Cheltenham Music Festival reveals 80th anniversary programme

Cheltenham Music Festival has revealed details of its upcoming 2025 programme, set to feature large-scale orchestral performances, plus concerts from established and emerging classical voices. The upcoming season (4-12 July) marks the festival’s 80^th anniversary and is the first to be programmed by new artistic director, Jack Bazalgette.

The 2025 festival marks the beginning of a three-year reinvigoration initiative for the festival, which will include a refreshed education engagement programme, the return of the Composer Academy which was paused in 2024 and a series of free concerts across Cheltenham. The festival also reaffirms its relationship with BBC Radio 3, hosting a broadcast of Friday Night Is Music Night and recitals from three BBC New Generation Artists: pianist Giorgi Gigashvili, tenor Santiago Sanchez and accordionist Ryan Corbett.

Bazalgette (pictured left) said: ‘This is the first of a three-year project to put Cheltenham on a forward-facing footing that will ensure it remains at the leading edge of British classical music. Across that period, our Composer Academy strand will return; our education efforts will expand; and our commitment to classical music will never waver. We’ve always been home to concerts of the highest quality, interpretations of foundational works in the music, brand new commissions and unique performances, collaborations between established figures and the newest names, along with a commitment to inspiring new audiences and the next generation. We’re renewing that legacy in 2025 with a birthday party to be proud of, where everyone is welcome!’

©Ehimetalor Unuabona

The 2025 festival opens on 4 July with a concert from Britten Sinfonia at Pittville Pump Room combining works by Mozart and Mendelssohn with a new work by Deborah Pritchard commissioned to mark the festival’s anniversary. The Pump room will also host Dame Imogen Cooper DBE’s performance of the final three of Beethoven’s piano sonatas. Elsewhere, Pavel Kolesnikov returns to the festival with his interpretation of Bach’s beloved Goldberg Variations, and the Gesualdo Six will perform a programme of music from Jacobean virginalist Orlando Gibbons.

This year’s programme will also include Vision Quartet’s from-memory performance of works by Weber, Ravel and Dvořák, plus tributes to Britten and Elgar from the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, featuring works performed as part of the festival’s inaugural programme and Mozart’s Requiem at Cheltenham Town Hall, featuring tenor James Gilchrist alongside the Cheltenham Festival Orchestra and the Cheltenham Bach Choir.

The 2025 festival will also place emphasis on new music, with Songs for the Earth premiering works combining influences from folk, jazz and classical fusion. Elsewhere, Violinist Braimah Kanneh-Mason, cellist Hadewych van Gent and guitarist Plínio Fernandes will form a trio for music by Bloch and Bach, while Aaron Akugbo and Zeynep Özsuca join forces to present fresh perspectives on Mahler, Boulanger, Honegger and more. Senegalese kora master Seckou Keita also visits Cheltenham, bringing music from the West African tradition, while the Idrîsî Ensemble perform music from UNESCO-protected traditions across the Mediterranean.

The 2025 festival also presents two Concerts for Schools – including one designed for pupils with special and educational development needs (SEND) pupils – and a Relaxed Concert for families with additional needs.

Bazalgette said: ‘It has been a huge honour to put together this celebration of 80 years of classical music at Cheltenham. The guiding light has been to return to what has always made Cheltenham great – its focus on new work, on celebrating musicians, and on the highest quality of recitals – while also centring outreach and participation. Our goal is to create a real buzz at Cheltenham and renew its legacy as a centre for classical music in the UK.’