LEAMINGTON
MUSIC FESTIVAL 2023
An
eminent Arts Editor of the Birmingham Post would always wince whenever I used
the word “indefatigable”. “You write as though you’ve swallowed a dictionary,”
he would comment, and I dutifully found another way of saying what I wanted to.
But
“indefatigable” is the exact word to describe Richard Phillips, about to
preside over his 107th arts festival when the popular Leamington
Music Festival hits town at the end of the month. As is always the case with
Richard, the Festival has the knack of homing in on vibrant pegs, whether composer
anniversaries, local connections, or even topical issues, such as Ukraine. How
does he explain his nose for this gift?
“It is partly who I am and my experiences
in life and partly working in the arts, mostly in the world of music, for more
than fifty six years,” he replies. “I did not programme concerts or festivals
until I was in my forties, so had been listening a long time!
“I studied history at university and have
always valued the past, particularly as I was born and brought up in and have
lived for the last forty years in a beautiful William and Mary house in the
historic town of Warwick. Naturally
composers’ anniversaries chime with that and in particular if there are local
connections
“My experience of festivals goes back to
the 1950s, including seeing Ralph Vaughan Williams conduct his Dona Nobis Pacem
at a Three Choirs Festival. Festivals
used to be a succession of names which would perform what they wanted and the
papers began to talk about rent-a- festivals.
Themes and more intelligent planning came into vogue thank goodness during
the 1980s and that is when I got going.”
Returning familiar performers are always a
joy at Richard’s festivals, but he also scouts around for new faces, too.
“Listening to Radio 3 throws up new talent
and I read music magazines and the arts pages of newspapers, although sadly
serious music is not given the space that it used to command. We have had a lot of musicians to stay over
the years and one always tries to socialise and if a musician one admires gives
he thumbs up to younger ones, then I take notice.
“We all receive a lot of emails – it used
to be leaflets and CDs – and I can usually pick out the right ones for us
simply by reading a biography – where did they study and where are they
performing?
“I am bringing in fewer new musicians now,
but when I was doing 3 or 4 festivals in a year, plus a number of concert
series, including lunchtimes, then one could try people out. I did a lunchtime series in Solihull and note
that it included Angela Hewitt, Steven Hough, Olli Mustonen and Joanna
MacGregor and many other well-known names.”
What does Richard think are the
characteristic hallmarks of the Leamington Festival? Might it be in the
frequent exploration of eastern European composers?
“It is Czech music that I most value and
that all stems back to being in Czechoslovakia during the Prague Spring of 1968
and having a Czech family, with the mother educated in Leamington during the
War, subsequently staying with us in Warwick when the Russians and ‘friends’ invaded
on 21 August that year.
“Alena’s father had been in the Czech Free
Army stationed in Leamington and district 1940-42 and the Army Choir used to
rehearse in the Royal Pump Rooms, often with the conductor Vilem Tausky who was
to come three times to our festivals.
“We have had most of the leading Czech
quartets to Leamington over the years, as well as the famous Czech Nonet, the
Guarneri Piano Trio and many others. We
have a great relationship with the Dvorak Society, which is streets ahead of
any other organization supporting composers in terms of producing an
audience. The 2024 Festival plans for a
further Czech music feast are coming on well.”
Does the impact
of the Leamington Music Festival spread around the town?
“The Festival always has some impact, but
of course nothing like Warwick Folk Festival which takes over the town for a
weekend. The size of the buildings we
use and the fact that the music we programme is mostly on a scale that is not
suitable for large buildings has an influence.
“The recent Halifax choices of the best
places to live included Leamington! It
mentioned that the town had a football and a rugby team. It did not say that it had four orchestras,
even more choirs and a rather good festival which brings in musicians working
internationally. I could use the words ‘world class’,, but I always think that
is rather meaningless, let alone OTT.”
*Leamington Music Festival 2023 runs from
April 27 to May 1, chiefly in the Royal Pump Rooms. Among the performers are
Michael Collins, Amy Dickson, Gemma Rosefield, and Michael Seal conducting the
Sinfonia of Birmingham. There is a generous ticket offer price of £1.00 for
children and students for all lunchtime and evening concerts. All details on www.leamingtonmusic.org.
ends