News Round-up and RVIPW from an Audience Member’s Perspective
Latest RVIPW News
Look out for the Flyers for our May 3rd LAUNCH CONCERT, a solo recital by Martin Roscoe, (details also available elsewhere on this website). We are already distributing them around the area and very stylish they are too, in Red and Gold, in celebration of our 30th anniversary.
We have recently been busy as a committee, as everything needs to be in place for the main festival, all of which will be announced on 3rd May at the Launch event. So the last couple of weeks has been the time to finalise all the plans and arrangements. We had a highly successful planning meeting the other week, with lots of exciting developments to explore. Most of these are in development, but here are some news items we can release – watch this space though, more coming!
The details of the Play Our Piano sessions have now been finalised. If you would like the opportunity to play the magnificent Yamaha CFX on stage during the main festival this summer, email us now to register your interest info@rvipw.org.uk . For a 15 minute slot, the cost will be £15 and these must be pre-booked. We have already had a lot of interest in this exciting opportunity so do get in touch early if you don’t want to miss out. There will be slots available on Weds 19th and Sat 22nd July – and they are selling like hot cakes!
Pre-concert talks have proved to be such a popular feature that once again this year, all our evening concerts will be preceded by talks with the performers involved, which will be free if you have bought a ticket. Details at the Launch Concert.
We have had a great response to our series of Q&A sessions with past performers at RVIPW! So far you can read contributions from Alexander Panfilov, Kathryn Stott, Clare Hammond and Martin Sturfalt – if you haven’t read them yet you can do so here http://www.rvipw.org.uk/?page_id=2022 and please do – these are fascinating glimpses into the lives of the musicians who bring so much pleasure to us all each year; next up, our President, Peter Donohoe.
And finally, we promised some audience reaction to RVIPW and will bring you responses from people who have supported us for many years, from people who have only recently discovered us and those who make up our audience come from far and wide, but for our first contribution we will hear from Lady Milena Grenfell-Baines from Preston, who, as you will see, has been coming to our concerts for a very long time.
Milena Grenfell-Baines
How long have you been coming to RVIPW?
Since well before the festival moved to Blackburn, I remember hearing Lukas Vondracek when he was 15 – now 30 and am just listening to him playing Rach 3 when he won a comp. in London last year so it must be around 20 years…
How far away do you live?
Preston
What do you think of the quality of concerts provided during the week?
I don’t hear them all but Martin is to be congratulated – which leads on to the next question.
How important are festivals like RVIPW for the cultural life of NW England?
Immensely important!
What do you think of our current venue? Was it easy to find?
Very easy to find, it would be difficult to find a better venue.
Can you tell us about a personal highlight from RVIPW?
I am aware that we are talking music but this is personal.
Meeting and making friends with Jean-Efflam and Andrea Bavouzet with whom I am constantly in touch, go when I can to hear him play and they stay with me when in the area . The latest trip will be to Prague in March as I introduced him to the manager of the Prague Radio Orchestra and on March 20 he will be playing in the Rudofinum concert hall.