NOTE EARLY START TIME!

J.S. Bach - “Goldberg” Variations, BWV 988 (arranged for string trio by D. Sitkovetsky)
Alexander Sitkovetsky - violin
Meghan Cassidy - viola
Richard Lester - cello

--- Interval ---

C. Saint-Saens – Barcarolle for Piano Quartet in F Major, Op. 108
Amandine Savary - piano
Jack Liebeck - violin
Simon Oswell - viola
Christian-Pierre La Marca - cello

J. Brahms – Piano Quartet No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 25
Amandine Savary - piano
Jack Liebeck - violin
Simon Oswell - viola
Christian-Pierre La Marca - cello

The string trio arrangement by Dmitry Sitkovetsky of one of the world’s greatest pieces – Bach’s “Goldberg” variations – has become a favourite at Festivals throughout the world. We continue with Saint-Saens’ sparkling Barcarolle for Piano Quartet Op. 108; an old favourite, Brahms’ Piano Quartet No. 1 with its famous “Gypsy” Rondo, is a suitably celebratory conclusion to our tenth Festival! 

The development of preventive therapy for cancer is still in its infancy, and much can be learned from cardiovascular medicine, where it has now become firmly established. This is due to the existence of agents with clearly proven efficacy and minimal side-effects, such as the statins for cholesterol-lowering and the antihypertensive agents to control blood pressure. For cancer, only vaccination against the human papilloma virus to prevent cervix cancer and hepatitis B to prevent liver cancer, aspirin for gastrointestinal cancers and anti-oestrogen agents for breast cancer have been clearly established as effective. 

There is a clear contrast between two different agents for preventive therapy – aspirin for gastrointestinal cancers – notably bowel, stomach and oesophageal (gullet), and endocrine therapy for breast cancer prevention. For aspirin the benefits are seen for a range of different cancers, making identification of high risk individuals difficult. For most individuals there are no side effects and the potential benefits outweigh the potential harms, but it is highly desirable to identify the small subset most likely to suffer side effects (gastrointestinal bleeding) and to not offer aspirin to them.  In the case of endocrine agents such as tamoxifen or the aromatase inhibitors, the benefit is expected only for breast cancer. Development of highly predictive risk assessment models is important for identifying women most likely to benefit from these drugs. 

Discover the inspiration that trees have had in Music, Art and Literature in an illustrated concert with festival favourite Stephen Johnson (speaker) and festival exhibition photographer Kaupo Kikkas.

After the interval, there will be a performance of Elgar's final major chamber music composition, the Piano Quintet, the first movement of which drew on trees for its inspiration. It was composed in a country house in Sussex that the Elgars rented in 1918. The ghostly first movement represented a group of trees nearby that according to legend grew on the spot where some Spanish monks were killed by a bolt of lightning while celebrating mass.  

E. Elgar - Piano Quintet in A minor, Op. 84
Danny Driver - piano
Alexander Sitkovetsky - violin
Rachael Beesley - violin
Simon Oswell - viola
Christian-Pierre La Marca - cello

"Musical science in the time of Monteverdi"

I Fagiolini with Robert Hollingworth

C. Monteverdi – Sfogava con le stelle
C. Monteverdi – Ch’io t’ami
C. Gesualdo – Mercè grido piangendo
S. D’India – Strana armonia d’amore
C. Monteverdi – Lagrime al sepolchro

 --- Interval ---

J. Bennet – Weep, O mine eyes
W. Byrd – Come woeful Orpheus
B.Britten – Eight Medieval Lyrics, Sacred and Profane, Op. 91
Cathy Berberian – Stripsody
Flanders & Swann – Pillar to post
Flanders & Swann – The Sloth

An exciting programme headlined by a quote from Bryd’s “Come woeful Orpheus”, renowned vocal group “I Fagiolini” explore music science from the time of Monteverdi, going on to related music by Britten and ending with the wit and wisdom of Cathy Berberian and Flanders & Swann.  

While exciting advances have been made in our understanding of disease processes at the level of genes and molecules, these approaches need to be complemented by an understanding of disease processes that are occurring at a larger scale.  One Health provides an integrative framework for exploring the inter-dependencies of human, animal and environmental health and for developing effective and equitable measures for tackling the infectious disease problems that confront our globalised world.  

In this lecture, Professor Cleaveland will draw on examples from her work on infectious diseases in the natural ecosystems of East Africa to highlight connections between the health of human, domestic animal and wildlife populations. She will describe how One Health approaches are helping us move towards the effective control and elimination of rabies, one of the world’s most deadly diseases.

M. Ravel - Piano Trio in A Minor

W.A. Mozart Piano Quartet No 1 in G Minor, K478

Ravel’s Piano Trio is full of French elegance and urbanity. Mozart’s G Minor Piano Quintet is in G Minor, a key he reserved for some of his greatest works. Not only is this one of them, it is also a milestone in music – the first true piano quartet ever written. 

A free event between the Seasons - Fireworks is a participatory and inclusive DaCapo Music Foundation workshop for anyone interested in making music with others! Suitable for age 7+ to adult, musicians and non musicians. Find out what DaCapo do! 

Professor Brian Cox will explore aspects of the seasons both on earth and elsewhere in the Solar System. After the interval Jack Liebeck will be the soloist in a performance of the “Four Seasons” by Antonio Vivaldi accompanied by the Oxford May Music Festival Orchestra. 

Take a walk around Oxford with your camera under the photographic guidance of Kaupo Kikkas, our award winning resident photographer. Photographers of all levels are welcome. The event is free, but please register with the Festival organisers by clicking here to send an email - please give names of those wishing to take part. Meet at St John the Evangelist. 

Through years of practicing highly skilled movements, often from a young age, the area in the musicians’ brain that controls hand movement becomes more defined than that of a non-musician. However, in some musicians this initial benefit can become dysfunctional resulting in painless involuntary movements. Though uncommon, task specific dystonia (TSD) can be very disabling, especially for professional musicians. Whilst the condition still poorly understood, there is growing evidence to show that the brain gives and receives information in an altered way, due to repetitive practice of the highly skilled movements that musicians use when playing their instruments. There is evidence of dysfunction in the relationship between touch and the way movements are executed, and traits of anxiety and perfectionism in musicians’ who are affected by this. Retraining techniques that aim at reshaping the area of the brain that controls hand movements and assists in regaining control of affected movements are proving to be beneficial. This talk will look at why and how people develop this condition and how to manage and treat it.

B. Britten -  Phantasy Quartet for Oboe and String Trio, Op.2
Nicholas Daniel - oboe
Simon Blendis - violin
Simon Oswell - viola
Richard Lester - cello

F. Bridge - “Phantasie” Piano Trio No.1, in C Minor, H.79
Danny Driver - piano
Jack Liebeck - violin
Thomas Carroll - cello

E.J. Moeran - Phantasy Quartet for Oboe and String Trio
Nicholas Daniel - oboe
Jack Liebeck - violin
Simon Oswell - viola
Richard Lester - cello

--- Interval ---

F. Chopin - Fantasie Impromptu in C sharp Minor, Op. 66
Danny Driver - piano

C. Nielsen - 2 Fantasy Pieces for Oboe and piano, Op. 2
Nicholas Daniel - oboe
Danny Driver - piano

R. Schumann – Phantasiestucke Op. 12
Katya Apekisheva - piano

A collection of fantastic phantasies, a genre in which composers’ imaginations often run riot. The first two pieces from pupil and teacher Britten and Bridge are both early works, untypical of their later style. Moeran completes a British flavour before we turn to continental romantics. Danny Driver stars in one of Chopin’s finest works, Nicholas Daniel in two beautiful pieces by Nielsen and Katya Apekisheva completes our wildest fantasies with Schumann’s tempestuous Phantasiestücke.

Global warming is most often discussed as a future issue but the evidence points convincingly to the fact that it is already a reality. We simply burn too much coal, oil and gas. The good news is that renewable energy production has made significant inroads into our energy mix. But there is a catch - renewable energy is mostly intermittent; the wind does not always blow and the sun does not always shine. And so energy storage has a crucial role to play in any renewable energy future. This talk addresses these issues from an unconventional starting point that focuses not on technologies but on availability of resource. Renewable energy production, whether it be solar power, wind energy or hydroelectricity, is based on sun, air and water, the global energy commons. In this talk, I will discuss the potential also to develop energy storage options that use only these global commons, these Aristotelean elements. Powering our planet with sun, air and water can offer us a very optimistic future.

J. Brahms - Sonata No. 1 in G Major for Violin and Piano, Op. 78

B. Martinu - Madrigal Stanzas, H. 297

E. Bloch - “Baal Shem”

all above:
Jack Liebeck - violin
Katya Apekisheva - piano

--- Interval ---

P. Haas - Oboe Suite Op. 17
Nicholas Daniel - oboe
Katya Apekisheva - piano

W.A. Mozart - String Quintet in G Minor K516
Simon Blendis - violin
Jack Liebeck - violin
Simon Oswell - viola
Meghan Cassidy - viola
Richard Lester - cello

Einstein played the tranquil and beautiful Brahms G Major sonata while a schoolboy in Switzerland ; Martinu dedicated the Madrigal Stanzas to him and he gave the world premiere in Princeton; Einstein was President of the Ernest Bloch Society. Jack Liebeck and Katya Apekisheva conclude the violin and piano section of the concert with the “Baal Shem” suite, the mournful “Vidui”, the virtuosic “Nigun” and the scorching “Simchas Torah”.  After the interval we are delighted to welcome Nicholas Daniel, who plays Pavel Haas’ Oboe Suite, which was composed just before Haas died in a concentration camp; this is included as a homage to Einstein’s fight against Nazism. We conclude with the last chamber work in which Einstein is documented as playing before his death, Mozart’s towering G Minor String Quintet.