Pianist Daniel Tong curates Elgar festival at Kings Place

Rarely-heard works by Sir Edward Elgar will be aired during a three-day festival at London’s prestigious Kings Place (8-10 November 2012). Curated by pianist Daniel Tong, ‘Elgar Explored’ is being supported by the Elgar Society under its Elgar in Performance scheme, which offers funding and practical support to facilitate the presentation of Elgar works which are seldom performed, whether due to their size, orchestration or staging needs.

Performers at the festival include the Wye Valley Festival Orchestra under Simon Crawford-Phillips, together with cellist Alice Neary, the Elias String Quartet and the London Bridge Ensemble. A pre-concert talk focusing on Elgar’s Great Chamber Music will be given on the Friday evening by Steven Halls, Chairman of the Elgar Society, whilst the Saturday evening concert will be preceded by a Study Day. This will include talks given by host Richard Wigmore on the Elgar Cello Concerto and by Iain Farrington on Elgar and the Piano, followed by a presentation entitled Elgar and the Dramatic Imperative led by author and critic Lewis Foreman.

‘We will be performing Elgar’s three great chamber works - his violin sonata, string quartet and piano quintet - alongside familiar miniatures like Salut d’Amour and Chanson de Matin and masterpieces such as Introduction & Allegro, Serenade for Strings and  the Cello Concerto in E minor,’ says Daniel Tong. ‘But the other aspect of the festival is to present less familiar examples of Elgar’s oeuvre. We’ll be offering rarities such as Sea Pictures for voice and piano, and the three movements for piano trio which have been reconstructed by Paul Adrian Rooke. On the final evening, there will be the chance to hear Iain Farrington’s new arrangement of Concert Allegro for piano and orchestra.’

Tickets for ‘Elgar Explored’ concerts start at £14.50 (or £9.50 for ‘online saver seats’) and places on the Study Day are £39.50 per person. For details, contact Kings Place

Pianist magazine published an article on British piano composers, including Elgar, in issue 66. Why not order a copy?