Beginning on 10 October 2024 and running for two weeks (until 24 October), the City Festival of Music, Invention and Knowledge (CFMIK) programme promises an exciting programme of evening events performed and presented by world-class classical and jazz musicians, plus a series of free, Before They Are Famous lunchtime recitals, given by some of the UK’s brightest musical talents, in the beautiful and historic settings of Sir Christopher Wren’s (1632-1723) churches.
There’s a decidedly Italian flavour to the Festival, not least inspired by the current Lord Mayor of London’s heritage. Michael Mainelli can trace his roots back to Liguria and, as part of his year-long mayoral theme of Connect to Prosper, the City Festival of Music, Invention and Knowledge, has forged a partnership with the Municipality of Genoa (Comune di Genoa) to bring the music of Niccolò Paganini (1782-1840) into the heart of the City.
Paganini was born in Genoa and fans of the great composer’s music will feel particularly spoiled, as the entire programme of concerts will contain flavours of his work – in original, arranged or improvised pieces – in each performance, including the free events supported by the Comune di Genoa.
Highlights of the new Festival include the opening concert in Mansion House (on Thursday 10 October), featuring the great British jazz pianist Julian Joseph, with an exciting new band, playing specially-written music and improvised versions of scores by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) and Paganini, enhanced by the immersive technology of the incredible d&b Sounsdscape system, which will effectively envelope the audience in the glorious music, as they sit in the magnificent Egyptian Hall of Mansion House.
Innovative Genoese performers, Elisa Tomellini and Alberto Casadei – AKA Eklectric Duo – will be playing in Milton Court (on Wednesday 16 October), with a performance billed as Electric Paganini. This varied evening will delight music lovers with Paganini’s Cantabile and Variations on one String on a Theme by Rossini through to versions of Vivaldi, Daft Punk and Coldplay hits.
In contrast, the Italian port city’s present-day guitar maestro, Josè Spanu, will play an historic 19th Century instrument, presenting virtuoso sonatas by Paganini and arrangements of operas by his contemporaries, Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868) and Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) on Thursday 17 October, in the beautiful setting of St James Garlickhythe.
Another must-see-and-hear will be The Flower of Cities on Tuesday 22 October, in historic St Mary-le-Bow. This event showcases the music of Stephen Goss, who is regarded as Britain’s foremost living composer for classical guitar and, as such, is extremely well known among the guitar fraternity. In 2012, the great guitarist John Williams commissioned Goss to write a new piece for him to perform with a handpicked ensemble, resulting in The Flower of Cities, a delightful musical map of various London landmarks and streets. Introduced by the now retired Williams, the concert also celebrates Paganini in a brilliant set of Variations, with a virtuoso performance by Max Baillie (violin) and Francisco Correa (guitar). Goss’ Frozen Music, which reflects Goethe’s maxim that “architecture is frozen music” will also be performed.
The concluding day of the Festival (Thursday 24 October) will see the renowned conductor of the Tenebrae Choir, Nigel Short, lead a workshop and short performance of Vivaldi’s Gloria by a collective of workplace choirs, at St Lawrence Jewry.
During the evening – themed Bee for Bach – Professor Milton Mermikides (who will have discussed the Divine Trickery of JS Bach, in his Gresham Lecture the day before) will talk about the music and dance of bees in a programme, which includes Paganini’s most famous 24th Caprice, the coded chorales embedded in Bach’s famous D minor Partita for solo violin and the equally hidden architectural proportions of an early Renaissance choral masterpiece, Nuper Rosarium Flores, by the early Renaissance, Burgundian composer Guillaume Dufay ((C.1397-1474). The concert features feature virtuosic violin playing by Benjamin Marquise Gilmore (Leader of the London Symphony Orchestra) and singing by Tenebrae.
Although music is at its very heart, the new festival also draws inspiration from other aspects of City life. As the famous diarist Samuel Pepys noted in an entry on Wednesday 8 August 1666: “Up, and … walk as far as the Temple, doing some business in my way …, and I took coach, having first discoursed with Mr. Hooke a little, whom we met in the streete, about the nature of sounds, and he did make me understand the nature of musicall sounds made by strings, mighty prettily; and told me that having come to a certain number of vibrations proper to make any tone, he is able to tell how many strokes a fly makes with her wings (those flies that hum in their flying) by the note that it answers to in musique during their flying.”
As such, there is something for everyone to experience, discover and enjoy, including a series of complementary talks and workshops, with opportunities to appreciate the nature and beauty of the City, and uncover the histories and hidden mysteries of the music itself.
As Ian Ritchie, Artistic Director of the new City Festival of Music, Invention & Knowledge explains: “Pepys’ diary entry, made just three weeks before the Great Fire of London, is fascinating and relates directly to my main themes for the Festival. The same Mr Hooke, or more accurately Dr Robert Hooke (1635-1703), subsequently worked with Wren on building the Monument – not only to mark the Great Fire but also as a science laboratory and astronomical telescope! Wren was also a ‘natural philosopher’, who as a student invented the transparent bee hive so he could study them at work – like Hooke, recognising their musical behaviour and indeed their dances. I had the pleasure of providing and overseeing the installation of beehives in a number of City locations, including Mansion House, in 2010 and to this day, they remain making honey. After all, this is a City where people make money and bees make honey! Our final concert incudes a new choral work depicting bees and we will also have a talk on the subject during the evening – sponsored appropriately by the Worshipful Company of Wax Chandlers.”
The Festival of Music, Invention & Knowledge is supported by the Lord Mayor, Michael Mainelli, as part of his mayoral theme Connect to Prosper, the City of London’s Destination City programme, and the Comune of Genoa. Curated by artistic director Ian Ritchie, and produced by Tessa Marchington, Music in Offices.
The Festival’s Patron, The Right Honourable Lord Mayor of London, Michael Mainelli says: “I am delighted to see this new Festival happening in the City of London during the final weeks of my year as Lord Mayor. It reflects the nature of our ‘Square Mile’ as a trading place and cultural destination, internationally and locally. Through music and other arts, it amplifies and celebrates the City as a global hub for experimentation and invention, science and technology, education and knowledge – some key themes of my mayoralty.
I am especially pleased that this carefully curated and really exciting programme draws the Cities of London and Genoa even closer together in a rich creative partnership, with every concert and talk touched in some historical or innovative way by the musical legacy of the legendary Paganini, Genoa’s most famous son.”
