[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/greatromantics.gif”]Music and romance join forces in the Great Romantics Festival – a four-day celebration beginning today. Sponsored by the City of Hamilton, The American Liszt Society and McMaster's School of Art, Drama & Music, the festival focuses on the life and works of Franz Liszt.

Listz at the Millennium “Connections” – a Celebration in Music & Words features recitals for solo piano, lieder and organ, a choral concert with Hamilton's John Laing Singers, and a full orchestral concert with the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra (HPO) and Ann Schein on piano playing Wagner, Rachmaninov and Dvorak. British conductor David Lloyd-Jones will conduct the orchestra. The festival also includes readings and lectures.

This year marks the 250th anniversary of the death of J. S. Bach, and the 300th anniversary of the invention of the piano by Florentine keyboard designer Bartolomeo Cristofori. Two piano galas have been planned to celebrate these two important dates. To honour the memory of Bach, a concert will feature his organ preludes and fugues as transcribed for piano by Liszt. A second concert will feature Italian operatic selections by Verdi, Bellini, Rossini and others, as paraphrased by Liszt.

Various venues in Hamilton are hosting the lectures and concerts including Convocation Hall, Christ's Church Cathedral, Central Presbyterian Church, and Centenary United Church. For information, call ext. 23674 or visit the Festival Web site via the link below.

One of the popular traditions of the annual festival is the Candlelight Banquet. This year, the banquet is being held at the Hamilton Convention Centre on Saturday Oct. 7, starting at 7:30 p.m.

The Great Romantics Festival was founded by the school's professor emeritus of music Alan Walker in 1994.