Hellensmusic Festival 2026

An afternoon of music inspired by the sounds, dreams, and spirit of childhood. Adapted from Munro Leaf’s children’s book The Story of Ferdinand (1936), Alan Ridout’s Ferdinand the Bull is an ode to innocence, simplicity, and to an epicurean way of living. With only a narrator and a violin, the composer tells a story, paints its picture, and gives sound to the victory of the will over the corrupting influences of the world. Leos Janáček’s Mládi represents a seventy-year-old man’s recollection of childhood, written in the playful mood that emerged in his later work and composed of melodies from his youth at the Brno Monastery, in the Czech Republic. Finally, Camille Saint-Säens’s Le Carnaval des animaux, with its variety of timbres and capricious gestures, takes us back to a time of boundless imagination.

Maya Iwabuchi (violin), Charlotte Scott (violin), Adrien Boisseau (viola), Bruno Delepelaire (cello), Michael Cox (flute), Matthew Hunt (clarinet), Xiaowen Shang (piano), and Hellensmusic Masterclass Students.

PROGRAMME Hellensmusic Young Artists Spotlight A. Ridout Ferdinand the Bull, for Speaker and Violin L. Janáček Mládí (‘Youth’) Interval C. Saint-Säens Le Carnaval des animaux: grande fantaisie zoologique