Presteigne festival welcomes Lithuanian music
25-30 August, 2011. Situated in a small, intimate town nestling on the Powys/Herefordshire border, the Presteigne Festival has become a mecca for those seeking musical nourishment and artistic discovery in the idyllic surroundings of the Welsh Marches. With a truly forward looking commissioning policy, the organisation works closely with composers and artists to create and curate inspiring programmes and events for an ever-widening Festival community, and this year introduces a carefully selected programme of Lithuanian music.
According to the artistic director of the Festival George Vass, “The concert programme continues to provide a sensitive balance between contemporary voices, twentieth century classics and important repertoire from the past, whilst supporting events offer an educated insight into the world of music and the arts today.”
The Festival this year offers an extensive survey of Lithuanian music, both historical and contemporary, with many UK premieres from the Lithuanian classics by Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis, to the visionary inter-war modernism by Vytautas Bacevičius, and from modern classics by Vytautas Barkauskas, Feliksas Bajoras, Osvaldas Balakauskas to the younger generation of composers Zita Bružaitė and Ramūnas Motiekaitis.
Zita Bružaitė will join the Festival as featured artist-in-residence and will premier a new piece specially commissioned for this year’s Festival.
The artist roster for 2011 is truly outstanding, celebrating a wealth of young artists – the Navarra Quartet, Huw Watkins, Tamsin Waley-Cohen, Helen-Jane Howells, Alissa Firsova, the Choir of Royal Holloway, University of London, together with many other superb musicians.
By the end of September in the beginning of October Presteigne Festival Soloists embark on a City Tour 2011 and will visit with the concerts Cardiff, Bristol and Birmingham. The programme of their tour will include also the new pieces by Zita Bružaitė "Cum Spe", commissioned by the Presteigne Festival.
Full programme of the Festival: http://presteignefestival.com/events
