Hastings Chamber Music Festival Rautio Piano Trio & Narrator Oliver Beamish Echoes of the Sea and Soul Sally Beamish Seafarer (2000) Beethoven Kakadu' Variations Op. 121a Bach Passacaglia & Fugue in C min BWV 582 (transcribed J. Rautio) + Artists in Conversation: Short talk and Q & A with Sally Beamish + Musicians This concert pairs two powerful works exploring human experience through contrasting music. Sally Beamishs Seafarer, inspired by Beowulf, blends narrator and piano trio to evoke the heros journey and inner struggles at sea. The programme also features Beethovens inventive Kakadu Variations for piano trio and Bachs monumental Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, transcribed by Jan Rautio, offering deep reflections on musical form and expression. Performers: Jane Gordon (violin) Victoria Simonsen (cello) Jan Rautio (piano) Oliver Beamish (Narrator) Rautio Piano Trio Since the release of their acclaimed debut album of Mozart Trios in 2016, the Rautio Trio has become one of todays leading chamber ensembles, celebrated for their refined artistry and emotionally powerful performances. With a particular passion for 18th and 19th-century repertoire, they bring a fresh perspective to historical masterworks, performing on both modern and period instruments. The Trio has recorded four albums with Resonus Classics to critical acclaim, regularly featured on BBC Radio 3, and performed at major venues including Wigmore Hall, Kings Place, and Bridgewater Hall, as well as internationally in France, Austria, and Germany. Oliver Beamish Narrator Oliver Beamish is a versatile actor, singer, and musician with a career spanning a wide range of productions across the UK. His West End appearances include War Horse (New London), Kean (Apollo), Buddy (Novello), Jolson (Victoria Palace), and Blood Brothers (Lyric), as well as A Midsummer Nights Dream, Henry IV Part 1, and Camelot at Regents Park. Often combining performance with live music, he has played piano, trumpet, and accordion in shows such as Jolson, Buddy, and Kean, and composed for productions at the New Vic and the Edinburgh Fringe (Perrier Award-nominated). Highlights include Sweeney Todd (Judge Turpin), Candide (The Governor), and the one-man musical Billy Bishop Goes to War at Jermyn Street Theatre. Artists in Conversation event: Sally Beamish + Musicians Join us for Artists in Conversation with acclaimed composer Sally Beamish. Hear her insights on Seafarer and her musical journey, followed by a live Q&Aan exclusive chance to connect with one of todays most distinctive voices. Sally Beamish Sally Beamish was born in London. She began her career as a viola player with the Raphael Ensemble, Academy of St Martins and London Sinfonietta, before moving to Scotland in 1990 to focus on composition. She was appointed a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2015, and of the Royal Swedish Academy in 2022. In 2018 she won the Award for Inspiration at the British Composer Awards, and in 2020 was awarded an OBE in the Queens birthday honours. She has written three major oratorios. Knotgrass Elegy (text by Donald Goodbrand Saunders) was premiered by the BBC Symphony Orchestra and chorus in the BBC Proms 2001, and has recently been named in BBC Music Magazine as one of the top 6 oratorios of the 20th and 21st century. Equal Voices (text by Sir Andrew Motion) was premiered by the LSO with Gianandrea Noseda in 2014. The Judas Passion (text by David Harsent) was commissioned by the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and premiered in the UK and USA in 2018. Early booking recommended.