1 month
3 weeks ago
Join the Cheltenham Festivals Membership Scheme before Sunday 31 January 2010 and you will automatically be entered into a draw to win a fabulous feast for two at Cheltenham’s Curry Corner restaurant.
Recently featured as a ‘Best Local Indian Restaurant in Britain’ finalist on Gordon Ramsay’s The F Word and winner of Cotswold Life’s ‘Restaurant of the Year’ 2008, Curry Corner is Cheltenham’s leading Indian Restaurant. Run by the Krori family since 1977, Curry Corner is the oldest Bangladeshi restaurant in the country and hotly recommended by festival favourite Michael Palin, who describes the food as ‘the best curry from pole to pole.’
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We’ve tagged this post with competition, membership on Monday 18 January 2010.
2 months ago
From Sharon Bishop
Science Festival Executive Director
Decadence is a provocative word: luxurious, sensuous and self-indulgent, a celebration of the good things in life but redolent of moral and social decline.
Your opinion of what is decadent is determined by your own personal values and the society in which you live. Ernest Hemingway said: ‘Decadence is a difficult word to use since it has become little more than a term of abuse applied by critics to anything they do not yet understand or which seems to differ from their moral concepts.’
Our ideas of decadence have changed through the ages
Take travel: the bicycle was once a privilege reserved only for the rich, allowing them to get from A to B at such speeds that they were afraid of developing ‘bicycle face’; nowadays, with the unveiling of Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShip Two, space tourism is the ultimate in decadent travel. And, whilst our eyes and minds have been opened by the new experiences that travel permits, climate change has forced us to consider how we balance our wanderlust with its impact on the planet.
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We’ve tagged this post with decadence, science, Sharon Bishop on Tuesday 12 January 2010.
2 months ago
Jazz It Up! is a musical collaboration between jazz musician Sid Peacock, ten Gloucestershire school jazz bands and Cheltenham Jazz Festival.
Jazz It Up! 2010 has got off to a tremendous start. This year’s theme is ‘Heaven and Hell’, drawing on the roots of jazz music in gospel and blues. Ten Gloucestershire schools have had their first rehearsal session with Sid Peacock where they saw their arrangement for the first time and also worked on some improvisation techniques.
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We’ve tagged this post with education, jazz, Jazz It Up!, Sid Peacock on Monday 11 January 2010.
2 months
1 week ago
Following his fantastic win on Celebrity Mastermind — where he specialised on British avant-garde guitarist Derek Bailey — we are excited to announce that comedian Stewart Lee will be joining us at the 2010 Cheltenham Jazz Festival, to explore the world of improvised jazz.
In collaboration with our artistic director Tony Dudley-Evans, Stewart is curating a special three night series, which will include performances by British free-jazz legend Evan Parker, drummer Mark Sanders, bassist John Edwards, rising star of the New York scene trumpeter Peter Evans and a special Xposed Club Night featuring Chris Cundy.
We’ve tagged this post with comedy, jazz, Stewart Lee, Tony Dudley-Evans on Tuesday 5 January 2010.
2 months
3 weeks ago
Listen again, as Jez Nelson was joined by a panel of the UK’s leading jazz critics to play selections from their favourite album releases of 2009. The first track was Dave Douglas recorded live at Cheltenham Jazz Festival and the last track Paul Dunmall playing bagpipes at the Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham.
Visit the BBC Radio 3 website and listen again
(link valid for seven days)
We’ve tagged this post with BBC, BBC Radio 3, jazz, listen on Tuesday 22 December 2009.
2 months
4 weeks ago
We have been very busy at Festival HQ making plans for The Times Cheltenham Science Festival 2010. We are delighted to announce that Chef and TV personality Heston Blumenthal will be joining next year’s line up — as Guest Director! Famous for his eccentric dishes including snail porridge and parsnip cereal, the culinary alchemist will be programming some truly unique festival events.
His dedication and research into exploring the science of food and discovering innovative styles of cooking has earned him international success. His restaurant, The Fat Duck in Bray has won numerous awards, and in 2006 he was awarded an OBE for his contribution to British Gastronomy.
Heston is a huge supporter of The Times Cheltenham Science Festival and has made four appearances since the Science Festival was born eight years ago. Watch this space — we’ll be announcing more news about his Guest Director role very soon.
We’ve tagged this post with Guest Director, Heston Blumenthal, science on Thursday 17 December 2009.
3 months ago
From Meurig Bowen
Music Festival Director
Quite a few people wonder what people like me get up to during the ‘low season’ of a Festival year. After a welcome post-Festival summer break, the autumn months are spent busily putting the finishing touches to the following year’s programme — and I can now share with you some of the exciting things that are in place for 2–17 July 2010.
Next year, it’s 200 years since Robert Schumann was born. Cellist Steven Isserlis, probably the world’s most celebrated Schumann enthusiast and interpreter, will be Guest Director for a series of events based around Schumann’s music (principally 9–11 July). He will be joined in a wide range of chamber, orchestral and song repertoire by performers such as mezzo Sarah Connolly, clarinettist Michael Collins and actor Simon Callow. Other artists performing Schumann, as well as the other 1810 birthday boy Chopin, include pianists Imogen Cooper and Freddy Kempf, and violinist Alina Ibragimova. Alina will also give a special performance of Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, with newly commissioned poems written and read by Andrew Motion (6 July).
Other concerts I’m really excited about presenting in the 2010 Cheltenham Music Festival include:
- A Rodgers & Hammerstein celebration from the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, John Wilson and Kim Criswell (3 July)
- Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and their new Ukrainian Principal Conductor Kirill Karabits performing Tchaikovsky’s 5th Symphony and Chopin’s Piano Concerto No 1 (5 July)
- A performance of Monteverdi’s Vespers in Tewkesbury Abbey — 400 years after it was first heard (8 July)
- Alfie Boe, the Philharmonia and the Festival Chorus in an opera gala (17 July)
There’s a lot more planned, but I hope what I’ve described here gives you a sense of the range and riches planned for July 2010.
We’ll keep you further informed in the coming months, and the full programme will be available at the beginning of April. Priority booking (for Members only) begins on 7th April and public booking on 19th April 2010. To find out more about Members’ priority booking and discounts click here.
We’ve tagged this post with Meurig Bowen, music, preview on Friday 11 December 2009.
3 months ago
Our friends at Country Life have come up with a great little offer if you’re still struggling for ideas for Christmas presents! They’re offering 30% off the full price of all their subscription options.
“This Christmas why not take out a subscription to Country Life, the well written voice of the countryside. Treat yourself or a friend to this quintessentially British magazine with features and opinions from some of the Country’s best writers. Not only will you get the very best of British life delivered to your door each week, you’ll also enjoy up to 30% off the full price”.
From architecture, the Arts, countryside and wildlife to magnificent country houses and matters of cultural significance, 2009 has had features and opinions from:
- Carla Carlisle
- Alan Mallinson
- Kit Hesketh-Harvey
- The Archbishop of York
- Sir Roy Strong
- Clive Aslet
- Douglas Hurd
- Simon Jenkins
Don’t miss out — pick up a copy of Country Life every week and find out what the country’s best writers have to say.
Check out the offer and save 30% off your subscription!
We’ve tagged this post with special offer on Thursday 10 December 2009.
3 months
1 week ago
From the 15th December all the way up until Christmas day, BBC Radio 3 will be broadcasting a series of concerts recorded at the 2009 Cheltenham Music Festival.
Tune in at 1pm each day to catch eight lunchtime performances from Music 2009:
…and following concerts will have programme details will be available nearer the time:
- Wednesday 23 December: Haydn Trio / Elin Manahan Thomas
- Thursday 24 December: Angela Hewitt
- Friday 25 December: Quatuor Diotima
See a list of upcoming lunchtime concerts from BBC Radio 3.
We’ve tagged this post with BBC Radio 3, listen, music on Wednesday 9 December 2009.
3 months
1 week ago
There’s just one week left to buy a whole year’s Festival Membership …if you need it to arrive in time for Christmas that is!
If you’d like to treat someone to a Cheltenham Festivals Membership, be sure to order before Monday 14th December for it to get to them in time.
If you know someone who loves the Festivals and you’d like to make their experience just a little bit more special, it could be the perfect gift: as a Member for every 2010 Festival, they would enjoy priority booking, generous ticket discounts, exclusive Directors’ Picks and members’ events throughout the year.
It’s also nearly the last chance to buy at the introductory 2009 prices: options range from £15 to £47, with packages for individuals, couples and families.
We’ve tagged this post with jazz, literature, membership, music, science on Tuesday 8 December 2009.
