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Josef Haydn died in 1809, an event which will be widely commemorated next year. One of the most remarkable of these bicentennial occasions will be MRT’s own festival at The Castle Hotel in Taunton: ten leading ensembles with a special affinity for Haydn will between them perform all 68 of the composer’s string quartets plus the quartet version of the Seven Last Words.
Spread over eleven days, the festival is divided into five more-or-less equal modules, each of which is sold as a package which includes accommodation and dinner for two nights. Two or more modules can be joined together (there are graduated price reductions for combined modules). Tickets are also on sale for individual concerts without accommodation.
Each module has been designed to be musically self-sufficient, with a range of early, middle and late quartets. A few of the quartets are played more than once during the week (though not during a single module, or indeed during adjacent ones). There are also a few quartets or movements from quartets by other composers, mainly Haydn’s contemporaries.
We have secured the services of a very strong line-up of musicians, from Germany, the Czech Republic and the USA as well as Britain. They are (in alphabetical order) the Auryn Quartet, Chilingirian Quartet, Dante Quartet, Doric Quartet, Endellion String Quartet, Fitzwilliam Quartet, London Haydn Quartet, Sacconi Quartet, the Tokyo Quartet and the Wihan Quartet.
At least two ensembles will perform during each module, though there are three during two modules and four in another two.
We have devised a novel format for the concerts. On most days there is a morning concert in which three quartets will be played; moderately conventional so far. But on most afternoons there are three concerts, each of about an hour, each with two pieces and with around an hour between them. This should make for maximum concentration and assimilation – for both players and audience.
On four evenings after dinner there is also a performance of the Seven Last Words, particularly appropriate because this is Holy Week (Easter Sunday is the penultimate day of the festival – there will be no concert on that morning). Dinner for residents is at 8.00 pm.
The spoken word is a significant feature of the occasion, as with most of our music festivals. Musicians will often say a few words about what they are about to play, or about Haydn or quartet playing more generally.
Present throughout is musicologist, critic and Haydn biographer Richard Wigmore. He will sometimes introduce a piece, and sometimes interview the musicians or lead a discussion. There will also be a few pertinent readings from letters and contemporary documents. Short readings will precede each movement of the Seven Last Words.