Autumn in Malvern Festival 2025
06 October 2025 to 19 October 2025
After more than 30 successful years as Artistic Director, Peter Smith, the founder of Autumn in Malvern has stepped down.
Peter established a landmark event, celebrated for its diverse and authentic content, and Malvern Theatres has taken over the running of the festival to continue this legacy. Classical music has always been at the heart of Autumn in Malvern, with a particular emphasis on English music from the last 100 years. Literature and the visual arts also feature, especially work with a local connection. These traditions will continue, as will the festival’s takeover of many wonderful venues across Malvern. This year the list includes Great Malvern Priory, Elmslie House, Christ Church and Malvern College, as well as at the Festival and Forum Theatres, Malvern Cinema and Studio One.
The festival features music by Elgar, Britten, Finzi, and Stanford, as well as works by contemporary composers Ian Venables, Liz Dilnot Johnson and Kate Hill.
The music of Broadway is celebrated with the internationally acclaimed vocalist Jacqui Dankworth, who will be celebrating the musical legacy of the American composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim. the clarinettist Emma Johnson and the Orchestra for the Environment will perform a special programme of music by English composers, which includes Elgar’s Serenade for Strings. The orchestra is a group of hand-picked virtuoso players who all share concerns about the environment. They endeavour to travel in the greenest way possible to concerts and make a point of performing works which draw inspiration from nature.
The Armonico Consort presents a performance title Chaconne! when they are joined by baroque players and soloists for music by Purcell, Monteverdi, Pachelbel, Strozzi and Bach. The performance is preceded by a pre-show talk with three members of the ensemble. BBC New Generation artist, Alessandro Fisher, and award-winning pianist Ashok Gupta present an English Song recital themed around settings of the poetry of A.E Housman and Ivor Gurney. The festival also features choral music from The Jenny Lind Singers, The Elgar Chorale and the internationally renowned choir Tenebrae. The Gildas Quartet perform works by Haydn, Beethoven and Britten, while Leeds Piano Competition winner Alim Beisembayev gives a recital of works by Debussy and Chopin.
The festival also celebrates Jane Austen’s 250th anniversary with a new stage adaptation of Emma. Film screenings, an organ recital, and a talk on women artists complete the line-up for this year’s festival, which is supported by The Laura Knight Society (which presents its annual lecture in Studio One at the theatre), The Francis Brett Young Society, The Housman Society and The Ivor Gurney Society.
For further information, including dates, times and ticket prices, call the Malvern Theatres box office on (01684) 892277 or see their website, malvern-theatres.co.uk