The day-by-day itinerary including concert details.
12. DISCOVER THE PLACE
The Rhine Valley: vine-clad hills, castles and beautiful countryside.
14.
MEET THE MUSICIANS
International musicians of the highest calibre.
18.
ACCOMMODATION
Information about the ship.
Published: July 2025
20.
TRAVEL OPTIONS
A range of ways to travel to and from the festival.
21.
PRE-FESTIVAL TOUR
Extend your stay with a tour that has been designed to link with the festival.
22. BOOKING
Details of how to book, a booking form, and our terms and conditions.
THE RHINE PIANO FESTIVAL:
AN INTRODUCTION
A celebration of the most versatile of all instruments, this is our rst Rhine Festival to be solely dedicated to the piano.
No other instrument is as capable of producing such a variety of sound worlds, with no need for accompaniment to create utterly satisfying programmes, ranging from sonorous intimacy to dazzling complexity.
The modern grand piano’s monumental dynamic range and power paved the way for the first virtuosic superstars, Liszt the first and most obvious example (as we hear in the glittering pyrotechnics of his arrangement of the Valse from Gounod’s Faust ), but it also led to a gorgeous Romantic expressiveness, inward-looking and sublime (such as the timeless final movement of Schumann’s Fantasie).
We are pleased to announce a carefully curated programme that explores the magnificent range of piano repertoire, through nine private concerts: seven recitals by some of the finest pianists in the world of different generations (Elisabeth Leonskaja, Nelson Goerner, Mariam Batsashvili, Alexandra Dariescu, Jonathan Ferrucci, and former Leeds International Piano Competition winners Eric Lu and Jaeden Izik-Dzurko), and two where we delve into the piano’s role both in Lieder (with Julius Drake, Professor of Collaborative Piano) and the piano trio (with the Amatis Trio).
All concert venues are relatively small, and the audience is capped at not much over 100 people, leading to an informality and intimacy of musical communication which engenders a heightened artistic
experience. And to hear pianists of this stature all perform at such close proximity is a rare and wonderful experience.
Some locations resonate with the repertoire performed, such as Bach in the Baroque Schloss Mannheim; or Beethoven’s last piano sonata in the Beethovenhaus in Bonn. Others are chosen for their beauty or charm, to provide a stunning visual backdrop to the mixed programmes.
Daily talks by Dr Katy Hamilton illuminate and inform us, as we sail from Amsterdam to Basel, navigating the river which has acted as such an artery for cultural exchange in Europe over the centuries.
The MS Amadeus Riva acts as both hotel and principal means of transport, enabling the audience to attend all the concerts without having to change hotel or drive long distances. The experience differs significantly from conventional cruising in many ways: little regimentation, no obligatory seating plan, no on-board entertainment, minimal announcements –and absolutely no piped music!
There is also little to match the pleasure of a curated sequence of concerts in beautiful historic buildings. This event combines the two to produce an experience which is quite exceptional and unique.
THE FESTIVAL PACKAGE
The price includes:
— Nine private concerts in beautiful historic buildings.
— Daily talks on the music by Dr Katy Hamilton.
— Accommodation on a first-class river cruiser for 7 nights. See page 18.
— Return flights or trains between London and Amsterdam/Basel (reduced price if you arrange your own). See page 20.
— All meals, from dinner on the first day to breakfast on the last, with wine, and interval drinks.
— Coach travel between airport and ship, and to concert venues when not reached on foot.
— All tips, taxes and admission charges.
— The assistance of festival staff and a detailed programme booklet.
Optional extras:
— A pre-festival tour designed to combine with the festival, Art in the Netherlands . See page 21.
THE SPEAKER
Dr Katy Hamilton. Writer, broadcaster and musicologist, she has provided talks for, among others, Wigmore Hall, BBC Proms and the Oxford Lieder Festival.
A frequent contributor to BBC
Radio 3, Katy’s specialism is the music of the 19th and early 20th centuries, and she is the editor of Brahms in the Home and Concert Hall (2014) and Brahms in Context (2019). Katy has taught at the Royal College of Music, City Lit, and the Universities of Nottingham and Middlesex.
MARTIN RANDALL FESTIVALS
This festival has been devised and planned by Lizzie Watson. It follows the format that Martin Randall established 30 years ago with our first Danube Music Festival, of site-specific concerts for a private audience. Since then we have organised festivals along the Rhine, Franconia, Loire and Seine rivers, in Oxford, Suffolk, York, Lincoln, the Cotswolds and the West Country, to Seville, Toledo, Burgos, Santiago, Venice, Florence, Rome, Bologna, the Veneto, to St Petersburg, Prague, through Thuringia, and the Alentejo.
Meet the musicians. See pages 14-17 for their biographies.
Illustration:
The Rhine at Oberwesel, engraving by Captain Robert Batty 1825.
THE FESTIVAL PROGRAMME
Day 1
Monday 22 June
Amsterdam
Join one of our festival flights or trains (see page 20) or make your own way to the ship.
Amsterdam is as distinctive as it is beautiful. It grew rapidly in the 16th and 17th centuries from a small and precarious sea port to become the greatest trading emporium in Europe. With its concentric canals and close-set brick merchant houses, soaring churches and picturesque alleys, the inner city has hardly changed since its heyday.
Board the ship, MS Amadeus Riva , from 4.00pm. Afternoon tea is available. An early dinner precedes the concert.
Felix Meritis’ oval concert hall was the main music hall in Amsterdam until late into the 19th century and enjoyed a great international reputation. Many famous musicians performed there, including Robert and Clara Schumann, SaintSaëns and Brahms. The small hall of the Concertgebouw is a replica of the Felix Meritis concert hall, where our concert takes place.
Recital, 8,30pm:
Amsterdam, Felix Meritis Concert Hall
Eric Lu piano
This recital shows how Romantic composers made their music meaningful. Schumann’s Waldszenen Op.82 contains upbeat images of hunters, flowers and birds, whereas Scriabin’s Third Sonata Op.23 which begins the recital is a more intense depiction of a soul, variously tender, in torment, or triumphant. Rachmaninoff wrote his Études-Tableaux Op.33 with images in mind, but did
not publish the titles; No.3 is known by its solemn tempo marking, ‘Grave’. Chopin’s Polonaise Op.71 No.2 and Polonaise-Fantasy Op.61 start with dance frameworks, but move beyond them to decorated and improvisatory worlds.
Sail from Amsterdam to Wesel, departing in the late evening.
Illustration: Amsterdam, South Church from The World, Its Cities and Peoples
Day 2
Tuesday 23 June
Schloss Lembeck
Day 3
Wednesday 24 June
Bonn
Leave the Netherlands and enter Germany shortly after daybreak, sailing along the Lower Rhine throughout the rest of the morning. There is a talk and lunch, but otherwise free time until early afternoon.
Moor at Wesel and drive to Schloss Lembeck near Dorsten, a delightful moated Wasserschloss (‘water castle’) situated in a park. It dates from the 17th century and retains its historic character. Our recital takes place in a small hall hung with ancestral portraits. Due to the size of the hall, the recital is repeated.
Recital, 2.45pm or 4.45pm:
Schloss Lembeck, Festsaal
Alexandra Dariescu piano
Dariescu opens the jewel-box for a performance of sixteen glittering miniatures spanning three continents and four centuries to the present day. Familiar sounds of Bach fugue and Chopin prelude (including successors such as Carl Filtsch) are interwoven with characterful images such as Amy Beach’s ‘Harlequin’ (from her Children’s Carnival ) and Florence Price’s The Goblin and the Mosquito , or more lyrical works such as a Nocturne by Clara Schumann or a Romance by Germaine Tailleferre. Pieces by Enescu, Ciortea and Silvestri also showcase music of Dariescu’s native Romania.
Return to the ship in the evening and sail overnight from Wesel to Bonn.
Moor in Bonn just after breakfast.
Famously disparaged as a village by the diplomatic corps when it was capital, Bonn had in fact been a significant centre of culture while seat of the Elector Archbishops of Cologne in the early modern period. In the 18th century a second-rate tenor inclined to drink, named Johann van Beethoven, was employed at the archiepiscopal court. His son was a better musician. Today’s recitals take place in the Kammermusiksaal, a handsome modern chamber music hall attached to the Beethoven family home within walking distance of the mooring.
Recital, 11.00am:
Bonn, Beethoven Haus, Kammermusiksaal The Piano in Song
Julius Drake piano
Emily Sierra mezzo-soprano
Beethoven changed the course of music in so many ways but one of his lesser known achievements was writing in 1814/15 the first continuous ‘song cycle’. An die ferne Geliebte (To the distant Beloved) is a set of six songs to poems of Alois Jeitteles. Together they tell a story of yearning and hope and the songs, instead of being separate entities, are linked by the piano part into a musical whole.
After Beethoven’s cycle the flood gates were opened, most famously with Schubert’s Die Schöne Müllerin (1824) and Winterreise (1828), Schumann’s great cycles of 1840 ( Dichterliebe, Liederkreis, Frauenliebe und Leben), Brahms’ Die Schöne Magelone (1865) and the great cycles of Mahler in the early 20th century.
Return to the ship for lunch, or stay on in Bonn for some free time. Dinner is served on the ship before the evening recital.
Recital, 8.15pm:
Bonn, Beethoven Haus, Kammermusiksaal Elisabeth Leonskaja piano
Last works of any kind are always intriguing in terms of where composers finished, and this evening we hear three final piano sonatas. Mozart was still only 33 years old when he produced his hunt-inspired Sonata No.18, and had plans for another five sonatas to go with it. Schubert wrote his transcendent Sonata D.960 in his last few months, and was probably more aware of time running out. In contrast, Beethoven’s Op.111 came five years before his death, but the epic and spacious second movement became his farewell to the sonata genre.
Sail overnight from Bonn to Andernach.
THE FESTIVAL PROGRAMME
Day 4
Thursday 25 June
Burg Namedy
Burg Namedy, located near Andernach on the Rhine River, is a historic moated castle with origins dating back to the 14th century. Originally built by the Hausmann family, it was damaged during the Thirty Years’ War and later transformed into a Baroque palace by Johann Arnold von Solemacher in the 18th century. In 1909, Prince Carl Anton of Hohenzollern purchased the castle, restoring it and adding the Spiegelsaal (Hall of Mirrors) to the design. It is now the private residence of Princess Heide von Hohenzollern.
Recital, 10.30am:
Burg Namedy, Spiegelsaal
Mariam Batsashvili piano
Batsashvili’s programme uses four fireworks as frames for two pillars. The pure classical élan of Haydn’s Sonata in D major XVI:37 and fairy-spirited Mendelssohn Rondo capriccioso Op.14 lead us to one of the heftier solo works by Liszt, Après une lecture du Dante , pitting the torments of hell against the joys of heaven. Beethoven’s Sonata No.23 ‘Appassionata’ continues the turbulence, and we return to elegance with Chopin’s Andante spianato et grande polonaise brillante . It is matched in showmanship by Liszt’s Valse de Faust , bringing the concert to a barnstorming close.
‘A thoroughly enjoyable, very well organised trip with rstrate concerts in beautiful and interesting locations.
Day 5
Friday 26 June
Mannheim, Speyer
Arrive at Mannheim in the morning. The ship remains here until lunchtime.
Mannheim succeeded Heidelberg as the capital of the Palatinate, one of the richest and most culturally accomplished of the smaller states of Germany. In the mid18th century the court orchestra was famous throughout Europe; Mozart called it an army of generals. The great Baroque Schloss, within walking distance of the ship and venue for our concert, is one of the largest in Europe.
Recital, 11.00am:
Schloss Mannheim, Rittersaal
Jonathan Ferrucci piano
This recital traces the emergence of Bach’s keyboard practice. Ferrucci has described the early toccatas as “Bach’s laboratory” on his recent recording, with these experiments following through into the rich spectrum of dances that we find in the English Suites, written sometime in his thirties. Crowning Bach’s keyboard maturity is the highly unusual Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue , widely copied even in his lifetime for its extraordinary harmony. All of this is before he reached Leipzig and the hugely productive years to follow.
Sail over lunchtime from Mannheim to Speyer.
Coaches take us to the late-afternoon recital at Bruchsal. Residence of the Archbishops of Speyer, the Schloss was begun in 1720 and finished in 1746 after frequent changes of architect and plan. But the result is magnificent, with at its core the famous Baroque staircase designed by Balthasar Neumann.
The Kammermusiksaal (Chamber Music Hall) is a refined example of early Neoclassical design, featuring delicate yellow walls adorned with white and gold stucco decorations, including garlands and musical instruments, which highlight its original function as a venue for court music.
Recital, 4.00pm:
Schloss Bruchsal, Kammermusiksaal
Jaeden Izik-Dzurko piano
The works heard this afternoon demonstrate how varied Romanticism and virtuosity can be in different hands or at different times. Robert Schumann’s Fantasie Op.17 goes for grandeur, coded with personal messages for Clara about the anguish of separation. In contrast, Scriabin’s miniature Preludes burst with a fierce and almost mystical sense of freedom and creativity. Rachmaninoff expanded the Prelude frame for his Op.23 set, using the extra space to develop singing lines, while Franck’s et Fugue is more disciplined, turning inwards for its expressive effects.
Sail overnight from Speyer to Breisach.
Illustration: Schloss Bruchsal, Marble Hall, lithograph 1865
THE FESTIVAL PROGRAMME
Day 6
Saturday 27 June
Sankt Peter
Day 7
Sunday
Basel
28 June
A talk on the music takes place during morning sailing, before mooring at Breisach just after lunch. Drive to Sankt Peter im Schwarzwald, where our concert takes place.
A Benedictine Abbey until 1806 and a seminary until 2006, the buildings of the Abbey of St Peter comprise one of the most complete and well preserved examples of a late-Baroque (architecture) and Rococo (most of the decoration) abbey complex in Catholic Germany. The Fürstensaal (Hall of Princes) was used for receptions and festivities relating to the temporal role of the abbey.
Concert, 4.30pm:
St Peter im Schwarzwald, Fürstensaal The Piano Trio
Amatis Trio
This exploration of the piano trio format begins with the keyboard continuo version in a pair of lively Rameau dances. Haydn’s graceful Trio No.44 XV:28 showcases the possibilities for private music-making, while Beethoven’s Trio Op.1 No.1 demands more from its players in terms of long melodic lines and virtuosity.
The slow movement of Schumann’s Trio No.3 Op.110 adds a personal dimension in the form of a love duet that eventually explodes with passion. Mendelssohn’s Trio No.2 Op.66 then raises the stakes again, with its extremely fast tempos and complex textures taxing even professional players.
Spain.
Sail overnight from Breisach to Basel.
Drinks reception and final dinner on board, overnight Basel.
Illustration: Basel, steel engraving c. 1840
Day 8
Monday 29 June
Basel
Coach transfers depart between 8.30 and 9.30am. See page 20 for the flight and train options available for returning to London.
‘Exceptional! One of the best MRT adventures I have had. The musicians were rst class and the variety of performances were planned with great skill.’
The Rhine is one of the world’s great rivers; arguably no other has served such a prominent role in shaping the history and culture of a continent.
On the way from its source in the Swiss Alps to its extinction in the North Sea Basin, the Rhine traverses more than a thousand kilometres and passes through four countries.
For millennia the river has been a vital trading route, linking people across a broad stretch of Europe. At the same time it has always been a boundary, a border, demarcating cultures and nations and empires. It once constituted the Roman Empire’s northern frontier, and there is still much significant archaeology to be found along its banks.
Ready to book?
See page 22 for details.
We begin in the Rhine delta, and soon move into the charming scenery of the Lower Rhine. With pollarded willows and grazing cattle interspersed with building clusters of the once heavily industrialised Rhine-Ruhr valley, it is still the largest conurbation in Germany today, the river having once been the heart of Germany’s industrial revolution.
The river’s loveliness reaches a peak in the wine-producing region of the Middle Rhine which starts with a deep gorge, a stretch much evoked in German folklore, poetry and music. On towards the river’s source, we pass through a variety of landscapes and urban scenes. North of Basel, with France on one side, the river is flanked by wooded hills and pasture and is populated by several historic towns.
Illustration: Pfalz Castle and the town of Laub on the Rhine, lithograph c. 1820
MEET THE MUSICIANS
ERIC LU
Eric Lu won First Prize at The Leeds International Piano Competition in 2018 at the age of 20. The following year, he signed an exclusive contract with Warner Classics and has since collaborated with many of the world’s leading orchestras, and with conductors such as Riccardo Muti, Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, Sir Mark Elder, Vasily Petrenko, and Marin Alsop.
Active as a recitalist, Lu appears at major venues including Wigmore Hall (in 2024 for the sixth consecutive year), Cologne Philharmonie, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Queen Elizabeth Hall London, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, 92nd Street Y New York, Seoul Arts Center, and Sala São Paulo.
Eric ’s third album on Warner Classics was released in December 2022. It was met with worldwide critical acclaim, receiving BBC Music Magazine ’s Instrumental Choice. His previous album of the Chopin 24 Preludes, and Schumann’s Geistervariationen was hailed “truly magical” by International Piano.
Born in Massachusetts in 1997, he first gained international attention as a laureate of the 2015 Chopin Competition. He received the Avery Fisher Career Grant in 2021 and was a BBC New Generation Artist from 2019–22.
DARIESCU
Alexandra Dariescu, creator of The Nutcracker and I , is a trailblazing pianist known for her diverse and thoughtprovoking repertoire. She has performed with major orchestras, under conductors such as Adam Fischer, Cristian Măcelaru, Sakari Oramo, and Fabien Gabel.
In the 2024/25 season Dariescu makes her debut with the Seattle Symphony, before embarking on an Australian tour. She will debut with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic and Danish Philharmonic Orchestras, give subscription concerts with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Academy of St Martin in the Fields and Royal Northern Sinfonia.
In 2024 she presented The Alexandra Dariescu Award for an outstanding performance of a piece by a female composer at the Leeds International Piano Competition, the first time such an accolade has been introduced in an international piano competition.
Dariescu studied at the Royal Northern College of Music with Nelson Goerner, among others. She holds many special accolades including Cultural Ambassador of Romania and Officer of the Romanian Crown. From September 2024, Dariescu began a new tenure as Professor of Piano at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.
JULIUS DRAKE
The pianist Julius Drake lives in London and enjoys an international reputation as one of the finest instrumentalists in his field, collaborating with many of the world’s leading artists, both in recital and on disc. He curates an annual series of song recitals – Julius Drake and Friends – in the historic Middle Temple Hall in London. Julius Drake is Professor of Collaborative Piano at the Guildhall School of Music in London and he is regularly invited to give masterclasses worldwide.
Concerts this season include recitals at La Scala, Milan, the Teatro de la Zarzuela, Madrid, and the Boulez Saal Berlin; a recital tour in the USA with Ian Bostridge; the complete Mahler songs at the Mahler Festival at the Concertgebouw; recitals at the Opera Liceu in Barcelona with Gerald Finley, Sarah Connolly and Irene Theorin; return visits to the Chamber Music Festivals of Santa Fe, West Cork and Oxford; concerts in Berlin and at the Aldeburgh Festival with Andrè Schuen; piano duet recitals with Elisabeth Leonskaja in Austria, including at the Schubertiade Festival; recitals in the USA and Europe with Fleur Barron, Mercedes Gancedo, Christopher Prégardien, Julia Kleiter, Anna Prohaska and Roderick Williams; and at Wigmore Hall, London the Season Opening concert celebrating the Fauré Anniversary.
ALEXANDRA
EMILY SIERRA
Emily Sierra, lauded for her “marked lyricism,...rare quality of timbre, [and] ...suave voice”, is a Cuban-American mezzo-soprano currently singing in the Ensemble of the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich. Sierra began her European career in the Opera Studio of the Bayerische Staatsoper.
Roles in the 2025/26 season include: Adalgisa (Norma), Hänsel (Hänsel und Gretel), Stéphano (Roméo et Juliette), Siébel (Faust), Mercédès (Carmen) and Tisbe (La Cenerentola) at venues such as the Bayerische Staatsoper, Semperoper Dresden and Opéra de Toulon.
Sierra is. She was also recently selected as a Sara Tucker Study Grant Recipient in 2024 and has joined the ranks of the prestigious foundation for American opera singers.
ELISABETH LEONSKAJA
Elisabeth Leonskaja, the Russian pianist born in Tbilisi, has long been among the most celebrated pianists of our times. While still a student at the Moscow Conservatory, she won prizes at many major international piano competitions. Her musical development was decisively influenced by her collaboration and friendship with Sviatoslav Richter.
Leonskaja left the Soviet Union in 1978 and made Vienna her home. Since then, she has performed as soloist with the world’s finest orchestras and has worked with many renowned conductors. She is a regular guest at numerous international festivals, and regularly performs in the most prominent piano series of major musical centers of the world from Paris to Vienna to Melbourne. In addition to her many solo engagements, chamber music remains an important part of her work.
In her second homeland, Austria, she is an honorary member of the Vienna Konzerthaus. In 2006 she was awarded the Austrian Cross of Honor for Science and Art, First Class, for her outstanding service to the culture of the country. It is the highest award in Austria. In Georgia, she was named Priestess of Art in 2016, this country’s highest artistic honor. In 2020 she received the International Classical Music (ICMA) Lifetime Achievement Award.
Charisma, brilliance, and depth of expression are qualities with which Mariam Batsashvili captivates not only live audiences worldwide. The Georgian pianist has also long secured her place among the top ranks in the recording and streaming market: another highlight in a steep career that has taken her to over 30 countries and the world’s most important concert halls to date. Besides major musical centers like Berlin, London, Paris, or Vienna, Mariam Batsashvili is a frequent guest at various international festivals. Batsashvili was both an Echo Rising Star and BBC New Generation Artist.
Since her internationally acclaimed victories at the Franz Liszt Competitions in 2011 and 2014, Batsashvili’s career has been closely linked with the composer. Besides her distinctive artistry of touch, Batsashvili has been praised for her feel for the “inner world” and the “nonchalant poetry” of Liszt’s music, highlighting her soulful playing even in the most virtuoso passages.
In the current 2024/25 season, she will return to major concert halls such as the Hamburg Elbphilharmonie, Wigmore Hall and the BBC Proms; a further album release is also planned for spring 2025. Mariam Batsashvili has also had great success on social media, with over 70,000 followers, thanks to the illustrative short tutorials that she posts on Instagram.
Italian-Australian pianist Jonathan Ferrucci has given concerts as a soloist and chamber musician across Europe, Australia and the United States, performing in Wigmore Hall, Barbican Hall and Kings Place, and the Fazioli Concert Hall in Italy, among other venues.
A Kirckman Society artist and Keyboard Trust artist, Jonathan’s recent projects include a US tour featuring the Goldberg Variations, concerto performances in Italy and the UK, and concerts at international festivals such as the Trasimeno Music Festival. His debut album of the complete Bach Toccatas was released in January 2025.
Forthcoming projects include recitals in the UK and residencies at the Lunenburg Academy of Music Performance in Canada and Yellow Barn in the US, where Jonathan will continue his exploration of Bach’s keyboard works with the English Suites.
Alongside his training with Giovanni Carmassi in Florence and Joan Havill at the Guildhall School in London, his artistic sensitivity has been profoundly influenced by Angela Hewitt, who has been a mentor since 2014.
Parallel to his time spent at the piano, Jonathan is a dedicated Ashtanga Yoga practitioner. He considers Yoga integral to his work as a musician and essential in life.
JAEDEN IZIK-DZURKO
Winner of the 2024 Leeds International Piano Competition and recipient of the Dame Fanny Waterman Gold Medal, 25-year-old Canadian pianist Jaeden Izik-Dzurko has been celebrated by audiences, critics and composers alike for his communicative power, refined technical command and artistic maturity.
Highlights in the 2025 season include performances with the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Orquesta Ciudad de Granada, Orquesta Sinfónica de Navarra, and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, and solo recital debuts at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris, Rheingau Musik Festival and Wigmore Hall.
He tours Korea in Spring 2025 and appears in recitals and with orchestras throughout Europe through the Steinway Prizewinner Concerts Network as the winner of both the Concours musical international de Montréal and Leeds Competition. October 2024 marked the release of Jaeden’s debut EP by Warner Classics, featuring a selection of his performances in Leeds. In 2024, he was awarded a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship.
Born and raised in Salmon Arm, British Columbia, Jaeden attended first The Juilliard School and then the University of British Columbia.
MARIAM BATSASHVILI
AMATIS TRIO
Founded in Amsterdam in 2014 and now based in Salzburg, the Amatis piano trio was soon recognized as BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists and Echo Rising Stars. The German violinist Lea Hausmann, the British cellist Samuel Shepherd, and the Dutch pianist Mengjie Han quickly gained international acclaim and have performed in 43 countries worldwide. They have received numerous significant music awards such as the Dutch Kersjesprijs and the Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award.
The Amatis Trio aims to build bridges between chamber music and other art forms, attracting new audiences to classical music. They are also committed to contemporary music and have so far commissioned 15 new compositions for piano trio, such as “Moorlands” by the Swedish composer Andrea Tarrodi.
With their imaginative programmes, the Amatis Trio has performed at international festivals such as the BBC Proms, the Verbier Festival, and the Edinburgh International Festival. As sought-after soloists, the members of the trio also play with renowned orchestras, including the London Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.
NELSON GOERNER
Nelson Goerner is one of the world’s greatest classical pianists. He is praised for his performances of the highest art and poetry, while at the same time possessing exhilarating and masterful conviction.
As a recitalist, Goerner regularly performs on some of the world’s most respected stages and in the 2024/25 season he performs at the Théâtre des ChampsElysées and Philharmonie de Paris; Wigmore Hall; Festival International de Piano de La Roque d’Anthéron and many more, performing with orchestras such as the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and Dallas Symphony Orchestra.
A keen chamber musician, Goerner regularly collaborates with Martha Argerich, Renaud Capucon and Sol Gabetta, among others. In 24/25, Goerner performs throughout Europe in a new trio with Ning Feng and Edgar Moreau.
Goerner was born in San Pedro, Argentina in 1969. He was awarded First Prize in the Franz Liszt Competition in Buenos Aires in 1986. This led to a scholarship at the Geneva Conservatoire, and in 1990 Nelson Goerner won the First Prize at the Geneva Competition.
Nelson Goerner lives in Switzerland with his wife and son. He is a proud and active supporter of the humanitarian organisation Ammala.
THE CONCERTS
Private. All the performances are planned and administered by us, and the audience consists exclusively of those who have taken the festival package.
Seating. Specific seats are not reserved. You sit where you want.
Audience size. There will be up to 125 participants on the festival. One of our venues cannot hold this number, so the performance will be repeated there.
Acoustics. This festival is more concerned with locale and authenticity than with acoustic perfection. The venues may have idiosyncrasies or reverberations of the sort not found in modern concert halls.
Changes. Musicians fall ill, venues may close for repairs, airlines alter schedules: there are many circumstances which could necessitate changes to the programme. We ask you to be understanding should they occur.
Floods and droughts. We cannot rule out changes to the programme arising from exceptionally high or low water levels on the Rhine, either of which may bring river traffic to a halt. These might necessitate more travel by coach or the loss of a concert, though we would always try to minimise the impact on the itinerary.
Launched in 2023, the MS Amadeus Riva is one of the newest and most comfortable cruisers on the waterways of Europe. The multinational crew is dedicated to the highest standards of service.
With a floor area of 16m 2 (Haydn deck) or 17.5m 2 (Strauss and Mozart decks) the cabins are reasonably spacious by the standards of river cruisers. All have windows to the outside and are equipped with the facilities one would expect of a first-class hotel such as adjustable airconditioning, telephone, TV and safe.
Bathrooms have showers only. Special attention has been paid to noise insulation.
In layout and furnishings the cabins are identical, the significant differences being the size of windows and height above water level (higher cabins enjoy better
views and fewer stairs). All cabins have twin beds that can be separated or pushed together.
Cabins on the top decks (Mozart and Strauss) are the most desirable, with floorto-ceiling windows which drop down to open and minibars. There are twelve suites (Mozart) measuring 26.4m 2 with a corner sofa area and small balcony. Cabins on the lowest (Haydn) deck have smaller windows which don’t open. There are no single cabins as such but we are allocating some twin-bed cabins for single occupancy.
The public areas include the lounge and bar, a library area and a restaurant that can seat everyone at a single sitting. The sun deck has a tented area for shade.
www.lueftner-cruises.com
Haydn deck cabin
Strauss/Mozart deck cabin
Mozart deck suite
KEY
Haydn Front: Dark orange
Strauss Back: Pale green
Strauss Front: Dark green
Mozart Standard: Pale blue
Mozart Suites: Dark blue
CABINS
Haydn Front – lowest deck
For double or single occupancy
Strauss Back – middle deck For double or single occupancy
Strauss Front – middle deck For double or single occupancy
Mozart Standard – top deck For double or single occupancy
Mozart Suites – top deck Not available for single occupancy
Cabins towards the front of the ship are quieter than those further back.
Please contact us or visit our website www.martinrandall.com for prices.
FITNESS FOR THE FESTIVAL
Quite a lot of walking is necessary to reach some of the concert venues and to get around the towns we visit.
You will sometimes need to walk for up to 20 minutes/1 kilometre each way in order to attend the concerts, with no additional transportation possible. Even in big cities taxis are not readily available or cannot get close enough to the ship or the concert venue to justify their use.
Many of the concert venues do not have a lift. You need to be averagely fit, surefooted and able to manage everyday walking and stairclimbing without difficulty.
We are very happy to talk you through each day’s manoeuvres, as these differ festival to festival, to identify if it may be necessary to opt out at any point.
We ask that you also take the simple fitness tests on page 22 before booking.
‘Excellent boat with e cient attentive sta , good variety of concerts & superb expert speaker in Dr Katy Hamilton.’
If you have a medical condition or a disability which may affect your holiday or necessitate special arrangements being made for you, please discuss these with us before booking – or, if the condition develops or changes subsequently, as soon as possible before departure.
Illustration: The Rhine, Pfalz, lithograph after Samuel Prout, c. 1840.
TRAVEL OPTIONS
OPTION 1 – flights both ways (London City)
22 June: London City to Amsterdam (BA 8453) departing at 11.30 and arriving at 13.35.
29 June: Zurich to London City (BA 8766) departing at 14.55 and arriving at 15.30. There is time for some independent exploration of Zurich before departing for London.
OPTION 2 – flights both ways (London Heathrow)
22 June: London Heathrow to Amsterdam (BA 434) departing at 12.25 and arriving at 14.45.
29 June: Basel to London Heathrow (BA 761) departing at 12.10 and arriving at 13.00.
OPTION 3 – train out, flight back (London City)
22 June: London St Pancras to Amsterdam (Eurostar) departing at 11.04 and arriving at 16.20.
29 June: Zurich to London City (BA 8766) departing at 14.55 and arriving at 15.30. There is time for some independent exploration of Zurich before departing for London.
OPTION 4 – train out, flight back (London Heathrow)
22 June: London St Pancras to Amsterdam (Eurostar) departing at 11.04 and arriving at 16.20.
29 June: Basel to London Heathrow (BA 761) departing at 12.10 and arriving at 13.00.
OPTION 5 – rail only
22 June: London St Pancras to Amsterdam (Eurostar) departing at 11.04 and arriving at 16.20.
29 June: Basel to London St Pancras, via Paris (one change), departing at 10.34 and arriving at 17.35.
Please note that each outbound option is tied to a particular inbound option – we are unable to amend your return transport to include the outbound and inbound travel from two different options.
At the time of going to print, flight and train schedules have not yet been published for June 2026 so these times are indicative and subject to change.
CONNECTING FLIGHTS
It may be possible to arrange connecting flights with British Airways from Edinburgh, Manchester, Glasgow, Aberdeen or Belfast.
THE NO FLIGHTS OPTION
You can choose not to take any of our flight/rail options and to make your own arrangements for joining and leaving the ship. You are welcome to join our coach transfers if your travel arrangements coincide with any of the options above.
There is a price reduction for those not taking flights/trains.
PRE-FESTIVAL TOUR
The price for the pre-festival tour includes a return flight – out at the start of the tour, and back at the end of the festival.
All pre-festival tour participants return to the UK on festival flight Option 2.
We charge for flights, if you are taking them, as part of your pre-festival tour booking. You therefore pay the ‘no flights’ price for the festival.
Illustration: Section of the Rhine, steel engraving c. 1840.
ART IN THE NETHERLANDS A SPECTRUM OF THE FINEST
Pre-festival tour:
16–22 June 2026 (mm 990 )
7 days • Speaker: Desmond Shawe-Taylor
A study of Dutch art in some of the finest museums of the Netherlands.
Features the great masters Rembrandt, Vermeer & Van Gogh as well as other major figures.
Also architecture and design from medieval to modern, and several highly picturesque historic town centres.
ITINERARY
Day 1: Utrecht. Take the late-morning Eurostar from London St Pancras to Rotterdam, then continue by coach to Utrecht, where all six nights are spent.
Day 2: Amsterdam. With its rings of canals lined with merchants’ mansions, Amsterdam is one of the loveliest capitals in the world. Our visit to the brilliantly refurbished Rijksmuseum concentrates on the major works in its unrivalled collection of 17th-century paintings, Rembrandt’s The Night Watch and four Vermeers among them. The house where Rembrandt lived and worked for nearly 20 years is well restored and has a display of prints.
Day 3: Utrecht. One of the best-preserved historic cities in the Netherlands, Utrecht features canals flanked by unbroken stretches of 17th-century houses. The excellent art museum has a major collection of paintings of the 17th-century Utrecht School. See also the Rietveld House (1924), a landmark of 20th-century architecture.
Day 4: Otterlo. Located in gardens and surrounded by an extensive heath, the beautiful Kröller-Müller Museum has one of the great collections of works by Van Gogh as well as an eclectic holding of paintings, furniture and sculpture. A leisurely visit here allows time to explore the 75-acre park with its outdoor sculptures.
Day 5: The Hague. The Mauritshuis in Den Haag contains a superb collection of paintings including masterpieces by Rembrandt and Vermeer. Exhibited in the Kunstmuseum are 19th-century Hague School paintings, the realist milieu from which Van Gogh emerged, and works by the pioneer abstractionist Mondriaan. Visit also the illusionistic Mesdag panorama and the centre of the city, seat of the court and parliament.
Day 6: Amsterdam. Return to Amsterdam for a second visit to the Rijksmuseum. The Van Gogh Museum houses the biggest holding (over 200) of the artist’s works, largely from his brother Theo’s collection.
Day 7: Leiden. The Museum De Lakenhal in Leiden reopened in 2019 after radical refurbishment. Originally built as the guildhall for cloth merchants, it houses works by Rembrandt. Drive to Rotterdam and take the Eurostar direct to London St Pancras arriving in the afternoon.
Or, if combining this tour with the festival, transfer to Amsterdam (included) for some free time before boarding the ship.
PRACTICALITIES
Included: return train travel by Eurostar (Plus; previously called Standard Premier); hotel accommodation; travel by private coach; breakfasts and 4 dinners with wine, water and coffee; admission to museums and galleries; all tips; all taxes; the services of the lecturer and tour manager.
Accommodation: The Grand Hotel Karel V, Utrecht (karelv.nl): 5-star hotel converted from a 19th-century hospital in a quiet location within the city walls. Single rooms are doubles for sole use.
How strenuous? There is quite a lot of walking and standing around, and the tour would not be suitable for anyone with difficulties with everyday walking and stairclimbing. Average distance by coach per day: 70 miles.
Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.
Illustration: ‘The Five Syndics’, wood engraving c. 1880 after Rembrandt.
MAKING A BOOKING
1. Booking Option. We recommend that you contact us first, or visit our website, to make a booking option which we will hold for 72 hours. To confirm it, please send the booking form and deposit within this period – the deposit is 15% of your total booking price. Alternatively, make a definite booking straight away via our website.
2. Definite booking. Fill in the booking form and send it to us with the deposit. It is important that you read the Booking Conditions at this stage (see page 25) and that you sign the booking form. Full payment is required if you are booking within 12 weeks of the date the festival begins.
3. Our confirmation. Upon receipt of the booking form and deposit we shall send you confirmation of your booking. After this your deposit is nonreturnable except in the special circumstances mentioned in the Booking Conditions. Further details about the festival may also be sent at this stage, or will follow shortly afterwards.
FITNESS TESTS
We ask that you take the following fitness tests before booking. By signing the Booking Form, you confirm that you have done so. Please also read ‘Fitness for the festival’ on page 19.
1. Chair stands. Sit in a dining chair, with arms folded and hands on opposite shoulders. Stand up and sit down at least eight times in 30 seconds.
2. Step test. Mark a wall at a height that is halfway between your knee and your hip bone. Raise each knee in turn to the mark at least 60 times in two minutes.
3. Agility test. Place an object three yards from the edge of a chair, sit, and record the time it takes to stand up, walk to the object and sit back down. You should be able to do this in under seven seconds.
An additional indication of the fitness required is that you should be able to walk unaided at a pace of three miles per hour for at least half an hour at a time, and to stand for at least 15 minutes.
Illustration: Braubach and Marksburg, watercolour by E. Harrison Compton publ. 1912
THE RHINE PIANO FESTIVAL (MM100) 22–29 JUNE 2026
NAME(S) – as you wish them to appear on the list of participants. Please note that we do not use titles:
Participant 1:
Contact details for all correspondence:
Address
Telephone (home)
E-mail
Participant 2:
Postcode/Zip Country
Mobile
Tick if you are happy to receive your festival and booking documents online where possible (confirm your e-mail address above).
We would like to keep you informed about our future tour plans. Please tick the boxes to the right if you would prefer not to receive our marketing materials:
Brochures sent by post Yes
E-newsletter Yes
What prompted this booking? It is very helpful for us to know how you first heard about this event, and if you can be specific, e.g. if in an advertisement, the name of the publication it appeared in; if we sent you a communication, what type? (e-mail or post?):
ACCOMMODATION & TRAVEL – STAYING ON-BOARD THE SHIP
Deck – tick one Cabin type – tick one
Haydn Front
Strauss Back
Strauss Front
Mozart Standard
Mozart Suite
Single occupancy cabin
Twin cabin with beds separate
Twin cabin with beds together
Suite with beds separate – Mozart only
Suite with beds together – Mozart only
Travel option – tick one
Option 1: return flights from London City
Option 2: return flights from London Heathrow
Option 3: train out, flight back (London City)
Option 4: train out, flight back (London Heathrow)
Option 5: return rail travel from London St Pancras
No flights/trains. Making your own arrangements for joining and leaving the festival.
FURTHER INFORMATION. Please notify us of dietary restrictions (for example, religious, medical or if you are vegetarian or vegan). Please also use this space to request connecting flights, flight upgrades, etc.
PRE-FESTIVAL TOUR – tick to add to your booking:
Art in the Netherlands, 16–22 June 2026
Room-type:
Double / twin room
Double for sole use
PASSPORT DETAILS & NEXT OF KIN
Essential for airlines and the ship, and in case of emergency. Please use capital letters for your passport details.
PAYMENT
We prefer payments by bank transfer. We cannot currently accept payment through our website. All money paid to us is fully protected regardless of payment method. Please tick one option:
BANK TRANSFER Please use your surname and the festival code (mm100) as a reference and ask your bank to allow for all charges.
Account name: Martin Randall Travel Ltd.
Bank: HSBC
Address: 1 Centenary Square, Birmingham, B1 1HQ
Account number: 85377277
Sort code: 40-38-04
Transfers from non-UK bank accounts: please instruct your bank to send payment in pound sterling (GBP)
IBAN: GB22HBUK40380485377277
Swift/BIC code: HBUKGB4B
DEBIT OR CREDIT CARD. I authorise Martin Randall Travel to contact me by telephone to take payment from my Visa credit/Visa debit/Mastercard/AMEX.
Please tick payment amount, and then ensure you sign at the bottom of this form:
EITHER Deposit 15% of total booking cost.
OR Full balance
Required if you are booking within 12 weeks of departure.
TOTAL:
I have read and agree to the Booking Conditions and Privacy Policy (www.martinrandall.com/privacy) on behalf of all listed on this form.
Signature:
Date:
Martin Randall Travel Ltd
10 Barley Mow Passage
London W4 4PH, United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0)20 8742 3355
From North America: 1 800 988 6168
info@martinrandall.co.uk www.martinrandall.com
Martin Randall Australasia PO Box 1024
Indooroopilly QLD 4068, Australia
Tel 1300 55 95 95
New Zealand 0800 877 622 anz@martinrandall.com.au
PLEASE READ THESE
You need to sign your assent to these Booking Conditions on the booking form.
OUR PROMISES TO YOU
We aim to be fair, reasonable and sympathetic in all our dealings with clients, and to act always with integrity.
We will meet all our legal and regulatory responsibilities, usually going far beyond the minimum obligations.
We aim to provide full and accurate information about our holidays. If there are changes, we will tell you promptly.
If something does go wrong, we will try to put it right. Our overriding aim is to ensure that every client is satisfied with our services.
ALL WE ASK OF YOU
That you read the information we send to you.
SPECIFIC TERMS
Our contract with you. From the time we receive your signed booking form and initial payment, a contract exists between you and Martin Randall Travel Ltd. Eligibility. You must be in good health, free of infectious illness, and have a level of physical and mental fitness that would not impair other participants’ enjoyment by slowing them down or by absorbing disproportionate attention from the tour leaders. Please read ‘Fitness for the festival' on page 19 and take the self-assessment tests described on page 22; by signing the booking form you are stating that you have understood what we are asking of you and are fit to participate. If you have a medical condition or a disability which may a ect your holiday or necessitate special arrangements being made for you, please discuss this with us before booking – or, if the condition develops or changes subsequently, as soon as possible before departure. If during the festival or tour it transpires, in the judgement of the tour leaders, that you are not able to cope, you may be asked to opt out of certain visits or to leave altogether. This would be at your own expense. We reserve the right to refuse to accept a booking without necessarily giving a reason.
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development O ce advice. Before booking, please refer to the FCDO website to ensure you understand the travel advice for the places to which the festival or tour goes. NonUK citizens should look at the advice issued by their governments, which may di er significantly.
Insurance. It is a requirement of booking that you have adequate holiday insurance cover. The insurance must cover, at minimum, medical treatment, repatriation, loss of property and loss of payments to us in the event that you cancel your booking. If you are making your own arrangements for international travel, please ensure you have insurance that protects you in the rare event of Martin Randall Travel cancelling the festival or tour. Experience indicates that free travel insurance o ered by some credit card companies is not to be relied upon.
Passports and visas. British citizens must have valid passports for travel outside the United Kingdom. The passport needs to be valid for 6 months beyond the date of the festival and/ or tour. For Schengen countries, your passport must have been issued less than ten years before the date you enter the country and valid for at least three months after the day you leave. Non-UK nationals should ascertain whether visas are required in their case.
If you cancel. If you have to withdraw from a festival or tour on which you had booked, there would be a
charge which varies according to the period of notice you give. Up to 85 days before departure the deposit would be forfeited. Thereafter a percentage of the total cost of your booking will be due:
Up to 85 days: deposit only
Between 84 and 43 days: 40%
Between 42 and 15 days: 70%
Between 14 days or fewer: 100%
For cruises only:
Up to 90 days: deposit only
Between 89 and 70 days: 40%
Between 69 and 50 days: 60%
Between 49 days and 30 days: 80%
29 days of fewer: 100%
Additional costs for individual arrangements (including but not limited to flight upgrades, flight amendments, extra nights at hotel(s), room upgrades and airport transfers) are subject to the same cancellation charges, apart from in the instance where we have previously notified you that an additional cost is non-refundable.
If you cancel your booking in a shared room but your travelling companion chooses to continue to participate, the companion would have to pay the single-occupancy price.
If you cancel a non-residential event we will return the full amount if you notify us 22 or more days before the event. We will retain 50% if cancellation is made within three weeks, and 100% if within three days.
We take as the day of cancellation that on which we receive written confirmation of cancellation.
If we cancel. We may decide to cancel a festival or tour if there were insu cient bookings for the it to be viable (though this would always be more than 8 weeks before departure). We would refund you with everything you had paid us.
Safety and security. Cancellation may also occur if civil unrest, war, natural disaster or other circumstances amounting to force majeure arise in the region to which the festival or tour was due to go. If the UK Foreign and Commonwealth O ce advises against travel, we would either cancel or adjust the itinerary to avoid risky areas.
Health and safety. We have a safety auditing process in place and, as a minimum, request that all of our suppliers comply with local health and safety regulations. However, we operate tours in parts of the world where standards are lower than those you are used to at home, particularly in the areas of accessibility, handrails and seatbelts. We ask that you take note of the safety information we provide.
The limits of our liabilities. As principal, we accept responsibility for all ingredients of a tour or festival except those in which the principle of force majeure prevails. Our obligations and responsibilities are also limited where international conventions apply in respect of air, sea or rail carriers, including the Warsaw Convention and its various updates.
If we make changes. Circumstances might arise which prevent us from operating a tour or festival exactly as advertised. We would try to devise a satisfactory alternative, but if the change represents a significant loss to the tour or festival we would o er compensation. If you decide to cancel because the alternative we o er is not in your view an adequate substitute, we would give a full refund.
Financial protection for UK residents. Any money you have paid to us for a holiday which includes an international flight is protected by our Air Travel Organiser’s Licence (ATOL, number 3622). Payments for holidays which do not include a flight from/to the UK are protected by ABTOT – The Association of
Bonded Travel Organisers Trust Limited. So, in the (highly unlikely) event of our insolvency in advance of the festival or tour, you would get your money back, or if we failed after it had begun, it would be able to continue and you would be returned to the UK at its conclusion. Clients living elsewhere who have arranged their own flights should ensure their personal travel insurance covers repatriation in the event of holiday supplier failure.
Financial protection – the o cial text. We are required to publish the following:
We provide full financial protection for our package holidays which include international flights, by way of our Air Travel Organiser’s Licence number 3622. When you buy an ATOL protected flight inclusive holiday from us you receive an ATOL Certificate. This lists what is financially protected, where you can get information on what this means for you and who to contact if things go wrong. Most of our flights and flightinclusive holidays on our website and in our brochure are financially protected by the ATOL scheme. But ATOL protection does not apply to all holiday and travel services listed. Please ask us to confirm what protection may apply to your booking. If you do not receive an ATOL Certificate then the booking will not be ATOL protected. If you do receive an ATOL Certificate but all the parts of your trip are not listed on it, those parts will not be ATOL protected. In order to be protected under the ATOL scheme you need to be in the UK when you make your booking and/or one of the flights you take must originate or terminate in the UK with the group.
We provide full financial protection for our package holidays that do not include a flight, by way of a bond held by ABTOT – The Association of Bonded Travel Organisers Trust Limited.
We will provide you with the services listed on the ATOL Certificate (or a suitable alternative). In some cases, where we aren’t able do so for reasons of insolvency, an alternative ATOL holder may provide you with the services you have bought or a suitable alternative (at no extra cost to you). You agree to accept that in those circumstances the alternative ATOL holder will perform those obligations and you agree to pay any money outstanding to be paid by you under your contract to that alternative ATOL holder. However, you also agree that in some cases it will not be possible to appoint an alternative ATOL holder, in which case you will be entitled to make a claim under the ATOL scheme (or your credit card issuer where applicable). If we, or the suppliers identified on your ATOL certificate, are unable to provide the services listed (or a suitable alternative, through an alternative ATOL holder or otherwise) for reasons of insolvency, the Trustees of the Air Travel Trust may make a payment to (or confer a benefit on) you under the ATOL scheme. You agree that in return for such a payment or benefit you assign absolutely to those Trustees any claims which you have or may have arising out of or relating to the non-provision of the services, including any claim against us (or your credit card issuer where applicable). You also agree that any such claims maybe re-assigned to another body, if that other body has paid sums you have claimed under the ATOL scheme.
English Law. These conditions form part of your contract with Martin Randall Travel Ltd and are governed by English law. All proceedings shall be within the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.
Privacy. By signing the booking form, or by booking online, you are stating that you have read and agree to our Privacy Policy (available online at www. martinrandall.com/privacy).
MARTIN RANDALL TRAVEL LTD
10 Barley Mow Passage London W4 4PH
United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0)20 8742 3355 info@martinrandall.co.uk www.martinrandall.com
Contact the London office from the USA and Canada:
Tel 1 800 988 6168 (toll free) usa@martinrandall.com
MARTIN RANDALL AUSTRALASIA PO Box 1024 Indooroopilly QLD 4068 Australia
Tel 1300 55 95 95 New Zealand 0800 877 622 anz@martinrandall.com.au
MARTIN RANDALL TRAVEL…
is Britain’s leading specialist in cultural travel and one of the most respected tour operators in the world.
MRT aims to produce the best planned, best led and altogether the most fulfilling and enjoyable cultural tours and events available. They focus on art, architecture, archaeology, history, music and gastronomy, and are spread across Britain, continental Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, India, Japan and the Americas.
For 2026 we have planned around 200 expert-led tours for small groups (usually 10–20 participants), six music festivals of our own devising (such as The Rhine Piano Festival), several short history and music breaks, and an extensive programme of online talks.
For over 35 years the company has led the field through incessant innovation and improvement, setting the benchmarks for itinerary planning, operational systems and service standards.
To see our full range of cultural tours and events, please visit www.martinrandall.com
