CSMF 2019 presents Leo Popplewell – Bach rediscovered

Casals El Cant del Ocells (Song of the Birds)

Stephen Dodgson Partita

Elliott Carter Figment

Bach Suite No.6 in D major

 

Rising star Leo Popplewell is already an experienced recitalist with numerous awards to his name. As an alumnus of Clare College, Cambridge, he is particularly delighted to be performing in this year’s Festival. He writes about the programme: ‘My idea was to explore the influence of Bach on twentieth-century solo cello repertoire. Stephen Dodgson’s Partita from 1985 draws upon Bach’s language through the lens of Benjamin Britten, whose three suites from the latter half of the twentieth century form a staple of the modern cello repertoire. Renowned for his prowess in musical invention, Bach’s motivic efficiency is explored in Elliott Carter’s Figment from 1994, a six-minute work encompassing a vast range of musical colours whilst based thematically on a single musical idea.’ The recital takes place in the atmospheric setting of the memorial building at Cambridge’s American Cemetery on Madingley Hill.