Ian Waller enjoys a late morning concert of Spanish influenced classical guitar by Tim Beattie
Following last weekend’s wonderful opening party, The Bath Festival is already in full swing with events taking place right across Bath until 21 May.
There really is so much to choose from, from talks and presentations, to music, comedy and even walking tours.
My first event was a huge treat, a mid-morning concert in Bath Guildhall by the acclaimed Canadian classical guitarist Tim Beattie, presenting a wonderful choice of Spanish pieces from composers as varied as Isaac Albeniz, Joaquin Rodrigo and Marius Flothuis.
From the start of the one-hour recital, Beattie exudes a focused, studied air of concentration, often bowing his head and closing his eyes before each piece and then gracefully approaching the fretboard and unleashing his talents.
There’s a flowing beauty to the Beattie’s playing style, creating a impressive range of volume from his acoustic guitar, while clearly embracing the styles and emotions that come from each piece. OK, I admit that none of the works or indeed their creators were familiar to me, but it didn’t matter… Simply seeing such a virtuoso performer live and being able to appreciate at least a little of work and practice, as well as the emotion, that must go into his playing is such a joy to see.
When Beattie spoke to the packed audience to introduce each piece and explain how they fit together, you can sense his real love for the pieces – perhaps it would be impossible to perform in such an evocative way without the emotion being part of the process.
The performance is also a wonderful example of range of talent and media that make up The Bath Festival, and huge credit must go to the organisers for bringing the performers together.
To see what else the festival has to offer and to book tickets, go to https://bathfestivals.org.uk/the-bath-festival/whats-on/