{"id":28119,"date":"2026-06-01T13:18:20","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T12:18:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/?p=28119"},"modified":"2026-06-01T13:18:22","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T12:18:22","slug":"music-at-paxton-celebrates-20th-anniversary-with-landmark-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/music-at-paxton-celebrates-20th-anniversary-with-landmark-festival\/","title":{"rendered":"Music At Paxton Celebrates 20th\u00a0Anniversary With Landmark Festival"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The 20th anniversary Music at Paxton programme is both a celebration of the festival\u2019s past &#8211; distinguished returning&nbsp;artists include&nbsp;<strong>Angela Hewitt,&nbsp;Roderick&nbsp;Williams and Iain Burnside, Chiaroscuro Quartet<\/strong>,<strong>&nbsp;Gould Piano Trio<\/strong>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<strong>Steven Osborne<\/strong>&nbsp;&#8211; and a vision of an exciting future with a distinctly Scottish flavour &#8211; guitarist&nbsp;<strong>Samrat Majumder<\/strong>,&nbsp;<strong>Lumas Winds<\/strong>, cellist&nbsp;<strong>Hugh Mackay<\/strong>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<strong>Ensemble Jackalope<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Running from 17 to 26 July in the Scottish Borders, the 10-day festival takes place at Paxton House and venues across the surrounding area, presenting world-class performances in intimate settings and demonstrating a commitment to access and participation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The 20th anniversary programme reflects the festival\u2019s core strengths &#8211; piano recitals, chamber music and song &#8211; while broadening its scope through new collaborations and repertoire spanning eight centuries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Festival highlights<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The 2026 festival opens with pianist\u00a0<strong>Steven Osborne<\/strong>, whose programme moves from Schubert &#8211; including new song transcriptions by Steven &#8211; to Beethoven\u2019s Diabelli Variations, one of the defining works of the piano repertoire.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Baroque specialists the\u00a0<strong>Dunedin Consort<\/strong>\u00a0present a programme of trio sonatas and instrumental works by Corelli, Handel and Vivaldi, offering a snapshot of 18th-century European style, with director John Butt also offering a Sunday morning solo harpsichord recital, \u00a0while the\u00a0<strong>Gould Piano Trio<\/strong>\u00a0bring together Haydn, Schumann, Mendelssohn and Sir James MacMillan\u2019s second Piano Trio, composed especially for the Goulds.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Beethoven\u2019s late quartets form the centre of a two-concert residency from the\u00a0<strong>Chiaroscuro Quartet<\/strong>, featuring two late works (Op.132 and Op.135) and additional quartets by Haydn and Mendelssohn.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Newly appointed BBC New Generation Artist\u00a0<strong>Samrat Majumder<\/strong>, guitar, traces a line from Renaissance Spain to the early 20th century, featuring works by Narv\u00e1ez, Dowland, Sor and Granados. \u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Wind ensemble\u00a0<strong>Lumas Winds<\/strong>\u00a0present a wide-ranging programme from Bernstein and Holst to Ligeti and Arnold, while\u00a0<strong>Ensemble Jackalope<\/strong>\u00a0showcase piano quartets by Bridge, Schumann and Faur\u00e9. Baritone\u00a0<strong>Roderick\u00a0Williams\u00a0<\/strong>and pianist\u00a0<strong>Iain Burnside\u00a0<\/strong>explore evocative British and American poetry from the turn of the 19th\/20th\u00a0century set to music by the greatest composers of the era, and the festival closes with young Borders cellist\u00a0<strong>Hugh Mackay\u00a0<\/strong>playing unaccompanied Bach, and a recital of music by Bach, Schumann, Couperin and Ravel performed by international-acclaimed pianist\u00a0<strong>Angela Hewitt<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Marking Music at Paxton\u2019s 20th\u00a0anniversary, this year sees the launch of\u00a0<strong><em>Take Your Seat<\/em><\/strong>, offering 20 free tickets for under 26\u2019s for every concert.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Song and storytelling<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A central strand of the festival has always been song. This year, baritone\u00a0<strong>Roderick\u00a0Williams<\/strong>\u00a0and pianist<strong>Iain Burnside<\/strong>\u00a0present\u00a0<em>From the Forest of Dean to the Appalachians<\/em>, tracing connections between English song, American poetry and folk traditions, with music by Vaughan Williams, Holst, Bliss and others alongside American spirituals arranged by\u00a0Roderick.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Festival finale:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The closing weekend features solo Bach from cellist\u00a0<strong>Hugh Mackay<\/strong>, followed by a final recital from pianist<strong>Angela Hewitt<\/strong>, whose programme pairs Bach with Schumann, Couperin and Ravel.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Beyond the main stage<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Alongside the core programme, Music at Paxton continues its work with local communities and young audiences, with free and informal performances, family events and partnerships with Live Music Now Scotland. As in previous years, the festival offers direct and intimate connection between artists and audiences.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Music at Paxton at 20<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since founding in 2006, Music at Paxton has grown from three events over one weekend, to more than 24 events featuring 37 professional musicians over ten days. 2016 was the first year the festival ran the free taster concerts in May and June, Music at Paxton Plus, in association with Live Music Now Scotland. During its 20 years, Music at Paxton has programmed more than 400 performances from over 600 artists and has become a firm fixture in the UK chamber music calendar, known for the quality of its programming and the character of its setting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Artistic Director&nbsp;<strong>Angus Smith<\/strong>&nbsp;said:&nbsp;<em>Our 20 year celebration is founded on our core programming principles: inviting established, brilliant and engaging musicians to perform in the glorious setting of Paxton House for the enjoyment of people who live in the Border region, and giving a platform to outstanding young musicians whose appreciation of the opportunity we can provide is evident in their inspirational performances.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Main festival programme<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Friday 17 July at 7.30pm, pianist&nbsp;<strong>Steven Osbourne<\/strong>\u2019s recital opens with his own original perspective on an isolated movement and two late songs by Franz Schubert from the Schwanengesang collection that was posthumously published. The programme also features Beethoven\u2019s monumental \u2018Diabelli\u2019 Variations.There is a short informal Q&amp;A after the concert.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In association with Live Music Now Scotland, duo&nbsp;<strong>Rachel Campbell<\/strong>, accordion\/piano and&nbsp;<strong>Holli Scott<\/strong>&nbsp;fiddle,&nbsp;are an exciting new addition to the Scottish traditional&nbsp;music scene, drawing on their shared roots in Argyll to create a fresh and expressive blend of instrumental music and vocals&nbsp;on Saturday 18 July at 1.30pm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Haddington\u2019s\u2019&nbsp;<strong>Hadley Court Singers<\/strong>, directed by&nbsp;<strong>Kit Hobkirk<\/strong>, head to the historic riverside setting of St Cuthbert\u2019s Church in Norham on Saturday 18 July at 5.00pm for a glorious programme of late Italian Renaissance works by Palestrina \u2013 including his sublime Stabat Mater \u2013 and Gesualdo, alongside magnificent motets and songs by Stanford and Parry. This concert is free (booking advised).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>John Butt<\/strong>&nbsp;directs one of the world\u2019s most exciting Baroque ensembles,&nbsp;<strong>Dunedin Consort<\/strong>, in an exploration of outstanding works featured in the sale catalogues of family duo Estienne Roger and Michel-Charles Le C\u00e8ne, prolific printers and publishers of music in Amsterdam. The concert, on Saturday 18 July at 7.30pm, features work by Torelli, Corelli Froberger, Albinoni and Vivaldi amongst others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>John Butt<\/strong>, harpsichord, returns on Sunday 19 July at 11.30am for an entertaining tour of important 17th and early 18th century European musical centres, commencing with a whimsical suite of dances by French composer Louis Couperin, followed by short stopovers in Italy and England, and arriving in Germany for a selection of Preludes and Fugues from Bach\u2019s monumental Well-Tempered Clavier Book I.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Gould Piano Trio<\/strong>&nbsp;take to the stage on Sunday 19 July at 3.30pm for James MacMillan\u2019s Piano Trio No.2, a joint commission from the Gould Trio and Bath International Festival. The trios, chosen for this performance for their sunny disposition and high spirits, also include Haydn\u2019s Piano Trio No.44 and Schumann\u2019 Piano Trio No.2 &#8211; described by the composer as having a \u201cfriendlier and more immediate impression\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The festival is delighted to welcome the&nbsp;<strong>Chiaroscuro Quartet<\/strong>&nbsp;back for two performances that can be enjoyed individually or as a musical sequence. On Tuesday 21 July at 7.30pm the group perform a trio of Beethoven Quartets: from the early genial Quartet in D, to his upbeat and final completed composition, Quartet in F, and his dark and brooding Quartet in A minor, famous for its striking \u2018Chorale hymn of thanksgiving for recovery from illness\u2019 &#8211; considered by many to be one of Beethoven\u2019s greatest creations. There is also a short informal Q&amp;A after the concert.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Wednesday 22 July,&nbsp;<strong>Chiaroscuro Quartet<\/strong>&nbsp;head to Duns Parish Church at 11.00am for a witty, energetic quartet by Haydn, the first of a set of six that has been grouped as the \u2018Sun\u2019 quartets for their genial disposition, and Mendelssohn\u2019s Quartet in A minor, written when the composer was just 18.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Scottish-Indian guitarist (YCAT Artist, Classic FM Rising Star, BBC New Generation Artist)&nbsp;<strong>Samrat Majumder<\/strong>, makes his festival debut on Wednesday 22 July at 7.30pm. His programme offers a dynamic selection of guitar repertoire stretching from England to Germany, and from Spain to Paraguay. Praised for his range of expression and beauty of tone, Samrat has also received great acclaim for his sensitive transcriptions and beautiful interpretations of Schubert songs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Amyas Ensemble<\/strong>&nbsp;are joined by members of St Cuthbert\u2019s Church Choir in Northam on Thursday 23 July at 5.00pm for \u2018Meditatio\u2019, an evocative programme inviting listeners into a world of devotion, landscape and quiet wonder, inspired by the life of St Cuthbert of Lindisfarne. At its heart are chants dedicated to the saint that have not been heard in nearly 1,000 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Lumas Winds<\/strong>&nbsp;high-octane programme, on Thursday 23 July at 7.30pm, is packed with a sparkling mix of lively mid-20th century pieces, contrasting with the calm beauty and elegance of works by Bach and Holst. As winners of the 71st Royal Over-Seas League Mixed Ensemble Prize, the quintet are praised for lively performance style and enterprising in their choice of repertoire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Friday 24 July at 7.30pm, baritone&nbsp;<strong>Roderick&nbsp;Williams<\/strong>&nbsp;and pianist&nbsp;<strong>Iain Burnside<\/strong>&nbsp;have devised a wonderful programme, From the Forest of Dean to the Appalachians, to transport audiences across land, seas and time. Shining a reflective light on an age before and after the turn of the 20th century, this concert features music by Vaughan Williams, Holst, Bliss and others alongside spirituals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Roderick&nbsp;Williams<\/strong>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<strong>Iain Burnside<\/strong>&nbsp;return on Saturday 25 July at 11.00am for a Masterclass with young singers beginning their musical careers, sharing insights on interpretation and presentation. The Masterclass is free entry for Friday night concert ticket holders when booked at same time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Aberdeenshire harpist,&nbsp;<strong>Rachel Groves<\/strong>, performs on Saturday 25 July at 1.30pm in association with Live Music Now Scotland. Rooted in Scottish traditional music, she draws on influences from classical, jazz and global folk styles as a platform for exploring the rich textural range of her instrument.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Ensemble Jackalope<\/strong>&nbsp;bring an invigorating brilliance to the Piano Quartet repertoire on Saturday 25 July at 7.30pm. Frank Bridge\u2019s 1910 quartet packed with immense energy, is followed by Faur\u00e9\u2019s expansive and ardent work and Schumann\u2019s Quartet &#8211; full of spirit and vitality. There is a short informal Q&amp;A after the concert.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Scottish cellist&nbsp;<strong>Hugh Mackay<\/strong>&nbsp;is rapidly establishing a fine reputation as a soloist and chamber musician across Europe. On Sunday 26 July at 11.30am, he performs the very essence of Bach -Cello Suits No 2 and No 3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Internationally acclaimed pianist&nbsp;<strong>Angela Hewitt<\/strong>&nbsp;closes the festival on Sunday 26 July at 3.30pm with a programme especially apt as the beautiful Paxton Picture Gallery takes on a new lease of life as the Ballroom. Dance rhythms lie at the heart of this concert, featuring Bach\u2019s Partita No.5, Schumann\u2019s Piano Sonata in G Minor, Fran\u00e7ois Couperin\u2019s \u2018From the Sixi\u00e8me Ordre\u2019 and Ravel\u2019s Le Tombeau de Couperin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Artistic Director, Angus Smith, added:&nbsp;<em>We are delighted and proud to present our 20th Anniversary festival and believe the programme will stir emotions and bring many smiles to faces. We owe much to the dedication and hard work of those who first contemplated and launched the festival, and to everyone tasked with devising and delivering the exceptional musical experiences in the years since that have established Music at Paxton as an essential part of the UK\u2019s summer music festival calendar.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Music at Paxton is committed to attracting new and younger audiences, and is proud to launch&nbsp;<strong><em>Take Your Seat<\/em><\/strong>, a new scheme offering 20 free tickets for under 26\u2019s for every concert as part of the 20th anniversary celebrations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Once again in association with Live Music Now Scotland and Paxton House, the festival has a number of short and accessible concerts designed for children and their families. On Sunday 3 May at 3.00pm,&nbsp;<strong>Haver String Quartet<\/strong>&nbsp;perform a genre-crossing programme embracing classical, folk and original compositions. On Sunday 7 June at 3.00pm,&nbsp;<strong>The Morris McIntyre<\/strong><strong>Duo&nbsp;<\/strong>present an irresistible mix of classical, traditional folk and feel-good songs, and on Sunday 21 June at 12.00 noon and 2.00pm, Mairi McGillivray and Katie Allen\u2019s&nbsp;<strong>Mini Concerts for Families<\/strong>&nbsp;in association with The Maltings at Hide Hill are relaxed sessions where the littlest audience members can join in with interactive performances of beautiful traditional tunes. Both<strong>Rachel and Holli<\/strong>&nbsp;on Saturday 18 July at 1.30pm and&nbsp;<strong>Rachel Groves<\/strong>&nbsp;on Saturday 25 July at 1.30pm are family friendly concerts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The 20th anniversary Music at Paxton programme is both a celebration of the festival\u2019s past &#8211; distinguished returning&nbsp;artists include&nbsp;Angela Hewitt,&nbsp;Roderick&nbsp;Williams and Iain Burnside, Chiaroscuro Quartet,&nbsp;Gould Piano Trio&nbsp;and&nbsp;Steven Osborne&nbsp;&#8211; and a vision of an exciting future with a distinctly Scottish flavour &#8211; guitarist&nbsp;Samrat Majumder,&nbsp;Lumas Winds, cellist&nbsp;Hugh Mackay&nbsp;and&nbsp;Ensemble Jackalope. Running from 17 to 26 July in the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[9,37],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28119","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-news","category-newsletter","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"simon","author_link":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/author\/simon\/"},"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcv15g-7jx","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28119","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28119"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28119\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28120,"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28119\/revisions\/28120"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28119"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28119"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28119"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}