Hatfield House

The Hatfield House Chamber Music Festival celebrates its 11^th anniversary from Thursday 29 September – Sunday 2 October 2022 with four full days of concerts, masterclasses, talks, schools events and a family concert. We’re delighted to reveal the exciting line up here.

General booking for all events is now open! 

And why not catch up on the 2021 films as well…

Brahms Piano Quartet in G minor No 1, Op. 25
Performed by Magnus Johnston violin, Brett Dean viola, Guy Johnston cello and Tom Poster piano.

Saturday 27 November 7pm
Poulenc Trio for Oboe, bassoon and piano, FP43
Brett Dean Demons for solo flute
André Caplet Quintet for Piano and Winds, Op.8
Performed by Orsino Ensemble and Tom Poster piano

Sunday 28 November 7pm
Shostakovich String Quartet No 7 in F sharp minor, Op. 108
Stephen Johnson Angel’s Arc for clarinet and string quartet
Dvořák String Quartet in F, Op. 96, American
Performed by the Carducci Quartet

Have you considered supporting the Festival? We would love to hear from you.

All details of the Friends and Patrons Scheme can be found on our supporters page. Your donations make such a difference to the future of this Festival and we appreciate your support hugely.

Join our e-newsletter to be amongst the first to hear. The Festival also plans to record selected performances and release them shortly after the live Festival events.

… and the Festival to date

Inspiration to start a festival came to me almost 10 years ago. I was travelling back from a performance at ‘Music in Great Irish Houses’ when I was reminded of the extraordinary historic houses in my home county of Hertfordshire.

I was introduced to our board member, Nick Moorhouse who was, at the time, working at Hatfield House and, later, to Lord and Lady Salisbury, who were enthusiastic about formally reintroducing music into their home. I couldn’t have imagined a more inspirational setting for making music. Hatfield House, with its Marble Hall, the Old Palace, the Chapel and other various rooms in the House, is truly breathtaking. I am delighted with what we have managed to achieve over the years.

Looking back at the last decade, we are proud to have hosted an extraordinary list of ensembles, artists and speakers including the Sixteen, Kings College Choir, the Aurora Orchestra, Alison Balsom, Melvyn Tan, Lawrence Power, Anthony Marwood, the Navarra and Endellion Quartets, Kristian Bezuidenhout, Angela Hewitt, Tom Poster, Rachel Podger, Sheku Kanneh Mason, Michael Collins, Sir Nicholas Kenyon, Sean Rafferty, Sam West, Brett Dean, Ian Bostridge, plus local artists including Susannah Stranders, Julian Bliss, and the Herts chorus.

Our Festival themes have included ‘Remembrance’ to commemorate WW1, ‘Vienna’, ‘Inspired by Bach’, ’Brahms and Friends’ and, more recently, ‘Pour l’Amour de la Musique’.

It has been very exciting to watch our education work evolve and grow. Led by local musician Jill Knight, the programme offers opportunities to hundreds of school children from the surrounding area, while also building collaborations with the Purcell School and Hertfordshire Music Services.

None of this would have been possible without all the incredible efforts of our founding team, festival managers, the board of trustees, funders, Festival Friends and Patrons, and volunteers. It has truly been the greatest privilege working with everyone to realise our dream of bringing memorable musical experiences to Hatfield House.

Sincere thanks to our audience for supporting this special Festival and, of course, to Lord and Lady Salisbury for making us feel so welcome in their home.