May 2025 Rhossili Duo concert
We had a very engaging concert from the Rhossili Duo, who opened with Argentinian tango composer Astor Piazzola’s Histoire du Tango and closed with First Milonga, Last Tango by Welsh composer Stephen Goss—written as an elegy to the former and a piece using fragments of material from his work. Then Welsh folk songs including Suo gan arranged by Goss and Bartok’s Romanian Dances based on his extensive folk music studies. The Bartok works are often heard in their original piano or orchestral renderings, and this interpretation brought a great zest to them.
The duo then had an opportunity to play solo pieces by Agustín Barrios (guitar) and Eugène Bozza (flute). Then Sonatina by leading composer for the guitar, Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco—exiled from Italy to the US prior to WWII.
The performances received enthusiastic applause from our audience; and were a brilliant reminder of how lucky we are to have alumni and students from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama at our annual concert series.
Rhossili Duo can be seen in June at the Budleigh Music Festival.
Artist-in-residence Francesca Kay displayed a selection of her letterpress, calligraphy and paper designs—website.