Theatre and Arts Previews

The English Haydn Festival is taking place in Bridgnorth from 29 May to 31 May with an extensive programme of music by Haydn and his contempories. The festival is set to continue bringing the work of the "father of the string quartet" to new audiences.

This year's festival concentrates on Joseph Haydn's compositions, and features Ronald Brautigam on the fortepiano and Catherine Manson on the violin with the English Haydn Orchestra.

The English Haydn Orchestra

The evening concerts are dedicated to the memory of local musician, John Reid, who died last year and had been closely involved with the festival.

The weekend culminates in a celebration concert at St Leonard's Church in Bridgnorth to mark the 200th anniversary of the death of Haydn. It features the Birmingham Festival Chorus and the English Haydn Orchestra performing The Creation.

Conductor, Patrick Larley.

Patrick Larley will conduct, alongside soloists Catherine Bott (soprano), Lynton Atkinson (tenor) and Andrew Slater (bass).

Haydn was born in Austria in 1732 and showed musical talent from a very young age. He spent most of his life writing music for the wealthy Eszterházy family until 1790, when he travelled to London. He was tempted to stay in England, but eventually returned to Vienna where he died in 1809.

A friend of Mozart and music tutor to Beethoven, Haydn was an influential composer at the heart of the classical period. Thanks to events like the English Haydn Festival, his works continue to be extremely popular.