Up Close and Musical

Founded in 2020 by violist Shiry Rashkovsky, Up Close and Musical invites audiences into the world of classical music through boundary-defying performances in which world-renowned artists share their music and stories of their musical lives in a convivial setting.

The inaugural festival saw sold out performances and candid interviews with Abel Selaocoe, Héloïse Werner, Misha Mullov-Abbado, Huw Watkins, Gabriel Prokofiev and Chloë Hanslip, 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; 2026 saw the festival expand to a full season and move from the intimate space at the Fidelio Café to the more expansive Amadeus in Maida Vale.

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