Gyles Brandreth: Barnes Music Festival enthusiast
Gyles Brandreth – author, broadcaster, actor and former MP – has been a prominent figure in the Barnes Music Festival (15 – 30 Mar) since its inception. He talked to Pippa Duncan about why bringing the Festival to his local community in Barnes is so close to his heart
The Barnes Music Festival brings together music, language and history – all things Gyles Brandreth loves, so he didn’t even need to think about playing a role in the Festival when it started 12 years ago. Since then, he has served as a patron, lending his support and public profile to enhance the Festival’s visibility and appeal and hosting and compering various events, where his wit and charisma make his appearances wildly popular.
Already a lover of classical music – although no expert himself, he says, ‘I am simply an enthusiast’ – this was heightened when he moved to Barnes 40 years ago and found out that the composer Handel lived where his Victorian house now stands when he arrived in England in 1715. ‘There was a big estate here before and the impresario Heidegger lived here and brought Handel over to London to live at his country house in Barnes. This very spot! So, I feel I have a musical connection, simply because of where I live.’
He lives just a stone’s throw from St Mary’s Church, where many of the 36 events over the two-week period take place. ‘Parts of the Church are 1000 years old and the idea of celebrating music in the English tradition, which is one of the key features of the Festival, is wonderful.’ He notes that Barnes is a rich source of composers from Handel and Holst to the modern-day Howard Goodall, Roxanne Panufnik and Tom Howe.
The Festival is known for its wonderful variety of music – choral, instrumental, opera, jazz – and performances vary from weekdays and evenings to weekend concerts. Brandreth is performing Shakespeare’s Music with actor and musician, Stefan Bednarczyk, who recently appeared in the Orange Tree Theatre’s Twelfth Night. ‘I’m honoured to take part and this year we’re celebrating language and music, so I thought, you know, we’re so lucky in this country to have the greatest wordsmith of all, William Shakespeare, so why don’t we do a show that celebrates some of the traditional music that we believe Shakespeare used for his plays.
‘Shakespeare is part and parcel of my life and has been since I was a little boy. At school I was Rosalind in As You Like It when I was nine or 10.
‘Stefan and I have been friends since Oxford and I persuaded him to provide all the music. The idea of the show is to go literally from the music of Shakespeare’s day right up to the present. All sorts of people like Benjamin Britten, for example, have taken his plays and added music. His work has been turned into opera, into ballet, into musicals like West Side Story and Kiss Me Kate. So, our show is a celebration of all that.’
Brandreth loves how the Festival has evolved over the years and is such a success. It seamlessly combines well-known international and local stars, as well as encouraging budding talent. He is particularly proud that tickets are kept to a price that is affordable for most. ‘I think the cheapest is £10, many are £20 and only go up to £35. It makes it totally accessible. To go to Wigmore Hall or the Royal Opera House is so expensive, so it’s the best value you can imagine. It’s a bargain, I mean seriously, it’s a bargain for world-class music.’
I ask him how important he thinks events like these are for encouraging community to come together: It’s absolutely key. St Mary’s Church has been the heart of the community for a thousand years. People like Handel knew that church, the novelist Henry Field, who wrote Tom Jones knew that church, a star of the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in the 18th Century is buried there.
‘This is what the Festival is about – being accessible to the community, as it has been for so long. There will be something for everybody, for every generation.’
With 36 events, there’s lots to choose from – even a toddler’s concert.
16 Mar: Pavel Kolesnikov & Samson Tsoy: Piano duo
Two extraordinary pianists who are redefining classical music. Kolesnikov is known for his lyrical sensitivity and emotional depth whilst Tsoy is celebrated for his robust sound, merging classical with modern influences. Stravinsky The Right of Spring, Brahms Schumann variations op 23, Schubert Fantasie
25 Mar: Roderick Williams OBE, Baritone, A Touch of the Exotic
Williams has sung major roles at the Royal Opera House, the English National Opera and across Europe and the US. This recital programme looks East and embraces both myth and experience.
26 Mar: Opera Gala, Opera Holland Park
Its debut at the Festival, five principal artists come together under the baton of Charlotte Corderoy, with the City of London Sinfonia String Quartet and pianist, Berrak Dyer. The programme is inspired by stories of love and adventure, including music from Verdi, Dumas, and Donizetti among others.
Full listings with timings and ticket prices at barnesmusicfestival.com
Find out about other local people here.