Music in the Round 40th anniversary festival

Steven said: “I remember enjoying the ‘in the round’ aspect of the Crucible Playhouse with audiences fully surrounding the musicians on stage, and thinking the Sheffield audience was very special.

“I am delighted to return to Sheffield with Music in the Round, as curator for this 40th anniversary festival.

“I think that people will always be drawn to chamber music.

“Composers frequently pour their deepest, most intimate feelings into their chamber music and we need to connect with those feelings.”

Internationally acclaimed Steven, hailed as ‘one of the greatest cellists ever’ by Classic FM, has selected a packed programme for the nine-day festival.

It includes everything from a sold-out sunrise concert in Sheffield’s Samuel Worth Chapel to a family storybook show, Sir Scallywag & the Battle of Stinky Bottom.

Some events look back to 1984, when Peter Cropper, the pioneering first violinist of the Lindsay String Quartet, started the festival as a two-week celebration of Beethoven’s music.

Most feature Music in the Round’s resident world-class musicians Ensemble 360, while others feature guest stars of the classical music world and talent from Sheffield’s thriving music scene, such as the award-winning Abbeydale Singers.

There is a focus on the work of Gabriel Fauré, the foremost French composer who died 100 years ago this year.

Steven, who named his son after Gabriel, said: “I adore Fauré’s music.

“It offers us a unique mixture of the sensual and the sacred, in a language of often fathomless, almost mystic beauty. As he put it, he aimed to offer us a glimpse of a world that is better than our own.”

The festival launches on May 17 and runs until May 25, with most events held at the Crucible Playhouse.

National treasure Roderick Williams OBE - a baritone who performed at King Charles’s Coronation - is starring in two events, including one for children.

There will also be a daytime concert with pianist Mishka Rushdie Momen, winner of a Critics’ Prize at The Times Arts Awards 2021.

Steven is to host two evenings of inspirational music with long-time collaborators and will team up with Ensemble 360 to close the festival with a rousing grand finale.

But his highlight is a concert focusing on the music of ‘extraordinary man’ Camille Saint-Saëns.

Steven added: “Much of his music is deeply touching, even profound.

“As well as featuring his most celebrated work, ‘The Carnival of the Animals’, this evening will be mostly devoted to charming gems and rarities.

“That includes a ‘Toy Symphony’ (‘Les Odeurs de Paris’), and the first-ever original film score by a major composer, ‘L’assassinat du duc de Guise’.

“I was so grateful to the festival organisers, Music in the Round, for being so open to the more unusual ideas I had. Especially for this programme, which involves hiring lots of toy instruments, as well as film equipment!”

Tickets for all of the festival’s events can be booked now - some sold out or close to selling out - at https://musicintheround.co.uk

Festival fact box

At the first Sheffield Chamber Music Festival in May 1984, concerts were devoted purely to Beethoven! Tickets cost £3.50 for evening concerts and £2 for daytime events.

In July 1991, Sheffield enjoyed a second festival of chamber music that year as part of the Universiade cultural festival celebrating the World Student Games.

In March 1984, the Sheffield Chamber Music Festival won the prestigious ‘best concert series and events prize’ at the Royal Philharmonic Society’s annual awards.

Audience members voted for their favourite pieces for performance in the 20th Sheffield Chamber Music Festival (2003)

In 2005, the Lindsay String Quartet joined their final festival before retirement.

Music in the Round’s current ensemble, Ensemble 360, took part in the festival for the first time in 2006.

In 2008, the festival took place in Sheffield’s Upper Chapel as the Crucible was undergoing major works.

All four founding members of the Lindsay String Quartet were granted the Honorary Freedom of the city of Sheffield for their contributions to music-making and performance in the city.

In May 2010, the festival returned to the Crucible Studio.

In May 2018, the festival was relaunched with a continued focus on Ensemble 360, a return to its new name, and guest appearances throughout the week.

As the Covid-19 pandemic hit, the in-person festival was cancelled.

A lockdown version of the festival for people to watch at home was enjoyed by 7,800 people, including new audiences from around the world.

The festival returned to a full in-person schedule in 2022, with guest curators featuring for the first time. Scottish composer Helen Grime was the debut guest curator.

● In May 2024, the 40th-anniversary festival will take place over nine days, curated by “one of the greatest cellists of all time” (Classic FM), featuring many international classical music stars. They include Lindsay viola player Robin Ireland, King’s Coronation solo singer Roderick Williams, and rising opera star Ella Taylor, who studied in Sheffield.

Tickets for the 40th festival cost from just £5 for students/people under 35.