Posted on Oct. 8: Great Romantics Festival offers musical treats

Romance will be in the air this week as McMaster hosts its eighth international Great Romantics Festival.

The festival, founded in 1994 by Alan Walker, takes place Thursday, Oct. 10 to Saturday, Oct. 12. Walker is emeritus professor of music at McMaster and author of the standard (and international award-winning) biography of Franz Liszt, the famous 19th century composer.

“The festival is an unusual and perhaps unique event,” says David Palmer, academic skills counsellor with the Centre for Student Development. “It brings together renowned musicians from around the world to perform music from the Romantic period — mostly of the 19th century. These musicians pay their own expenses, and appreciate this opportunity to meet each other and perform for each other, as well as for other music-lovers.”

“It is a terrific opportunity for all lovers of classical music in the McMaster community and in the Hamilton area to hear top-class performances, but it's a largely undiscovered jewel,” he adds. “Surprisingly, few people make use of this opportunity, partly perhaps because this tends to be a busy time on campus, and the festival starts just before the Thanksgiving weekend.”

The festival includes talks and lectures about the music of the Romantic period. Some events are held in Convocation Hall at McMaster, while others will take place at Centenary United Church (on Main St. near James St.) and Christ's Church Cathedral on James St. North.

Admission is free to festival events for students, while for others, the registration fee of $100 gives admission to all performances. Alternatively, non-students can pay $20 for admission to a single (morning or afternoon) session.

This year's festival includes a host of musical treats from the Romantic era, says Palmer, including several pieces not commonly heard in live performances: lieder (songs) by Brahms, Schumann, Liszt, Rachmaninov and Hugo Wolf; harp music by Liszt; music for violin and piano by Saint-Saens and Respighi; piano music by Mendelssohn, Schumann and Liszt (including an entire concert devoted to Liszt's brilliant Hungarian Rhapsodies, played by eight different pianists); and orchestral music including Schubert's 9th symphony and Chopin's 2nd piano concerto. On the Thursday evening of the festival, there is a concert in Hamilton Place by the Hamilton Philharmonic performing Beethoven's 3rd piano concert, Schumann's Rhenish symphony, and a piece by much-loved Canadian composer Healey Willan. (This concert, along with the banquet that concludes the festival, is not included in the festival registration fee.)

For further information, including program and registration information, visit www.artset.net/greatromantics.html.