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Escape from the rigours of the British winter for a week of music-making in the sub-tropical Canary Islands. We return to Tenerife in January for our sixth festival, staying at the splendid Hotel Botanico surrounded by lush gardens in Puerto del la Cruz.
Mass tourism is confined to an area far away from where we will be staying, and our tour will show you the island's unspoilt volcanic landscape, well-preserved colonial villages and lush gardens. A visit to the Mount Tiede National Park is one of the highlights of a fascinating week.
In addition to our programme of concerts at the Hotel Botanico there will be a number of included excursions taking in the best of the island’s unspoilt north coast. We will visit the Sitio Litro Orchid Garden in Puerto de la Cruz, with its wonderful collection of more than three hundred varieties, followed by a visit to All Saints’ Church which has been serving the British community for more than a hundred years, where Christopher Monckton will give an organ recital. A visit to Mount Teide National Park will show us the island’s volcanic interior, and we will take a cable car to the summit at 3,718m from which there are breathtaking views of the island. We will also drive along the spectacular north coast route to Maca, a tiny village clinging to a steep ravine, and to Garachico with its 17th-century Franciscan convent. There will also be some free time to make visits on your own: La Oratava is a picturesque small town nearby and Tenerife’s Botanical Garden is located opposite the hotel.
...when you travel with Kirker
Flights with British Airways:
Depart London Heathrow 12.20, arrive Tenerife South 16.55
Depart Tenerife South 15.15, arrive London Heathrow 19.40
Alternative flights are available from regional airports – please call us for details
Situated in the harbour town of Puerto de la Cruz, within six acres of lush landscaped gardens, the Botanico has a reputation for offering guests exemplary service and is the perfect place to relax and unwind away from the buzz of the south.
Benjamin Marquise Gilmore, first violin; Laia Valentin Braun, second violin; Sascha Bota, viola & Brian O'Kane, cello. Since its formation in 2002, the Navarra Quartet has built an international reputation as one of the most dynamic and poetic string quartets of today. Selected for representation by the Young Classical Artists Trust (YCAT) from 2006 to 2010, they have been awarded the MIDEM Classique Young Artist Award, a Borletti- Buitoni Trust Fellowship, a Musica Viva tour and prizes at the Banff, Melbourne and Florence International String Quartet Competitions.
Highly-acclaimed recordings include Haydn’s The Seven Last Words for Altara Records and a disc of Peteris Vasks’ first three String Quartets for Challenge Records, which they recorded whilst working closely with the composer himself. The recording was described by critics as “stunning”, “sensational” and “compelling”, and was nominated for the prestigious German Schallplattenkritik Award. More recently, the Navarra Quartet recorded a disc for NMC Records featuring the music of Joseph Phibbs and future recording plans include the three great quartets of Schubert and Britten. Formed at the Royal Northern College of Music, they commenced their studies under the guidance of the late Dr. Christopher Rowland. Their development continued with studies in Cologne with the Alban Berg Quartet, Pro- Quartet in Paris, the International Musicians Seminar at Prussia Cove and from residencies at the Britten-Pears School in Aldeburgh and at the Verbier Festival in Switzerland. A constant desire to evolve sees the quartet play regularly to revered musicians such Eberhard Feltz, Ferenc Rados and Gabor Takacs Nagy. They also enjoy teaching the next generation in masterclass and summer courses. They recently completed a three-year residency as the Associated Ensemble at the Birmingham Conservatoire. The Quartet plays on a variety of fine instruments which include a Hieronymus II Amati and Spirito Sorsana (kindly on loan from the Dutch Nationaal Muziek Instrumentenfonds) violins, an unknown, old English viola and a Grancino cello.
Tim Horton studied at Chetham's School of Music with Charles Hopkins, Ryszard Bakst and Heather Slade-Lipkin. He graduated from Trinity College, Cambridge in 1995. In the same year he replaced Alfred Brendel at short notice in two performances of Schoenberg's Piano Concerto with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Sir Simon Rattle at Symphony Hall, Birmingham and the Royal Festival Hall, London.
Since then he has played with the RLPO, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Birmingham Contemporary Music Group and Trondheim Symphony Orchestra. In 2005 Tim was chosen as the scholar of the Klavier Festival Ruhr at the recommendation of Alfred Brendel. Tim has a duo partnership with cellist Adrian Brendel with whom he has given tours of Spain, Germany, Italy and the UK, including concerts at the Wigmore Hall, London. He has played regularly at the Plush, Aldeburgh, Bath and Elverum festivals and has collaborated with many leading chamber musicians including Paul Lewis, Peter Cropper, the Elias Quartet, the Vertavo Quartet, Charles Owen and the members of the Kungsbacka Piano Trio.
Benjamin Appl is regarded as one of the leading baritones of his generation. In 2017 he appeared at the Edinburgh International Festival, Wigmore Hall, Oxford Lieder Festival, the Festspielhaus, Baden-Baden and the Frauenkirche, Dresden.
Christopher was a choral scholar at Magdalen College, Oxford where he developed a passion for both performing and teaching.
This led to a life-long interest in history, music and art history. He has led countless tours all over the world covering many subjects and periods. He is equally at home in the ancient world as he is in the major art galleries of Europe. Christoher Monckton is also a professional musician and a distinguished organist.
Simon Monckton studied Theology at Durham University. He is particularly interested in the influence of religion on great Mediaeval cathedrals and how this differed throughout Europe. Simon has led tours to destinations all over the world and has taken cultural tours to all regions of Spain on many occasions.
16 January: Tim Horton, piano
Mozart: Fantasy in C minor, K.396
Mozart: Fantasy in D minor, K397
Granados: Goyescas Op. 11
This is considered one of the most difficult works in the repertory of solo music.
Chopin: Two Ballades Op 23 and Op.38
17 January: Navarra String Quartet
Mozart: String Quartet in G, KV387
Turina: The Bullfighter's Prayer
This atmospheric piece was inspired by the prayers muttered by the bullfighter as he prepares to enter the bullring to encounter not just the bull, but possible death.
Beethoven: String Quartet in F, Op.59 No.1
18 January: Benjamin Appl, baritone; Tim Horton, piano
Three song cycles, two German and one English share the programme with two works by Chopin in a typically imaginative programme from these two artists.
Mahler: Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen
Mahler's song cycle, Songs of a Wayfarer, tells the bitter story of a young man's failed quest for love who finds peace only in the shadow of a linden tree.
Butterworth: One of the many settings of A E Housman's 'A Shropshire Lad'
Schumann: Liederkreis Op. 39
19 January: Benjamin Appl, baritone; Navarra String Quartet; Tim Horton, piano
All the musicians will today take part in our own Kirker Schubertiade, which includes a selection of songs, a string quartet and a piano sonata.
Piano Sonata in A, D664
Quartet No. 14 in D Minor, D 810
'Death and the Maiden'
20 January: Navarra String Quartet
Haydn: String Quartet in F, Op50 No.5 'The Dream'
Rowland-Jones: String Quartet 'Etude'
Simon's 9th quartet was written for the Navarra's own annual festival in Weesp, and first performed in March 2020.
Ravel: String Quartet
Manuel Hidalgo: A new work by the Andalusian composer commissioned by the Navarra.
21 January: Benjamin Appl, baritone; Navarra String Quartet
Barber: Dover Beach for baritone and string quartet based on the poem by Matthew Arnold.
Dvorak: String Quartet in G, op.106
Bartok: String Quartet No.3 Sz.85
Rowland-Jones: A setting for baritone and string quartet of An die ferne Geliebte by Beethoven, composed for Benjamin Appl.
Quartet
Benjamin Marquise Gilmore, first violin; Laia Valentin Braun, second violin; Sascha Bota, viola & Brian O'Kane, cello. Since its formation in 2002, the Navarra Quartet has built an international reputation as one of the most dynamic and poetic string quartets of today. Selected for representation by the Young Classical Artists Trust (YCAT) from 2006 to 2010, they have been awarded the MIDEM Classique Young Artist Award, a Borletti- Buitoni Trust Fellowship, a Musica Viva tour and prizes at the Banff, Melbourne and Florence International String Quartet Competitions.
Highly-acclaimed recordings include Haydn’s The Seven Last Words for Altara Records and a disc of Peteris Vasks’ first three String Quartets for Challenge Records, which they recorded whilst working closely with the composer himself. The recording was described by critics as “stunning”, “sensational” and “compelling”, and was nominated for the prestigious German Schallplattenkritik Award. More recently, the Navarra Quartet recorded a disc for NMC Records featuring the music of Joseph Phibbs and future recording plans include the three great quartets of Schubert and Britten. Formed at the Royal Northern College of Music, they commenced their studies under the guidance of the late Dr. Christopher Rowland. Their development continued with studies in Cologne with the Alban Berg Quartet, Pro- Quartet in Paris, the International Musicians Seminar at Prussia Cove and from residencies at the Britten-Pears School in Aldeburgh and at the Verbier Festival in Switzerland. A constant desire to evolve sees the quartet play regularly to revered musicians such Eberhard Feltz, Ferenc Rados and Gabor Takacs Nagy. They also enjoy teaching the next generation in masterclass and summer courses. They recently completed a three-year residency as the Associated Ensemble at the Birmingham Conservatoire. The Quartet plays on a variety of fine instruments which include a Hieronymus II Amati and Spirito Sorsana (kindly on loan from the Dutch Nationaal Muziek Instrumentenfonds) violins, an unknown, old English viola and a Grancino cello.
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