Forgotten Dances

Frank Martin Quatre Pièces Brèves
J.S.Bach Cello Suite No. 6 in D major BWV1012, arranged for guitar
Harrison Birtwistle Oockooing Bird, Sad Song, Berceuse de Jeanne
Thomas Adès Forgotten Dances

Always fresh and innovative, guitarist Sean Shibe’s residency with us this year features three distinct performances; in the first, he explores ‘forgotten’ works. Frank Martin’s Quatre Pièces Brèves, written for Andrés Segovia, lay unplayed until Julian Bream championed the suite in the ‘60s. The first recorded performance of Bach’s Cello Suites took place over 100 years after they were likely written. Thomas Adès’ Forgotten Dances invokes composers and artists of bygone times.

Born in Edinburgh in 1992, Shibe studied at Royal Conservatoire of Scotland under Allan Neave, with further studies at Kunst-Universität Graz in Austria and in Italy under Paolo Pegoraro. He is now a Guitar Professor at Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

Shibe is also a former BBC New Generation Artist, a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship 2012 winner, a Royal Philharmonic Society 2018 Young Artist Award winner, a multi-GRAMMY nominee, and the recipient of the 2022 Leonard Bernstein Award.

Two further performances by Sean Shibe at this year’s Festival will be announced in February.

‘What’s really striking is the way in which Shibe sustains a world of intensity and introspection through playing that buzzes with vitality. The attention to detail in his playing is breathtaking; nothing interrupts the flow of the music, and nothing is done purely for effect.‘ The Guardian (Erica Jeal)