Twelve Instrumentalists
Ensemble Repertoires

To that end we persuaded a group of twelve instrumentalists to join us for the whole of the festival week so that it would be possible to use ensemble structures that would be far too expensive if arranged on a "one-off" basis. As a result of this idea, we were able to extend the festival's chamber music repertoire into hitherto uncharted waters (somewhat mixed imagery, the irony of which is not lost on the artistic director whose boat has been something of a nuisance recently!).

The outstanding pieces which we managed to promote during the week were, undoubtedly, the Beethoven Septet and the Hummel Piano Septet on the first night, the Spohr Nonet on the Friday and, the culmination perhaps of the experiment, an unusual Quintet by Kalkbrenner and a grand finale using all the week's instruments playing the Sinfonia da Camera by Wolf-Ferrari on the last night.

Not everyone was convinced of the merits of every single piece in the programme, but we all agreed that the experiment had been a success and that this was the way for the future. Accordingly, we plan to follow something of the same idea in 2004 with some players staying for the whole week and others being drafted in as needed, the basis of the programming being the extended string ensemble repertoire. Charles Mutter, the Edinburgh Quartet's first violinist, and Patrick Stephen-Samuels, the festival director, are busily searching the archives for really interesting items that are often neglected, not because of lack of merit, but lack of resources.

Speaking of lack of resources, it is worth pointing out that this year the artists' fees for the festival amounted to about three times what we have usually paid out in the past (because of the large number staying all week) and yet they all took something of a reduced fee for the chance to play some of the works. We cannot afford that sort of money every year, hence next year's attempt to modify the plan.

It is important, also, to point out that we managed to provide a number of educational opportunities for youngsters and adults alike during the festival with many of the artists giving of their energy and enthusiasm in school visits and master classes and we are indebted to Highland Council for providing help in funding these activities.

Along with the planned concert programme, which again will be confined to a single week as this seemed to work very well this year, we hope to repeat the educational opportunities. It all looks very exciting and we hope to see you all again on 17th - 22nd May 2004.