Hatfield House

The Hatfield House Chamber Music Festival celebrated its 10^th anniversary this autumn with five full days of concerts, masterclasses, talks, schools events and a family concert.

We’re delighted to be able to share three films of performances taken at this year’s event. The films will be released for free viewing over the weekend of 26 – 28 November 2021.

Friday 26 November 7pm
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

We’d like to thank everyone who took part in this year’s Festival, whether in the audience, on the stage or behind the scenes. All those who simply made our 10th anniversary so special. Thank you also to our very generous funders and supporters without whom the Festival could not have taken place. And of course a big thank you to Lord and Lady Salisbury who not only hosted the concerts and welcomed the audiences into their beautiful home, but also looked after the resident artists for the duration of the Festival.

If you haven’t done so already, please put next year’s dates into your diaries: Thursday 29 September – Sunday 2 October 2022. We have already started to plan the line-up, so please renew your Friends subscriptions, or consider joining for the first time, so that we can plan next year with confidence. 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. We look forward to seeing you all again in person in the autumn for our 10th anniversary celebrations.