30. Main Evening Concert

Roxanna Panufnik’s The Faithful Gazelle is based on a classic Afghan folk tale where a single action of kindness reaps great rewards, all later to vanish like a dream after a later act of neglect and disloyalty – from beggar to prince and back again. This work was commissioned nearly three years ago, but the premiere has been twice postponed due to the pandemic. Matt Hunt and Signum remain together to play Stanford’s short Fantasy as part of our celebration of his centenary. After the Interval, Chiaroscuro Quartet join us for Beethoven’s sprawling but magnificent B flat Quartet. The Quartet is renowned for playing with gut strings using classical tuning, a trailblazer for authentic performance of high classical chamber music. This is their fifth visit to the Festival beginning in 2010. It’s good to have them back playing one of Beethoven’s greatest.