56. Coffee Concert

Vivaldi was the classic performer-composer. He himself was a staggeringly brilliant violinist so he wrote fiendishly difficult music to show off his virtuosity. The four concertos here are all from L’Estro Armonico, a collection of twelve concertos he published in Amsterdam (the Italian printers were too unreliable) in 1711. It is vintage Vivaldi: lively, exuberant and brilliant allegros, spun‐out cantilenas in bel canto style, and a general feel of Italian passion and good humour.

Way, way back when the Festival began, there was no reliable harpsichord that we could use for creating a Baroque strand in the Festival. So we found a famous maker in UK, Michael Johnson by name, who had an instrument we could buy. And our good friends in Cork County Council with the help of the Arts Council stepped in and bought this lovely double manual harpsichord 25 years ago. We celebrate this milestone by commissioning the Cork composer Sam Perkin to write a work for harpsichord and lute.