CLASSICAL CADIZ

V FESTIVAL INTERNACIONAL DE MÚSICA DE AL-KALAT
11 – 15 August 2009

The Soloists of London give concerts internationally; have performed in front of the Pope, the Queens of Spain and England; recorded the Oscar winning film music for The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter; play at the prestigious Garsington and Glyndebourne Operas as well as touring all over Spain.

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http://www.thesoloistsoflondon.wordpress.com/

Matthew Coman

Back in 2003, classical musicians Matthew Coman and Jane Fenton came to the province of Cadiz to find a peaceful retreat from their busy career. They settled on a house in the white village of Alcala de los Gazules, hilltop gateway to the Alcornocales Natural Park. Little did they imagine the far-reaching consequences of their decision.

Jane Fenton

Despite their busy international schedule, performing with major symphony orchestras in the UK and touring internationally with The Soloists of London chamber orchestra, the two musicians felt they wanted to ‘give something back’ to their adopted village. They suggested to the Mayor that their chamber group come to Alcalá to perform for the villagers.


The Soloists of London



Matthew says that 99% of the inhabitants had never before heard live classical music. Their reaction however, was both affirming and intensely moving. The two musicians were so surprised by the feedback and people told them how moved they were by the music. It just shows that you can never underestimate your audience.


Alcala de los Gazules

Now a firm fixture on the festival calendar of the province, Alcalá celebrates its 5th FESTIVAL INTERNCIONAL DE MÚSICA DE AL-KALAT this august. Little by little, the event has grown in stature with international soloists making guest appearances, including oboist Alun Darbyshire; pianist Claudio Martínez Mehner; and Spanish soprano Pilar Jurado, who has since become internationally acclaimed and is starring in the climax of the festival this year.


Alun Darbyshire

Matthew’s commitment and dedication to championing classical music in the region also extends to working with young people. Workshops during the festival introduce children to the instruments, talk about the lives of classical composers and explain why they musicians themselves play music.


Claudio Martínez Mehner

The festival programme has also featured young musicians from the Academy of the Barenboim-Said Foundation of Seville, plus the Avalonia Quartet drawn from the Youth Orchestra of Andalucia. Meanwhile, the growing success of the 120-strong Youth Orchestra of Andalucia, under the tutelage of the genius ex-violinist of the world famous Brodski Quartet, Michael Thomas, is set to challenge the supremacy of both the British and Venezuelan Youth Orchestras.


Brodski Quartet

This year the soloists have been busy auditioning and working with students from the music schools of Jerez de la Frontera, Cadiz and La Linea to form a brand new Cadiz Youth Orchestra. This new young string orchestra has made their first public performance in Cadiz at the patio of the Diputacion on last August 11th, followed by a performance at the Festival the next day.


Avalonia Quartet


One can only guess at the complexity involved in bringing about these musical miracles, not to mention the dedicated support of the Ayuntamiento (City Hall), Diputación de Cádiz, Junta de Andalucia, as well as private companies such as Polanco and Unicaja.

These days Matthew tried to manage to balance his career with the symphony orchestras in the UK, the international touring schedule of the Soloists of London and his increased workload in Spain, but he recently decided to stop playing with the Symphony Orchestras, because there was no more time to do so.

“For most musicians , playing Chamber music is the gold! The players have more control and creative input; the music is more intimate; and there is much more connection with the audience. We particularly love to play in the atmospheric Spanish churches, courtyards and patios, which are so well suited to smaller audiences. And with the new Youth Orchestra, my thoughts are even running to initiating Sunday morning ‘coffee concerts’ in Cadiz, which have been so immensely popular in the UK” Matthew says.

Let’s hope that it won’t be long before the patios and plazas of Cadiz ring out not only with the infectious sounds of Sevillana and Flamenco music, but also with the melodious strains of classical composers.