MUSIC 2020 & 2021

M A RT I N R A N D A L L T R AV E L A RT • A R C H I T E C T U R E • G A S T R ONO M Y • A R C H A E OLO G Y • H I S TORY • M U S I C

MUSIC 2020 & 2021 Tours | Martin Randall Festivals | Short Chamber Music Breaks | London Days

About us

Britain’s leading specialist in cultural travel Martin Randall Travel is committed to providing the best planned, the best led and altogether the most fulfilling and enjoyable cultural tours available. Operating in around 50 countries in Europe, Asia, the Americas and the Middle East, our mission is to deepen your understanding and enhance your appreciation of the achievements of civilisations around the world.

First-rate lecturers. Expert speakers are a key ingredient in our tours and events. They are selected not only for their knowledge, but also for their ability to communicate clearly and engagingly to a lay audience.

Small groups, congenial company. Unless specified otherwise, our tours run with between 10 and 22 participants. You are highly likely to find yourself in good company, self-selected by common interests and endorsement of the company’s ethos.

Hotel accommodation.

All breakfasts, most dinners and some lunches.

Wine or beer, soft drinks, tea or coffee at lunch and dinner.

Care for our clients, suppliers and employees.

We aim for faultless administration from your first encounter with us to the end of the holiday, and beyond. Personal service is a feature. We are a fair, inclusive company and we trust everyone who has dealings with MRT to treat our clients, suppliers and employees with courtesy, empathy and respect.

Tips for waiters, porters, drivers and local guides.

ABOUT US

Travelling in comfort. We select our hotels with great care; most are rated as 4-star or 5-star.

We invest similar efforts in the selection of restaurants, menus and wines. For flights and trains, we try to choose the most convenient departure times. Rail journeys are usually in first-class seats.

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The services of the lecturer and a tour manager – and local guides where appropriate.

Travelling solo. We welcome people travelling on their own, for whom our tours are ideal. We also offer tours exclusively for solo travellers.

Original itineraries, meticulously planned.

Rooted in knowledge of the destination and of the subject matter of the tour, our itineraries are the outcome of assiduous research and reconnaissance. They are original and imaginative, To see our full range of cultural tours and events, well-paced and carefully balanced. please visit www.martinrandall.com.

Special arrangements are a feature of our tours: admission to places not generally open to travellers, access outside public hours, private concerts and extraordinary events.

Illustration: Detail from the Oratorio di San Giovanni Battista dei Fiorentini, Bologna (photo ©Ben Ealovega). Photograph: Lizzie Watson ©Ben Ealovega 2019

Included in our prices

All admissions to museums, galleries and sites visited on the itinerary.

If it is a music tour, good tickets to all included performances.

Return air or rail travel between London and the destination for tours outside the UK. There are some exceptions – if flights are not included, this is always stated.

Travel by private coach for all included excursions, and airport or railway transfers, if we include flights or trains.

All state and airport taxes.

Our clients have voted us Best Special Interest Holiday Company at the British Travel Awards for the last five years.

Dear Traveller, Musical preparations for this year have been in the works for months, if not years, and it is wonderful that 2020 is finally here – the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth. Top concert halls and musicians around the world are all taking this opportunity to celebrate arguably the greatest composer of all time, and we are no different.

Our Beethoven festivities include an extended chamber music break in Taunton, featuring outstanding artists, such as Rachel Podger and Llŷr Williams; our Celebrating Beethoven festival that takes place along the Danube, with an exceptional line up including Roderick Williams obe and the Pavel Haas Quartet; and a small group tour to Amsterdam in November to hear all of Beethoven’s symphonies in the spectacular Concertgebouw, performed by the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, among others.

As always, we have a strong programme of opera tours to suit all tastes. Perhaps for connoisseurs it is the chance to hear the rarely performed L’amore dei Tre Re at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan or this year’s must-see new production of Dialogues des Carmélites at Glydebourne, or perhaps it is experiencing the magic of Aida in the candlelit Arena di Verona for the first time, or Verdi’s beloved Rigoletto in the tiny gem that is the Teatro Verdi in Busseto.

Not forgetting the less known, this year we have a new tour to the delightful and intimate chamber music festival in Hindsgavl, Denmark. All concerts take place in a beautiful country house, where both the audience and artists sleep.

So, what will we do when the celebrations die down and 2021 arrives? Turn to other great composers and exciting new ideas, of course. Highlights of next year are sure to be our first ever Ring Cycle at the Royal Festival Hall in London, Leipzig’s superb Mahler festival, our own Schubert-themed chamber music break in Taunton and a brand-new choral festival featuring the Tallis Scholars in the beguiling Alentejo region of Portugal. Watch this space!

Glyndebourne & Garsington.....................4 Welsh National Opera................................4 The Ring in London....................................4 Opera in Prague & Brno......................... 5-6 Opera in Vienna..........................................6 The Schubertiade........................................6 Baroque Music in the Bolivian Missions........................................6 Ring Cycle Tours.........................................6 Opera & Ballet in Copenhagen..................7 Hindsgavl: Chamber Music in Denmark..................................8–9 Opera & Ballet in Paris...............................8 Opera in Berlin...........................................9 The Leipzig Bach Festival...........................9 Walking the Rhine Valley...........................9 Opera in Munich.........................................9 Opera in Turin & Milan...........................10 Historic Musical Instruments..................11 Music in Northern Italy with Stringletter........................................11 Verona Opera............................................12 Verdi in Parma & Busseto........................13 Naples: Art, Antiquities, Opera...............14 Lombardy: Gastronomy & Opera............14 Beethoven in Amsterdam.........................15 Concertgebouw Mahler Festival..............15 A Schubertiade in Catalonia....................16 The Lucerne Festival.................................17 UK Short Chamber Music Breaks in 2020 & 2021..........................................18 London Choral Day..................................19 London Organs Day.................................19 MARTIN RANDALL FESTIVALS.........................................20–21 Lecturers....................................................24 Booking details...................................25–27

Lizzie Watson | Product Development Manager – Music January 2020 ATOL 3622 | ABTA Y6050 | AITO 5085

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ABOUT US

In terms of our own large-scale events, Music in the Loire Valley deserves a particular mention – an entirely new and charming festival, it takes place in magnificent châteaux and historic venues in the ‘Garden of France’. Also unmissable will be our Venice: Pageantry & Piety festival – the glorious finale is a private concert of Monteverdi’s 1610 Vespers in the Basilica di San Marco.

Contents

Glyndebourne & Garsington Mitridate, Dialogues des Carmélites, L’elisir d’amore

5–8 June 2020 (mg 246) 4 days • £2,860 (including tickets to 3 performances) Lecturer: Dr John Allison Three operas at two of England’s highest quality country-house opera festivals – Glyndebourne and Garsington.

Mitridate | Mozart at Garsington. Tim Albery dir, Clemens Schuldt con, Robert Murray, Elizabeth Watts, Mary Bevan, Tim Mead, Jennifer France, Colin Judson, Florian Panzieri.

Glyndebourne’s first ever production of Dialogues des Carmélites | Poulenc. Barrie Kosky dir, Danielle de Niese, Doris Soffel, Golda Schultz, Karen Cargill, Fiona Kimm, Florie Valiquette, Paul Gay, Cyrille Dubois, Vincent Ordonneau.

MUSIC | UNITED KINGDOM

L’elisir d’amore | Donizetti at Glyndebourne.

Annabel Arden dir, Olga Kulchynska, Liparit Avetisyan, Biagio Pizzuti, Mikheil Kiria, Mané Galoyan.

Staying on the banks of the Thames in Henley and in a quiet country house hotel set in beautiful gardens.

When landowner John Christie built a small opera house for his professional soprano wife in the rolling Sussex Downs, he unwittingly founded Country House Opera. The Glyndebourne Festival started there in 1934 with two Mozart operas, and since then its popularity has inexorably grown. Today, Glyndebourne epitomises the English summertime.

Several other venues have followed Glyndebourne’s example and Garsington, now celebrating its 30th anniversary, has also established a sterling reputation for the worldclass standard of its opera festival. Founded in 1989 by the owner of Garsington Manor, an estate near Oxford where the Bloomsbury Group often congregated during the 1920s, the Festival 4

moved in 2011 to a purpose-built theatre at nearby Wormsley Park, the home of Mark Getty in Buckinghamshire.

The tour begins at Garsington with Mitridate.

Mozart was only 14 when he wrote his first opera seria, combining glorious melody, dazzling vocal fireworks and exquisitely tender melancholy.

Continue to Glyndebourne for this year’s must-see new production, Poulenc’s tragic and powerful Dialogues des Carmélites. It tells the story of a Carmelite convent whose nuns are condemned to death during the French Revolution. A modern masterpiece, it contrasts violent revolution with moments of startling simplicity and beauty.

One of the best loved of all Donizetti’s operas, L’elisir d’amore combines comedy and romance with the sweetest of melodies, including Nemorino’s captivating aria ‘Una furtive lagrima’.

Updating the action to the 1940s, Annabel Arden’s production celebrates the opera’s original joyful, colourful spirit, painting an affectionate picture of an Italy on the brink of political change.

Accompanied by musicologist Dr John Allison, there are daily talks on all three operas.

Annabel Arden (director), Enrique Mazzola (conductor), Olga Kulchynska (Adina), Liparit Avetisyan (Nemorino), Biagio Pizzuti (Belcore), Mikheil Kiria (Dr Dulcamara), Mané Galoyan (Giannetta), London Philharmonic Orchestra, The Glyndebourne Chorus. The performance begins at 4.00pm. Dinner is served in the long interval.

Second and final night in Horsted.

Itinerary

Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

Day 1: Henley-on-Thames, Garsington. The coach leaves Henley-on-Thames railway station at 2.10pm for the short drive to the hotel. After a talk at the hotel leave in the afternoon for Garsington. Mitridate (Mozart): Tim Albery (director), Clemens Schuldt (conductor), Robert Murray (Mitridate), Elizabeth Watts (Aspasia), Mary Bevan (Sifare), Tim Mead (Farnace), Jennifer France (Ismene), Colin Judson (Arbate), Florian Panzieri (Marzio), The English Concert.

The performance begins at 6.20pm. Dinner is served during the long interval. Overnight in Henley-on-Thames.

Day 2: Henley-on-Thames, Cliveden, Horsted, Glyndebourne. By coach from Henley-on-Thames to Cliveden. Cliveden’s magnificent formal gardens and woods beside the Thames have been admired for centuries.

In the afternoon, attend a talk and drive to Glyndebourne. Dialogues des Carmélites (Poulenc): Barrie Kosky (director), Danielle de Niese (Blanche de la Force), Doris Soffel (Madame de Croissy, Prioress), Golda Schultz (Madame Lidoine, new Prioress), Karen Cargill (Mère Marie), Fiona Kimm (Mère Jeanne), Florie Valiquette (Soeur Constance), Paul Gay (Marquis de la Force), Cyrille Dubois (Chevalier de la Force), Vincent Ordonneau (Father Confessor), London Philharmonic Orchestra, The Glyndebourne Chorus. The performance begins at 5.00pm. A picnic dinner is served during the long interval. First of two nights in Horsted.

Day 3: Horsted, Charleston, Glyndebourne. A morning excursion to Charleston Farmhouse, the country residence of Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant, with almost every surface decorated by them. A lecture in the afternoon is followed by L’elisir d’amore (Donizetti):

book online at www.martinrandall.com

Day 4: Leave when you wish. Taxis to Lewes railway station are provided.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,860.

Single occupancy: £3,110.

Included meals: 3 dinners (one picnic dinner) with wine.

Music: three opera tickets costing c. £710.

Accommodation. Hotel du Vin, Henley-onThames (hotelduvin.com); Horsted Place, Little Horsted (horstedplace.co.uk).

How strenuous? The tour would be a struggle for anyone whose walking is impaired. There is a short walk from the coach park to the opera house. Average coach travel per day: 35 miles.

Welsh National Opera November 2020 Lecturer: Simon Rees Full details available in February 2020 Please call us to register your interest or e-mail alerts@martinrandall.co.uk The Welsh National Opera in their home theatre, the acoustically and architecturally excellent Wales Millennium Centre.

Excursions and talks with Simon Rees, writer, lecturer and former dramaturg of Welsh National Opera.

Stay in a 5-star hotel 15 minutes on foot from the opera house, and see some of the highlights of Cardiff ’s arts and heritage.

The Ring in London 5–11 February 2021 (mg 220) Lecturer: Barry Millington Full details available in February 2020 Please call us to register your interest or e-mail alerts@martinrandall.co.uk

Opera in Brno & Prague Janáček, Smetana, Verdi and Puccini 11–17 May 2020 (mg 211) 7 days • £3,230 Lecturer: Professor Jan Smaczny Operas by Puccini, Verdi, Smetana and Janáček and a concert with Smetana’s Má Vlast.

Two cities of exceptional beauty and interest.

Led by musicologist Professor Jan Smaczny who gives talks on the performances.

Visits and walks with a local guide.

Day 3: Brno, Prague. Drive to Prague (c. 130 miles on motorway), arriving in time for lunch.

In the afternoon there is a guided tour of the Estates Theatre, one of the finest of Europe’s surviving 18th-century opera houses. Concert at the Obecní dům: Má vlast (Smetana), Semyon Bychkov (conductor), Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. First of four nights in Prague.

Day 4: Prague. Morning walk through the Old Town, a dense maze of streets and squares with buildings of all ages and an exceptionally lovely main square. Return to the Obecní dům (‘Municipal House’) to see the glorious suite of assembly rooms created 1904–12.

Free afternoon. Opera at the National Theatre: Macbeth (Verdi), Jiří Štrunc (conductor), cast to be confirmed.

Day 5: Prague. Prague Castle is an extensive hilltop complex, residence of Dukes and Kings of Bohemia and now of the president. The Old Royal Palace rises from Romanesque through Gothic to Renaissance, the chief glory being the extraordinary 1490s vaulting of the Great

Hall. There follows a wonderful sequence of halls not open to the public, dating from the 1570s to the 1930s (state occasions permitting).

The Gothic cathedral is richly embellished with chapels, tombs, altarpieces and stained glass.

Free afternoon. Opera at the National Theatre: The Excursions of Mr Brouček (Janáček), Jaroslav Kyzlink (conductor), cast to be confirmed.

Day 6: Prague. Walk across the 14th-century Charles Bridge, the greatest such structure in Europe, to the ‘Lesser Town’. See St Nicholas, one of the finest Baroque churches in Central Europe, and the collection of musical instruments in the Czech Museum of Music. Opera at the National Theatre: Dalibor (Smetana), cast to be confirmed.

Day 7: Prague. Strahov Monastery has commanding views over Prague and two magnificent library halls, which we enter by special arrangement. A final walk passes the formidable bulk of the Černín Palace and the delightful façade of the Loreto Church. Fly to London Heathrow, arriving at c. 2.45pm.

Top class combination of cultural visits and musical entertainment of style and originality.’

MUSIC | CZECH REPUBLIC

Prague and Brno are two of the great operatic capitals of Europe. Prague is celebrated for the enthusiasm with which Mozart’s operas were received during his lifetime as well as for the pioneering works of Smetana and Dvořák which founded the Czech operatic tradition. Prominent among the city’s architectural riches are the 18thcentury Estates theatre (where Don Giovanni premiered and Weber and Mahler conducted) and the National Theatre of a hundred years later, a shrine to the nation standing proudly on the banks of the Vltava. Three of the operas are performed in this sumptuous building.

The tour starts in Brno, second city of the Czech Republic and capital of Moravia, a highly attractive place which enjoys a rich cultural scene, though is neglected by tourists. Here in the 1960s Janáček Theatre we see Tosca, Puccini’s melodramatic masterpiece.

Our first performance in Prague is of Smetana’s Má vlast (My Country). This cycle of symphonic poems celebrating the landscape, mythology and history of Bohemia is a national touchstone, and its performance at the start of the Prague Spring Festival which we attend is always an emotional and inspiring occasion.

The first performance in Prague is the first of Verdi’s three Shakespeare operas, the thrilling and visceral Macbeth, now regarded as one of his greatest earlier masterpieces. Epic, touching and often hilarious, Janáček’s The Excursions of Mr Brouček follows the adventures of Brouček on his travels to the Moon and back in time to fifteenth-century Prague. Our final opera is Smetana’s ravishingly beautiful Dalibor, the composer’s own favourite.

van der Rohe (subject to confirmation). Free afternoon. Opera at the Janáček Theatre: Tosca (Puccini), Jakub Klecker (conductor), Jiří Heřman (director), Orchestra of the Janacek Theatre Brno, cast to be confirmed.

Itinerary Day 1: Brno. Fly at c. 10.00am from Heathrow to Vienna and drive to Brno, arriving in time for dinner. First of two nights in Brno.

Day 2: Brno. The present capital of Moravia, Brno has a wealth of Gothic and Baroque churches, and fine architecture of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. A walk and excursion in the morning includes a visit by special arrangement to the Villa Tugendhadt, a major work by Mies

Lecturers See page 24 for biographies.

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Opera in Prague & Brno continued

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £3,230 or £3,060 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,660 or £3,490 without flights.

Included meals: 4 dinners and 1 lunch with wine.

Music: tickets (top category) to 4 operas and 1 concert are included, costing c. £300.

Accommodation. Grandezza Hotel, Brno (grandezzahotel.cz); Hotel Paris Prague (hotelparis.cz).

How strenuous? There is quite a lot of walking, much of it on roughly paved streets, some on inclines. The tour would not be suitable for anyone with difficulties with everyday walking and stair-climbing.

Group size: between 10 and 21 participants.

RING CYCLE TOURS | 2020 The Ring in Chicago 19–26 April 2020 (mg 169) Lecturer: Barry Millington Limited spaces available.

The Ring in Leipzig 19–25 May 2020 (mg 220) Lecturer: Barry Millington Currently fully booked.

The Ring in Paris 29 Nov. –7 December 2020 (mg 600) Lecturer: Barry Millington Currently fully booked.

Please visit www.martinrandall.com for full details, or contact us.

Opera in Vienna 17–22 March 2020 (mg 129) Lecturer: Barry Millington Very limited spaces available Please visit www.martinrandall.com for full details, or contact us.

The Schubertiade 21–27 June 2020 (mg 258) Lecturer: Richard Wigmore Very limited spaces available

RING CYCLE TOURS | 2021 The Ring in London 5–11 February 2021 Lecturer: Barry Millington Full details available in February 2020.

The Ring in Dresden February 2021 Lecturer: Barry Millington The Ring in Berlin April 2021 Lecturer: Barry Millington Please call us to register your interest or e-mail alerts@martinrandall.co.uk

MUSIC | CZECH REPUBLIC, AUSTRIA, BOLIVIA

Please visit www.martinrandall.com for full details, or contact us.

Baroque Music in the Bolivian Missions 23 March–4 April 2020 (mg 185) Lecturer: Barry Millington Currently fully booked April 2022 Please call us to register your interest or e-mail alerts@martinrandall.co.uk 6

book online at www.martinrandall.com

Previous page photo: ©James Bellorini, courtesy of Glyndebourne. Previous page illustration: Prague, 20thcentury etching. This page, left: Brno, 1930s coloured etching. Photograph right: Copenhagen Opera House ©Royal Danish Opera.

Opera & Ballet in Copenhagen Mozart, R. Strauss, Debussy and the Royal Danish Ballet 15–19 April 2020 (mg 162) 5 days • £2,710 (including three performances) Lecturer: Dr Michael Downes Two performances at Copenhagen’s extraordinary Opera House (2005): Mozart’s Idomeneo and Ariadne auf Naxos by R. Strauss.

One ballet: Blixen at the Old Stage (1874) to music by Debussy.

Private tours of the Opera House and the court theatre at the Christiansborg Palace.

A walk with a local guide and free time for the city’s outstanding museums.

Itinerary Day 1. Fly at c. 10.00am from London Heathrow to Copenhagen (Scandinavian Airlines). A visit to the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, the magnificent benefaction of a brewer, it has collections of Mediterranean antiquities, particularly Roman portrait sculpture, Impressionists and PostImpressionists, Golden Age paintings and much else besides. There is time to settle into the hotel before dinner.

Day 2. Start with a lecture on this evening’s performance. A walk passes the Amalienborg, an ensemble of 1750s palaces, the English church, Gefion Fountain, the Little Mermaid, bastions of the Kastellet and (across the water) the opera house. In the afternoon travel by coach for the opportunity to visit one of the city’s finest art collections (self-guided): the Statens Museum for Kunst, the National Gallery of Denmark, which holds an extensive selection of Danish art from the Golden Age to the present day and a fine collection of European Old Masters. Coach back to the hotel for some free time before dinner and an evening ballet at the Old Stage: Blixen to music by Debussy. Choreography by Gregory Dean of The Royal Danish Ballet, Robert Houssart (conductor), The Royal Danish Orchestra.

Day 3. Lecture on the evening’s opera. Cross the water by boat for a private tour of the beautiful Operaen (Copenhagen Opera House), built 2000–2005 to the designs of Henning Larsen and others.. Free afternoon. The National Museum is recommended (artefacts prehistoric to contemporary, Vikings the highlight) or one of the city’s many other museums and galleries (the tour includes a card granting free admission). An evening opera at the Copenhagen Opera House: Idomeneo (W.A. Mozart), Robert Carsen (conductor), The Royal Danish Orchestra and Choir, Niels Jørgen Riis (Idomeneo), Gert Henning-Jensen (Idamante), Sine Bundgaard (Elettra), Margaux de Valensart (Ilia), Michael Kristensen (Arbace), Morten Staugaard (Voice of the Oracle).

Day 4. The morning is free. We suggest a visit to the Rosenborg Palace, a fully furnished royal residence from the 17th century. An afternoon lecture precedes a guided tour of the court theatre at the Christiansborg Palace. Dinner before an evening opera at the Copenhagen Opera House: Ariadne auf Naxos (R. Strauss), Alexander Vedernikov (conductor), Katie Mitchell (director), The Royal Danish Orchestra and

Choir, Ann Petersen (Ariadne), Daniel Johansson (Bacchus), Heather Engebretson (Zerbinetta), Elisabeth Jansson (Composer), Michael Kraus (Music Master), Jens Christian Tvilum (Dance Master), Joakim Larsson (Wig Maker), Palle Knudsen (Harlequin).

Day 5. The morning is free. Fly to London Heathrow, arriving at c. 5.30pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,710 or £2,580 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,120 or £2,990 without flights.

Included meals: 3 dinners with wine.

Music: tickets for 3 performances are included, costing c. £270.

Accommodation. Phoenix Copenhagen (phoenixcopenhagen.dk).

How strenuous? We reach the opera house by coach and by boat. Participants need to be fit enough to manage this, the city walks and to cope easily with stair climbing. Average distance by coach per day: 5 miles.

Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

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MISIC | DENMARK

Scandinavia has long played a distinguished role in the history of music. Denmark has intensified its commitment to this heritage and increasingly offers world-class standards of music, as well as one of the most exciting new opera houses created in recent years – indeed Henning Larsen’s dazzling creation is one of the best equipped in the world.

Copenhagen is a strikingly attractive capital, and a relatively small one. It is an exciting hub of contemporary culture and design with a wealth of museums and art galleries, palaces and theatres. These range from the court theatre at the Christiansborg Palace to the Peacock theatre staging commedia-dell’arte-inspired pantomimes in the pleasure gardens of Tivoli.

The Royal Danish Ballet, founded in 1784, is not only one of the longest established dance companies in the world but also one of the most enjoyable of those performing today. It combines a rich heritage repertory with contemporary creativity. We see a performance based on the captivating life story of one of Denmark’s greatest writers at the recently refurbished Old Stage, choreographed by one of the company’s principal dancers.

The tour’s operatic offerings are rooted in Greek myth and legend. The first is Mozart’s Idomeneo. Premiered two days after his 25th birthday, this early work (his first major opera) features some of Mozart’s most imaginative and emotional music. The second is Ariadne auf Naxos by Richard Strauss. Inventive and playful, comedy and love collide in a passionate performance as rich with farce as it is with tragedy.

Hindsgavl: Chamber Music in Denmark Intimate and immersive performances in beautiful surroundings with Ensemble Dialoghi (winds and fortepiano): Beethoven, Sonata Op.17, Trio Op.11, Quintet Op.16. Dinner precedes an evening recital with Alina Ibragimova (violin) and Cédric Tiberghien (piano): Mendelssohn, Violin Sonatas for piano. There is the option to attend a 10.30pm 'Contemporary Scene' concert with Anaïs Gaudemard (harp): Pépin, Nighthawks; C.P.E. Bach, Sonata in G, Wq.139; de la Presle, Le Jardin mouillé.

8–14 July 2020 (mg 298) 7 days • £3,070 (including tickets to 14 performances) Lecturer: Dr Michael Downes An intensive and congenial festival of chamber music on Denmark’s picturesque ‘Garden Island’.

All concerts and recitals take place in a charming country house, where both artists and audience sleep.

From Mahler to Mendelssohn; performances by international musicians including Quatuor Ébène, Ian Bostridge and Christiane Karg.

Time to explore the vibrant cities of Århus and Odense, home to outstanding museums.

MUSIC | DENMARK, GERMANY

Considered solely in terms of the musicians who perform there, Hindsgavl can claim to be one of Europe’s finest chamber music festivals. Resident instrumentalists for the 2020 edition include France’s dynamic Quatuor Ébène, celebrating their twentieth anniversary; versatile violinist Alina Ibragimova, renowned for her playing on both period and modern instruments; Canadian-born cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras, a brilliant exponent of the instrument’s entire repertoire from Bach to the present day; and French pianist Cédric Tiberghien, who appears both as chamber musician and soloist.

The vocal talent on display is no less impressive: our tour is bookended by recitals from superstar English tenor Ian Bostridge and fast-rising Bavarian soprano Christiane Karg.

But the musical programme, superlative though it is, is only part of what makes this festival so special. All the concerts take place in the magnificent Hindsgavl Castle, whose history dates back to the early thirteenth century and includes moments of international significance – it was here in 1814 that King Frederik VI signed the treaty renouncing Denmark’s claim to Norway.

The castle is also where the festival musicians eat and sleep; like many of the audience members, we will stay there too, guaranteeing 8

opportunities to mix with the musicians in an informal setting and to hear them rehearse and discuss the music they will perform.

Nor are the musicians the castle’s only attraction: its exquisite grounds are punctuated by pavilions, streams and ponds and feature orchards and gardens that supply ingredients for the castle’s chefs (breakfast and a pre-concert dinner are included each day on site). Hans Christian Andersen was a frequent visitor to Hindsgavl and described its view – which now takes in an extensive deer park as well as the ‘Little Belt’ separating the island of Funen from Jutland – as one of Denmark’s finest.

A centre for music-making since 1951, Hindsgavl now offers its fortunate festival-goers a heady combination of architectural, natural and musical beauty.

Itinerary Day 1. Fly at c. 10.00am from London Heathrow to Copenhagen (British Airways) and drive to Hindsgavl Castle, crossing the straits between Zealand and Funen on the 12-mile Storebælt Bridge. There is a little time to settle into rooms before an introductory lecture and dinner. An evening concert with Ian Bostridge (tenor), Saskia Georgini (piano): Britten, Winter Words Op.52, 4 English Songs from 'Who are these Children'; Schumann, 5 Lieder Op.40.

Day 2. Start with a lecture on this evening’s performance. Drive to Egeskov and visit a 17thcentury moated mansion, well furnished, with park and gardens. Return to Hindsgavl in time for an optional afternoon ‘Rising Star’ concert (artists and programme to be confirmed). Dinner precedes an evening concert with Arcangelo, Jonathan Cohen (harpsichord and director), Jean-Guihen Queyras (cello), Saskia Georgini (piano): Mendelssohn, String Symphonies Nos 4 & 5; C.P.E. Bach, Cello Concerto in B flat; J.S. Bach, Extracts from The Art of Fugue; Haydn, Cello Concerto No.1. There is the option to attend a 10.30pm recital with Cédric Tiberghien (prepared piano): John Cage, Sonatas & Interludes.

Day 3. The morning is free to visit the Ceramics Museum in nearby Middelfart. A midday lecture before lunch and an afternoon concert

book online at www.martinrandall.com

Day 4. A lecture on this evening’s performance before driving to Odense, a delightful town where old and new blend well with little cobbled streets, rehabilitated industrial buildings, riverside park and a Gothic cathedral. The Funen Art Museum has a comprehensive collection of Danish painting, the best outside Copenhagen.

There is some free time, perhaps to visit the Hans Christian Andersen birthplace museum.

Return to Hindsgavl in time for an optional afternoon concert with Joséphine Olech (flute), Sindy Mohamed (viola) and Anaïs Gaudemard (harp): Kurtág, In nomine all‘ongherese; Zabel, La source Op.23; Saint-Saëns, Danse Macabre, Op.16; Falla, Serenata Andaluza; Debussy, Syrinx.

Dinner in a seafront restaurant precedes an evening concert with Marie-Elisabeth Hecker (cello) and Martin Helmchen (piano): Stravinsky, Suite Italienne; Shostakovich, Cello Sonata in D minor Op.40; Rachmaninov, Cello Sonata in G minor Op.19; Schnittke, Cello Sonata No.1.

Day 5. Drive in the morning to Århus, crossing by bridge to Jutland. A tour of Arne Jacobsen’s town hall (finished 1942), one of Modernism’s icons, and some free time. Suggested is ARoS Art Museum (2004), a brick and glass cube housing historic Danish art, as well as some significant

Opera in Berlin 21–25 April 2020 (mg 164) 5 days • £2,490 (including tickets to 3 performances) Lecturer: Dr John Allison The Magic Flute | Mozart: Staatsoper.

Oksana Lyniv con, René Pape, Mauro Peter, Elsa Dreisig, Arttu Kataja, Serena Sáenz, Gloria Rehm, Florian Hoffmann.

Lucia di Lammermoor | Donizetti: Deutsche Oper. Stefano Ranzani con, Noel Bouley, Mihaela Marcu, Vittorio Grigolo, Andrei Danilov, Byung Gil Kim, Anna Buslidze, Jörg Schörner.

The Barber of Seville | Rossini: Staatsoper.

Massimo Zanetti/ Julien Salemkour con, Juan José de León, Paolo Bordogna, Tara Erraught, Grigory Shkarupa, Adriane Queiroz, Gyula Orendt, Jaka Mihelač, Florian Eckhardt.

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pieces of modern art, or the Old Town Museum where 16th- to 19th-century buildings from all over Denmark are reassembled to form an enchanting little town. Return to Hindsgavl in time for an optional afternoon concert with Ensemble Dialoghi (winds and fortepiano): Mozart, Sonata K.304, Quintet K.452; Haydn, Trio Hob XV:16. A lecture and dinner before an evening concert with Quatuor Ébène: Beethoven, String Quartet Op.18 No.1, String Quartet, Op.74 ‘Harp’, String Quartet, Op.59 No.3 ‘Razumovsky.’

Practicalities

Day 6. Some free time to explore the grounds of the castle. A late morning boat trip from the castle’s private jetty takes in the beautiful coastline of Funen, with lunch on board.

Return for an afternoon lecture and afternoon ‘Rising Star’ concert with the Elephant House Quartet (programme to be confirmed). Dinner before an evening recital with Christiane Karg (soprano) and Malcolm Martineau (piano): Gustav Mahler, Rückert Lieder; songs by Alma Mahler. There is the option to attend a 10.30pm recital with Carolin Widmann (violin): Enescu, ‘Airs dans le genre Roumain’; Benjamin, ‘3 Miniatures Eugène’; Ysaye, Sonata No.5; J.S. Bach, Partita in D minor BWV 1004.

How strenuous? There is a fair amount of walking and standing around in museums.

Participants need to be fit enough to manage this, the city centre walks and to cope easily with stair climbing. There is a lot of driving on the first and last days, but several days with no driving at all. Average distance by coach per day: 80 miles.

Day 7. Drive to the fishing village of Kerteminde, which was home to Johannes Larsen (1867–1961), leader of the Funen school.

His house, studio and gardens are preserved with a new gallery building (Danish Museum of the Year 2007). Lunch here before continuing to Copenhagen airport. Fly to London Heathrow, arriving at c. 6.30pm.

Opera & Ballet in Paris

Walking the Rhine Valley

Six walks: Dutch Polder landscape (9km); on heathland and woodland in De Hoge Veluwe National Park (3.5km); from the Rhine uphill via Heisterbach Monastery to Petersberg (6.5km); through vineyards and woods in the Rheingau (8km); into the ancient city of Speyer (7km); country lanes, vineyards and deciduous forests near Baden-Baden (7.5km).

Seven private concerts in appropriate historic buildings: Dorothea Röschmann & Malcolm Martineau, Concertgebouw; Mandelring Quartet, Schloss Lembeck; Basel Chamber Orchestra & Valeriy Sokolov, Electoral Palace, Bonn; Hildegard von Bingen music in Bingen; Esmé Quartet, Schloss Bruchsal; Bach cantatas with Cantus Cölln, Holy Trinity, Speyer; Baden-Baden Philharmonic in the Kurhaus.

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Included meals: 3 lunches, 6 dinners with wine (5 of these are 2-course pre-concert buffets).

Music: tickets for 14 performances are included.

Accommodation. Hindsgavl Slot (hindsgavl.dk).

Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

12–17 June 2020 (mg 251) 6 days • £2,970 (including tickets to 8 performances) Lecturer: Dr David Vickers Eight concerts featuring the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, other members of the Bach family, and forebears and contemporaries.

J.S. Bach, St John Passion at the Thomaskirche, Choir & Orchestra of the J. S. Bach Stiftung St Gallen, Daniel Johannsen, Peter Harvey, Julia Doyle, Alex Potter, Matthias Helm.

J.S. Bach, St Matthew Passion at the Thomaskirche, Gaechinger Cantorey, HansChristoph Rademann (con), Patrick Grahl, Peter Harvey, Dorothee Mields, Benno Schachtner, Krešimir Stražanac.

Collegium 1704 (from Prague) with Václav Luks con, at the Nikolaikirche: cantatas by J. C. Bach, J. Bach and N. Bruhns, Les Talens Lyriques (Paris), Wiener Kammerchor (Vienna), Christophe Rousset con, Thomaskirche: cantatas by J. S. Bach and C. P. E. Bach.

19–23 March 2020 (mg 134) 5 days • £2,730 (including tickets to 3 performances) Lecturer: Dr Michael Downes Concerto Barocco, Four Temperaments, Serenade, three American ballets by the great Russian choreographer George Balanchine, Ballet de l’Opéra National de Paris, Orchestre de l’Opéra National de Paris, music by Bach, Hindemith,Tchaikovsky, at the Opéra Bastille.

Don Giovanni | Mozart, at the Palais Garnier: Philippe Jordan con, Ivo van Hove dir, Orchestre et Chœurs de l’Opéra national de Paris, Alessandro Di Stefano chorus, Luca Pisaroni, Alexander Tsymbalyuk, Jacquelyn Wagner, Stanislas de Barbeyrac, Stéphanie d’Oustrac, Philippe Sly, Mikhail Timoshenko, Zuzana Marková.

Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir at the Nikolaikirche, with Ton Koopman con, Hana Blažíková, Maarten Engeltjes, Tilman Lichdi, Klaus Mertens: cantatas by H. Schütz, J. M. Bach, J. C. Bach, D. Buxtehude, J. S. Bach.

Bach Choir of Bethlehem (USA), Members of the Bach Festival Orchestra of Bethlehem and Mendelssohn Kammerorchester Leipzig, Thomaskirche: cantatas by J. S. Bach.

Mahan Esfahani harpsichord, at Germany’s former supreme court: Pachelbel, L. Marchand, W. Byrd, H. Frederichs, J. S. Bach.

Amandine Beyer violin, at the Nikolaikirche: J.S. Bach, solo partitas BWV 1004, 1005, 1006.

Manon | Jules Massenet: a new production of Massenet’s tale of Parisian life at the Opéra Bastille, Dan Ettinger con, Vincent Huguet dir, Orchestre et Chœurs de l’Opéra National de Paris, Sofia Fomina, Stephen Costello, Ludovic Tézier, Roberto Tagliavini, Rodolphe Briand, Pierre Doyen, Cassandre Berthon, Alix Le Saux, Jeanne Ireland, Philippe Rouillon, Julien Joguet, Laurent Laberdesque.

Backstage visits give behind-the-scenes insights into Paris’ two magnificent opera houses.

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Leipzig Bach Festival

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Opera in Munich 24–28 July 2020 (mg 314) Lecturer: Patrick Bade Very limited spaces available Please visit www.martinrandall.com for full details, or contact us.

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MUSIC | DENMARK, FRANCE, GERMANY

29 June–6 July 2020 (mg 286) 8 days • £3,020 Lecturer: Richard Wigmore

Price, per person. Two sharing: £3,070 or £2,920 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,530 or £3,380 without flights.

Opera in Turin & Milan Don Pasquale in Turin, L’amore dei Tre Re and Tannhäuser in Milan 21–25 May 2020 (mg 230) 5 days • £2,910 • flights not included Lecturers: Dr John Allison & Dr Luca Leoncini Performances at two of Italy’s most prestigious opera houses, accompanied by some of the finest northern Italian art and architecture.

Conductors and casts of the highest calibre, including Carlo Rizzi and Ádám Fischer.

Based in Turin and Milan, two cities unaccountably unfrequented by visitors despite being grand cultural centres.

Northern Italy’s two grandest cities share many qualities: both are artistically bountiful, architecturally grandiose and have played vital roles in the formation of modern Italy. The leading city of Piedmont, Turin was formerly capital of Savoy and later of the kingdom of Sardinia. Developed on a grand scale in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the historic centre is laid out on a regular plan with broad avenues and spacious piazze.

While rightly renowned as the world capital of fashion (as well as opera), and as a commercial and financial powerhouse, Milan’s fascinatingly rich historical character is often overlooked. Indeed, it has one of the proudest and most illustrious histories of all Italian cities, not least its influential role in the Risorgimento.

For over 200 years, both cities have also been considerable players on the Italian opera scene, with the Teatro Regio in Turin tracing its history back nearly three centuries, and the Teatro alla Scala arguably the world’s most famous opera house.

Our programme ties together contrasting strands in operatic history. Donizetti was sometimes fond of bragging about the speed at which he composed his operas, and Don Pasquale was no exception. This comic masterpiece sparkles with an energy that makes it easy to forget that Don Pasquale is very much a late work, written when the composer had nearly 70 operas under his belt. Someone who wrote four operas a year was never likely to be taken seriously by Wagnerians, whose master usually took at least four years over an opera, but in fact Wagner’s fondness for the Italian world of bel canto is reflected at least in part in his Tannhäuser, whose plot centres on a singing competition at the Wartburg.

Italo Montemezzi’s rarely heard L’amore dei Tre Re, premiered indeed at La Scala in 1913, enjoys a reputation among cognoscenti as one of the strongest examples of Italian Symbolism. But it also looks across the Alps: Montemezzi’s erotic thriller – telling the quintessentially medieval and morbid story of a princess who is murdered by her blind father-in-law and whose poisonlaced lips seal her lover’s fate – comes wrapped in details undoubtedly recalling Wagner.

Itinerary

MUSIC | ITALY

Day 1: Turin. Leave from Milan Linate airport following the arrival of the flight from London Heathrow (British Airways, currently arriving at 1.25pm) (flights are not included – see ‘Practicalities’). Drive to Turin. An introductory walk through the beautiful Piazza S. Carlo, with arcades and 18th-century churches. First of two nights in Turin.

Day 2: Turin. In the morning, visit the Royal Palace, built 1660, with wonderful interiors from the 17th–19th centuries, which also houses the Galleria Sabauda, an excellent picture collection. The afternoon is free. There is an evening performance at the Teatro Regio of Donizetti’s Don Pasquale, Francesco Ivan Ciampa (conductor), Ugo Gregoretti (director). Final night in Turin.

Day 3: Turin, Milan. Visit the Palazzo Madama.

Built in 1660, it now houses the City Art Museum and has fine interiors from the 17th to 19th centuries. Travel by 1st class rail to Milan.

There is an evening performance at La Scala of Italo Montemezzi’s L’amore dei Tre Re, Carlo Rizzi (conductor), Àlex Ollé (stage director); 10

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cast includes Ferluccio Furlanetto (Archibaldo), Roberto Frontali (Manfredo), Giorgio Berrugi (Avito), Federica Lombardi (Fiora), Giorgio Misseri (Flaminio). First of two nights in Milan.

Day 4: Milan. A morning lecture is followed by a visit to The Brera, one of Italy’s finest art galleries, where most of the greatest Italian artists are represented. In the afternoon there is an optional visit to the Renaissance church of Santa Maria delle Grazie; the refectory houses Leonardo’s The Last Supper. There is an evening performance at La Scala of Wagner’s Tannhäuser, Ádám Fischer (conductor), Carlus Padrissa (stage director); cast includes Albert Dohmen (Hermann, Landgraf von Thüringen), Peter Seiffert (Tannhäuser), Markus Werba (Wolfram von Eschenbach). Final night in Milan.

Day 5: Milan. In the morning there is a visit to the La Scala museum, containing portraits of Verdi, Puccini and others, plus a wealth of historically significant instruments. Drive to Milan Linate airport in time for the flight to London Heathrow (British Airways, currently departing at 3.45pm).

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,910.

Single occupancy: £3,200.

Included meals: 1 lunch and 3 dinners with wine.

Flights are not included in the cost of the tour as group rates were prohibitive at the time of going to print. We can book flights on your behalf, quoting the fare at the time of booking, or you can make the booking yourself.

Suggested flight details are provided with your Confirmation of Booking, but please contact us if you require details sooner.

Music: top category tickets for three performances are included, costing c. £760.

At the time of going to print, we are unable to confirm whether these will be in stalls or boxes.

Accommodation. Grand Hotel Sitea, Turin (grandhotelsitea.it); Rosa Grand Hotel, Milan (starhotelscollezione.com/en/our-hotels/rosagrand-milan/).

How strenuous? There is a fair amount of walking as traffic is restricted in both city centres. Participants need to be averagely fit and able to manage everyday walking and stairclimbing without any difficulty. Average distance by coach per day: 4 miles Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

Photo. Previous page: Hindsgavl Slot, reproduced with their permission. Illustrations. Left: Turin, after Inglis Sheldon Williams 1928. Right: Engraving c. 1860 from ‘The Comprehensive History of England Vol VI’; Lute, engraving c. 1880.

Historic Musical Instruments Museums and private collections in northern Italy, with recitals 29 October–1 November 2020 (mg 545) 4 days • £1,870 Lecturer: Professor Robert Adelson Some of Italy’s finest collections of musical instruments, some in private properties and viewed only by special arrangement.

Based in Milan and Cremona, with some free time to explore these historic cities, and excursions to Briosco and Bologna.

Recitals on period instruments and the opportunity to meet the collectors.

Dates chosen so that participants can continue on to Venice: Pageantry & Piety.

Itinerary Day 1: Milan. Fly at c. 10.30am (British Airways) from London Heathrow to Milan. Visit the Musical Instruments Museum at the Castello Sforzesco, which has a vast collection of over 800 instruments, including a rare double virginal by Ruckers (Antwerp c. 1600), numerous examples from the Lombard lute and viol tradition and many African and Asian instruments. In the

Day 2: Milan, Briosco. Drive to Briosco to visit Villa Medici-Giulini, a 17th-century stately residence which houses one of the most important private collections of European keyboard instruments and harps, many of which have been restored to playable condition. There are demonstrations and performances on the instruments, followed by lunch in the villa. There is some free time in Milan in the afternoon.

Day 3: Cremona. This glorious town in the Po Valley was home to the Stradivari, Amati and other families of luthiers whose stringed instruments have been the world’s best for more than 300 years. Learn about the violin in situ at the Museo del Violino (with a performance on a historic violin), and visit a violin-maker’s workshop. Cremona has a splendid central square formed of cathedral, campanile (Italy’s tallest), baptistry and civic palaces, and there is some free time to explore these. Overnight in Cremona.

Day 4: Bologna. Continue to Bologna. The Museo della Musica houses a rich collection of scores, portraits and instruments. The private collection of the late-Bolognese scholar Luigi Ferdinando Tagliavini, long-admired by specialists, has recently been made available to the public. It is housed in one of Bologna’s oldest churches and traces the history of keyboard instruments from the 16th to the 19th centuries. Fly from Bologna to London Heathrow, arriving c. 8.00pm.

Music in Northern Italy with Stringletter

It is possible to combine this tour with Venice: Pageantry & Piety. Please contact us or refer to the Festival brochure for full details.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £1,870 or £1,700 without flights. Single occupancy: £2,040 or £1,870 without flights.

19–27 March 2020 (eg 136) 9 days • £3,760 Lecturer: Professor Robert Adelson Some of Italy’s finest collections of musical instruments, some in private properties and viewed only by special arrangement.

Based in Milan, Cremona and Bologna, with some free time to explore these historic cities, and excursions to Parma and Mantua.

Included meals: 1 lunch and 3 dinners with wine.

Recitals on period instruments and the opportunity to meet the collectors.

Accommodation. Hotel De La Ville, Milan (delavillemilano.com); Dellearti Design Hotel, Cremona (dellearti.com). Single rooms throughout are doubles for sole use.

One of the world’s most famous foodproducing region: source of the best cured meats including Prosciutto di Parma and Culatello di Zibello, and silky handmade egg pasta.

How strenuous? There is inevitably quite a lot of walking and standing in museums on this tour.

Some of the walking is uphill or over cobbles.

The coach cannot be used within the town centres. Average distance by coach per day: 53 miles.

Led by Professor of Music History and Organology at the Conservatoire de Nice.

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Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

Combine this tour with: Venice: Pageantry & Piety, 2–7 November 2020.

What else is included?

See page 2 for a list of components that are included as standard in the price.

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MUSIC | ITALY

An instrument is the sole and precious witness to music that was performed in the past. Many years after the musicians and the sounds they produced have disappeared, a few rare instruments remain, in museums and private collections. Thanks to their preservation, we can today hear appropriate music played with more colourful timbres and more authentic performance styles, and better understand the stylistic choices made by composers.

This tour brings musical history to life by visiting some of the most influential centres of instrument making. No city can surpass Cremona for its tradition of bowed strings, dating to the early 16th century when the mellifluous tone of the Amati family’s instruments transformed the violin from a folk instrument to one capable of expressing the noblest musical sentiments. Nicolò Amati probably taught both Antonio Stradivari and Andrea Guarneri, whose instruments have become legendary and whose tradition is continued today among Cremonese luthiers.

Milan was the centre of the violin family’s early development, but both Milan and Bologna were also famous for their lutes. And Bologna was renowned for the quality of its wind instruments as early as the 13th century; the ensemble of cornets and sackbuts at the church of San Petronio was admired throughout Italy.

Northern Italy is home to some of Europe’s most important collections of historic instruments, many of which are in playable condition, making it possible to explore the evolution of the principal instrumental families – keyboards (harpsichords, clavichords, organs and pianos), bowed and plucked strings, woodwind and brass.

evening, visit a collection in a private palazzo where there is a harpsichord recital and dinner.

First of two nights in Milan.

Verona Opera Lyric spectacle in the Veneto 8–11 July 2020 (mg 310) 4 days • £2,430 Lecturer: Dr Michael Douglas-Scott Three operas in the incomparable setting of a Roman amphitheatre, the most famous of open-air opera festivals.

Includes new productions of Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci, and well-established spectacular productions of Nabucco and Aida.

Accommodation in a 5-star hotel in the historic centre within walking distance of the operas – though there is the option of a minibus.

Accompanied by an art historian who leads walks and visits during the day.

The first magic moment comes well before the conductor raises his baton. Unless you have led a team onto the pitch at Wembley or won the New Hampshire primaries, you are unlikely to have experienced anything quite like the wall of heady high spirits which hits you as you emerge from the entrance tunnel into the arena.

Filling the vast ellipse of the almost twothousand-year-old Roman amphitheatre are fourteen thousand happy people, bubbling with joyous expectation of the spectacle to follow.

Even the most dour of dusty-hearted opera purists cannot help but be uplifted.

Then the floodlights go down, the chaotic chatter quietens to a reverential whisper, and the enveloping dusk is pierced only by flickering candle flames as uncountable as the stars above.

Magic again; for these special moments the Verona Festival remains without rival.

The list of unique assets continues. There is the inestimable advantage of the stage and auditorium, one of the largest of ancient amphitheatres which, though built for rather less refined spectacles (‘arena’ is Latin for sand, used in quantity to mop up the consequences of lacerations inflicted on animals and gladiators) provides miraculously sympathetic acoustics.

The elliptical form also seems to instil a sense which can best be described as resembling an embrace, bonding the audience however distant or disparate the individual members might be.

‘ So pleased I went on the Verona Opera tour. It was supreme and worth every penny.’

MUSIC | ITALY

Then there is the benefit of being at the heart of one of the most beautiful of Italian cities. Verona is crammed with magnificent architecture and dazzlingly picturesque streets and squares. Surprisingly, the city seems scarcely deflected from a typically Italian dedication to living well and stylishly by the annual influx of festival visitors.

Enough of the spectacle, what of the music?

Most performances reach high standards, with patches of stunning singing. For the (largely Italian) casts, to perform at Verona is still a special event. The younger singers know that they will be judged by more agents, casting directors and peers in one performance than usually would see them in a season.

Opinions vary concerning the best place to sit. All the seats we have booked are numbered and reserved (no queuing for hours and elbowing to seize the best of what remains), and a proportion are poltronissime gold, cushioned stalls seats, which we offer for a supplement.

The rest are on the lowest tiers, the gradinate numerate. While there are excellent sight lines, 12

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and plastic seating is mercifully interposed between you and the marble, by comparison with the poltronissime there is less leg room and you are further from the stage.

Itinerary Day 1. Fly at c. 9.00am from London Heathrow to Venice (British Airways). On arrival at Verona, an introductory walk passes through the beautiful streets and squares at the heart of the city. See the Romanesque church of San Fermo, the Pisanello frescoes in the church of Sant’Anastasia and the spectacular tombs of the della Scala dynasty. The performance in the Arena this evening comprises two one-act operas, commonly paired: Cavalleria Rusticana (Pietro Mascagni) and Pagliacci (Ruggero Leoncavallo).

Day 2. Another art history walk leads to the Romanesque cathedral, then crosses the River Adige to the well-preserved Roman theatre. In the afternoon, visit the church of San Zeno, a major Romanesque church with a Mantegna altarpiece Alternatively, there are bus and train services offering the opportunity to see more of the region, perhaps Lake Garda or Venice.

The opera in the Arena this evening is Nabucco (Giuseppe Verdi).

Day 3. The morning walk includes the Castelvecchio, a graceful medieval castle and fortified bridge now housing an excellent art museum. Lunch is at a privately owned villa in the countryside (by special arrangement). There is some free time before the final opera of the tour, which is the one for which Verona is best known: Aida (Giuseppe Verdi).

Day 4. Fly from Venice, arriving London Heathrow c. 2.30pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,430 or £2,170 without flights. Single occupancy: £2,760 or £2,500 without flights.

Included meals: 1 lunch and 3 dinners with wine.

Music: Tickets to 3 performances are included, costing c. £350. Supplement for poltronissime gold seats: £290.

Accommodation. Due Torri Hotel, Verona (hotelduetorri.duetorrihotels.com).

How strenuous? To participate fully in the itinerary, a fair amount of walking is involved.

It is often very hot in Italy at this time of year.

Average distance by coach per day: 18 miles.

Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

Illustrations. Left: Verona, Arena, engraving from ‘The Art Journal’,1887. Right: Giuseppe Verdi

Verdi in Parma & Busseto Rigoletto, I Lombardi alla Prima Crociata and Macbeth in Verdi’s heartland 15–19 October 2020 (mg 469) 5 days • £2,970 (including tickets to 3 performances) Lecturers: Dr John Allison & Dr R. T. Cobianchi Three operas by Giuseppe Verdi, Rigoletto, I Lombardi alla Prima Crociata, and Macbeth.

Performed in a duo of beautiful and historically important theatres, and the church of San Francesco del Prato the heart of Parma.

Visits Verdi’s place of birth at Le Roncole and his place of death at Villa Sant’Agata. Time also for the sights of Parma and Cremona.

‘ John Alison is a walking textbook in opera and Roberto’s art commentaries made us see important details in the painting and buildings.’

Itinerary

Practicalities

Day 1. Fly at c. 2.45pm from London Heathrow to Bologna Airport (British Airways). Drive to Parma, one of the loveliest of the smaller cities in Italy and the base for all four nights of the tour.

Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,970 or £2,870 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,410 or £3,310 without flights.

Day 2: Parma. Court city of the Farnese dynasty, Parma is a treasure house of art and architecture.

In the morning there is a visit to the cathedral and baptistry, among the finest Romanesque buildings in Italy, the former with dazzling illusionistic frescoes by Correggio. Evening opera at the church of San Francesco del Prato in Parma: Macbeth.

Day 3: Cremona. The birthplace of Monteverdi, Stradivarius and Guarini and still a centre of violin making, Cremona has a splendid central square formed of cathedral, campanile (Italy’s tallest), baptistry and civic palaces. The cathedral is richly embellished with 16th-century paintings, the baptistry with Romanesque sculpture and the municipal fortresses are redbrick Gothic. Evening opera in the Teatro Regio di Parma: I Lombardi alla Prima Crociata.

Included meals: 3 dinners with wine.

Music: top-category tickets for 3 performances are included. In Parma, we have stalls seats for both performances, and in Busseto we have central boxes. Not all the seats in the central boxes will be front row, and front row places will be allocated to the first bookers.

Accommodation. Hotel Sina Maria Luigia, Parma (sinahotels.com).

How strenuous? Some walking is unavoidable as coaches are not permitted into historic town centres. There are late nights throughout the tour, and most mornings start at 10.00am.

Average distance by coach per day: 53 miles.

Groups size: between 10 and 22 participants.

Day 4: Sant’Agata, Le Roncole, Busseto. An excursion begins with the villa that Verdi built for himself at Sant’Agata, and continues to the territory where Verdi was born, grew up and lived intermittently for much of his life. Visit his birthplace in the hamlet of Le Roncole, and Busseto, where he lived for the earlier part of his life. Evening opera at the Teatro Verdi in Busseto: Rigoletto.

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Day 5. Drive to Bologna Airport for the flight to London Heathrow, arriving at c. 1.25pm.

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MUSIC | ITALY

The Festival Verdi takes place on the stretch of country where the composer was born, schooled, learnt his trade, and, despite youthful resentments, where he bought a farm and built a villa as a haven and retreat for the last 50 years of his life. Lying then within the Duchy of Parma, it remains predominantly rural, with the attraction of a kind of unchanging, authentic ordinariness.

This was the mise-en-scène which gave rise to an artistic oeuvre displaying a range of tumultuous passions and human empathy equalled perhaps only by Shakespeare. Happily, it is also an area famous for its food, and a region rich in musical history, with Cremona being the world’s most celebrated centre of violin-making.

The performances are in two theatres which are of the highest historical importance and beauty, and in the church of San Francesco del Prato in the heart of Parma. The Teatro Regio in Parma was built in 1829 by ex-Empress MariaLuisa, modelled on La Scala in Milan. The small horse-shoe Teatro Verdi at Busseto dates to 1868 and was built within what had been the local magnate’s palazzo.

Performances at Parma’s Teatro Regio are always exciting occasions — the audience is one of the most knowledgeable and vocal (in every sense!) in Italy — and the new production of I Lombardi will surely offer a wonderful opportunity to sample authentic Italian operatic culture. I Lombardi is really the biggest event of this year’s festival, and a rare opportunity to hear and see a Verdi opera that was once very successful (it was the first of his works to reach America) but whose fortunes have faded a little. Yet it contains much exciting music — as only Verdi’s fourth opera, it was composed as a follow-up to the success he had enjoyed with Nabucco and aimed to replicate some of the more famous work’s big moments. Premiered at La Scala in 1843, its plot recounts the escapades of the Lombards at the First Crusade.

Parma’s presentation of the much betterknown Macbeth is characteristic of a festival that never stands still. It will be performed in an alternative venue, still one of the city’s landmarks — the Chiesa di San Francesco del Prato, deconsecrated already in the 19th century and turned into a city prison. Restoration

work is nearing completion, and it is due to be reconsecrated and handed back to the church, but not before it is used at this year’s festival. The festival’s approach to Macbeth itself will also be novel, building on its programme in recent years of exploring French versions of Verdi operas — we’ll hear the French libretto used in Paris in 1865, when Verdi revised the opera substantially.

Busseto, near the composer’s birthplace, offers a very different experience. Seeing performances in the little Teatro Verdi di Busseto provides one of the most intimate operatic experiences, and will doubtless heighten the tragic impact of that well-known masterpiece that is Rigoletto. The first of the three middleperiod ‘hits’ that Verdi enjoyed in the early 1850s (Il trovatore and La traviata followed in quick succession), Rigoletto contains some of the composer’s best-loved music.

Naples: Art, Antiquities & Opera With a performance at the Teatro San Carlo Day 4. Among the riches seen on the second walk in the centre of Naples is the cathedral of San Gennaro which has an interior of astounding richness and major paintings

by Domenichino and Lanfranco. Also seen is another work by Caravaggio, his Seven Acts of Mercy in the chapel for which it was commissioned. In the afternoon drive into the hilly suburbs to visit the palace of Capodimonte, originally a giant hunting lodge. Here is located one of Italy’s greatest art galleries, with a magnificent range of art from the Middle Ages onwards.

Day 5. Fly from Naples to London Gatwick, arriving at c. 3.30pm.

Practicalities 29 October–2 November 2020 (mg 548) 5 days • £2,310 (including an opera ticket) Lecturer: Dr Luca Leoncini Selects the best of the art, architecture and antiquities in Naples.

Performance of Giuseppe Verdi’s La Traviata at the glorious Teatro San Carlo.

A succinct tour, fitting the best of the city into five days.

MUSIC | ITALY

Naples is one of those rare places whose very name kindles a kaleidoscope of conflicting images. A highlight of the 18th-century Grand Tour, it is now all but ignored by mainstream tourism. Royal capital of the largest of the Italian kingdoms, in the 20th century it became a byword for poverty and decline. Once it basked in a reputation for supreme beauty – ‘see Naples and die’; now it enjoys notoriety as a pit of urban ills – chaos, congestion, corruption and Camorra.

Until recently there was some truth in these images of modern Naples. But the city has changed, and is one of the most heartening examples of inner-city regeneration of the last decade or so. Traffic is still chaotic, but much of the historic centre is now pedestrianised. A burst of prosperity has transformed the ancient shopping and artisan districts. Restoration of buildings and works of art has further increased the beauty of the city, and more churches and museums are more often open and accessible.

Its museums display some of the finest art and antiquities to be found in Italy, and major architectural and archaeological sites are nearby. The Teatro San Carlo is one of the most important in operatic history, with many premières to its credit. One of the oldest and largest in Europe, it was built in 1737, restored after a fire in 1818, and emerged just a few years ago in all its glory from major refurbishment.

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Naples is a city of the south. In many ways it has more in common with Seville or Cairo than with Florence or Milan. It is a city of swaggering palaces and stupendous churches, of cacophonous street life and infectious vitality.

Exciting, exhausting, energising.

Itinerary Day 1. Fly at c. 8.15am from London Gatwick to Naples (British Airways). See Caravaggio’s Martyrdom of St Ursula in a bank and return to the hotel on foot via Via Toledo, where half of Naples turns out for an evening passeggiata.

Day 2. A first walk through the teeming old city centre includes the Cappella San Severo, a masterpiece of Baroque art and craft with multicoloured marbles and virtuoso sculptures, and Santa Chiara, an austere Gothic church with a delightful Rococo tile-encrusted cloister. Also among the other treasures seen are the churches of Il Gesù Nuovo and S. Domenico Maggiore.

The Castel Nuovo is a medieval castle on the waterfront which houses the Civic Museum. Its Cappella Palatina contains frescoes by Giotto.

Day 3. The morning is spent at the National Archaeological Museum, one of the world’s greatest collections of Greek and Roman antiquities. Many items come from the excavations at Pompeii and Herculaneum. High on a hill which provides stunning views over the city and the Bay of Naples, the monastery of San Martino has a church of extraordinary lavishness of art and decoration and a museum of fine and decorative arts. Evening performance at the Teatro San Carlo, the oldest major working theatre in Europe and renowned for its acoustic despite its 3,000-seat capacity. La Traviata (Verdi), Stefano Ranzani (conductor), Lorenzo Amato (director), Albina Shagimuratova / Nino Machaidze / Maria Grazia Schiavo (Violetta), Francesco Demuro / Ivan Magrì (Alfredo), Mariangela Marini / Cinzia Chiarini (Flora), Michela Antenucci (Annina), Amartuvshin Enkhbat / Giovanni Meoni (Germont).

book online at www.martinrandall.com

Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,310 or £2,120 without flights. Single occupancy: £2,760 or £2,570 without flights.

Included meals: 3 dinners with wine.

Music: 1 opera ticket (top category) is included costing c. £100.

Accommodation. Hotel Excelsior, Naples (eurostarsexcelsior.com). Sea views are available on request and for a supplement.

How strenuous? A large swathe of central Naples is inaccessible to traffic, certainly to coaches. Pavements are often uneven, some roads are steep, traffic can be unpredictable.

Participants need to be averagely fit and able to manage everyday walking and stairclimbing without any difficulty. Average distance by coach per day: 6 miles.

Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

Lombardy: Gastronomy & Opera 5–11 September 2020 (mg 359) 7 days • £3,890 Lecturer: Fred Plotkin A spectacular range of geography yields diverse, superb food and wine.

Includes a top category ticket to Il Viaggio a Reims at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan.

Visit the charming cities of Bergamo and Cremona, see Leonardo’s Last Supper in Milan.

Lecturer Fred Plotkin is a world-famous Italy expert, author of Italy for the Gourmet Traveller and former director at the Teatro alla Scala.

Please visit www.martinrandall.com for full details, or contact us.

Beethoven in Amsterdam All the symphonies in the Concertgebouw 7–13 November 2020 (mg 558) 7 days • £3,070 Lecturer: Misha Donat All nine symphonies are performed in one of the finest concert halls in the world.

First-rate international orchestras and conductors.

Some visits with a local art historian and free time for Amsterdam’s outstanding museums and canal-side streetscape.

Talks by writer and broadcaster, Misha Donat.

Day 3. Visit the Hermitage Museum, an outpost of the St Petersburg institution, with changing exhibitions (not yet announced) and a longterm show of portraits of the Golden Age. After lunch continue to the Portuguese Synagogue, a fine building of the 17th century. The rest of the afternoon and evening is left free for independent exploration. There is no concert today.

Day 4. Day trip to Den Haag (The Hague), seat of the court and parliament. The Mauritshuis contains a superb collection of Dutch 17thcentury paintings including masterpieces

by Rembrandt and Vermeer. Visit also the illusionistic Mesdag Panorama. Evening concert with Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, Gottfried von der Goltz (conductor): Beethoven, Symphonies Nos 5 and 6.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £3,070 or £2,950 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,610 or £3,490 without flights.

Included meals: 1 lunch and 4 dinners with wine.

Music: tickets (first plus and first categories) for 5 concerts are included.

Accommodation. NH Amsterdam Centre (nh-hotels.com).

How strenuous? Visits require a fair amount of walking and standing around. Vehicular access is restricted in the city centre and participants are expected to walk to the Concertgebouw, though a coach to the hotel is provided after evening concerts. There are some late nights but starts are leisurely.

Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

Day 5. Morning tour of the Royal Palace, formerly the very grand town hall, decorated by the leading painters of the 17th century (subject to closure for royal functions). Visit also the gothic Oude Kerk, the oldest building in the city, and Our Lord in the Attic, a secret Catholic church. Evening concert with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment: Beethoven, Symphonies Nos 7 and 8.

Day 6. Morning visit to the Van Gogh Museum, the world’s largest holding of over 200 of the artist’s paintings, many from brother Theo’s collection. Evening concert with the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, Sir Mark Elder (conductor): Beethoven, Symphony No.9.

Day 7. Drive to Haarlem, the chief artistic centre in the northern Netherlands in the 16th century and home to the first of the great masters of the Golden Age, Frans Hals. His finest works are in the excellent museum here, an inspiring end to the tour. Fly from from Amsterdam and return to London Heathrow at c. 2.30pm.

MUSIC | THE NETHERLANDS

The nine symphonies of Beethoven stand as the defining monuments of their genre. Such is their iconic status that even those who know nothing else about classical music can immediately identify the Fifth Symphony’s ‘fate’ motif, or the ‘joy’ theme from the finale of the Ninth.

Quite apart from their beauty, originality and intellectual rigour, Beethoven’s symphonies seem to embody the romantic notion of the artist struggling in circumstances of adversity to produce works of genius that would be fully appreciated only by later generations.

In the quarter-century that elapsed between the appearance of his classically-proportioned First Symphony and the colossal Ninth, Beethoven transformed the genre almost beyond recognition. Already in 1804, the ‘Eroica’ Symphony was conceived on a canvas of previously unimagined grandeur and breadth (“a very long drawn-out, daring and wild fantasy”, one reviewer called it following its first public performance), and with the world-embracing Ninth Symphony Beethoven produced a work whose impact would reverberate for more than a century to come. No later symphonic composer could afford to ignore Beethoven’s achievement, and none remained unaffected by it.

The Concertgebouw opened to the public in 1888 with an inaugural concert featuring an orchestra of 120 and 500 singers conducted by Henri Viotta, that performed works by Wagner, Beethoven, Handel and Bach. The Great Hall is renowned for its excellent acoustics, despite little being known of the science behind them at the time of construction.

loveliest capitals in the world. Our visit with an art historian to the brilliantly refurbished Rijksmuseum concentrates on the major works in its unrivalled collection of Golden Age paintings, Rembrandt’s Night Watch and four Vermeers among them.

Illustrations. Left: Naples, 19th-century gouache.

Right: Beethoven, engraving.

Itinerary Day 1. Fly at c.11.00am from London Heathrow to Amsterdam Schiphol (British Airways). After a lecture and dinner, walk to the Concertgebouw.

Concert with the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, Jonathan Nott (conductor), Kristian Bezuidenhout (fortepiano): Beethoven, Symphony No.1; Piano Concerto No.3 in C, Op.37; Symphony No.3 ‘Eroica’.

Day 2. Morning concert with the Orchèstre des Champs-Elysées, Philippe Herreweghe (conductor): Beethoven, Symphonies Nos 2 and 4. With its concentric canals and 17thcentury mansions, Amsterdam is one of the

Concertgebouw Mahler Festival 8–18 May 2020 (mg 203) Lecturer: Stephen Johnson Currently fully booked Please visit www.martinrandall.com for full details, or contact us.

What else is included?

See page 2 for a list of components that are included as standard in the price.

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A Schubertiade in Catalonia Stars sing Schubert songs in the foothills of the Pyrenees

19–24 August 2020 (mg 342) 6 days • £2,760 (including tickets to 5 performances) Lecturer: Richard Wigmore Four evening song recitals at the Romanesque monastery of Santa María de Vilabertran, and one more relaxed morning recital.

Outstanding artists – Florian Boesch, Dame Sarah Connolly, Andrè Schuen, Julia Kleiter – perform with top accompanists such as Malcolm Martineau and Julius Drake.

Daily lectures by Richard Wigmore and a talk from the festival director, Víctor Medem.

Stay at a 5-star hotel in the Albera mountains, one meal at a Michelin-starred restaurant.

MUSIC | SPAIN

Described by Franz Liszt as ‘the most poetic of composers’, Franz Schubert never crossed the Alps, let alone the Pyrenees. Yet his music knows no boundaries. Among a clutch of European Schubert festivals, one of the most delightful is the annual Schubertiade held in the village of Vilabertran, charmingly situated in northern Catalonia. Over the last few years the festival has gained a well-earned international reputation, combining an intimate, relaxed ambience with performances from top singers and pianists.

As usual, Schubert’s songs are the focal point of the 2020 festival, beginning with an all-Schubert recital from baritone Florian Boesch, famed for the dramatic intensity of his performances. Other star singers include the fast-rising Swiss baritone Andrè Schuen in songs by Schubert and Mahler, German soprano Julia Kleiter in a wide-ranging programme of Liszt, Wolf, Mahler and Strauss, and mezzo Dame Sarah Connolly, whose recital embraces songs by Elgar and that avid Schubert lover Benjamin Britten.

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All the concerts take place in the Romanesque church of Santa María de Vilabertran, situated within an ancient monastery complex. Unlike the Austrian Schubertiades where multiple performances take place each day, this Spanish variant is more relaxed, with generally one event programmed per day. While the tour’s prime focus is music, there are excursions to the city of Girona, with its beautifully preserved Jewish quarter, and to the hill-top monastery of Sant Pere de Rodes.

Day 5: Peralada. Return to the nearby Castell de Peralada to visit its substantial and influential winery for a tasting and lunch. An early evening lecture precedes the final concert in Vilabertan.

Evening recital with Julia Kleiter (soprano) & Julius Drake (piano). Works by Liszt, Wolf, Mahler and Strauss.

Itinerary

Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,760 or £2,460 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,120 or £2,820 without flights.

Day 1. Fly at c. 10.45am (British Airways) from London Heathrow to Barcelona. Drive north to near Figueres, where all five nights are spent.

An introductory lecture precedes dinner at Michelin-starred Castell de Peralada.

Day 2: Girona. Girona has a compact medieval Jewish quarter and Gothic cathedral towering over the river, with important illuminated manuscripts and tapestries displayed in the chapterhouse. Continue to the 13th-century Arab-style baths. Free time in Girona before returning to Peralada. Evening recital with Florian Boesch (baritone) & Malcolm Martineau (piano). Works by Schubert.

Day 6. Return to Barcelona by coach for the flight to London Heathrow, arriving at c. 3.00pm.

Practicalities

Included meals: 2 lunches and 5 dinners with wine.

Music: tickets (top category) for five performances are included, costing c. £265. The festival programme has not yet been released to the public so concert details may still be subject to change. Four of the recitals are more formal and feature top international artists; the morning recital on Day 4 is likely to be a more causal affair.

Accommodation. Hotel Peralada (hotelperalada.com).

Day 3: Sant Pere de Rodes. Leave Peralada following a morning lecture for Sant Pere de Rodes, an early Romanesque abbey with wonderful views of the coast. Lunch here before returning to Peralada. Evening recital with Dame Sarah Connolly (mezzo-soprano) & Malcolm Martineau (piano). Works by Britten, Elgar and others.

How strenuous? The excursions require a fair amount of walking, including in the historic centre of Girona where coach access is restricted.

Coaches cannot stop in the immediate vicinity of the concert venue. Catalonia is very hot in August. Four of the five recitals start at c. 9pm so late nights are inevitable. Average distance by coach per day: 56 miles.

Day 4: Peralada. Lecture followed by a morning recital (details to be confirmed). Free afternoon in Peralada. Evening recital with Andrè Schuen (baritone) & Daniel Heide (piano). Works by Schubert and Mahler.

Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

book online at www.martinrandall.com

Combine this tour with: The Danube: Celebrating Beethoven, 24–31 August 2020.

The Lucerne Festival Music in the Swiss mountains 16–21 August 2020 (mg 344) 6 days • £3,680 (including tickets to 5 performances) Lecturer: Dr Michael Downes A summer music festival of the first rank in the loveliest of Swiss cities.

Performers in 2020 include the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra with Lahav Shani (conductor) and Daniel Barenboim (piano), Igor Levit (piano), Sir Andras Schiff (piano) and Timothy Ridout (viola).

Walks and visits in the city are balanced with an excursion in the surrounding hills and plenty of free time.

Day 3. A second walking tour includes Hofkirche, a 17th-century church with a lovely Italianate cloister and two Romanesque towers, visit the city’s chief 19th–century monuments including the famous Löwendenkmal, a great lion-statue hewn from a cliff-face in 1821 in honour of Swiss mercenaries killed in the French Revolution, and the Bourbaki Panorama, a giant circular mural depicting events of the FrancoPrussian War of 1870. Optional afternoon visit to Richard Wagner’s home on a headland by the lake where the composer spent some of his happiest years. Evening concert at the KKL with Igor Levit (piano): Beethoven, Sonata in D minor, Op. 31, no. 2 ‘The Tempest’, Sonata in B-flat, Op. 22, Sonata in C, Op. 2 no. 3, Sonata in C minor, Op. 13 ‘Grande Sonate Pathétique’.

Day 4. All-day excursion to Mount Rigi, traversing lake Lucerne by boat and taking the funicular to the start of the walk. Lunch on the mountainside with a majestic 360° panorama of the Swiss plateau before returning to Lucerne.

Evening concert at the KKL with Sir András Schiff (piano), Jan Petryka (tenor), Ema Nikolovska (alto): Beethoven, An die ferne Geliebte, Op. 98; Schumann, Fantasie in C, Op. 17; Janáček, ‘The Diary of One Who Disappeared’.

Day 5. A morning visit to the Sammlung Rosengart, an extraordinary collection devoted to 20th-century art including many works by

Picasso. Lunchtime concert in the Lukaskirche with Timothy Ridout (viola) and Frank Dupree (viola): Beethoven: Horn Sonata in F, Op. 17. (arr. for viola by Rudolph Leopold); Schumann, Fantasy Pieces Op. 73; York Bowen, Sonata for viola and piano No. 2 in F, Op. 22. Free afternoon. Evening concert with Lucerne Festival Orchestra, Riccardo Chailly (cond.): Denis Matsuev (piano): Rachmaninov, Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18; Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Op. 27.

Day 6. Drive to Zurich Airport for the return flight to London Heathrow, arriving c. 2.00pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £3,680 or £3,420 without flights. Single occupancy: £4,120 or £3,860 without flights.

Included meals: 2 lunches and 3 dinners with wine.

Music: tickets (first category) for 5 concerts are included, costing c. £670. Tickets are confirmed in March 2020.

Accommodation: Romantik Hotel Wilden Mann (www.wilden-mann.ch).

How strenuous? A good level of fitness is necessary. It should not be attempted by anyone who has difficulty with everyday walking and stair-climbing. The concert hall is located half a mile from the hotel. The drive from Zurich Airport to Lucerne takes approximately 1 hour.

Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

Illustrations. Left: Girona, etching c. 1920s. Right: Lucerne, wood engraving c. 1890.

MUSIC | SWITZERLAND

Ever since its inauguration over seventy years ago, with a concert conducted by Arturo Toscanini in the grounds of the lakeside house where Wagner had stayed, the Lucerne Festival has been regarded as one of the most prestigious music festivals in Europe.

The event has been further enhanced by a brilliant venue. The KKL (Kultur- und Kongresszentrum) is a giant glass-and-steel arts complex located right on the lake just a few hundred yards from the old town of Lucerne.

Designed by Frenchman Jean Nouvel and completed in 2000, this is modern European architecture at its finest. Its colossal cantilevered roof projects over the water’s edge, bringing the changing moods of the lake right into the building, and water channels separate the various wings. The most advanced acoustical science has been lavished on the beautiful Konzertsaal.

And could there be a lovelier city in which to attend a summer music festival? Lucerne occupies one of the most picturesque settings in Switzerland, divided into two parts by its river, bordering on the dramatic shores of the Vierwaldstätter Lake and overlooked by craggy mountains. Its mediaeval prosperity is still visible in the squares, guildhalls and churches that line its riverbanks. The nineteenth century was a heyday for Lucerne as it led the way in attracting tourism to Switzerland.

panels. Visit the Rococo interior of the huge Jesuit Church and the 13th-century Franciscan Church. Free afternoon. Evening concert at the KKL with the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, Lahav Shani (cond.), Daniel Barenboim (piano): Brahms, Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat, Op. 83; Ligeti, Lontano for large orchestra; Ravel, Suite No. 2 from Daphnis et Chloé.

Itinerary Day 1. Fly at c. 12.15pm from London Heathrow to Zurich (British Airways). Drive to Lucerne, a lively, historic city amid lake and mountain.

Day 2. A morning walking tour of Lucerne, starting at the oldest road bridge in Europe, the richly decorated Chapel Bridge, and continuing to the Spreuerbrücke, another historic covered bridge notable for its ‘Dance of Death’ roof

Lecturers See page 24 for biographies.

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CHAMBER MUSIC SHORT BREAKS Hear great Classical music performed by outstanding musicians of international repute.

Enjoy the intimacy and intensity of a recital hall little bigger than a large drawing room.

Listen to pre-concert talks by eminent musicologists.

Mingle with the musicians and the speaker as well as like-minded fellow music lovers.

Stay in famous and very comfortable hotels, and enjoy great food.

THE LEONORE PIANO TRIO 24–26 April 2020 (mg 168) The Castle Hotel, Taunton Price: from £830 Speaker: Stephen Johnson ALBION STRING QUARTET MUSIC | CHAMBER MUSIC SHORT BREAKS

19–21 May 2020 (mg 219) The Swan, Lavenham Price: from £810 Speaker: Richard Wigmore CHAMBER MUSIC SHORT BREAKS IN 2021 Please call us to register your interest or e-mail alerts@martinrandall.co.uk

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book online at www.martinrandall.com

CHORAL DAYS A day-long sequence of performances, our London Choral Days place outstanding choirs in some of the most beautiful and apposite buildings in the capital.

The days are not conceived as a number of individual concerts, but as an integrated, overarching musical experience in which the individual parts illumine and enlarge upon what has gone before. Usually there is some connection between the venues and the music performed in them, which may be chronological – music of the same period as the building – or associational: a specific historical link between music and building.

The Summer Choral Day will be in and around Kensington.

Refreshments are also included, as is the guidance of a team of our staff.

SUMMER CHORAL DAY | 24 July 2020 ADVENT CHORAL DAY | December 2020 Please call us to register your interest, or e-mail alerts@martinrandall.co.uk

LONDON ORGANS DAY IN THE CITY & WEST END 15 May 2020 (lg 881) | Price £215 Very limited places available MUSIC | LONDON DAYS

This will be an enthralling experience for both pipe-organ devotees and for the merely interested. London has an outstanding wealth of historic and modern instruments – no other city in the world comes close – and five very fine examples will be heard, played by four excellent organists: St Margaret Lothbury | Organist: Richard Townend St Lawrence Jewry (both organs) | Organist: Catherine Ennis All Saints Margaret Street | Organist: Jeremiah Stephenson St George’s Hanover Square | Organist: Simon Williams Each recital will be preceded by a discussion with the church’s organist, teasing out what is special about the instruments. The interviewer will be Simon Williams, deputy director of the Royal College of Organists and director of music at St George’s Hanover Square, Handel’s parish church.

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CELEBRATING MUSIC AND PLACE Martin Randall Festivals bring together world-class musicians for a sequence of private concerts in Europe’s glorious historic buildings, many of which are not normally accessible. We take care of all logistics, from flights and hotels, to pre-concert talks.

Please contact us for full details or visit www.martinrandall.com/festivals Join us to find out more about our music festivals at Wigmore Hall, London on Thursday, 23 July 2020.

Please call us to register your interest, or e-mail alerts@martinrandall.co.uk

2021 POLYPHONY IN PORTUGAL 16–22 MAY 2021 MUSIC | FESTIVALS

MUSIC IN NORFOLK JUNE 2021 MUSIC ALONG THE DANUBE 20–27 AUGUST 2021 HANDEL IN VALLETTA SEPTEMBER 2021 OPERA IN SICILY 2– 8 NOVEMBER 2021

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book online at www.martinrandall.com

MUSIC ALONG THE RHINE 30 JUNE–7 JULY 2020 Outstanding music from the German Classical tradition, beautiful countryside and historic towns along Germany’s principal river – with accommodation onboard a luxury river cruiser.

Dorothea Röschmann and Malcolm Martineau, The Mandelring Quartet, Llŷr Williams, Amatis Piano Trio, Basel Chamber Orchestra with Valeriy Sokolov, Per Sonat Ensemble, Esmé Quartet, Cantus Cölln, Baden-Baden Philharmonic and Freiburg Baroque Orchestra.

MUSIC IN THE LOIRE VALLEY 7–13 JULY 2020 Concerts celebrating Renaissance France in magnificent châteaux and historic venues in the Garden of France.

Ensemble Clément Janequin, I Fagiolini, Gothic Voices, Quatuor Tchalik, Contrapunctus, Les Pléiades, Early Opera Company, Les Musiciens de Saint Julien. Soloists include Samuel Boden, Mary Bevan, Edward Grint, Jonathan McGovern and Isabelle Druet.

Hotel accommodation in Tours is included, with return rail travel by Eurostar.

THE DANUBE: CELEBRATING BEETHOVEN 24–31 AUGUST 2020 A musical voyage along Europe’s longest and loveliest river on-board a firstclass river cruiser, focusing on Beethoven in the 250th anniversary year.

Roderick Williams obe and Susie Allan, Haydn Philharmonic, Guarneri Trio, Imogen Cooper cbe, Vienna Chamber Choir, Elias Quartet, Pavel Haas Quartet, Nash Ensemble and Andreas Staier.

THE DIVINE OFFICE: CHORAL MUSIC IN OXFORD 28 SEPTEMBER–2 OCTOBER 2020 A unique event of exceptional musical intensity and spiritual potency.

MUSIC | FESTIVALS

Nine concerts plus the Divine Office (the eight services of the monastic day, performed between 1.00am and 10.00pm) is the most spiritually charged and aesthetically intense experience to have emerged from western civilisation.

The choirs of Christ Church, Magdalen, Merton, New College and The Queen’s College, with The Tallis Scholars, Stile Antico, Westminster Cathedral Choir, Aurora Nova and Instruments of Time & Truth.

VENICE: PAGEANTRY & PIETY 2–7 NOVEMBER 2020 Seven concerts of Venetian music – Gabrieli, Monteverdi, Vivaldi – in palaces, churches and great halls, with Monteverdi’s 1610 Vespers in St Mark’s Basilica.

Gabrieli Consort & Players, The Taverner Consort & Players, La Serenissima, The Monteverdi String Band, Il Pomo d’Oro, Modo Antiquo, In Echo.

Soloists include Roberta Mameli, Joanne Lunn and Renata Pokupić.

A range of walks and visits accompanied by art historians.

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Music tours & events by date | 2020

March 2020

August 2020

17–22 Opera in Vienna (mg 129)

Barry Millington........................................ 6

16–21 The Lucerne Festival (mg 344)

Dr Michael Downes.................................19

19– 23 Opera & Ballet in Paris (mg 134)

Dr Michael Downes................................... 8

19–24 A Schubertiade in Catalonia (mg 342)

Richard Wigmore.....................................18

19–27 Music in Northern Italy with Stringletter (eg 136)

Professor Robert Adelson.........................11

24– 31 THE DANUBE: CELEBRATING BEETHOVEN (mg 345)................. 20–21 24

April 2020

September 2020

15–19 Opera & Ballet in Copenhagen

(mg 162) Dr Michael Downes..................7

19–26 The Ring in Chicago (mg 169)

Barry Millington & Tom Abbott............... 6

‘Lost for words to express the sheer joy and delight it all gave me. The performers were wonderful and seemed to enjoy performing for us as much as we enjoyed listening.’

21–25 Opera in Berlin (mg 164)

Dr John Allison........................................... 9 23– 4 Baroque Music in the Bolivian Missions

(mg 185) Jeffrey Skidmore obe.................6 24– 26 Chamber Music Short Break:

The Leonore Piano Trio (mg 168)........18

May 2020

‘ The music was beyond praise for the interesting programmes chosen. The talks by the performers before each concert enhanced the experience, a half hour masterclass in listening twice a day.’

8–18 Concertgebouw Mahler Festival (mg 203) Stephen Johnson......................17

11–17 Opera in Prague & Brno (mg 211)

Professor Jan Smaczny...........................5–6 15

London Organs Day (lg 881)...............21

19–21 Chamber Music Short Break:

The Albion String Quartet (mg 219)...18 19–25 The Ring in Leipzig (mg 220)

Barry Millington........................................ 6 21– 25 Opera in Turin & Milan (mg 230)

Dr John Allison & Dr Luca Leoncini......10

June 2020

5– 8 Glyndebourne & Garsington (mg 246) Dr John Allison........................................... 4

MUSIC | TOURS & EVENTS BY DATE

12–17 Leipzig Bach Festival (mg 251)

Dr David Vickers........................................ 9 21–27 The Schubertiade (mg 258)

Richard Wigmore....................................... 6 29– 6 Walking the Rhine Valley (mg 286)

Richard Wigmore....................................... 9 30– 7 MUSIC ALONG

THE RHINE (mg 228).................... 20–21

July 2020

7–13 MUSIC IN THE LOIRE VALLEY (mg 294).............. 20–21

8–11 Verona Opera (mg 310)

Dr Michael Douglas-Scott.......................12 8–14 Hindsgavl: Chamber Music in Denmark (mg 298)

Dr Michael Downes.............................. 8–9 24– 28 Opera in Munich (mg 314)

Patrick Bade............................................... 9 Illustrations. Above left: Man playing a lute, engraving.

Below left: Drawing by Count Eugen Ledebur. Right: Mozart, wood engraving c. 1870.

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book online at www.martinrandall.com

Summer Choral Day..............................21

28– 2 THE DIVINE OFFICE: CHORAL MUSIC IN OXFORD (mg 440)..... 20–21

October 2020 15–19 Verdi in Parma & Busseto (mg 469)

Dr John Allison

& Dr R.T. Cobianchi................................13 29– 1 Historic Musical Instruments (mg 545)

Professor Robert Adelson.........................11 29– 2 Naples: Art, Antiquities & Opera

(mg 548) Dr Luca Leoncini.....................14

November 2020

2– 7 VENICE: PAGEANTRY & PIETY (mg 553)........................... 20–21

7–13 Beethoven in Amsterdam (mg 558)

Misha Donat.............................................16 29– 7 The Ring in Paris (mg 600)

Barry Millington........................................ 6

Welsh National Opera............................. 4

December 2020 27–2 Music in Berlin at New Year

Advent Choral Day.................................21

January 2021

Mozart in Salzburg

Music tours & events by date | 2021 preview

February 2021 5–11 The Ring in London............................... 6

Opera in Nice & Monte Carlo

The Ring in Dresden

March 2021

Hamburg: Opera & ‘Elphi’

Opera in Vienna

Music & Ballet in Paris

Bavarian Organs

Rossini in Pesaro

Drottningholm & Confidencen

Opera in Santa Fe

September 2021

HANDEL IN VALLETTA

October 2021

Opera North

Wexford Opera

Opera in Naples & Rome

November 2021

2– 8 OPERA IN SOUTHERN SICILY

Welsh National Opera

April 2021

Opera in Berlin

The Ring in Berlin

May 2021 16–21 POLYPHONY IN PORTUGAL 17–24 Leipzig Mahler Festival

Prague Spring

Ballet in Copenhagen

Music in the Regions

Dresden Music Festival

Lombardy: Gastronomy & Opera

June 2021

The Schubertiade

Nevill Holt & Buxton Opera

The Leipzig Bach Festival

West Cork Chamber Music Festival

Ballet in St Petersburg

MUSIC IN NORFOLK

July 2021

Ryedale Music Festival

Savonlinna Opera

Opera in Aix

The Beaune Music Festival

Opera in Munich & Bregenz

Lofoten Chamber Music Festival

August 2021 20–27 Walking the Danube 20–27 MUSIC ALONG THE DANUBE

The Schubertiade

Summer Music in Austria

The Sibelius Festival

Subject to change We hope to offer all of these tours and events in 2021 – this list is, of course, subject to change, depending on music programmes and lecturer availability.

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Lecturers

Professor Robert Adelson. Professor of Music History and Organology (the study of musical instruments) at the Conservatoire de Nice. Between 2005 and 2016 he was curator of France’s second-largest collection of historical musical instruments, housed in the Musée du Palais Lascaris in Nice. He has published widely on the history of instruments, opera and the sociology of music. His latest book, The History of the Erard Piano and Harp in Letters and Documents, 1785–1959, was published by Cambridge University Press in 2015.

Dr John Allison. Editor of Opera magazine and music critic for The Daily Telegraph. He was born in South Africa and completed his PhD degree while playing the piano and working as assistant organist at Cape Town cathedral. Since moving to London in 1989 he has written for publications around the world, authored two books, contributed chapters to several other volumes and served on the juries of many international competitions. He has also held positions as music critic on The Sunday Telegraph and The Times.

Dr R. T. Cobianchi. Art historian and researcher specialising in Italian art and architecture of the Renaissance and Baroque. His interests range from the iconography of the late Middle Ages to the sculpture of Neo-Classicism.

Misha Donat. Writer, lecturer and senior music producer for BBC Radio 3 for more than 25 years. He has given radio talks and pre-concert talks at a number of venues in Britain and has lectured at universities here and in the USA. He writes programme notes for the Wigmore Hall, the South Bank Centre, the Barbican Centre and other venues, as well as for festivals including Edinburgh, Aldeburgh and Brighton. He contributes CD booklets for several labels, and is currently working on a new edition of the Beethoven piano sonatas being published by Bärenreiter.

Dr Michael Douglas-Scott.

Associate Lecturer in History of Art at Birkbeck College, specialising in 16th-century Italian art and architecture. He studied at the Courtauld and Birkbeck College, University of London and lived in Rome for several years. He has written articles for Arte Veneta, Burlington Magazine and the Journal of the Warburg & Courtauld Institutes.

Dr Michael Downes. Director of Music at the University of St Andrews, musical director of St Andrews Chorus, Scotland’s largest choral society, and founding artistic director of Byre Opera, which mounts fully staged productions each summer around Scotland and Northern England. He writes programme notes for Wigmore Hall and Aldeburgh Music and reviews music books for the Times Literary Supplement, and his publications include a highly praised study of contemporary British composer Jonathan Harvey.

Dr Luca Leoncini. Art historian specialising in 15th-century Italian painting. His first degree and PhD were from Rome University followed by research at the Warburg Institute in London. He has published articles on the classical tradition in Italian art of the 15th century and contributed to the Macmillan Dictionary of Art. He has also written on Mantegna and Renaissance drawings.

Professor Jan Smaczny. Hamilton Harty Chair of Music at Queen’s University, Belfast, and an authority on Czech music. An author, broadcaster and journalist, he has published books on the Prague Provisional Theatre, Dvořák’s Cello Concerto, Music in 19th-century Ireland and Bach’s B-minor Mass. He is a graduate of the University of Oxford, has studied at the Charles University in Prague and has worked extensively in university education.

MUSIC | LECTURERS

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

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Fitness Ours are active holidays. We ask that everyone wishing to join a tour take the quick and simple self-assessment fitness tests described here. It is a condition of booking that you have passed these tests. (You do not have to pass the tests to attend music weekends and symposia in the UK.) 1: Chair stands. Sit in a dining chair, with arms folded and hands on opposite shoulders. Stand up and sit down at least eight times in thirty seconds.

2: Step test. Mark a wall at a height that is halfway between your knee and your hip bone.

Raise each knee in turn to the mark at least sixty times in two minutes.

3: Agility test. Place an object 3 yards from the edge of a chair, sit, and record the time it takes to stand up, walk to the object and sit back down. You should be able to do this in under seven seconds.

An additional indication of the fitness required is that you should be able to walk unaided at a pace of 3 miles per hour for at least half an hour at a time, and to stand unsupported for at least 30 minutes.

If you have a medical condition or a disability which may affect your holiday or necessitate special arrangements being made for you, please discuss these with us before booking – or, if the condition develops or changes subsequently, as soon as possible before departure.

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DATES

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CONTACT DETAILS – for all correspondence

ROOM TYPE ☐ Single occupancy room(s)

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TRAVEL ARRANGEMENTS

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☐ Group travel from London. (air or rail), if applicable to this tour.

Telephone (home)

☐ No travel. Making your own arrangements for travel to and from the destination.

Telephone (other – please specify) FELLOW TRAVELLER – if applicable E-mail For speed and efficiency, we provide your tour and reservation documents online, with an alert by e-mail. Your final itinerary is available to download c. 2 weeks prior to departure, with a hard copy provided on tour, or posted to a UK address. ☐ Please tick if you do NOT wish to receive documents online.

Please complete this section, even if you have told us your preferences before.

If you have made a booking for someone who does not share your address, please give their details here. We will then send them copies of all tour documents.

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What prompted this booking? Please be as specific as possible – e.g. did you see an advertisement

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in a particular publication? Did you see the tour in our brochure? Or on our website?

FURTHER INFORMATION or special requests. Please mention dietary requirements, even if you have told us before.

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MUSIC | BOOKING DETAILS

E-newsletter: ☐ Yes

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PASSPORT DETAILS. Essential for airlines and in case of emergency on tour (not applicable for tours in the UK if you are a UK resident).

Title

Surname

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Place of birth

1.

2.

Date of birth (dd/mm/yy)

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Place of issue

Date of issue (dd/mm/yy)

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1.

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NEXT OF KIN or contact in case of emergency.

Participant 1:

Participant 2 (unless the same as for participant 1):

Name

Name

Telephone

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Relation to you

Relation to you

PAYMENT We prefer payment by bank transfer, cheque or debit card. We also accept payment by credit card. All money paid to us is fully protected regardless of payment method. Please tick an option:

Please tick payment amount:

☐ BANK TRANSFER. Please give your surname and tour code (eg. MH123) only as a reference and ask your bank to allow for all charges.

☐ OR Full Payment. Required if you are booking within 10 weeks of departure.

Account name: Martin Randall Travel Ltd Bank: Handelsbanken, 2 Chiswick High Road, London W4 1TH

For transfers from UK (Sterling) bank accounts: Account number 8663 3438 • Sort code 40-51-62

Carbon offset donation. If you are taking a tour with flights and wish to make a donation to the India Solar Water Heating project, please tick an option below. Read about this project, and about our other sustainable tourism activities, by visiting martinrandall.com/sustainable-tourism.

MUSIC | BOOKING DETAILS

For transfers from non-UK bank accounts:

Please instruct your bank to send payment in pound sterling (GBP)

IBAN: GB98 HAND 4051 6286 6334 38

Swift/BIC code: HAND GB22 ☐ CHEQUE. I enclose a cheque payable to Martin Randall Travel Ltd – please write the tour code on the back (e.g. MH123). ☐ DEBIT OR CREDIT CARD. I authorise Martin Randall Travel to contact me by telephone to take payment from my Visa credit/Visa debit/Mastercard/AMEX.

☐ EITHER Deposit(s) amounting to 10% of your total booking cost.

☐ Add £5 per person for short-haul return flights ☐ Add £10 per person for mid- or long-haul return flights

TOTAL PAYMENT: £

Please sign and date below

I have read and agree to the Booking Conditions and Privacy Policy (www.martinrandall.com/privacy) on behalf of all listed on this form.

Signature: Date:

Martin Randall Travel Ltd Voysey House Barley Mow Passage London W4 4GF, United Kingdom

www.martinrandall.com ATOL 3622 | ABTA Y6050 | AITO 5085

Tel +44 (0)20 8742 3355 info@martinrandall.co.uk

Martin Randall Australasia PO Box 1024, Indooroopilly QLD 4068, Australia Tel 1300 55 95 95 New Zealand 0800 877 622 Fax +61 (0)7 3371 8288 anz@martinrandall.com.au

North America 1155 Connecticut Avenue NW Suite 300 Washington, DC 20036, USA Tel 1 800 988 6168 usa@martinrandall.com

MAKING A BOOKING 1. Optional booking. We recommend that you contact us first to make an optional booking which we will hold for seven days. To confirm it please send the booking form and deposit within this period – the deposit is 10% of your total booking price. Alternatively, make a definite booking straight away through our website.

2. Definite booking. Fill in the booking form and send it to us with the deposit. 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 departure.

3. Our confirmation. Upon receipt of the booking form and deposit we shall send you confirmation of your booking. After this your deposit is nonreturnable except in the special circumstances mentioned in the Booking Conditions. Further details about the tour may also be sent at this stage, or will follow shortly afterwards.

If visas are required we will advise UK citizens about obtaining them; nationals of other countries should ascertain whether visas are required in their case.

If you cancel. If you have to withdraw from a tour on which you had booked, there would be a charge which varies according to the period of notice you give. Up to 57 days before the tour the deposit would be forfeited. Thereafter a percentage of the total cost of the tour will be due: up to 57 days: deposit only between 56 and 29 days: 40% between 28 and 15 days: 60% between 14 days and 3 days: 80% within 48 hours: 100% If you cancel your booking in a double or twin room but are travelling with a companion who chooses to continue to participate in the tour, the companion would have to pay the single-occupancy price.

If you cancel a non-residential event (normally a London Day) we will return the full amount if you notify us 22 or more days before the event. We will retain 50% if cancellation is made within three weeks and 100% if within 3 days.

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

If we cancel the tour. We may decide to cancel a tour if there were insufficient bookings for it to be viable (though this would always be more than eight weeks before departure). We would refund you with everything you had paid us.

Safety and security. Cancellation may also occur if civil unrest, war, natural disaster or other circumstances amounting to force majeure arise in the region to which the tour was due to go. If the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office advises against travel, we would either cancel or adjust the itinerary to avoid risky areas. We would also treat sympathetically a wish to withdraw from a tour to a troubled region even if the FCO does not advise against travel there.

Health and safety. We have a safety auditing process in place and, as a minimum, request that all of our suppliers comply with local health and safety regulations. However, we operate tours in parts of the world where standards are lower than those you are used to at home, particularly in the areas of accessibility, handrails and seatbelts. We ask that you take note of the safety information we provide.

The limits of our liabilities. As principal, we accept responsibility for all ingredients of a 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 a tour or event exactly as advertised. We would try to devise a satisfactory alternative, but if the change represents a significant loss to the tour we would offer compensation. If you decide to cancel because the alternative we offer is not in your view an adequate substitute, we would give a full refund.

Financial protection. Any money you have paid to us for a tour which includes an international flight is protected by our Air Travel Organiser’s Licence (ATOL, number 3622). Payments for tours which

do not include a flight from/to the UK are protected

by ABTA –The Travel Association. So, in the (highly unlikely) event of our insolvency in advance of the tour, you would get your money back, or if we failed after the tour had begun, the tour would be able to continue and you would be returned to the UK at its conclusion. Clients living elsewhere who have arranged their own flights should ensure their personal travel insurance covers repatriation in the event of holiday supplier failure.

BOOKING CONDITIONS

Financial protection: the official text. We are required to publish the following. We provide full financial protection for our package holidays which include international flights, 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. Most of our flights and flight-inclusive holidays on our website and in our brochure are financially protected by the ATOL scheme. But ATOL protection does not apply to all holiday and travel services listed. Please ask us to confirm what protection may apply to your booking. If you do not receive an ATOL Certificate then the booking will not be ATOL protected. If you do receive an ATOL Certificate but all the parts of your trip are not listed on it, those parts will not be ATOL protected. In order to be protected under the ATOL scheme you need to be in the UK when you make your booking and/or one of the flights you take must originate or terminate in the UK with the group.

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.

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 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 non-provision 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.

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.

Privacy. By signing the booking form you are stating that you have read and agree to our Privacy Policy, which can be found online at www.martinrandall.com/privacy.

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MUSIC | BOOKING DETAILS

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, usually going far beyond the minimum obligations.

• We aim to provide full and accurate information about our holidays. 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.

What we ask of you 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. You must be in good health and have a level of physical and mental fitness that would not impair other participants’ enjoyment by slowing them down or by absorbing disproportionate attention from the tour leaders. Please read ‘Fitness’ on page 24 and take the self-assessment tests described there; by signing the booking form you are stating that you have understood what we are asking of you and are fit to participate. If you have a medical condition or a disability which may affect your holiday or necessitate special arrangements being made for you, please discuss this with us before booking – or, if the condition develops or changes subsequently, as soon as possible before departure. If during the tour it transpires, in the judgement of the tour leaders, that you are not able to cope, you may be asked to opt out of certain visits or to leave the tour altogether. This would be at your own expense. We reserve the right to refuse to accept a booking without necessarily giving a reason.

Foreign Office advice. Before booking, please refer to the FCO website – www.fco.gov.uk – to ensure you understand the travel advice for the places to which the tour goes. Non-UK citizens should look at the advice issued by their governments, which may differ significantly.

Insurance. It is a requirement of booking that you have adequate holiday insurance cover. The insurance must cover, at minimum, medical treatment, repatriation, loss of property and loss of payments to us in the event that you cancel the tour. If you are making your own arrangements for international travel, please ensure you have insurance that protects you in the rare event of Martin Randall Travel cancelling the tour.

Experience indicates that free travel insurance offered by some credit card companies is not to be relied upon.

Passports and visas. British citizens must have valid passports for all tours outside the United Kingdom. The passport needs to be valid for six months beyond the date of the tour. In the event of a ‘no-deal’ Brexit, additional validity may be required.

Martin Randall Travel Ltd Voysey House Barley Mow Passage London W4 4GF United Kingdom Tel +44 (0)20 8742 3355 info@martinrandall.co.uk www.martinrandall.com Martin Randall Australasia PO Box 1024 Indooroopilly QLD 4068, Australia Telephone 1300 55 95 95 New Zealand 0800 877 622 Fax +61 (0)7 3371 8288 anz@martinrandall.com.au North America Martin Randall Travel Ltd 1155 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 300 Washington DC 20036 USA Telephone 1 800 988 6168 usa@martinrandall.com

Directors: Fiona Charrington (CEO), Alexa Berger (CFO), Sir Vernon Ellis (Chairman), Ian Hutchinson, Martin Randall, Neil Taylor | Registered office: Voysey House, Barley Mow Passage, London W4 4GF, UK | Registered Company no. 2314294. VAT no. 527758803.

Illustration: Rhine Maidens, lithograph by Henri FantinLatourm, 1886. Front cover: Accademia Filarmonica di Bologna (photo ©Ben Ealovega).

ATOL 3622 ABTA Y6050 AITO 5085 Best Special Interest Holiday Company | British Travel Awards 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019.

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