String quartet will return for Llanfyllin festival

The Allegri Quartet will be back at St Myllin’s Church for four concerts over two consecutive weekends in July and August.

For just over 40 years, the Allegri String Quartet, founded in 1953 and Britain's longest running chamber music ensemble, has been playing each summer to delighted audiences at the venue, and those first concerts held by the original quartet developed into what is now the annual Llanfyllin Music Festival.

As a change from previous years, the first concert will be on a Saturday instead of Friday, with this year’s dates now set at July 27, 28, and August 2, 4.

For the final concert the festival will also welcome four guests from the South Bank Sinfonia (SBS).

Founded in 2002, the SBS is a vibrant orchestra offering one year fellowships to some of the world’s most promising graduate musicians. They are regular collaborators with the Allegri, including performances at the Anghiari Festival, Tuscany.

The programme includes music ranging from 18th – 20th centuries, with festival organisers saying there will be something for all tastes.

The three 20th century compositions are Sibelius’s only string quartet “Voces Intimae”, a Gershwin lullaby, and the first string quartet by Poland’s great composer Szymanowski. Mendelssohn’s pieces are from the end and beginning of his career – op. 81 composed in the last 4 years of his life & released posthumously and the octet written when he was a prodigy of only 16.

Early Bird tickets for the show are now on sale, but are only available until May 15 at £15. The price after that date will be £19, concessions £17, so organisers say visitors should book early to benefit from the reduction.

Early bird tickets are available by post from Llanfyllin Music Festival Ticket Officer, Farthings, Fox Lane, West Felton, Oswestry, SY11 4JU and include your cheque (payable to Llanfyllin Festival Association) and SAE, or online via www.llanfyllinfestival.org.uk