While the International Music Festival struggles, the Bath Mozartfest is thriving (and now described by its chairman as ‘Bath’s premier music festival’). Part of the reason for this is the well-established relationships with certain leading performers and groups, plus some inspired talent-spotting which nabs emerging ones for the Mozartfest before they are well known and then retains them. This was exemplified in the first two concerts we went to. Neither contained any music by Mozart, and while WAM has not been on the programme of every concert in every Mozartfest, this was true of more concerts in this year’s Festival: perhaps moving in more on the International Music Festival’s territory.
Imogen Cooper in the Assembly Rooms played mostly Schumann (Novelette, Davidsbündlertänze, Abegg Variations), but ended with Schubert’s D960. It was a long programme, especially as she favours slow tempi. Her encore was the Allegretto in C minor D915.
The following day we heard the Sitkovetsky Piano trio, on I think their third visit to Bath (they seem to have have Wednesday lunchtime Guildhall slot at the Mozartfest), playing Beethoven’s op. 70 no. 2 and Dvořák’s op. 65. This sold out and we got returned tickets. The trio were particularly good at the more legato passages; as before, their pianist Wu Qian impressed. They were not nonplussed when their cellist broke a string in the Dvořák; after a brief break off-stage they returned and resumed playing from a point shortly before the interruption (as this was an intermezzo movement with a clear break between sections, it wasn’t too hard to pick up).