London Mozart Players
While we were sad not to be able to welcome the London Mozart Players to Newbury this year, they’ve been creating some wonderful online content of their own. They have a live concert being broadcast on 6 June 2020, 7pm. Do have a look on their website and enjoy this latest edition of their #SaturdaySessions
F.D.Marchetti (arr. Adam Sandler) Fascination
Stephen Foster (arr. Jack Byfield) Jeannie with the Light Brown Hair
Yascha Krein Gipsy Carnival
M.M.Ponce (trans. Jascha Heifetz) Estrellita (Star of Love)
M. Castelnuovo-Tedesco (trans. Jascha Heifetz) Sea Murmurs
Mendelssohn (arr. Lucas) O for the Wings of a Dove
Korda-Bakony Jura-Jura
Isaac Albeniz (arr. Fritz Kreisler) Tango Op.165 No.2
Fritz Kreisler Syncopation
Gluck (arr. Kreisler) Menuet from ‘Orpheo’
Traditional (arr. Jack Byfield) Londonderry Air
Max Skalka & Felix Stahl Dobra-Dobra
Simon Blendis violin
Saoko Blendis piano
Simon and Saoko Blendis present an uplifting recital celebrating the music of Max Jaffa, one of the most popular violinists of his day who was famous for his ability to entertain and move people, as well as his sweet sound and charm. Although the pieces are different in character, they all move the listener with humour, joy and tenderness, thus showing that this genre of light music, far from being frivolous, speaks directly to the heart, something that we all need at this time. This concert celebrates the memory of Max Jaffa and the joy he brought to people, and is a nostalgic look back at some of the wonderful music that he made famous.
Simon Blendis is the leader of the London Mozart Players, and was previously the violinist with the Schubert Ensemble for 23 years, from 1995 until the group ended in 2018. He has also shared the position of first concertmaster with Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa in Japan from 1999, and has appeared as guest leader or director with most of the major symphony and chamber orchestras in the UK. Since 2019 he has been a professor of violin at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Simon has been playing on Max Jaffa’s own violin for the past 20 years.
Saoko Blendis grew up in Tokyo and moved to London in 1999 to pursue post-graduate studies in piano accompaniment at the Royal Academy of Music. She now mostly accompanies, with an emphasis on violin and piano repertoire, and enjoys a number of duo partnerships, including this one with her husband Simon.
London Mozart Players
Stephen Barlow has recorded a personal message to the Festival audience and chorus here. The other videos here are links to where the LMP have been releasing a series of videos “At Home with LMP”.
Donate to the Festival
The financial implications of having to cancel the 2020 Festival in order to safeguard the health of our audiences, artists and staff due to the coronavirus pandemic, are huge. We can’t wait to get back to what we do best, bringing the best world-class music to Newbury as soon as we are able. But to do this we need your support.
So, we are asking you, and everyone we know, to make a donation to help us survive this extraordinary situation so that we can return next year with two weeks of world-class music.
If you are able, we would be delighted if you might make a one-off donation to support the future of the Newbury Spring Festival.
Audience Feedback Survey
Although this is a challenging time for us all, it is also an opportunity for us to take some time to plan for when we can reopen our doors and welcome you back, be that in the Autumn this year, or Spring 2021.
We have no past experience to draw upon for a situation like this – so we really need to hear your thoughts on the current situation and how you feel about attending events again at some point.
We have worked with our partners, Indigo to develop a short online survey, which is available here . We would be grateful if you would spare us a few minutes to complete it. Your responses are completely anonymous, and will be used to inform our own planning, as well as being added to responses from all over the UK to help produce a national picture.
Indigo will only have access to your responses for analysis purposes, and will not be able to see any of your personal information.
Many thanks for your support in the past, and we look forward to welcoming you back before too long.