz Schubert, woodcut by Leopold Wächtler c. 1930.

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The Programme

Concert 2 Dürnstein Abbey, Church

Day 3, Saturday 22 August Vienna, Bratislava

Wiener Kammerchor (Vienna Chamber Choir) Michael Grohotolsky director

Moor at Nussdorf, twenty minutes by coach from the centre of Vienna.

One of Austria’s finest choirs, the Wiener Kammerchor performs throughout the country and abroad and has made several recordings. Their conductor, Michael Grohotolsky, is a lecturer at Vienna’s University of Music and Performing arts, and is a voice teacher and lecturer at numerous seminars. Tonight they give a performance of vocal music.

Principal seat of the Habsburgs for over six hundred years, Vienna became capital of a vast agglomeration of territories that encompassed much of Central and Eastern Europe. The fabric of the city is a glorious mix of the magnificently imperious and the charmingly unpretentious, and it remains one of the world’s greatest centres of art and music.

Return to the ship and sail overnight from Dürnstein to Vienna-Nussdorf.

Concert 3 Vienna, Albertina, Hall of the Muses

Walkers. Drive along the picturesque road beside the Danube before turning into the hills to start the walk (c. 6km). Begin among upland pastures and farmland before descending through woods of pine, beech and birch to the sound of tumbling streams.

Walk on moderately gentle woodland paths and quiet roads, the few steep sections being fairly short. Catch glimpses of the Danube and then of the little riverside town of Grein. Private concert at Grein Theatre with the Bennewitz Quartet. Lunch here. Return to Melk and visit the abbey state apartments and church, which are among the most brilliant creations of the Age of Baroque. Overnight Melk.

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Florian Boesch baritone & Graham Johnson piano The Albertina, a Habsburg residence named after a son-in-law of Empress Maria Theresa, is home to one of the world’s greatest collections of prints and drawings. The building was refurbished at the beginning of the nineteenth century, and the light-filled, delicately Neo-Classical Hall of the Muses where the concert takes place is an exact contemporary of Schubert’s maturity.

Austrian baritone Florian Boesch is one of today’s foremost Lieder interpreters with appearances at Wigmore Hall,

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The Danube Music Festival, 20–27 August 2015

©Clive Barda ©Lukas Beck

Photos, clockwise from above left: Graham Johnson; Wiener Kammerchor; ATOS Trio; Florian Boesch.

Illustration, facing page: Vienna, Palais Ferstel, wood engraving 1890; left: Bratislava, 20th-century woodcut.

©Frank Jerke

Musikverein and Konzerthaus Vienna, Het Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Laeiszhalle Hamburg, Philharmonie Cologne, Carnegie Hall New York, Edinburgh and elsewhere. Florian Boesch will be a Wigmore Hall artist in residence in 2014–15.

Concert 4 Bratislava, Primatial Palace

Graham Johnson obe has appeared in recital with the world’s leading recitalists. His extensive discography includes the entire Schubert and Schumann Lieder for Hyperion Records. Professor of Accompaniment at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, he holds Honorary Doctorates from Durham University and the New England Conservatory, is a Chevalier in the Ordre des Arts et Lettres and an Honorary Member of the Royal Philharmonic Society. He was awarded the Wigmore Hall Medal in 2013.

Since its foundation in 2003 the multi-award winning ATOS Trio has rapidly risen to international prominence, giving hundreds of concerts throughout Europe, USA and Australia to capacity audiences and critical acclaim. Their recordings endeavour to showcase lesser-known works as well as familiar repertoire.

Their programme includes Schubert settings of Goethe, Jacobi and Mayrhofer.

Return to the ship after the recital and sail during lunch downstream to Bratislava (formerly Pressburg). Now capital of Slovakia, it was for three hundred years capital of the Habsburg rump of Hungary while Ottoman Turks occupied most of the country. Its compact historic centre is a delight, one of the loveliest along the Danube, a dense mesh of unspoilt streets, squares and well restored façades.

The concert takes place in the two-storey Mirror Hall in the Primatial Palace, formerly the seat of the Archbishop of Hungary, now the Town Hall. When completed in 1781 it was the grandest building in Bratislava after the castle.

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The ATOS Trio

The Trio perform Schubert’s Piano Trio in B flat, Op.99, his Notturno and Dvorak’s Piano Trio in F minor Op.65.

After the concert, sail upsteam and moor at Vienna-Nussdorf once again.

Walkers. Drive to Vienna for a morning concert in the Albertina with Florian Boesch (baritone) and Graham Johnson (piano).

Lunch and time to settle in at the hotel. In the afternoon drive up the Leopoldsberg, a high hill with fine views over the capital and the Danube valley. Walk down through beech woods, vineyards and salubrious ivy-clad suburbs on a 5.5km walk on footpaths, country roads and quiet streets. Easy terrain. Refreshments in the attractive wine-producing village of Heiligenstadt before returning to the centre of Vienna for the first of two nights here.

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The Programme Day 4, Sunday 23 August Vienna Wake up at Nussdorf. There is free time in Vienna before you converge for an afternoon concert at the Palais Ferstel, a beautiful, opulent neo-mediaeval building of the 1860s. It formerly accommodated the stock exchange and a bank, and still houses offices, shops and the famous Café Central.

Concert 5 Vienna, Palais Ferstel Austro-Hungarian Haydn Philharmonic Adam Fischer conductor The Österreiches-Ungarisches Haydn Philharmonie was founded by Adam Fischer in 1987 to bring together outstanding musicians from both countries. They have recorded Haydn’s complete symphonies, performed a Beethoven cycle in 2013 and will perform the complete Schubert symphonies in 2015. Touring widely, they have acquired an international reputation as one of the most spirited and sensitive interpreters of the Viennese classics.

Despite being in demand around the world, and a busy summer schedule, conductor Adam Fischer continues a very special relationship with the orchestra he founded and with Martin Randall Travel. Nicolas Altstaedt will become the artistic director of the orchestra as of next season.

The Orchestra performs Schubert’s Symphonies No.3 & No.4.

Sail overnight to Melk.

Walkers. A free day in Vienna with the option of a walking tour with a local guide. Attend the evening concert. Overnight Vienna.

Day 5, Monday 24 August Melk A leisurely morning sailing upstream from Vienna to Melk, passing through some of the loveliest scenery along the whole of the Danube. Disembark for a visit to the Melk Abbey, which rises dramatically on a rock outcrop beside the river. One of the most brilliant creations of the Age of Baroque, there is a sequence comprising ceremonial courtyards, guest apartments, hall and library culminating in a church of unsurpassed decorative richness.

The concert follows.

Concert 6 Melk Abbey, Kolomanisaal Michael Collins clarinet & The Endellion String Quartet Central European monasteries enjoyed a final flowering in the eighteenth century, and among their contributions to society many ranked as considerable patrons of music. Mozart was one of innumerable professional musicians who performed at Melk, and it is recorded that monks played chamber music for private

©Bernhard Wolff

©Felix Broede

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The Danube Music Festival, 20–27 August 2015

enjoyment. The concert is in the lavishly frescoed Kolomanisaal, a second-floor hall not normally accessible to visitors.

Since at the age of sixteen winning the woodwind section of the first ever BBC Young Musician of the Year Award, Michael Collins has become one of today’s most sought-after clarinettists.

He is also a noted conductor, appointed in 2010 as Principal Conductor of the City of London Sinfonia. His extensive discography has won him many awards.

The Endellion String Quartet recently celebrated its 35th anniversary. They have toured worldwide, have broadcast numerous times on BBC radio and television and performed many times at London’s Southbank Centre and Wigmore Hall.

Today Michael Collins and The Endellion String Quartet and Friends perform Schubert’s Octet and his Quartettsatz.

Return to the ship and moor overnight at Melk.

Walkers. Drive up to Göttweig Abbey, a magnificent building which crowns a prominent hill, and begin the walk, which incorporates a segment of the pilgrimage route to Santiago (c. 5km). After a steep descent, traverse gently inclined vine-clad slopes to the Danube. Cross the river for lunch in Krems and then drive to Melk for the afternoon concert at Melk Abbey. Then a short drive to Dürnstein, the prettiest little town on the Danube, a compact group of mediaeval, Renaissance and Baroque buildings set amidst the finest wine-producing area in Austria. First of two nights here.

Day 6, Tuesday 25 August Grafenegg, Atzenbrugg Sail to Krems in the morning and disembark for the short drive to Schloss Grafenegg, a mediaeval country residence which was augmented with one of Austria’s most flamboyant and successful essays in the Gothic Revival.

At the end of a procession of rooms, elaborately decorated with carved and inlaid woodwork, the 1840s Garden Room is filled with natural light.

Concert 7 Grafenegg, Gartensaal Igor Levit piano The Russian-German pianist Igor Levit, born in 1987, emerged from the Hanover Academy of Music with the highest performance and academic marks in the institution’s history.

He has rapidly become one of the most sought-after pianists of his generation and appears throughout Europe. His Beethoven sonata cycle has earned particular praise.

Igor Levit performs Schubert’s Moments Musicaux and Beethoven’s Sonata No.3 in C, Op.2.

Return to the ship for lunch and sail downstream to Tulln.

Disembark and drive to the village of Atzenbrugg. Here is a modest manor house once tenanted by the uncle of one of

©Eric Richmond

Illustration, facing page: Vienna, watercolour by Donald Maxwell, publ. 1932; above: Melk Abbey, engraving c. 1850.

©Ben Ealovega

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Photos, clockwise from top left: The Austro-Hungarian Haydn Philharmonic with Adam Fischer (conductor); The Endellion String Quartet; Michael Collins; Igor Levit.

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The Programme ©Ben Ealovega

©Garreth Wong

©Kaupo Kikkas

Schubert’s circle, Franz von Schober, whither Schubert came with friends in the early 1820s. Entertainments were contrived which came to be known as ‘Schubertiades’ – music was played, songs sung, poems read, drinks drunk, jolly japes perpetrated.

Wood-framed, Viennese and dating to 1864, the piano at Schloss Atzenbrugg produces a sound with which Schubert would have been familiar. The audience splits again and the hour-long recital is performed twice.

Concert 8 Schloss Atzenbrugg

Return to the ship after the concert and sail upstream through the night and following morning.

Robin Tritschler tenor Ailish Tynan soprano James Baillieu piano Tenor Robin Tritschler has quickly gained a reputation both in operatic roles and as a recitalist, and performs in major venues in Europe and America. A recent BBC New Generation artist, he has won awards at the Kathleen Ferrier competition, the China International Singing Competition and the Wigmore Hall International Song Competition.

Irish soprano Ailish Tynan received the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Rosenblatt Recital Prize (2003), was a BBC New Generation Artist and a Vilar Young Artist at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. She has performed internationally in opera, concerts and recitals.

South African pianist James Baillieu is in great demand both to accompany many of today’s leading singers and instrumentalists and as a coach, working in Italy, Spain and Germany, as well as Britain. He became Professor of Piano Accompaniment at the Royal Academy of Music in 2011.

Their programme includes some well known Lieder by Schubert, including his masterpiece Gretchen am Spinnrade, as well as settings by Shakespeare, von Schober and Ossian.

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Walkers. Drive to Schloss Grafenegg for the recital with Igor Levit (piano). Lunch on board the ship with other festival participants and sail downstream to Tülln. Disembark and drive to the village of Atzenbrugg. Concert at Schloss Atzenbrugg with Robin Tritschler (tenor), Ailish Tynan (soprano), James Baillieu (pianist). Overnight Dürnstein.

Day 7, Wednesday 26 August, Linz Towards the end of the morning moor at Linz, the historic capital of Upper Austria. A picturesque maze of streets, alleys and historic buildings is grouped around the huge market square only yards away from the mooring.

Drive to the Abbey of St Florian. Founded in the eighth century, the Abbey became one of the richest in the Austrian Empire.

Wholesale rebuilding took place between 1686 and 1751, Austria’s great period of political and military confidence and architectural ambition. The concert takes place in the Sala Terrena, a room whose decoration shows that it was used for making music.

Photos, clockwise from top left: Robin Tritschler; Ailish Tynan; James Baillieu.

Illustration: Linz, main square and Old Cathedral, aquatint c. 1930.

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The Danube Music Festival, 20–27 August 2015

©Sussie Ahlburg

The group will perform the Schubert’s Quintet with their former teacher, Alasdair Tait.

Sail upstream overnight from Linz to Passau, with a reception and dinner against a backdrop of river and wooded hills receding into the dusk.

Walkers. A morning walk of c. 6.5km starts with a climb of 15 minutes on a small road into the vine-clad hills overlooking the Danube and dips periodically into shaded gullies with butterflies, abundant wildflowers and red-roofed villages in the valley below.

The terrain is easy underfoot as the walk is predominantly on quiet, shaded roads. Return to Dürnstein for some free time before travelling by coach to Vienna Airport. Return to Heathrow at c. 8.30pm.

Day 8, Thursday 27 August Passau, Munich Concert 9 St Florian, Sala Terrena The Heath Quartet & Alasdair Tait cello Formed in 2002, the Heath Quartet is an exciting and original voice on the international chamber music scene. Recipients of many awards, they perform regularly at major centres, often collaborating with leading artists and composers. Highlights in their current schedule include recitals in Spain and their debut at Lincoln Center. They are members of the faculty at Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

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The ship moors at Passau and coaches leave for Munich city centre and the airport between 8.30 and 9.30am. See page 13 for the options available for return travel to London. Selecting Option 2 allows for four hours of independent sightseeing in Munich.

Photo, left: The Heath Quartet.

Illustration: Abbey of St Florian, lithograph c. 1840.

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More about the festival

Lecturers Dr Michael Downes (left). Director of Music at the University of St Andrews. He is a reviewer for the Times Literary Supplement, and has lectured on music and opera for organisations including the Royal Opera House and Glyndebourne. He is the author of a highly praised study of contemporary British composer Jonathan Harvey. Since moving to Scotland, he has established St Andrews Opera and has become the musical director of the St Andrews Chorus.

ŠBill Knight

The concerts Private events. These concerts are planned and administered by Martin Randall Travel. The audience, no more than 140, consists exclusively of those who have booked the full festival package.

Seating. Specific seats are not reserved. You sit where you want.

Acoustics. This festival is more concerned with authenticity and ambience than acoustical perfection. While some of the venues have excellent acoustics, others have idiosyncrasies not found in modern concert halls.

Changes. Musicians fall ill, venues require restoration, rivers flood (or run dry): there are many unforeseeable circumstances which could necessitate changes to the programme. We ask you to be understanding should they occur.

Floods and droughts. We cannot rule out changes to the programme arising from exceptionally high or low water levels on the Danube, either of which may bring river traffic to a halt.

These might necessitate more travel by coach or the loss of a concert, though we would always try to minimise the impact on the itinerary.

(The photograph above was taken at one of the concerts of The Danube Music Festival in 2014.)

Professor Sir Richard J. Evans (centre). Regius Professor of History and President of Wolfson College at the University of Cambridge. He is author of numerous books on Central European history including The Coming of the Third Reich, The Third Reich in Power and The Third Reich at War, and is currently working on The Pursuit of Power: Europe 1815–1914, a volume in the Penguin History of Europe. His latest book is Altered Pasts: Counterfactuals in History (Little, Brown, 2014).

Richard Wigmore (right). Music writer, lecturer and broadcaster for BBC Radio 3. He writes for BBC Music Magazine and Gramophone and has taught classes in Lieder history and interpretation at the Guildhall, Trinity College of Music and Birkbeck College. His publications include Schubert: the Complete Song Texts and Pocket Guide to Haydn.

Fitness for the festival Quite a lot of walking is necessary to reach the concert venues and to get around the towns visited. The ship has a lift, but most of the venues do not. Participants need to be averagely fit, surefooted and able to manage everyday walking and stairclimbing without difficulty.

This festival is not really suitable for wheelchair users but please speak to us if you would like to discuss this.

We will issue all participants with more detailed fitness requirements, but please contact us now if you would like to discuss your level of fitness.

There is no age limit but we do ask you to think seriously about the above.

Fitness for The Walking Party. This is a walking tour: it is essential for participants to be in good physical condition and to be used to country walking with uphill content. There are a few moderately steep climbs for short stretches, but no walk is more than 6 miles or 3 hours. There is not always the opportunity to return to the hotel to freshen up before every concert or dinner.

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more about the festival

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The Danube Music Festival, 20–27 August 2015

Travel Options

Flights from the UK We are offering a choice of three scheduled Lufthansa flights to Munich, from London or Manchester.

Please note that each outbound flight is tied to a particular inbound flight. You cannot mix flights from different options.

Option 1: Heathrow, lunch in Landshut

Option 4: Making your own arrangements

Fly from London Heathrow to Munich at 9.05am (LH 2471, departing Heathrow 09.05, arriving Munich 11.55). Break the journey to Passau with lunch at Landshut, a former capital of Bavaria. There are two hours here, and it should be possible to see the main street with its Renaissance and Baroque house fronts, the great Gothic church of St Martin or the precociously Italianate Renaissance ducal palace.

You can choose not to take any of these flights and to make your own arrangements for joining at Passau, boarding the ship between 4.00pm and 6.00pm. You are welcome to join one of the group transfers from Munich Airport.

Return to London Heathrow at 3.35pm (LH 2476, departing Munich 14.35, arriving London Heathrow 15.35).

The Walking Party

Option 2: Heathrow, free time in Munich Fly from London Heathrow to Munich at 11.05am (LH 2473, departing London Heathrow 11.05, arriving Munich 13.55).

Drive directly from Munich Airport to the ship at Passau, a journey of under two hours.

Return to London Heathrow at 7.20pm (LH 2480, departing Munich 18.20, arriving Heathrow 19.20). Coaches take you first to the centre of Munich, where you have about four hours of free time, before continuing to the airport.

Option 3: Manchester Fly from Manchester to Munich at 10.50am (LH 2501, departing Manchester 10.50, arriving Munich 13.50). Drive directly from Munich Airport to the ship at Passau, a journey of under two hours.

Return to Manchester at 4.30pm (LH 2502, departing Munich 15.25, arriving Manchester 16.30). Coaches take you first to the centre of Munich, where you have about two hours of free time, before continuing to the airport.

It is not usually possible to arrange connecting flights with other regional UK airports.

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There is a price reduction for this ‘no flights’ option of £210 per person.

Thursday 20 August: fly at 9.55am from London Heathrow to Vienna.

Thursday 27 August: fly from Vienna to London Heathrow, arriving at 8.35pm.

Pre-festival tour Vienna’s Masterpieces (See page 16 for full details of this tour) Sunday 16 August: fly from London Heathrow to Vienna at 9.15am.

Thursday 27 August: fly from Munich to London Heathrow, arriving at 3.35pm (i.e. festival flight option 1).

Illustration: Grein, lithograph by A. Kunike c. 1840.

This brochure was produced inhouse. The text was written chiefly by Martin Randall and Frances Filmer-Sankey with assistance from Lizzie Howard. It was designed by Jo Murray and was sent to the printers on the 7th October 2014.

travel options

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Accommodation ©Bill Knight

The Ship The Amadeus Silver II is one of the most comfortable cruisers on the waterways of Europe. The multinational crew is dedicated to the highest standards of service.

With a minimum floor area of 17.5m2 the cabins are reasonably spacious by the standards of river cruisers. All have windows to the outside and are equipped with the facilities one would expect of a first-class hotel including shower, w.c., individually adjustable air-conditioning, telephone, TV and safe. Special attention has been paid to noise insulation.

In layout and furnishings the cabins are identical, the significant differences being the size of windows and height above water level (higher cabins enjoy better views and fewer stairs).

Cabins on the top two decks (Mozart and Strauss) are the most desirable, with floor to ceiling windows (200 x 250 cm) which slide open. Also on the Mozart deck are twelve suites measuring approximately 26.4m2 which have a sofa, table and armchair, a bath, minibar, safe and a small balcony.

Cabins on the lowest (Haydn) deck have smaller windows (160 x 40 cm) which don’t open. There are no single cabins as such but we are allocating some two-bed cabins for single occupancy.

Standard cabin (17.5 m²)

Suite (26.4 m²)

The public areas on the upper deck include the lounge and bar, a library area and a restaurant which can seat everyone at a single sitting. The sun deck has a tented area for shade.

Please note that this information may change as the vessel is still under construction. www.lueftner-cruises.com

Hotels, for the walkers Hotel zur Post, Melk (post-melk.at): a family-run hotel in the centre of the town, fairly simple, but adequately comfortable.

Ranked as 4-star but more comparable to a good 3-star. Hotel Bristol, Vienna (bristolvienna.com): a 5-star hotel in a superb location on the Ringstrasse near the opera house, traditionally furnished and decorated. Richard Löwenherz, Dürnstein (richardloewenherz.at): a lovely old-fashioned hotel occupying a historic building with garden and outdoor pool.

A view over the Danube, engraving c. 1850.

Strauss

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accommodation

Suite (26.4 m²)

Haydn

Standard cabin (17.5 m²)

Mozart

book online at www.martinrandall.com

The Danube Music Festival, 20–27 August 2015

Prices & the festival package Staying on-board the ship All prices are per person

Two sharing

Single occupancy*

Haydn deck (lowest)

£3,140

£3,760

Strauss deck (middle)

£3,910

£4,680

Mozart deck (top)

£4,280

£5,160

Suites (Mozart deck)

£4,930

–

No flights: subtract £210 per person from the prices above.

Deposit: £300 per person. *All cabins are designed to accommodate two passengers. We make a limited amount of cabins on each deck available for single occupancy, which usually sell out quickly. Around three months before the start of the festival we may offer any remaining unsold cabins previously reserved for double occupancy to single travellers on the waiting list at a higher price (Haydn £4,060; Strauss £5,060; Mozart £5,560).

The Walking Party £2,790 per person, based on two sharing. £3,070 for single occupancy.

Price without flights: £2,600 per person, or £2,880 for single occupancy.

Pre-festival tour Prices and full details for Vienna’s Masterpieces, are on page 16.

What the price includes Admission to all nine concerts (six for the walking party) and daily lectures.

Accommodation on a first-class river cruiser for seven nights, or for six nights in hotels for the walking party.

Flights between the UK and Munich for those on the ship, or London and Vienna for the walking party. There is a price reduction if you do not use these.

All meals, from dinner on the first day to breakfast on the last, with wine, and interval drinks. For the walkers, five dinners and four lunches are included.

Coach travel between the airport and ship or hotel and to the concert venues (when not reached on foot).

All tips, taxes and admission charges.

Practical and historical information and a detailed programme booklet.

The assistance of an experienced team of festival staff.

Illustration, above: engraving c. 1880; top right: Franz Schubert, engraving c. 1870.

About us Martin Randall Travel aims to provide the best planned, best led and altogether the most fulfilling and enjoyable cultural tours and events available. They focus on art, music, history and archaeology in Britain and continental Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, Asia and the Americas.

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Each year there are about 240 expert-led tours for small groups (usually 10 to 20 participants), a dozen music festivals and symposia and about 80 study days in London. For over twentyfive years the company has led the field through incessant innovation and improvement, and set the benchmarks for itinerary planning, operational systems and service standards.

MRT is Britain’s leading specialist in cultural travel and one of the most respected tour operators in the world.

prices & the package

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Vienna’s Masterpieces – the art collections of an Imperial capital Day 4. Another walk through picturesque streets and squares passes private palaces and public buildings such as the Gothic Revival city hall and the Neo-Classical Parliament.

The Leopold Collection comprises excellent examples of the arts from the turn of the 19th century. The afternoon is spent in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, this time concentrating on Italian pictures – Bellini, Titian, Bellotto. There is also the recently redisplayed Kunstkammer here, an outstanding collection of metalwork and sculpture.

Day 5. Take a tram around the Ringstrasse, a boulevard encircling the inner city lined with magnificent palaces and institutions of the later nineteenth century. Visit the Museum of Applied Arts, an outstanding collection from all eras and places, well displayed. Walk back to the hotel through further enchanting streetscape. Travel by rail 14.52–17.18 to Passau to join the festival.

Vienna, Josefsplatz, engraving c. 1810.

Pre-festival tour 16–20 August 2015 (mb 416) Lecturer: Angus Haldane 5 days • £1,960 Focuses on the best of the art in the city – painting, sculpture and decorative arts.

Also the key architectural monuments and characteristic streetscape.

Perfectly located 5-star heritage hotel.

Vienna possesses one of the most significant concentrations of great art to be found anywhere in the world. There are Old Master paintings of the highest quality, indigenous early-modern art and design of the highest importance, furnishings and decorative arts from many civilizations, precious regalia and goldwork without peer – and much else besides. This tour includes all of the main art museums and many of the smaller or less-visited ones. There is also more than a passing glance at the most important works of architecture, and the lecturer’s input touches on the fascinating and turbulent history of Austria and her empire.

The seat of the Habsburgs, pre-eminent city of the Holy Roman Empire and capital of a vast multinational agglomeration of territories, Vienna is appropriately equipped with magnificent buildings and broad boulevards. But cheek by jowl with grandiloquent palaces and trumpeting churches are narrow alleys and ancient courtyards which survive from the mediaeval city. In Vienna the magnificent mixes with the unpretentiously charming, imperial

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pre-festival tour

display with the Gemütlichkeit of the coffee houses. Diversity and delight.

On the final day of the festival (27th August), return on festival flight option 1 (Munich to Heathrow, arriving at c. 3.40pm).

Itinerary

Lecturer

Day 1. Fly at c. 9.15am from London Heathrow to Vienna (Austrian Airlines) and drive to the hotel. After lunch, walk to the Kunsthistorisches Museum, one of the world’s greatest collections of Old Masters. For this first visit concentrate on the northern schools, especially the early Netherlandish school, the famous Bruegels, Rubens, Rembrandt and Vermeer.

Angus Haldane studied Classics at Oxford, and Byzantine and Renaissance art at the Courtauld. He worked for many years as an expert in the Impressionist and 19thCentury Department at Christie’s and in the British Paintings Department at Sotheby’s.

Angus now acts as a private art consultant, dealer, writer and lecturer and is a member of the Society of London Art Dealers.

Day 2. The splendid Belvedere Palace now houses the national collection of Austrian art, mediaeval, Baroque, Biedermeier and Secessionist – Klimt and Schiele. An afternoon walk around the Roman and mediaeval core of the city takes in the Cathedral, the greatest of Gothic buildings in the Danubian lands, distinguished for its late mediaeval sculpture, and the Hofburg, the sprawling winter palace of the Habsburgs.

The precious regalia and objets d’art in the Treasury are the best of their kind.

Practicalities

Day 3. In a park a few minutes from the hotel see the Art Nouveau former metro stations by Otto Wagner and the great Baroque Church of St Charles. The excellent Vienna Museum traces the city’s history through art and artefacts. In the afternoon visit the Secession Building which contains Klimt’s Beethoven Frieze, the magnificent Great Hall of the Court Library and the excellent if small gallery of the Academy of Fine Arts. Among its holdings is a masterpiece by Hieronymus Bosch.

Price: £1,960 (deposit: £200). Including air travel (economy class); 1st class train ticket from Vienna to Passau, coach travel for transfers and excursions; accommodation; breakfasts, 1 lunch, 3 dinners with wine; admissions; tips; taxes; services of the lecturer. Single supplement £250 (double for single occupancy). Price without flights £1,750.

As flights are included in the price of this tour, your festival booking will automatically be charged at the ‘no flights’ price.

Accommodation. Hotel Bristol (bristolvienna.com): 5-star hotel in a superb location on the Ringstrasse near the opera house, traditionally furnished and decorated.

How strenuous? Quite a lot of walking on and standing around in galleries. Tram is used on some occasions.

Group size: 10–22 participants.

book online at www.martinrandall.com

The Danube Music Festival, 20–27 August 2015

Booking form Travellers’ names. Give your name(s) as you would like it/them to appear to other festival participants.

1.

2.

Contact details for correspondence.

Address

Fax Mobile Email

Postcode

☐ Tick if you do NOT want to receive updates by email on other tours and festivals.

Telephone (home)

☐ Tick if you do NOT want to receive any more of our brochures.

Telephone (work)

How did you originally hear about us?

Deck & cabin type (see page 14). Please tick.

Single occupancy Haydn deck (lowest)

☐

The walking alternative (tick to book)

Twin cabin Twin cabin (beds together) (beds separate)

☐

☐

Strauss deck (middle)

☐

☐

☐

Mozart deck (top)

☐

☐

☐

Mozart suites

–

☐

☐

Travel options (see page 13 for fuller details and prices). ☐ Option 1: Heathrow, lunch in Landshut Heathrow–Munich 09.05–11.55, lunch in Landshut en route to the ship. Munich–Heathrow 14.35–15.35. ☐ Option 2: Heathrow, free time in Munich Heathrow–Munich 11.05–13.55. c. 4 hrs free time in Munich on the final day, Munich–Heathrow 18.20–19.20. ☐ Option 3: Manchester Manchester–Munich 10.50–13.50. c. 2 hrs free time in Munich on the final day, Munich–Manchester 15.25–16.30. ☐ Option 4: no flights. Making your own arrangements for travelling to and from the festival.

If you are booking the walking alternative or the pre-festival tour, you do not need to complete this section.

☐ Walking the Danube, 20–26 August 2015 (mb 421) Room type

Flights

☐ Single occupancy

☐ Group flights

☐ Twin (two sharing)

☐ Making own travel arrangements

☐ Double (two sharing)

Pre-festival tour (tick to book) ☐ Vienna’s Masterpieces, 16–20 August 2015 (mb 416) Room type

Flights

☐ Single occupancy

☐ Group flights (at the start of the tour and end of the festival)

☐ Twin (two sharing) ☐ Double (two sharing)

☐ Making own travel arrangements

Special requests including dietary requirements (even if you have told us before).

m a rt i n r a n d a l l t r av e l

Booking form Passport details (in block capitals). Essential for airlines and in case of emergency during the festival.

Traveller 1

Traveller 2

Title

Title

Surname

Surname

Forename(s)

Forename(s)

Date of birth (dd/mm/yy)

Date of birth (dd/mm/yy)

Passport number

Passport number

Place of birth

Place of birth

Place of issue

Place of issue

Nationality

Nationality

Date of issue (dd/mm/yy)

Date of issue (dd/mm/yy)

Date of expiry (dd/mm/yy)

Date of expiry (dd/mm/yy)

Next of kin or contact in case of emergency.

Name

Telephone number

Address

Relation to you

Payment details EITHER deposit(s) at £300 per person for the festival, plus £200 per person if you are booking the pre-festival tour.

Total: £ OR full payment – required if you are booking within ten weeks of departure (i.e. 11th June 2015 or later).

Total: £ ☐ EITHER by cheque. Please make cheques payable to Martin Randall Travel Ltd. Write the festival code (mb 420) on the back. ☐ OR by credit or debit card. We accept payment by Visa, Amex or Mastercard.

Agreement I have read and agree to the Booking Conditions on behalf of all listed on this form.

Signed

Card number Expiry date

☐ OR by bank transfer. Please use your surname and the festival code (mb 420) as the reference and allow for all bank charges.

Account name: Martin Randall Travel Ltd Bank name and address: Royal Bank of Scotland, Drummonds, 49 Charing Cross, London SW1A 2DX Account number: 0019 6050 Sort code: 16-00-38 IBAN: GB71 RBOS 1600 3800 1960 50 Swift/ BIC code: RBOS GB2L

Start date

Date

Australia: Telephone 1300 55 95 95 USA: Telephone 1 800 988 6168 Martin Randall Travel Ltd New Zealand: Telephone 0800 877 622 Voysey House, Barley Mow Passage, anz@martinrandall.com.au London, United Kingdom W4 4GF Telephone 020 8742 3355 Fax 020 8742 7766 Canada: Telephone 647 382 1644 canada@martinrandall.ca info@martinrandall.co.uk www.martinrandall.com 5085

The Danube Music Festival, 20–27 August 2015

Making a booking 1. Provisional booking

2. Definite booking

3. Our confirmation

We recommend that you contact us first to ascertain that your preferred accommodation is still available. You can make a provisional booking which we will hold for one week (longer if necessary) pending receipt of your completed Booking Form and deposit.

Fill in the Booking Form and send it to us with the deposit(s). It is important that you read the Booking Conditions at this stage, and that you sign the Booking Form. Full payment is required if you are booking within ten weeks of the festival.

Upon receipt of your Booking Form and deposit we send you confirmation of your booking. After this your deposit is nonreturnable except in the special circumstances mentioned in the Booking Conditions.

countries should ascertain whether visas are required in their case, and obtain them if they are.

holder will perform those obligations and you agree to pay any money outstanding to be paid by you under your contract to that alternative ATOL holder. However, you also agree that in some cases it will not be possible to appoint an alternative ATOL holder, in which case you will be entitled to make a claim under the ATOL scheme (or your credit card issuer where applicable). If we, or the suppliers identified on your ATOL certificate, are unable to provide the services listed (or a suitable alternative, through an alternative ATOL holder or otherwise) for reasons of insolvency, the Trustees of the Air Travel Trust may make a payment to (or confer a benefit on) you under the ATOL scheme. You agree that in return for such a payment or benefit you assign absolutely to those Trustees any claims which you have or may have arising out of or relating to the nonprovision of the services, including any claim against us (or your credit card issuer where applicable). You also agree that any such claims maybe re-assigned to another body, if that other body has paid sums you have claimed under the ATOL scheme.

Booking conditions Please read these You need to sign your assent to these booking conditions on the booking form.

Our promises to you We aim to be fair, reasonable and sympathetic in all our dealings with clients, and to act always with integrity.

We will meet all our legal and regulatory responsibilities, often going beyond the minimum obligations.

We aim to provide full and accurate information about our tours and festivals.

If there are changes, we will tell you promptly.

If something does go wrong, we will try to put it right. Our overriding aim is to ensure that every client is satisfied with our services.

All we ask of you We ask that you read the information we send to you.

Specific terms Our contract with you. From the time we receive your signed booking form and initial payment, a contract exists between you and Martin Randall Travel Ltd. Eligibility. We reserve the right to refuse a booking without necessarily giving a reason.

You need to have a level of fitness which would not spoil other participants’ enjoyment of the holiday by slowing them down – see ‘Fitness for the festival’ on page 12. To this end we shall issue fitness requirements to all participants to self-assess their capability.

Those participants who are unable to cope during the festival or pre-festival tour may be required to opt out.

Insurance. It is a requirement of booking that you have adequate holiday insurance. Cover for medical treatment, repatriation, loss of property and cancellation charges must be included. Insurance can be obtained from most insurance companies, banks, travel agencies and (in the UK) many retail outlets including Post Offices.

Passports and visas. Participants must have passports, valid for at least six months beyond the date of the festival. No visas are required for the countries visited during the festival (Austria, Germany, Slovakia) for UK or other EU citizens, or for citizens of the USA, Canada, Australia or New Zealand. Nationals of other

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If you cancel. If you have to cancel your participation in the festival or the pre-festival tour, there would be a charge which varies according to the period of notice you give. Up to 57 days before departure the deposit only is forfeited. Thereafter a percentage of the total cost will be due: from 56 to 29 days: from 28 to 15 days: from 14 to 3 days: within 48 hours:

40% 60% 80% 100%

We take as the day of cancellation that on which we receive your written confirmation of cancellation.

If we cancel the festival or tour. We might decide to cancel the festival or tour if at any time up to eight weeks before there were insufficient bookings for it to be viable. We would refund everything you had paid to us. We might also cancel if hostilities, civil unrest, natural disaster or other circumstances amounting to force majeure affect the region.

Safety and security. If the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office advises against travel to places visited on the festival or tour, we would cancel or adjust the itinerary to avoid the risky area. In the event of cancellation before the festival or tour commenced we would give you a full refund.

Our tours and festivals subscribe to the health and safety legislation of the destination. In some parts of the world the law concerning seatbelts differs to the UK. Financial protection.

We provide full financial protection for our package holidays, by way of our Air Travel Organiser’s Licence number 3622. When you buy an ATOL protected flight inclusive holiday from us you receive an ATOL Certificate. This lists what is financially protected, where you can get information on what this means for you and who to contact if things go wrong. We will provide you with the services listed on the ATOL Certificate (or a suitable alternative).

In some cases, where we aren’t able do so for reasons of insolvency, an alternative ATOL holder may provide you with the services you have bought or a suitable alternative (at no extra cost to you). You agree to accept that in those circumstances the alternative ATOL

We provide full financial protection for our package holidays that do not include a flight, by way of a bond held by ABTA The Travel Association.

The limits of our liabilities. As principal, we accept responsibility for all ingredients of the festival or tour, except those in which the principle of force majeure prevails. Our obligations and responsibilities are also limited where international conventions apply in respect of air, sea or rail carriers, including the Warsaw Convention and its various updates.

If we make changes. Circumstances might arise which prevent us from operating the festival or tour exactly as advertised. We would try to devise a satisfactory alternative, but if the change represents a significant loss to the festival or tour we would offer compensation. If you decide to cancel because the alternative we offer is not acceptable we would give a full refund.

English Law. These conditions form part of your contract with Martin Randall Travel Ltd and are governed by English law. All proceedings shall be within the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

booking details

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Martin Randall Travel Ltd Voysey House Barley Mow Passage London United Kingdom W4 4GF Telephone 020 8742 3355 Fax 020 8742 7766 info@martinrandall.co.uk

‘The programming was superb, and the performances, without exception, were wonderful.’

Martin Randall Australasia PO Box 1024 Indooroopilly QLD 4068 Telephone 1300 55 95 95 Fax 07 3371 8288 anz@martinrandall.com.au From New Zealand: Telephone 0800 877 622

Canada: Telephone 647 382 1644 Fax 416 925 2670 canada@martinrandall.ca

‘This tour was an example of a master class in organisation and choice of music.’

Comments from participants on previous MRT music festivals

USA: Telephone 1 800 988 6168

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www.martinrandall.com

Front cover: a print published in 1897 after A Schubert Evening in a Vienna Salon by Julius Schmid.

Back cover: Melk Abbey, lithograph by Alois Hänisch (1866–1937).