Chamber Music Festival launch concert a sell-out
THREE talented young classical musicians and an £80,000 Steinway piano made Alderney’s Island Hall come alive to the sound of Chopin.
Around 130 people packed into the venue for the sell-out launch concert of the second Alderney Chamber Music Festival.
Pianist Mihai Ritivoiu, cellist Yoanna Prodanova and violinist and Festival artistic director Samuel Staples thrilled audiences with music from Robert Schumann, Frederic Chopin and Johannes Brahms. Lavish floral displays and a newly-acquired stage transformed the rather pedestrian setting into something more elegant.
The festival, which takes place from 30 August to 2 September this year, has become the island’s newest cultural fixture and is already drawing dozens of classical enthusiasts specially to Alderney for the event.
The ‘Bach and coffee’ concert on the morning of 31 August in the Anne French Room has already sold out.
The festival is organised by Andy Staples, a violinist with the Royal Opera House orchestra, and his musician children, Louisa and Samuel. Earlier this year festival organisers took delivery of a Steinway concert piano and a Steinway removals team made a trip back to Alderney especially to move the instrument from its home at Fort Quesnard to the Island Hall.
‘The launch concert went fantastically well and provided a taste of what’s to come,’ said Mr Staples. ‘We’re looking forward to inviting 11 of the world’s best performers to the festival this summer. Tickets are selling out already.
‘We want Alderney to have the best chamber music that it possibly can, which is why we bought the piano. We want it to bring in extra visitors and benefit as many local businesses as we can.’
Local chefs are providing the canapes.The flower shop is commissioned to create lavish floral displays for the event and the sewing shop is producing shirts embroidered with the festival logo.
