July 2020 events postponed

RVIPW April 2020 Newsletter
Hello all,
I do hope you and your loved ones are keeping well and coping with lockdown quarantine restrictions. If any of you would like to talk about RVIPW business or have exciting ideas for future projects, or even more generally please feel free to email us at info@rvipw.org.uk .
We have been carefully monitoring the situation and Government Guidelines surrounding the Covid-19 crisis and with enormous regret we have come to what was in the end the inevitable conclusion that all our events scheduled between 15th– 18th July 2020 will have to be postponed.
I know how disappointed you will be to hear this news – the timing of the lockdown came so soon after we mailed out the leaflets of our programme of events that we have thousands of these now redundant leaflets left over – but at least you will see just what a fantastic line-up we had put together for the summer. Of course, by far the worst affected by this news are the performers themselves who have all seen every booking – and therefore their entire income – vanish from their diaries from 23rd March for the foreseeable future and it has been really hard to make the decision to add to this very long and depressing list on their account.
The good news is that we have been working really hard behind the scenes to ensure that (all being well in terms of lockdown restrictions by then), ALL the artists are available to play for us and will be rebooked immediately. This is a POSTPONEMENT – not a cancellation! So you can expect to hear Steven Osborne, Lauren Zhang, and Martin plus the Scott Brothers and one of our two lunchtime performers during the 2021 festival – please put the dates in your diaries now – it will happen between 14th – 17th July 2021. The actual dates for each performer will be announced nearer the time – the hall is booked, the piano is coming – everything is in place.
The obvious exception to the above list is Tasmin Little, who as I’m sure you know will be retiring in December 2020. The thought that we had lost this event was the most disappointing of all, and we are determined to do everything possible to invite her back before she leaves the concert platform for ever.
We have some very important news for you and another date for your diaries. After much hard work and deliberation we are delighted to announce we are doing everything possible to hold a one day RVIPW celebration, on Friday 23rd October 2020! We are arranging for one of our July lunchtime performers to play on the same day, and we are aiming to hold other events too – maybe a discussion forum in the afternoon, with a pre-concert talk before Tasmin and Martin play for us together in the evening for what will be the very last time at RVIPW. So it will be a full day of events – full timetable to be announced soon – and we do hope you will put this date in your diary straight away! Tickets for this very special once-in-a-lifetime occasion will not go on sale until AUGUST 2020 at the earliest. We will be making announcements via newsletters and on our website and social media outlets.
VIDEOS
In case you haven’t had the opportunity to see them yet, we are delighted that Martin has been sending us videos of himself playing his own piano from his home in Cumbria during this quarantine lockdown period! You can watch these on our website here.
He is sending us one a week – as things stand there are currently four to watch – Schumann’s Traumerei, Bach’s Aria from the Goldberg Variations, Debussy’s La Fille Aux Cheveux De Lin and Schubert impromptu in A flat. Next week will be Brahms Impromptu in A major from op118 will be the 5th – keep watching! Martin is also promising to send us an exclusive video which will only be available to our Friends and Supporters. News of this to come – but do make sure your subscriptions are up to date in order not to miss this one.
There are also two other videos there both of which were filmed in the Theatre at Westholme school, our much-missed venue. We have an interview between Yamaha and Peter Donohoe and Martin Roscoe, and finally the Scott Brothers Duo filmed their rehearsal of Saint-Saens “The Swan” when they came and played The Carnival of the Animals for us in 2018, complete with Tom’s bewitching animations.
We hope you enjoy watching these videos, reminiscing of happy occasions spent with us there in the past and looking forward with anticipation and excitement at the wonderful events to come in the future in this welcoming space, on October 23rd 2020 and 14th – 17th July 2021. We can’t wait to see you all there then.
Any tickets already purchased will be transferrable from July 2020 to the relevant dates when they are rescheduled – or if you prefer to have a refund please contact Roger Darling and he will arrange for this to happen. Contact details are on the booking form.
Warmest wishes to you all on behalf of the RVIPW committee,
Marianne Bailey

Copyright © 2020 Ribble Valley International Piano Week, All rights reserved.
You’re receiving this e-mail because you joined the RVIPW mailing list.
Our mailing address is:
Ribble Valley International Piano Week
Hillside House
Bluestone Lane
Mawdesley, England L40 2JR
United Kingdom

MARTIN ROSCOE’S MAY 7^TH LAUNCH CONCERT CANCELLED

A message from our Chairperson, Marianne Bailey.

We are sure that, like us, you have been watching the unfolding crisis surrounding Covid-19 closely. The Government advice we are now faced with has led us to the inevitable conclusion that we must take the unprecedented step to cancel our RVIPW launch concert – Martin Roscoe’s solo recital on May 7^th 2020.

As Chair this has been the toughest decision I have had to make and I am grateful to the RVIPW committee of volunteers who all care as passionately as I do about our festival for their support in making this decision. In the end, it was unanimous.

Whilst this is incredibly disappointing for us all – and financially it will be a struggle to try and recoup costs we have incurred so far – we will be monitoring the situation as it unfolds over the coming months and we very much hope to be able to go ahead with the summer festival from 15^th to 18^th July. Of course we will keep you informed.

In the meantime we will endeavor to provide some RVIPW online content to keep you in touch with us. Watch out for further newsletters in which we will direct you to anything we manage to produce – and there will be regular updates on our Facebook and Twitter accounts – plus on our own website www.rvipw.org.uk . So we won’t be disappearing completely and would welcome your input whenever you feel you want to get in touch with ideas, comments or suggestions for things we might do online, please email us at info@rvipw.org.uk or get involved in the social media posts.

Anyone who has bought tickets for the launch concert already – our thanks for doing so – you are fully entitled to a refund. If you would like to have your money back please email us.

Although this is a difficult time for us, it is far more difficult for all the musicians who have watched their diaries empty at a terrifying rate over the last week or so, leaving them with no income whatsoever. Please, we implore you, when the concert halls open again do your utmost to support them – buy tickets, go to concerts and in the meantime buy their CD’s. That old saying goes “you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone” – perhaps the current enforced concert embargo might make us appreciate all the more just how vitally important live music is for our culture and society.

Keep well. This crisis will pass. We are here for your questions and comments and we are hopeful that we will see you in the summer.