Andrew Marr comes to Bath on March 25th 2010

Ahead of the final Bath Bach Festival, which will take place in the City later this year, the journalist and political commentator, Andrew Marr has agreed to chair a discussion about Bach and Music for Our Time.  This will take place in the Banqueting Room at Bath’s Guildhall at 8pm on Thursday 25 March.

Andrew Marr, who is patron of the Bath Bach Festival, will be joined on stage by three respected figures from the classical music world: soprano Catherine Bott; violinist Ruth Waterman and Jonathan Cross, Professor of Musicology at Christ Church College, Oxford.

Andrew Marr needs no introduction, having been at the heart of British political and cultural life for more than two decades.  His roles have included being editor of The Independent; contributing to The Economist; political editor of BBC News; host of The Andrew Marr Show on BBC1 and Start the Week on BBC Radio 4; plus his eponymous History of Modern Britain for BBC 2.

Catherine Bott has a distinguished career as a British soprano and baroque specialist.  She began her musical journey as a member of the jazz/classical crossover group, the Swingle Singers, but since the early 1980s has performed across the world with period-instrument groups.  Bach’s music has long been at the heart of her repertoire, although recently she has been contemplating more recent works, including Fauré’s Requiem with Sir John Eliot Gardner, and projects with Michael Nyman and Jonathan Dove.

Violinist Ruth Waterman, appropriately, started her professional career in Bath at the International Music Festival when she substituted at short notice for Nathan Milstein and played a Mozart Concerto under the baton of Yehudi Menuhin.  She then went to the Juillard School in New York and remained in the US for more than 20 years.  She has a reputation as a revelatory interpreter of Bach’s music, but now combines her playing career with teaching and music journalism.  In 2008 she published When Swan Lake Comes to Sarajevo: A Musician Journeys into the Aftermath of War.  This personal account of her experiences in the new country of Bosnia as guest conductor of a remarkable little orchestra, the Mostar Sinfonietta, has received rave reviews.

Professor Jonathan Cross is an Oxford-based academic, who has written, lectured and broadcast widely on issues in 20th century and contemporary music.  He’s particularly interested in music history and analysis, and questions of modernism v. tradition alongside issues in music and politics.

This is a rare and enthralling opportunity to hear three excellent and stimulating speakers under the guidance of one of the most respected practitioners of the art of the persuasive interview and chairmanship. Don't miss it!

Tickets £12 unreserved from Bath Festivals Box Office -  www.bathfestivals.org.uk