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We will be back on the glorious north coast of Mallorca for the sixth consecutive Kirker Music Festival, staying at the Hotel Mar i Vent in the picturesque village of Banyalbufar. Francesco Vives and his son, Joan, take great pride in welcoming Kirker clients each year. Indeed, the arrival of the Kirker Music Festival is a much-anticipated event in the village. As always, the music of Frédéric Chopin takes centre stage. He stayed with his aristocratic lover, the Baroness Dudevant, better known as the writer George Sand and her two children, in the pretty village of Valldemossa in 1838/39. One concert is given at the Carthusian monastery where the couple lodged, another will take place at the elegant Villa Son Marroig, and three at Banyalbufar church which is close to the hotel.
Our itinerary will introduce you to spectacular stretches of the unspoilt north coast of Mallorca which come as a complete surprise to visitors who have experienced the crowded resorts to the south. We spend a full day in Palma, capital of the island and a city of great style, where we will see the cathedral and the delightful old quarter. There will be a visit to La Granja, a beautiful patrician hacienda, and to the charming town of Soller – for this visit we will travel on the historic train which links Palma with the town. One day will be spent enjoying the glorious coast road as we travel to Deia to see the house where Robert Graves lived for more than 50 years. We go on to see the estate and villa of San Marroig, once the home of the Hapsburg Archduke Luis Salvador. We stay at the Mar i Vent Hotel which the Vives family has owned since 1928. It is a simple 3 star hotel where the emphasis is on friendly service and it has 29 bedrooms, each with a balcony and a wonderful sea view. It is located in the heart of the quiet village of Banyalbufar which has a few shops and cafés.
...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.
With a British violinist and cellist, a Finnish violinist and a French viola player, the Castalian String Quartet is well placed for an international career after being accepted by the Young Concert Artist Trust in May 2016 and selected to take part in the Banff International Chamber Music Competition. They have an impressive number of engagements throughout the UK and Europe.
Highlights of their 2016/17 season include a week’s residency at the Britten-Pears School, Aldeburgh, where they will perform at the Jubilee Hall, and performances at Wigmore Hall, in Turin and at the North Norfolk Music Festival. They recently recorded their first CD with an all-Mendelssohn programme. A highlight of the festival will be a series of informal talks where the members of the quartet will discuss their lives in music. During September 2016 the Quartet took part in the Banff International String Quartet Competition, one of the world’s most prestigious music competitions. Ten quartets took part in the first two rounds with three groups being selected for the final. The Castalian Quartet too part in the final and were awarded third prize, a huge achievement in a competition of this level.
Melvyn Tan was born in Singapore. and came to England at a young age to study at the Yehudi Menuhin School and the Royal College of Music. He has appeared as a soloist with every leading orchestra, throughout Europe and the USA. The works of Chopin have always been central to his repertoire.
Oliver Condy, organ, is best known to the music-loving public as Editor of BBC Music Magazine but enjoys giving recitals too.
He graduated in Organ Studies at Cardiff University and later studied with Susan Landale in Paris. This is his third visit to Mallorca as part of our Kirker Chopin Festival.
1 June
Melvyn Tan, piano
Scarlatti: Two sonatas chosen by Melvyn Tan from the astonishing 555 that Scarlatti composed.
Granados: La Maya y el Ruisenor (The Maiden and the Nightingale) from the piano suite, Goyescas op.11
Ravel: Alborada del gracioso (From Miroirs)
Chopin: Two Waltzes Op. 64 No. 2 and Op.34 No. 1; Ballade Op. 47; Polonaise Fantaisie Op.61
2 June
Castalian String Quartet
Haydn: String Quartet Op.76 No. 4 in B flat major ‘The Sunrise’
De Falla: Spanish Dance No 1. from his opera ‘La Vida Breve’
Beethoven: String Quartet No.15 in A minor Op.132
3 June
Melvyn Tan, piano; Castalian String Quartet
Liszt: Les jeux d’eaux à la villa d’Este; Les cloches de Genève; Les feux follets;
Kodaly: Serenade for two violins and viola
Chopin: Piano concerto No. 2 in F minor Op.2 (transcription for piano quintet)
4 June
Oliver Condy, organ
A new programme of 17th and 18th-century works by Spanish, Portuguese and South American composers
5 June
Castalian String Quartet
Schubert: String Quartet No. 13 in A minor Op. 29 ‘Rosamunde’
Henri Dutilleux: Ainsi la nuit, the hauntingly beautiful quartet composed in 1977 for the Juilliard Quartet
Brahms: String Quartet No. 1 in C minor Op.51
Quartet
With a British violinist and cellist, a Finnish violinist and a French viola player, the Castalian String Quartet is well placed for an international career after being accepted by the Young Concert Artist Trust in May 2016 and selected to take part in the Banff International Chamber Music Competition. They have an impressive number of engagements throughout the UK and Europe.
Highlights of their 2016/17 season include a week’s residency at the Britten-Pears School, Aldeburgh, where they will perform at the Jubilee Hall, and performances at Wigmore Hall, in Turin and at the North Norfolk Music Festival. They recently recorded their first CD with an all-Mendelssohn programme. A highlight of the festival will be a series of informal talks where the members of the quartet will discuss their lives in music. During September 2016 the Quartet took part in the Banff International String Quartet Competition, one of the world’s most prestigious music competitions. Ten quartets took part in the first two rounds with three groups being selected for the final. The Castalian Quartet too part in the final and were awarded third prize, a huge achievement in a competition of this level.
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