Welcome.
I’m delighted to present the 2026 Bath International Music Festival, one of the UK’s most exciting cultural celebrations, still dazzling audiences in its 78th year. There’s something for everyonefrom orchestra to solo recital, and from chamber music to choral music and jazz performed by the finest of British and international artists.
Bring family and friends and dive into this spectacular programme.
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Saturday 30 May
Richard Goode plays Beethoven
St Mary’s Church, Bathwick | 7–9pm
£45, £35, £25, £12 | £12 conc* | BFM1
Piano Sonata No 30 in E major Op 109
Piano Sonata No 31 in A flat major Op 110
Piano Sonata No 32 in C minor Op 111
A truly great pianist plays three of Beethoven’s greatest works.
Sponsored by Lady Evelyn Strasburger
Sunday 31 May
Mark Simpson
Clarinet Recital
With Ian Buckle, piano
St Swithin’s Church | 3–5pm
£45, £35, £25 | £12 conc* | BFM6
Brahms: Clarinet Sonata in F minor Op 120 No 1
Brahms: Clarinet Sonata in E Flat Major Op 120 No 2
With works by Mark Simpson, Gary Carpenter and Stephen Pratt
Winner of both BBC Young Musician and BBC Young Composer, Mark Simpson is in demand world-wide as a virtuoso clarinettist and one of the foremost composers of today.
Royal Northern Sinfonia play Bach and Handel
Maria Włoszczowska, violin/director
St Mary’s Church, Bathwick | 7.30–9:30pm £45, £35, £25, £12 | £12 conc* | BFM2
Music by Bach and Handel including Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No 3, his E major violin concerto and the famous Air on the G string
We welcome the Royal Northern Sinfonia to Bath this wonderful programme of Bach and Handel.
Sponsored by
Monday 1 June
Coffee Concert 1
Ethan Loch Piano Recital
Coffee and cakes served from 11am
St Swithin’s Church | 11.30am–12:30pm £32, £25, £20 | £12 conc* | BFM7
Music by Liszt, Chopin, Debussy, Gluck and Ethan Loch
Blind since birth, Ethan Loch is a phenomenon. A Grand Finalist of BBC Young Musician of the Year at the age of 18.
Sponsored by The William Gibbs Trust
Secret Byrd
Bath Abbey | 6.30–7:50pm & 9.30–10:50pm
£55 | No concs | BFM3
Gesualdo Six | Fretwork Concert Theatre Works | Bill Barclay Director
Hear Byrd’s Mass for 5 Voices as he originally intended: sung in secret in private homes with smuggled priests, hidden Catholic artifacts and the constant danger of discovery and arrest.
In this immersive candlelit performance, soup and bread foster a sense of ritual and inclusivity, and the audience roam freely around the costumed artists.
How To Make An Opera
Mark Simpson and Melanie Challenger
St Swithin’s Church | 3–4:30pm £15 | £12 conc* | BFM20
Join composer Mark Simpson and librettist Melanie Challenger in conversation about the composer/librettist dynamic. They will delve into the themes and ideas that excite them, and talk about their award-winning collaborations.
To book & for more info: 01225 463362
“Profound, spiritual and beautiful.”
The Financial Times
“Effortless perfection.”
The Observer
Promenade performance. Some seats available for those unable to stand.
Sponsored by Marian McNeir MBE
Tuesday 2 June
Jean-Efflam Bavouzet:
The Complete Piano Works of Ravel
St Mary’s Church, Bathwick | 6pm–9pm
£45, £35, £25, £12 | £12 conc* | BFM4
An extraordinary journey that traces the development of this effervescent composer from youth to maturity. To perform this complete cycle in one concert is quite remarkable.
Sponsored by William and Wera Hobhouse
James Pearson and Friends present 125 Years of Jazz Piano
The Pump Rooms | 9:30pm–11pm
£30, £20 | £12 conc* | BFM8
Fresh from Ronnie Scott’s, James Pearson and his trio of world-class musicians take us on a whistle-stop tour through 125 years of jazz piano greats, celebrating the music of Jelly Roll Morton, Fats Waller, Art Tatum, George Shearing, Dave Brubeck, Oscar Peterson and more.
Wednesday 3 June
Music at the Red Hedgehog: ZRI Cellar Sessions
Komedia | 7pm–9pm
£33, £25, £12 | £12 conc* | BFM10
Classical and folk music intermingle. Schubert and Brahms were inspired by Hungarian gypsybands that played at The Red Hedgehog - a 19th-century Viennese tavern. Prepare to dance, laugh, holler, and maybe even shed a tear at this mixed programme, with music ranging from Bach to Donna Summer.
Wednesday 3 June
Coffee Concert 2
Ryan Wang Piano Recital
Coffee and cakes served from 11.00am
St Swithin’s Church | 11am–12:30pm
£32, £25, £20 | £12 conc* | BFM9
Schubert: Impromptus D 899
Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition
Winner of BBC Young Musician aged just 17, Canadian pianist Ryan Wang plays a truly wonderful programme.
Sponsored by The William Gibbs Trust
Wednesday 3 June
Tom Poster plays Nocturnes
The Pump Rooms | 9.30pm–10:30pm
£30, £20 | £12 conc* | BFM11
Music by Cole Porter, Grieg, Debussy, Mancini, Chopin, Gershwin, Szymanowska, Debussy, Fanny Mendelssohn, Grieg and Manning Sherwin
Pianist Tom Poster moves happily between classical and jazz genres. This atmospheric programme of music of, about and for the night, is interspersed with his own arrangements of gems from the Great American Songbook
Thursday 4 June
Van Baerle Trio I
St Swithin’s Church | 2.30pm–4:30pm £45, £35, £25 | £12 conc* | BFM12
Beethoven: Piano Trio in D major , Op 70 No 1
Schumann-Kirchner: 6 Canonic Studies , Op 5 Brahms: Piano Trio No. 1 in B major , Op 8
One of the world’s finest chamber ensembles, the Amsterdam-based Van Baerle Trio is named after the street in which the famous Concertgebouw Concert Hall is located. This is a programme bursting with atmosphere and sweeping romantic melodies.
Sponsored by Simon and Antonia Johnson.
Steven Osborne plays Schubert Piano Music
St Mary’s Church, Bathwick | 7–9pm £45, £35, £25, £12 | £12 conc* | BFM5
Piano Sonata in C minor D958
Piano Sonata in Bb major D960 With Lieder arranged by Steven Osborne
Schubert’s unforgettable late piano sonatas are timeless masterpieces that carry a bewildering range of emotions, from sunlight to tragedy, and from optimism to wistful resignation.
Sponsored anonymously
Thursday 4 June
Ryan Corbett: Virtuoso Accordion
The Pump Rooms | 9.30pm–10:30pm £30, £20 | £12 conc* | BFM13
Music by Bach, Franck, Rachmaninov, Weber and Zolotaryov
A tour de force by a true virtuoso. In Ryan Corbett’s hands the accordion is more of a symphony orchestra than a solo instrument. Prepare to be amazed.
Friday 5 June
Concert 3
Irène Duval: Virtuoso Violin
Coffee and cakes served from 11.00am
St Swithin’s Church | 11.30am–12:30pm £32, £25, £20 | £12 conc* | BFM14
Bach: Gigue and Chaconne from Partita No 2 Tartini: Devil’s Trill sonata
With works by Ysaÿe, Enescu, Schedrin, Guillaume and Milstein
Irene Duval is one of the most exciting young violinists around. Bach’s Chaconne is one of the peaks of the violin repertoire, and Tartini’s Devil’s Trill sonata was inspired by his dream of a satanic pact.
Sponsored by the William Gibbs Trust
Irène Duval
Friday 5 June
Ora Singers: The Spirit of Shakespeare
St Mary’s Church, Bathwick | 7pm–8:30pm £45, £35, £25, £12 | £12 conc* | BFM15
Suzi Digby, Conductor | Amanda Root, speaker
Musical settings of Shakespeare by Morley, Dove, Tavener, Bennet, Chilcott, Gibbons, Cavendish and others, with readings from a selection of the bard’s plays and sonnets.
A fabulous evening of Renaissance and contemporary choral music.
Saturday 6 June
Van Baerle Trio
II
St Swithin’s Church | 3pm–5pm £45, £35, £25 | £12 conc* | BFM16
Haydn: Piano Trio in E flat major, Hob. XV:30 Brahms: Piano Trio No. 3 in C minor, Op 101 Beethoven: Piano Trio in B flat major, Op 97 ‘Archduke’
Beethoven’s great piano trio is a timeless masterpiece. Haydn’s piano trios are some of his most joyous works, and Brahms’s late C Minor Trio has true autumnal beauty.
Sponsored by Morny Hay-Davison
Saturday 6 June
I Fagiolini: A Life in A Cappella
St Mary’s Church, Bathwick | 7:30pm–9:30pm £45, £35, £25, £12 | £12 conc* | BFM17
Robert Hollingworth, Director
Renaissance masterpieces from England and Spain, some of Monteverdi’s greatest madrigals with works by Joanna Marsh, Adrian Williams, Jean-Yves Daniel-Lesur and Beka Dhlamini.
In an age of AI, I Fagiolini is a hand-painted original. Hollingworth continues to rethink what a vocal group does, from unstageable a cappella, to cross-cultural projects and world première recordings.
Sunday 7 June
Brecon Baroque
St Swithin’s Church | 2:30pm–4:30pm £45, £35, £25 | £12 conc* | BFM18
Rachel Podger, director
Music by Handel, Lawes, Purcell, Locke, Barsanti, Blow and Geminiani and their distinguished contemporaries.
Award-winning Baroque violinist Rachel Podger and her vivacious Brecon Baroque uncover little known glories of early English instrumental music.
Sunday 7 June
How to book
Phone Bath Box Office: 01225 463362
Online bathboxoffice.org.uk
All orders are subject to a booking fee of £1.50.
*Usual concession prices offered see website for details. Free essential companion (carer) ticket available to those who need them across all prices.
Group discount: one free ticket for every ten purchased for the same event when booked at the same time.
Our Partners & Sponsors
Thank you for your support
Astor Piazzola
TANGO - the music and songs of
Komedia | 7.30pm–9:30pm £33, £25, £12 | £12 conc* | BFM19
Nicholas Mulroy, Tenor Bath Festival Tango Ensemble
Using the tango as his starting point, Piazzolla created a unique musical style – the Tango Nuevo. Accordionist Ryan Corbett and jazz pianist Fergus McCreadie lead this suberb ensemble. Nicholas Mulroy sings music by Gardel, Vargas, Ramirez and Piazzolla
Visit Bath Box Office counter, open Monday–Friday, 10am–5pm 1a Forum Buildings, St James’ Parade, BA1 1UG
Festival offer: book more, save more!
Bronze:
Silver: Gold:
5% discount when you buy tickets for three or more events
10% discount when you buy tickets for five or more events
15% discount when you buy tickets for eight or more events
Applies across both Music and Literature Festivals
Many thanks to all our Patrons and Friends and especially to our Funding Partners for their generous support across all our Festivals.
The Coles-Medlock Foundation
The Roper Rhodes Family Charitable Trust
David and Karin Embleton
Andrew Fletcher
Trevor Osborne
Elaine Marson
Jimmy and Hiroko Sherwin
Colin and Theresa Skellett
Ian Tarr
Chris May
And a big thank you to all our volunteers who give their time so generously. Cover artwork & brochure design: Lauren Millington | lauren-millington.design