NEWS RELEASE
GUELPH MUSICFEST
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Guelph Musicfest begins its 12th season—Shamelessly Romantic—on Friday, May 25, and after a decade of tinkering with the formula, founder/director Ken Gee thinks he may have figured it out.
“The first season was a great success—the local press spread the idea of a reborn Guelph Spring Festival, the real one having just ended a great run of 21 years. There was lots of coverage, including front page stories with colour pictures. That made things really easy,” recalls Ken.
Guelph is now busier with lots of entertainment in the May window, but Musicfest has found a sweet spot in four Friday evenings starting the end of May in the Guelph Youth Music Centre’s intimate Recital Hall.
The Recital Hall, designed for chamber music, inspired the series. The sound is wonderful and the space small enough that everyone is close to the performers. The hall’s Yamaha hand-built S6 grand has been played by artists such as Angela Hewitt, André Laplante, Robert Silverman and in Musicfest 2017, Anagnoson & Kinton and continues to exude a rich range of sound.
Musicfest 2018 begins with the brilliant pianist Sheng Cai. He was a last-minute replacement for André Laplante a few years ago, but the prolonged standing ovation after his stunning recital guaranteed a return visit. His recital on Friday May 25 includes music by Scarlatti, Mendelssohn, Beethoven, Chopin and Rachmaninoff.
The series continues on Friday June 1 with the great Gryphon Trio with Annalee Patipatanakoon violin, Roman Borys cello, and James Parker piano. The Gryphon Trio is now celebrating 25 years of stellar performances and is internationally renowned. The program features Beethoven’s Trio no. 3 in C minor; Paul Frehner’s Bytown Waters (commissioned by the trio for its 25th anniversary season); and Mendelssohn’s Trio no. 2 in C minor.
The popular Festival Trio is back on Friday June 8 with violinist Sadie Fields, cellist Paul Pulford and pianist Ken Gee; These three friends love playing together which is why Sadie flies back to home-town Guelph from Brussels, and Paul (although retired from WLU’s Music Department and living in NB) happily comes back for the trio.
The program includes Grieg’s Violin Sonata in C minor; Grieg’s Cello Sonata in A minor; and Mendelssohn’s Trio no. 1 in D minor. Between the Gryphon and Festival Trios, you get to hear both Mendelssohn trios—now that is Shamelessly Romantic!
The 2018 series concludes with the Madawaska Quartet with Jeewon Kim violin, Sarah Fraser Raff violin, Anna Redekop viola, and Mary-Katherine Finch cello.
Hailed for their “astonishing talent” (Musicworks Magazine), the Madawaska Quartet performs pieces from the mainstream to performance art, and from the Baroque to the present-day. The programme includes Purcell’s Chacony in G minor; Beethoven’s String Quartet no. 4 in C minor, and Mendelssohn’s String Quartet no. 2 in A minor.
Early ticket sales for Musicfest 2018 were very strong this year but seats are still available for all the concerts. For a limited time, music students and their families can get a special discount. And as always, Musicfest has a pay-what-you-can policy for financially challenged music lovers. If you want to hear a concert, you are always welcome. All concerts start at 7:30 p.m.
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