Classic combination for festival

Mark Padmore and Morgan Szymanski offer the classic tenor/guitar combination as part of the Petworth Festival.
By The Newsroom
Published 17th Jul 2011, 11:43 BST

Their concert at Champs Hill, Coldwaltham on Monday, July 18 has already sold out.

The programme includes a brand-new cycle of Thomas Wyatt settings from Alec Roth, whose Second String Quartet received its second performance by the Allegri String Quartet at the 2010 Petworth Festival.

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The remainder of the programme includes: Roth - The Unicorn in the Garden (guitar solo);

Dowland - Come ye heavy states of night; Sor - Introduction and Variations on a theme by Mozart (guitar solo); and Schubert - Nachtstück.

As Morgan explains, it was the composer Roth who brought the two of them together; and it is Roth’s Wyatt settings which form the centrepiece of the concert.

“They are absolutely beautiful. You will have to hear them. He has selected various poems that are suitable to his music, and the music is really, really stunning. I think it must be about ten songs.”

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Morgan added: “I have done quite a lot of work with singers. The guitar and tenor particularly is historically quite a famous instrumental combination. You think of the entire repertoire that was written for Julian Bream and Peter Pears. The guitar and tenor combination is particularly lovely, and it is great to be working with modern composers.”

Born in Mexico City in 1979, Morgan started playing the guitar at the age of six. Early studies at the National Music School (Mexico) and the Edinburgh Music School led to a scholarship to study under Carlos Bonell and Gary Ryan and the Royal College of Music in London, graduating in 2004 with first-class honours.

During his studies he won all guitar prizes from the RCM as well as scholarships from the Tillett Trust, Countess of Munster Musical Trust, Leverhulme Trust, Wall Trust, FONCA and a scholarship to study at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. He immediately went on to become the first solo guitarist to be selected by YCAT and was the first guitarist to be awarded a Junior Fellowship at the RCM, where he completed his Masters with distinction.

Tickets for the Petworth Festival on 01798 344576.