Andrew Bernardi enjoys fourth successive Festival of Chichester

This year – in his fourth successive Festival of Chichester concert – Andrew takes to the stage as part of the closing weekend.

On Saturday, July 20 at 6.30pm Andrew Bernardi’s Stradivarius Piano Trio will welcome you to hear Fauré, Beethoven and Elgar with a glass of Nyetimber in the beautiful Lutyens-designed Eartham House, which inspired artist Romney, poet William Hayley and the sculptor Flaxman. The concert is sponsored by Nyetimber with NFU Mutual Horsham and Chichester. Tickets £35 include a glass of Nyetimber and are available from the Festival of Chichester a box office. The venue is Great Ballard School, Eartham, PO18 0LR.

“The first year was in the lockdown festival and it is very touching that we've got the Stradivarius Piano Trio this year because that very first concert was with the Stradivarius Piano Trio as well.”

Andrew is thrilled to be back at the festival: “Music is all about bringing people together and making people realise that the world is even better than they thought. We do that in the north of the county at the Shipley Arts Festival and we make people happy in London and we have a history of doing a lot in Asia as well but thinking southwards we thought we would bring that celebration and joy of community to the Festival of Chichester because it's such a wonderful festival.

“And what better place than Eartham House. There is such a connection with the arts there and you can see the paintings at the concert. The owner is the wonderful Sue Jay, and Sue does so much to support so many children through education. It is going to be wonderful to be playing music that reflects that incredible cultural backdrop at the house. We have played there every year since I met her.”

The Stradivarius Piano Trio has been going for about 15 years, Jonathan Few and Maria Marchant performing alongside Andrew.

“When I was so fortunate to get the chance to play the Stradivarius, it was actually Maria's mother who said ‘Why don't you name the trio after the violin?’ We celebrated that at Pallant Gallery and we haven't looked back since. It is an international-class chamber group and we aim just to share our music and to use music to bring people together and we also want people to be part of the music that we make.”

Andrew is established as one of the UK’s leading violinists, festival directors, string educationalists and music entrepreneurs. A champion of charitable causes and a dedicated ambassador of music’s power to change lives, he promotes the transformative nature of performance across the world working with consulates, businesses and charities. In 2019 he was listed as one of the “100 inspirational and remarkable people in Sussex” by ETC Magazine.