The 2015 Trasimeno Music Festival in Italy, of which I’m the Artistic Director, is about to begin! It’s always the busiest time of year. That’s why I haven’t written in so long. I’ll be performing in 6 of the 7 programmes—performing three of them twice in one day. We’ve produced a 43-page programme book (we being mainly my hard-working assistant, Eleonora Nardone, and myself, with the help from a few precious people), we’re working on all the arrangements to get artists and public here. I was in Salzburg for a few days this week to rehearse Mozart with the Camerata Salzburg and conductor Hannu Lintu (it was great, so that makes me very happy!). And a million other things. Please if you’re in Umbria between July 4-10, come along to one of our 12 concerts in Magione, Perugia, Bevagna, Trevi and Panicale. I’ve chosen beautiful venues to enhance the music and you won’t regret it! The full programme can be seen here.
There were so many highlights in the past few months, it’s hard to know where to start. I performed Ravel’s Left Hand Concerto for the first time in Vancouver (a great experience!) and also Falla’s Nights in the Gardens of Spain with Jeffrey Tate in Hamburg. We had the Tenth Anniversary Concert of the Trasimeno Music Festival in London’s Wigmore Hall which went out live both on BBC Radio and the Italian RAI. I was on stage at the 92nd Street Y in New York with author Ian McEwan and baritone Russell Braun (I return there in October to play the Art of Fugue). June saw me travelling to Istanbul to play in the Istanbul Festival; to Bologna to play a Beethoven concerto; to a small church in the Cotswolds where I played for 150 people in Naunton; and to All Saints, East Sheen (Richmond) where, along with the brilliant actor Roger Allam, we gave a performance/reading of TS Eliot’s “Four Quartets” which was one of the most moving experiences of all. We’re repeating that at Shakespeare’s Globe in August. So my life for sure is interesting and varied! Just that right now I have to run again to the piano to practise! I’m rehearsing in a few hours with violinist Jan Söderblom and cellist Nicolas Altstaedt for the opening concert of the festival on Saturday night. Tomorrow we have 3 talented young pianists performing a free concert in the village of San Savino overlooking Lake Trasimeno: Jonathan Ferrucci, Giulia Grassi and Jean-Sélim Abdelmoula. It’s always great to welcome them here and to hear them perform.