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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 Gatwick at 08.15, arrive Naples at 12.00
Depart from Naples at 12.50, arrive London Gatwick at 14.40
Please call us for details of alternative flights from regional airports including -
Depart from Manchester at 10.05, arrive Naples at 14.00
Depart from Naples at 14.25, arrive Manchester at 16.25
Depart from Stansted at 06.00, arrive Naples at 09.45
Depart from Naples at 20.10, arrive Stansted at 22.00
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.
There will be six concerts at La Mortella.
The Castalian String Quartet will play quartets by Franck, Beethoven Op.132 quartet, Janacek’s dramatic quartet ‘Kreutzer Sonata,’ ‘Arcadiana’ by Thomas Ades, Mozart’s string quartet No.23, and the serene slow movement from William Walton’s string quartet. Puccini’s youthful and sublime ‘Crisantemi,’ which the composer used later in his opera Manon Lescaut is also included.
Simon Rowland-Jones, viola, will join the quartet for performances of two string quintets by Brahms and Mozart and the Castalian will be joined by Ashok Gupta for performances of two piano quintets by Schumann and Franck.
Alessandro Fisher and Ashok Gupta will give two recitals and their programmes will include arias from operas by Donizetti, Verdi and other Italian composers. Alessandro has Italian parentage and will sing a selection of traditional songs from Naples, Liguria and Lombardy. Alessandro will join the Castalian String Quartet in a performance of Vaughan Williams’s A Shropshire Lad set to words by A. E. Housman.
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.
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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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