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We are back on the glorious north coast of Mallorca for the seventh consecutive yearfor our Music Festival in Mallorca, staying as always in the family-owned Mar I Vent Hotel. Our visit has become part of a tradition in the village. Three concerts are given in the village church, a very short walk from the hotel. Chopin and his aristocratic lover George Sand, Baroness Dudevant, stayed on the island for justthree unhappy months but their visit is an important part of the island’s history. Our carefully planned visits will show you the very best parts of this beautiful island.
Soon after leaving the airport we are introduced to the spectacular scenery along the unspoilt north coast of Mallorca. The drive to Banyalbufar takes just 45 minutes, but as we approach the Serra deTramuntana, the beauty of the area where our festival is based quickly becomes apparent. We include a number of excursions, first to Palma where we spend the day visiting the cathedral, the old quarter and the Fundació Joan Miró. We will go to La Granja, a beautiful patrician hacienda close to Banyalbufar. Another day is spent on a visit to the delightful port of Sóller. We board the historic train which travels through the mountainous heart of the island, and we visit the estate and villa of the Hapsburg Archduke Luis Salvador at Son Marroig. There will be two evening concerts in the villa here overlooking the sea. We will also visit the pretty village of Valldemossa where Chopin and George Sand stayed during the winter of 1838/39. We stay at the Mar I Vent in the heart of the quiet village of Banyalbufar. It has been owned and managed by the Vives family since 1928 and is a simple three-star hotel selected by us for its warmth and its location on one of the island’s most beautiful stretches of coastline. It has 29 bedrooms, all of which have balconies and sea views.
...when you travel with Kirker
Flights with British Airways:
Depart from London Heathrow 15.50 arrive Palma 19.15
Depart from Palma 20.10 arrive London Heathrow 21.45
NB There are flights to Palma from Heathrow, Stansted, Gatwick, City and Southend as well as a wide range of airports throughout the country. Please tell us which is the most convenient and we will make arrangements accordingly.
This small, traditional hotel has been run by three generations of the Vives family since 1931 and is located in the delightful small village of Banyalbufar in the Sierra de Tramuntana Mountains, approximately 45 minutes from Palma.
The Catalan-British mezzo-soprano Marta Fontanals-Simmons studied at the University of Birmingham and then at theGuildhall School of Music & Drama where she won thecoveted Gold Medal in 2015. In 2016 she made her debut atthe Glyndebourne Festival Opera.
"Performer, editor, composer and teacher, Simon Rowland-Jones has always led a very busy, all-embracing musical life. He was founder violist of the Chilingirian Quartet, in which he played for a total of ten years, and subsequently performed with many other leading chamber groups.
His solo CDs, on the Meridian and Etcetera labels, include the first-ever complete version of the Bach Cello Suites on viola. Peters Edition published his viola transcription of the suites shortly after the recording was made and he then went on to make a new critical/performing edition of the Haydn String Quartets. His many works include pieces for viola, four string quartets, a string trio, a piano quartet, songs and ‘A Turn Outside’, a musical adaptation of a play by Stevie Smith commissioned by Dame Josephine Barstow. He teaches viola and chamber music at the Royal College of Music and is co-director of the North Norfolk Music Festival."
The Phoenix Piano Trio formed in 2011, and two permanent members of the trio, the violinist Jonathan Stone and the pianist Sholto Kynoch, will be joined by a guest cellist for these concerts.
They have performed on several occasions at London’s Wigmore Hall and other recent highlights have included performances at the Ryedale Festival, the Happy Days Festival in Eniskillen, the Leicester International Music Festival, and the London Chamber Music Society at Kings Place.
Soprano Lorena Paz Nieto studied at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama and is currently on the opera course at the Royal Academy of Music. She has attended masterclasses by legendary singers such as Joan Rodgers and Jane Manning.
30 May: Phoenix Piano Trio
Chopin’s beautiful early Piano Trio Op.8 written at the home of Prince Radziwill
Mendelssohn: Piano Trio in D minor Op.49
31 May: Phoenix Piano Trio
The programme will include solo works for violin and cello by JS Bach, the Canonic Studies by Schumann and a selection of solo piano pieces by Chopin.
1 June: Phoenix Piano Trio with Simon Rowland-Jones, viola; Marta Fontanals-Simmons, soprano and Lorena Paz Nieto, mezzo-soprano
Turina: Piano Quartet Op.67
A selection of Spanish songs
Simon Rowland-Jones: Duo for violin and viola
Brahms: Regenlied and a selection of Preludes by Chopin including the ‘Raindrop’ Prelude Op.28 No.15
Brahms: Sonata for violin and piano in G Op.78
2 June: Marta Fontanals-Simmons, mezzo-soprano and Lorena Paz Nieto, soprano; Sholto Kynoch, piano
A recital of songs by Obradors, Rodrigo, Schumann, Wolf and others
3 June: All the musicians will take part in the final concert
Works by Saint-Saëns, Brahms, Richard Strauss, Beethoven and others.
Mezzo-soprano
The Catalan-British mezzo-soprano Marta Fontanals-Simmons studied at the University of Birmingham and then at theGuildhall School of Music & Drama where she won thecoveted Gold Medal in 2015. In 2016 she made her debut atthe Glyndebourne Festival Opera.
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