City of London gains new festival

A new classical and jazz festival will take place in the City of London this October. The City Festival of Music, Invention and Knowledge (CFMIK) will run for two weeks (10-24 October), with a programme curated by artistic director Ian Ritchie, who previously directed the St Magnus Festival in Orkney and the City of London Festival from 2006-2013. It will include a free series of ‘Before They Are Famous’ lunchtime recitals, showcasing rising British stars performing in churches designed by Sir Christopher Wren.

This first outing for CFMIK is built around the music of Paganini, the virtuoso violinist who wowed London audiences when he visited from his home town of Genoa in Italy nearly 200 years ago. Each concert will include snippets of his music, whether in its original, arranged or improvised form. Performers across the fortnight include jazz pianist Julian Joseph and the Tenebrae choir from the UK, while guitarist Josè Scanu will travel from Genoa to play Paganini, who was himself also a guitarist, on a 19th-century instrument.

For 53 years, the Square Mile was home to the annual City of London Festival, which closed in 2016, blaming funding issues. ‘Despite achieving support from a range of valued sponsors and supporters it has become increasingly difficult to attract the level of funding necessary to stage the annual festival,’ said The City Arts Trust, which organised the event, at the time.

The new festival is being put on with the partnership of the Comune di Genoa, while its patron is the Lord Mayor of London, Michael Mainelli. ‘It reflects the nature of our “Square Mile” as a trading place and cultural destination, internationally and locally,’ he said of CFMIK. ‘Through music and other arts, it amplifies and celebrates the City as a global hub for experimentation and invention, science and technology, education and knowledge – some key themes of my mayoralty.’