This performance is now sold out, but please see Event 13 on Monday 15th July or Event 19 on Wednesday 17th July for alternative performances Eamonn Dougan musical director Monica Nicolaides movement director Henry Purcell Dido and Aeneas ‘Remember me but ah, forget my fate…’ In the first great English opera, Dido, Queen of Carthage, […]

An event unique to the Ryedale Festival, the Triple Concert features three contrasting concerts in different parts of Castle Howard, each performed three times, with the audiences changing places between performances. The concert will be preceded by a Patrons Reception at 6pm.   CHAPEL: echo Choir Sarah Latto director   Purcell Hear my prayer Roxanna Panufnik O […]

Coffee Concert Lauren Zhang piano   Beethoven Piano Sonata no.31 in A flat, op.110 Brahms Variations on a theme of Paganini Chopin Polonaise-Fantaisie in A flat, op.61   The winner of the 2018 BBC Young Musician competition performs a scintillating set of variations nicknamed ‘Witchcraft’ for their diabolical nature and fearsome technical challenges, as well […]

A Community Opera by Richard Shephard Em Whitfield Brooks director Eamonn Dougan musical director Join Rat, Mole, Badger and Mr Toad for a series of riotous adventures on the river bank, as Richard Shephard recreates Kenneth Grahame’s classic story of friendship and bravery as a community opera. An all-age cast from across the region join […]

  This performance is now sold out, but please see Event 6B on Sunday 14th July for a repeat performance Jess Gillam saxophone Zeynep Özsuca piano Iturralde Pequeña Czarda Ravel Vocalise en forme de habanera Britten  Temporal Variations Nyman ‘If’ from The Diary of Anne Frank John Harle  Rant Marcello  Concerto for Oboe in C Minor Graham Fitkin […]

Late-Night Candlelit Concert Fantasias and folk Elias Quartet Purcell Fantasias Donald Grant Scottish folk tunes suite   Like Purcell, who often borrowed traditional tunes of his day, the Elias Quartet see no hard border between folk and classical music. Interleaving dazzling fantasias with Scottish traditional tunes, they relish the unstuffy blend of complexity and immediacy, […]

A Community Opera by Richard Shephard Em Whitfield Brooks director Eamonn Dougan musical director Join Rat, Mole, Badger and Mr Toad for a series of riotous adventures on the river bank, as Richard Shephard recreates Kenneth Grahame’s classic story of friendship and bravery as a community opera. An all-age cast from across the region join […]

Jess Gillam saxophone Zeynep Özsuca piano   Iturralde Pequeña Czarda Ravel Vocalise en forme de habanera Britten  Temporal Variations Nyman ‘If’ from The Diary of Anne Frank John Harle  Rant Marcello  Concerto for Oboe in C Minor Graham Fitkin Gate Dowland Flow my tears Wiedoeft  Valse Vanité Milhaud  Scaramouche   In 2016, Jess Gillam made […]

J.S. Bach Orchestral Suite no. 1 in C J.S. Bach Sinfonia BWV 42 J.S. Bach Violin Concerto in E J.S. Bach Orchestral Suite no. 2 in B minor J.S. Bach Concerto in D minor for two violins   Order and moderation versus rebellion and sensuality. In between those battling forces lies that elusive ideal we […]

Late-Night Candlelit Concert Young Artist Platform Flora Curzon violin Pawel Siwczak harpsichord   J.S. Bach Violin Sonata in G Trad. Sephardic Lullaby from Andalusia Pandolfi La Cesta Trad. British folk songs suite Böddecker Sonata in D minor   ‘I love playing different styles of music – for fun, to hear how different genres talk to […]

The public and private faces of Johannes Brahms Katy Hamilton speaker How do we think of Brahms? The beard, the belly, the cigar? A buttoned-up, beer-drinking bachelor? In the first of four talks, Katy Hamilton joins pianist Jonathan Plowright to look beyond the clichés and caricatures, exploring fresh perspectives on this misunderstood composer and the […]

Brahms at the piano Jonathan Plowright piano   Brahms Piano Sonata no. 1 in C Brahms Waltzes op. 39 Brahms Four pieces for piano op. 119   Jonathan Plowright explores Brahms from first to last opus. A simple German folk song provides the seed for a heroic first piano sonata. Brahms the pleasure-seeker beguiles the […]

Eamonn Dougan musical director Monica Nicolaides movement director Henry Purcell Dido and Aeneas ‘Remember me but ah, forget my fate…’ In the first great English opera, Dido, Queen of Carthage, loves the Trojan prince Aeneas, but fate conspires to keep them apart, along with boisterous sailors and cackling witches. It’s a tale of duty and […]

Sledmere House and Church are the venues for two concerts, both performed twice, with the audience changing places after a picnic interval   HOUSE Schubert and Co.   Schubert Lieder and part-songs   An exciting new vocal ensemble recreates the spirit of the Schubertiade – the intimate and informal atmosphere of music-making that was so […]

The public and private faces of Johannes Brahms Katy Hamilton speaker   Katy Hamilton continues her search for the real Brahms, inviting us to listen to his music with fresh ears and decoding secret messages hidden within two great chamber works for strings.

Coffee Concert Signs and secret messages Esme Quartet Rosalind Ventris viola Camille Thomas cello   Brahms String Quartet in A minor Brahms String Sextet in G   Brahms as musical cryptographer. The motto ‘Free, but lonely’ runs through one of his most deeply felt string quartets, whereas an ethereal string sextet enshrines a tender message […]

joinedupwriting   Roger McGough is one of Britain’s best-loved poets, host of the long-running Radio 4 series Poetry Please and poet in residence at this year’s Ryedale Festival. For more than fifty years, he has entranced generations of readers with poetry that is at once playful and poignant, intimate and ambitious in its scope. From […]

Roderick Williams baritone Rowan Pierce soprano Katie Bray mezzo-soprano Nicky Spence tenor James Newby baritone Christopher Glynn piano Jeremy Sams and Louise Shephard directors   For his final masterpiece, Hugo Wolf looked south – to Italy – and produced a collection of tiny jewel-like songs that paint a kaleidoscopic portrait of village life. The men and […]

Eamonn Dougan musical director Monica Nicolaides movement director Henry Purcell Dido and Aeneas ‘Remember me but ah, forget my fate…’ In the first great English opera, Dido, Queen of Carthage, loves the Trojan prince Aeneas, but fate conspires to keep them apart, along with boisterous sailors and cackling witches. It’s a tale of duty and […]

North Africa from Dido to the Arab Spring Lucy Beckett speaker The novelist and historian Lucy Beckett talks about North Africa as part of the Greek, Carthaginian and Roman worlds, taking in the story of Dido, Virgil, Rome’s African emperors and St Augustine, and then the Arab invasions, Barbary pirates, and the story of French, […]

The public and private faces of Johannes Brahms Katy Hamilton speaker   Katy Hamilton, author of the recently published Brahms in Context, invites us on holiday with Brahms, finding him at his most genial and optimistic.

Tamsin Waley-Cohen violin Camille Thomas cello Mario Häring piano   Brahms Cello Sonata in F op. 99 Brahms Violin Sonata in A op. 100 Brahms Piano Trio in C minor op. 101   In the summer of 1886 Brahms took a much-needed holiday near Lake Thun in Switzerland. ‘It’s magnificent here’ he wrote on a […]

Coffee Concert Mario Häring piano   Debussy Children’s Corner Suite Schumann Carnaval Debussy Estampes   A much-admired prize-winner at the Leeds International Piano Competition 2018, Mario Häring conjures a world of colour at the piano. He explores how Debussy was inspired by his daughter Chou-chou, an ancient book of counterpoint exercises, Moorish gypsy music, ragtime, […]

Dame Sarah Connolly (mezzo soprano) Christopher Glynn (piano) Johannes Brahms Ständchen op. 106 no. 1 Johannes Brahms Da untem im Tale op. 33 no. 6 Johannes Brahms Feldeinsamkeit op. 86 no. 2 Johannes Brahms Die Mainacht op. 43 no. 2 Johannes Brahms Von ewiger Liebe op. 43 no. 1 Robert Schumann Frauenliebe und Leben -- […]

The public and private faces of Johannes Brahms Katy Hamilton speaker   In the last of her four talks exploring new perspectives on Brahms, Katy Hamilton looks at the reflective, often melancholy late works, many written with dear friends and collaborators in mind.

Coffee Concert ‘Fraulein Klarinette…’ Julian Bliss clarinet Rosalind Ventris viola Camille Thomas cello Jess Dandy contralto Christopher Glynn piano   Brahms Clarinet Sonata in F minor Clara Schumann Three Romances Brahms Lieder, including Viola songs op. 91 Brahms Clarinet Trio   Autumnal Brahms, as Julian Bliss plays a deeply felt sonata for the instrument Brahms […]

Late-Night Candlelit Concert Camille Thomas cello   J.S. Bach Suite in G Ysaÿe Sonata for cello solo Cassadó Suite for cello   Artist in residence Camille Thomas plays solo works by candlelight.   ‘The full-bodied, confident tone with which she enables melodies to blossom beneath her bow is thrilling. The grace with which she then […]

Come and Sing Sarah Latto leader echo Choir   All ages and abilities are welcome at this singing workshop led by the inspiring director Sarah Latto and members of echo. They start with the sound world of Purcell, delving into his catches, canons and ground basses to show how improvisation can be used in performance, […]

Festival Masterclass: Julian Bliss Clarinet Clarinettist and clarinet designer Julian Bliss works with young musicians from across Ryedale. To take part please email workshops@ryedalefestival.com The workshops are two hours long and we aim to give participants enough time to run through their chosen piece which the artist will then coach them on. An accompanist will […]

Alpesh Chauhan conductor Camille Thomas cello   Britten The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra (Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Purcell) Elgar Cello Concerto in E minor Musorgsky Pictures at an Exhibition   In 1946, Benjamin Britten borrowed a little hornpipe by Purcell and used it to take young listeners on an epic […]

This Paradise An afternoon with Roxanna Panufnik and festival musicians Katy Hamilton interviewer James Turnbull oboe Treske Ensemble Rosamond Thomas mezzo-soprano Michael Pandya piano Roxanna Panufnik Second Home Roxanna Panufnik Virtue Roxanna Panufnik Love Sought Roxanna Panufnik Letters from Burma   Few composers combine such a wide range of influences with the warmth and elegance […]

Julian Bliss clarinet   Haydn String Quartet in D, op. 20 no. 4 David Bruce Gumboots Roxanna Panufnik Modlitwa Weber Clarinet Quintet   The joyous rhythms and klezmer-like wheeling of David Bruce’s Gumboots celebrates the resilience of black miners in South Africa under apartheid, who were chained together and made to wear wellington boots while […]

Coffee Concert Tabea Debus recorder Paula Chateauneuf theorbo   Telemann Sonata in C Telemann/Max de Wardener Fantasia per il Flauto senza Basso J.S. Bach Andante (from BWV 1034) and Allegro (from BWV 1035) Robert de Visée Chaconne J.S. Bach Sinfonia (from BWV 156) and Sinfonia (from BWV 35) Telemann/Misha Mullov-Abbado Fantasia per il Flauto senza Basso   (from […]

Penny Stirling violin   Violinist Penny Stirling works with string players from across Ryedale. To take part please email workshops@ryedalefestival.com The workshops are two hours long and we aim to give participants enough time to run through their chosen piece which the artist will then coach them on. An accompanist will be provided.

Folk singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Olivia Chaney conceived much of her Grammy-nominated recent album Shelter in a cottage on the North York Moors, drawing on influences as diverse as folk, pop, jazz and her love of the music of Henry Purcell.  ‘Melancholy has never sounded so rapturous’ enthused the Daily Telegraph. Heard in the medieval […]

Ferio Saxophone Quartet   Purcell Rondeau from Abdelazer J.S. Bach Air from Suite no. 3 J.S. Bach Sheep May Safely Graze from Cantata BWV 208 Handel Sarabande from Harpsichord Suite in D minor Handel Water Music Suite no. 2 Corelli Adagio from Christmas Concerto Bozza Andante and Scherzo Lago Ciudades   The lively brilliance of […]

Young Artist Platform Sally Palmer flute Leo Nicholson piano   J.S. Bach Sonata in E flat Carl Vine Sonata for Flute and Piano Gaubert Ballade Roxanna Panufnik A Wind at Rook’s Haven Vitali Chaconne   An award-winning flautist plays music from Bach to Panufnik.

Bach’s Angels Solomon’s Knot   J.S. Bach Es erhub sich ein Streit BWV 19 J.S. Bach Herr Gott, dich loben alle wir BWV 130 J.S. Bach Man singet mit Freuden vom Sieg BWV 149 J.S. Bach Magnificat in D, BWV 243   How do you evoke angels in music? Even for Bach, as he composed music […]

Katya Apekisheva piano   Glinka Trio Pathétique Rachmaninov Vocalise Rimsky Korsakov Quintet for Piano and Wind Shostakovich Four waltzes Rachmaninov (arr. Farrington) Suite no. 2                   World Premiere   It’s hard to imagine a more star-studded group of wind players than the Orsino Ensemble, led by Adam Walker on a mission to showcase the depth and […]

Coffee Concert A Purcell Pageant Solomon’s Knot   Join Solomon’s Knot to delve into the shimmering fantasy world of A Midsummer Night’s Dream as depicted in Purcell’s Fairy Queen, bestudded with jewels from his odes, welcome songs and masques. Dramatised for concert performance by exciting director Tama Matheson, we begin as we end, with a […]

Double Concert Birdsall House hosts two concerts, both performed twice, with the audience changing places after the one hour interval. The audience is invited to picnic in the grounds between the two concerts.   CONCERT I (Ballroom) Pavel Kolesnikov piano Carducci Quartet  Bartók Romanian Folk Dances Chopin Piano Concerto no. 2 in F minor   […]

Coffee Concert Orsino Ensemble   Haydn Music for a musical clock Reicha Andantes and Adagio for cor anglais Debussy Syrinx Fauré Dolly Suite James MacMillan Motet V for solo horn Julio Medaglia Belle Epoque in South America   Virtuosity, flair and charm from this peerless and intrepid group of wind players, in music Haydn composed […]

Imogen Cooper piano Schubert Sonata in A, D.959 Liszt Gretchen (from Faust Symphony) Brahms Fantasias op. 116   After opening with one of the great soliloquies of Schubert’s last year, Imogen Cooper turns to Liszt’s rarely-heard transcription of the moving central movement of his Faust Symphony, where an innocent game of ‘he loves me, he […]

Coffee Concert Solomon’s Knot   J.C. Bach Fürchte dich nicht J.S. Bach Fürchte dich nicht J.S. Bach Komm Jesu, komm J.C. Bach Lieber Herr Gott, wecke uns auf J.S. Bach Lobet den Herrn J.C. Bach Herr, nun lässest du deinen Diener J.S. Bach Jesu, meine Freude J.C. Bach Der Gerechte, ob er gleich zu zeitlich […]

Yorkshire Young Musicians Programme for Ryedale 2019 Shostakovich String Quartet No 7 in F# minor, Op 108 Allegretto, Lento, Allegro-Allegretto-Adagio Bromby Quartet Pia Bromby, Sam Meredith, violins; Keith Bray, viola; Elliot Tingley, ‘cello Roxanna Panufnik Glo Schumann Romance in B major Op 28 No 3 Harvey Broadhead-Nriapia, piano Stravinsky Three Pieces for Solo Clarinet Hannah […]

A concert-drama about Henry Purcell Ceruleo Ensemble   November, 1695. The 36-year-old Henry Purcell works through a fever to deliver a song for the young singer Leticia Cross. As he drifts in and out of consciousness, dream-like memories of the Plague, the Fire of London, family life and the vibrant Restoration stage merge seamlessly with his exquisite vocal […]

Late-Night Candlelit Concert Orsino Ensemble Imogen Cooper piano   Ligeti Bagatelles Knussen Three Little Fantasies Mozart Quintet for Piano and Winds K.452   Wit, energy and abandon run through Ligeti’s sparkling Bagatelles, just as the stories of Winnie-the-Pooh were among the inspirations for three short ‘reflections’ by Oliver Knussen. The Orsino Ensemble then join Imogen […]

Kirkbymoorside Town Brass Band A perfect Yorkshire afternoon: one of the county’s finest brass bands and a cream tea in picturesque Hovingham.

The Revd Tim Robinson The Dean of York preacher Ryedale Festival Singers   A short, ecumenical service of thanksgiving for the festival, including music by Purcell and festival composer in residence Roxanna Panufnik.

Final Gala Concert Royal Northern Sinfonia Bradley Creswick director Julian Bliss clarinet Amy Harman bassoon   Purcell (arr. Britten) Chacony Finzi Clarinet Concerto Roxanna Panufnik Cantator and Amanda                        World Premiere Haydn Oxford Symphony no. 92 in G   The poignant strains of Purcell’s great Chacony introduces two works featuring wind soloists. Finzi’s Clarinet Concerto […]