Plush Festival is a concert series which takes place each summer in the village of

Plush Plush (from French language, French ) is a textile having a cut nap (textile), nap or pile (textile), pile the same as fustian or velvet. Its softness of feel gave rise to the adjective "plush" to describe something soft or luxurious, which was e ...

, situated in the county of

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

, southwest England. The festival runs over selected weekends from June to September and features programmes of classical, contemporary and jazz music. It has a resident Plush Ensemble.

History

Plush Festival was founded in 1995 by the conductor William Lacey and the cellist Adrian Brendel, who is the festival's music director, and son of

Alfred Brendel Alfred Brendel KBE (born 5 January 1931) is an Austrian classical pianist, poet, author, composer, and lecturer who is known particularly for his performances of Mozart, Schubert, Schoenberg, and Beethoven.Stephen Plaistow"Brendel, Alfred" ''G ...

. Starting as an informal

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...

performance, it has since developed into a concert series. Concerts take place in the former church of St John the Baptist, restored from dereliction in 1992 and transformed into a concert hall and recording studio. The musicians live and rehearse in the

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

nearby. Over the past fourteen years the music of some 80 composers have been performed by over 100 musicians from around the world, including notable premieres from

Harrison Birtwistle Sir Harrison Birtwistle (15 July 1934 – 18 April 2022) was an English composer of contemporary classical music best known for his operas, often based on mythological subjects. Among his many compositions, his better known works include ''Th ...

and

Kit Armstrong Kit Armstrong ( zh, c=周善祥, p=Zhōu Shànxiáng, born March 5, 1992) is an American classical pianist, composer, and former child prodigy of British-Taiwanese parentage. Education Armstrong was born in Los Angeles into a non-musical famil ...

Programmes

Recent seasons have included premieres from Birtwistle and George Kroell (2006); Lieder programmes from

Mark Padmore Mark Padmore (born 8 March 1961) is a British tenor appearing in concerts, recitals, and opera. He was born in London on 8 March 1961, and raised in Canterbury, Kent, England. Padmore studied clarinet and piano prior to his gaining a choral s ...

and

Till Fellner Till Fellner (born 9 March 1972) is an Austrian pianist. Biography Till Fellner was born in Vienna and studied at the Konservatorium der Stadt Wien with Helene Sedo-Stadler, and subsequently with Alfred Brendel, Meira Farkas, Oleg Maisenberg ...

; appearances from the Kuss,

Vertavo String Quartet Vertavo String Quartet is a Norwegian group founded in Hamar in 1984. The four women forming the quartet are Øyvor Volle, Annabelle Meare, Berit Cardas, and Bjørg Lewis. They appeared on the album ''A Portrait of Jon Larsen ''A Portrait of Jon ...

and Szymanowski Quartets; piano recitals by Paul Lewis, Aleksandar Madzar,

Nicholas Angelich Nicholas Michael Angelich (December 14, 1970 – April 18, 2022) was an American pianist. He was noted for performing internationally with ensembles from Europe and North America. Early life Angelich was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on December 14 ...

and

(in his final performing year, 2008); and concerts by the John Taylor Trio, Ensemble Raro, and the resident Plush Ensemble.

References

{{reflist Music festivals in Dorset Classical music festivals in England Recurring events established in 1995