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For over a decade we have presented a series of concerts on the beautiful island of Ischia in the Bay of Naples with some of the world’s most distinguished chamber musicians, pianists and singers. All six concerts are private and arranged exclusively for our clients and they are held in the concert hall at La Mortella, next to the study where Sir William Walton composed. The hall is reached via the glorious garden at La Mortella which was created by Lady Walton over many years.
We stay at the 5 star Albergo San Montano with its stunning hilltop location and panoramic views around the Bay of Naples. It is just a few minutes’ drive from the pretty village of Laco Ameno; a mini-bus shuttle operates on request throughout the day. The hotel has several pools, (one thermal), a spa, terraces, a bar and restaurant. We include a guided tour of the garden at La Mortella and a half-day sightseeing tour of Ischia. There are three optional tours; one to Herculaneum and the Villa Oplontis, one to Naples where we see two paintings by Caravaggio, visit the Cathedral of San Gennaro and take a tour of the Teatro San Carlo; the third is a half-day exploration of the Ischia countryside during which we visit a vineyard and enjoy a wine-tasting with local produce.
...when you travel with Kirker
Flights with British Airways:
Depart from London Heathrow at 08.15, arrive Naples at 12.00
Depart from Naples at 12.50, arrive London Heathrow at 14.40
Upgraded room supplements (per room): garden view with balcony £122; side sea view £164; front sea view £326.
Tenor Alessandro Fisher won the much-coveted Kathleen Ferrier Award in 2016. He is currently a BBC Young Generation Artist and an Associate Artist of Classical Opera. He has sung principal roles for the Royal Opera, London, Glyndebourne Festival Opera and at the Salzburg Festival and, most recently, sang Fenton in The Grange Festival’s acclaimed production of Falstaff.
Ashok Gupta, piano, studied at Cambridge, the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He is also a continuo player and has performed with many leading orchestras including The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and the Mozarteum Orchestra. He will perform with Alessandro Fisher at Wigmore Hall, Oxford Lieder and the North Norfolk Music Festival during the 2019/20 season.
"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."
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. They have an impressive number of engagements throughout the UK and Europe.
They have enjoyed a residency at the Britten-Pears School in Aldeburgh and have been chosen by Wigmore Hall to take a prominent role in its forthcoming Haydn quartet cycle. Early in 2018 the quartet were presented with the inaugural Merito String Quartet Award/Valentin Erben Prize and the Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship Award in recognition of their achievements. In April 2019 they gave a five-concert tour of the USA and Canada ending at Lincoln Center for a concert in the Great Performers Series.
Alessandro Fisher, tenor
The Castalian String Quartet
Simon Rowland-Jones, viola
Ashok Gupta, piano
14 October
Puccini: Crisantemi
Janacek: String Quartet No.1 in E minor' Kreutzer Sonata'
Walton: Slow movement from String Quartet in A minor
Mozart: String Quintet in C, K515
15 October
Rachmaninov: A selection of songs
Shumann: Liederkreis Op.24
and piano sonatas by Scarlatti and Italian folk songs from Milan and Liguria
16 October
Beethoven: String Quartet in A minor, Op.132 and a quartet by Haydn
17 October
Vaughan Williams: On Wenlock Edge
Verdi: Scherzo fuga
Frank: Piano Quintet
18 October
Songs by William Walton, Michael Head, Granados and a selection of favourite Neapolitan songs and arias by Donizetti, Verdi and Lalo
19 October
Rowland-Jones: Festival Quartet - written for the Castalian String Quartet who gave the world premiere at the 2019 North Norfolk Music Festival
Mendelssohn: String Quartet No.6 in F minor, Op.80
Dvorak: String Quartet in . flat , Op.105 (1895)
I hope you enjoy viewing our film documenting the 2013 Kirker Ischia Music Festival. As the person who is fortunate enough to organise and attend them all, I would like to share my own reasons why I think Ischia is such a rewarding week’s holiday. I have just finished leading one of our opera tours to Vienna and instead of flying home to London I travelled onward to Malta to join the Baroque…
View DetailsThe hotel was excellent and cannot be faulted and all the Kirker arrangements were as expected, and again, could not be faulted. It was such a privilege to be in the company of such talented musicians, and to hear them in the surroundings of the lovely garden of La Mortella added to the pleasure. The music was superb - often challenging but always a joy.
View Details
Tenor
Tenor Alessandro Fisher won the much-coveted Kathleen Ferrier Award in 2016. He is currently a BBC Young Generation Artist and an Associate Artist of Classical Opera. He has sung principal roles for the Royal Opera, London, Glyndebourne Festival Opera and at the Salzburg Festival and, most recently, sang Fenton in The Grange Festival’s acclaimed production of Falstaff.
The hotel was excellent and cannot be faulted and all the Kirker arrangements were as expected, and again, could not be faulted. It was such a privilege to be in the company of such talented musicians, and to hear them in the surroundings of the lovely garden of La Mortella added to the pleasure. The music was superb - often challenging but always a joy.
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