Up Close and Musical

Founded in 2020 by violist Shiry Rashkovsky, Up Close and Musical demystifies the world of classical music through boundary-defying performances in which world-renowned artists share their music and stories of their musical lives in an intimate setting. Audiences can find out what it’s really like to be a musician through artist-curated concerts which feature candid mid-concert interviews led by Shiry, while food and drinks between events at the gorgeous festival venue, Fidelio Café, allow audiences to continue the encounter up close.

The inaugural festival saw sold out performances and candid interviews with Abel Selaocoe, Héloïse Werner, Misha Mullov-Abbado, Huw Watkins, Gabriel Prokofiev, Chloë Hanslip, and Trio Klein, and workshops with Jessica Duchen and Nimrod Borenstein. In 2022, Up Close and Musical hosted an all-female roster with a guest appearance by the composer Deborah Pritchard. 

Up Close and Musical has been featured in the Strad, BBC Music Magazine, BBC Radio 3 and Scala Radio.