Martinborough Music Festival Verified listing

This is a special year for the Martinborough Music Festival. We’re 10! To celebrate we’re bringing you some special new events and activities, as well as our weekend of four wonderful chamber music concerts.

Friday night 7.30pm
Our Festival musicians are introduced to the audience in this opening concert that ends with a famous and loved work by Beethoven, but not quite as you’d expect.

Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody No. 9 Carneval de Pest for piano trio
Farias Andean Suite for string quartet and guitar
Interval
Beethoven arr. Bradshaw Beethoven 747 (Symphony No. 7, Op. 92 in A Major) for string septet

Saturday afternoon 2.00pm
Along with a work by the 2026 Festival’s Guest Composer, 2 virtuoso works featuring our guitar and piano soloists will make this an engaging and memorable concert.

Victoria Kelly  Songs Without Words (2006) for string quartet
Luigi Boccherini Guitar Quintet No. 4 in D Major, G 448 for guitar and string quartet
Interval
Louise Farrenc Piano Quintet No. 1, Op. 30 for string quartet and piano

Saturday night 7.30pm
This concert highlights virtuoso works for double bass, guitar and piano, finishing with a string octet which rivals Mendelssohn’s famous work for the same combination.

Tárrega Recuerdos de la Alhambra for guitar and cello
Bottesini  Romanza Patética for double bass and piano
Liszt Après une lecture de Dante: Fantasia quasi Sonata, S.161/7 for piano
Interval
Enescu String Octet in C major, Op. 7  for 4 violins, 2 violas and 2 cellos

Sunday afternoon 2.00pm
The Festival finale presents works from Australia and Argentina, and concludes with one of the most famous Italian works in the repertoire, but given a new and exciting perspective by our 2026 Guest Composer .

Grandage Black Dogs for guitar and string quartet
Golijov Last Round (1996) for string nonet
Interval
Vivaldi/Kelly Four Seasons/Season Creep — World premiere

This concert is preceded at 1.15pm by Meet the composer.