Speak to an expert
020 7593 1899
Our office is open 9-6 Mon to Fri and 9-4 Sat
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 Tiede National Park will show 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 with several historic buildings; Tenerife's Botanical Garden is located just opposite the hotel, and Santa Cruz, the island's capital, can be reached by a fast and frequent bus service.
...when you travel with Kirker
Flights with British Airways:
Depart London Gatwick 12.45, arrive Tenerife South 17.05
Depart Tenerife South 17.55, arrive London Gatwick 22.20
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.
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.
Magnus Johnston, Simone van der Giessen, Marije Johnston & Brian O’Kane. The Navarra String Quartet were formed at the Royal Northern College of Music in 2002 and are today one of the best-established quartets of their generation.
They have a busy performing career and appear regularly at leading chamber music venues and festival throughout Europe. During the 2017 season they will play at The Sage Gateshead, Wigmore Hall, Leeds, the Lake District Summer Festival and at the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam. They closed their 2016 season with a concert at Holkham Hall in Norfolk. Two members of the quartet are Dutch and they have their own festival in Weesp, not far from Amsterdam, in the town’s beautiful Van Houten Church. They are currently the Associated Ensemble in Residence at the Birmingham Conservatoire.
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.
18 January: Tim Hoton, 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
19 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
20 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: Lider 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
21 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'
22 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.
23 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.
Piano
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.
Our expert reservations team regularly travel to a wide range of destinations to explore new cities, visit hotels and to research museums, galleries and restaurants so that we can offer the most up-to-date advice and recommendations.
